Mining companies, in contributing to future-proofing African mining, should commit to exceeding environmental legislation requirements, says University of Cape Town Minerals to Metals Research Initiative postdoctoral research fellow Dr Helene-Marie Stander.

To initiate this commitment, she highlights the importance of effecting initiatives such as companies’ continually measuring the mineralogy of their waste streams to focus on responsible repurposing or disposal, and keeping the closure and rehabilitation of impacted land and the environment in mind when planning mines.

“Many mining jurisdictions in Africa do not have well-developed environmental legislation and social protections and, if mining companies want to be considered welcome contributors to local economies in the future, and thereby secure their social licence to operate, they cannot assume that meeting local legislative requirements is sufficient,” she explains.

An important consideration to ensure that environmental, social and governance issues are meaningfully addressed throughout the life of a mine, is that mining companies should deem environmental and social considerations an important aspect in their due diligence process when assets are sold off or transferred.

“Questions such as whether a potential buyer of an asset has the ability and will to maintain the selling company’s environmental and social commitments should be weighed before an offer to purchase is accepted.”

Challenges, Innovative Capacity

Although acid mine drainage (AMD), which affects mines with sulfide minerals, has been associated with mining for at least a century, the sector does not have credible long-term solutions to prevent such occurrences in perpetuity. Prevention is paramount, since treatment of acidic water is costly and AMD can continue for decades or even centuries.

Issues associated with mine dust, the physical stability of tailings storage facilities and water contamination are also pertinent.

Stander says mine waste valorisation technologies can significantly contribute to the promotion of circularity in Africa’s mining sector. These technologies, when envisaged as the repurposing of entire large-volume waste bodies and not just the remining of waste bodies for target minerals, have the potential to provide cheap and plentiful materials for several industries, including construction and agriculture.