Cement, Energy and Environment

20 Every mining company is well aware of the devasta ng effects mining has on the environment. That is the reason why today they are trying so hard to safeguard the environment by providing the same goods and services to consumers using less metal, wood, plas c, stone and other materials. The goal is to reduce the mining impact on an interna onal scale by encouraging the produc on of durable products that can be recycled, reused, or re- manufactured. Precedents of effec ve environmental sustainability with a case study The New Mineral Policy has men oned the effec ve measures can be adopted to improve environmental sustainability of mining opera ons and also to improve the health and environment of surrounding areas of mining. This calls for “out of the box approach”, which includes above men oned steps, which have been implemented around the world in various countries and posi ve results are achieved. Case study of China is elaborated below, where few steps adopted and results can be seen. In China, ll 2010, mining facili es in China, especially for Rare earth minerals mining, were almost completely unregulated in terms of environmental consciousness and efficiency. A er years of relax regula on and undisciplined treatment of illegal, unpermi ed mines, China's government responded to a wave of public protest and “partly in its own self-interest” enacted new policy measures set by the Ministry of Industry and Informa on Technology for environmentally sustainable mining. These were codified in the Rare Earth Industrial Development Policy (Schuler, Buchert, Liu, Di rich & Merz, 2011). The following regula ons are the most important out of those now in prac ce. They are being enforced to discourage illegal and environmentally careless mining. These are cited from the Oko Ins tute's Study on Rare Earths and Recycling. · From 2009 to 2015, China will not issue any new mining licences for rare earths. · Efforts to shut down illegal mines and inefficient separa ng and smel ng enterprises will con nue. · Increased monitoring of the industry will be done by the Ministry of Industry and Informa on Technology. · Requirements for an efficient electricity supply and specifica ons concerning the maximum energy demand per ton of rare earths produced are also indicated. · Minimum recycling rate for ore dressing waste water of mixed rare earth minerals (85%) and Bastnaesite and ion adsorp on deposits (90%) are set, as well as yield rates (92%). · Pure monazite (one of the main sources of REEs) mining has been banned because of its high concentra on of radioac vity. · Bastnaesite, one of the two main minerals used for rare earth extrac on, should be extracted with a treatment system that can completely treat wastewater and solid wastes for toxic and radioac ve elements. · In-situ leaching mining has been introduced as the required mining method for those new mines that can physically implement this technology. · Saponifica on, a step of the refining process that leaves the wastewater highly toxic, can be improved through a newly discovered method that eliminates the need for ammonia. All mines will