Gold and Diamonds:
The Social and Environmental
Impacts of Mining for the
Diamond Ring
Katharina Marcin BA, MPA Candidate 2007
Nicholas Ruder BA .H., MPA Candidate 2007
Agenda
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Life Cycle Assessment of the Diamond Ring
International Mining Sustainability Initiatives
Canadian Regulations
The Leader and Laggard of the industry
Gold and Diamond Mining in Canada
Mine reclamation projects
Options for a sustainable future
Diamond Ring
Components
• Diamond
• Au
• +- Ag, Ni, Cu, Zn
Life Cycle
Waste?
Exploration
Extraction
Re-use
“A Diamond is Forever”
Processing
Use
Manufacture / Retail
Exploration
• Processes: geological survey, geophysical
surveys, trenching, drilling
• Inputs: energy, water, land resources
• Outputs: air emissions, waste soil and rock,
waste water
• Environmental Impacts: water contamination, air
quality, solid waste disposal
Extraction
• Processes: drilling, mining, concentration,
reclamation
• Inputs: water, land resources, energy
• Outputs: air emissions, water contaminants,
solid waste
• Environmental Impacts: water contamination,
local air quality, land resource use, solid waste,
global warming
Mining Inefficiency
• To extract enough gold for a single wedding band, 18
tons of waste-ore are produced
• 0.00001 percent of ore (by weight) can be refined into
gold; everything else is waste
• The amount of waste from the mining industry in the US
is 9 times the amount produced by US towns and cities
combined
• In 2001, metals mines produced 1,300 tons of toxic
waste—46 percent of the total for all US industry
combined—including 96 percent of all reported arsenic
emissions, and 76 percent of all lead emissions
Processing
• Processes: smelting, concentrating, separating
• Inputs: water, energy, chemicals
• Outputs: waste water and chemical sludge, air
contaminants
• Impacts: toxic waste disposal, local air quality,
water contamination, land resource use, global
warming
Manufacture / Retail
• Processes: transport, sorting, valuation, cutting,
forming, polishing
• Inputs: fuel, electricity, other forms of energy,
machinery, water
• Outputs: exhaust, energy waste
• Environmental Impacts: air contamination, water
waste
Gold Life Cycle
• Ore is broken into chunks and exposed to a
recyclable cyanide solution which dissolves the
gold
• Dissolved gold and cyanide solution exposed to
activated carbon which collects the gold
component
• Gold is mechanically separated from carbon
• Gold is melted into bars
Use / Re-Use
• Diamond rings are rarely discarded
• Reused generation after generation
• Gold can be melted and recycled
Major Environmental Impacts
• Air emissions – global warming and local
air quality
• Water contamination – groundwater and
surface water
• Waste disposal – solid waste
• Land resource use – reclamation of mined
land area
Mining Sustainability Initiatives
• ISO 14001: International Standards Organization
• Ceres
 Climate Change Governance Checklist
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD) – Mining, Minerals and Sustainability
Development Project (MMSD)
Mining Sustainability Initiatives
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United Nations Global Compact
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International Council on Mining and Minerals (ICMM) –
Sustainable Development Framework
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International Development and Research Council
(IDRC) Canada – Mining Policy Research Initiative
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World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Mine Certification
Evaluation Project (MCEP)
Customer Awareness
Jewellery Marketing Initiatives
• Consumers affect Jewelers first
• Formation of industry regulatory bodies
• “Blood Diamonds”  “No Dirty Gold”
• Jewelers of America Supplier’s Code of Conduct
• Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices
What do they have in common?
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Voluntary
Non-Regulatory
Non-binding
Unenforceable
Green-washing
Profit-driven
Canadian Regulation
Fisheries Act
Metal Mining Effluent Regulations
(SOR/2002-222)
Description:
These Regulations are adopted under the Fisheries Act in 1979.
“They impose limits on releases of cyanide, metals, and suspended
solids, and prohibit the discharge of effluent that is acutely lethal to
fish. The Regulations also require metal mines to conduct
Environmental Effects Monitoring programs to identify any adverse
effects of their effluent on fish, fish habitat, and the use of fisheries
resources.”
http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroRegs/Eng/SearchDetail.cfm?&intReg=174
BC Regulation
Waste Discharge Regulation Implementation Guide
Issued by the Government of British Columbia, on July
8th, 2004 to integrate and replace the previous
Environmental Management Act and the Waste
Management Act. The Waste Discharge Regulation
Implementation Guide (WDRIG), only allows certain
industries to release waste into the environment, and
regulates the amount of waste that these industries can
release.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epdiv/env_mgt_act/pdf/wdr_implement_guide.pdf
The Laggard – Newmont Mining
Newmont Mining –
Environmental Initiatives
• Set the highest standards of community
development initiatives and environmental
stewardship
• They are:
- A founding member of the International Council
on Mining and Metals (ICMM)
- A founding member of the Council for
Responsible Jewellery Practices
- Adherents of the UN Global Compact 10
Principles
- Signers of the International Cyanide Code
NGO Report: Ghana
• Involuntary displacement of subsistence farmers
threatens food security in the region
• Although they assure transparency, no
disclosure of potential significant acid generation
from mine’s waste rock
• EIA:
- Acid mine drainage not addressed
- No assurance of financial backing for mine
cleanup and reclamation
NGO Report: Indonesia
• Dumping of mine wastes directly into the ocean
causing fishing families to relocate for reasons
including the pollutants from this practice
• 120,000 tons of tailings dumped per day (this
dumping is illegal in Canada and the US)
• Water shortages in surrounding villages because
of the damming of 2 rivers
• Exploration threatens protected forest and the
livelihood of rural communities who depend on
the forest
NGO Report: Peru
• Several mercury spill victims still awaiting
response and official health assessment
from Newmont Mines
• 6 years after the spill, victims still
experiencing memory loss and skin
irritation, and children have learning
disabilities
NGO Report: Romania
• Historic area with estimated archaeological
value comparable to that of Pompeii
• If mine operations go ahead, the densely
populated Rosia Montana Valley will have 4
open-pit mines, and the neighboring Corna
Valley will hold an unlined cyanide storage pond
• It will cause the relocation of 2000 people and
the tearing down of 900 homes
• There is mass opposition from the Romanian
people and government, and the government of
Hungary
NGO Report: Nevada
• Western Shoshone Nation are not compensated
or asked permission for the use of their land
• Groundwater depletion threatens Shoshone
communities
• Land scarring, water and air pollution from
mercury and other emissions threaten peoples’
health in Nevada and neighbouring states
• No monitoring of mercury emissions, a
neurotoxin, is currently done
The Leader – BHP Billiton
The Leader – BHP Billiton
• 38,000 employees
• 100 operations in 25 countries
• Aluminum, coal, copper, manganese, iron
ore, uranium, nickel, silver and titanium,
substantial interests in oil, gas, liquefied
natural gas and diamonds
• 2006 profit of US$10.2 billion and net
operating cash flow of US$10.5 billion
The Leader – BHP Billiton (BHPB)
• 64 out of 100 on CERES Climate Change
Governance Checklist (average for mining
sector is 42.2)
• Roberts Environmental Center, Pacific
Sustainability Index (PSI) - overall score of
B+
• DJSI – sustainability leader for the mining
sector, 2006
BHPB – Global Operations
BHPB – Environmental Initiatives
• Sustainable Development Policy – “Zero Harm”
• Set management standards using precautionary
principle ( “aligned” with ISO 14001)
• Extensive environmental and sustainability
reporting and benchmarking
• Member of World Business Council for
Sustainable Development
• Working with World Wildlife Fund on MCEP
Green-Washing?
Pacific Sustainability Index
Green-Washing?
• OK Tedi Mine, Papua
New Guinea
• 80,000 tons of ore
and 120,000 tons of
waste rock, daily
• Pressuring for
development in
protected forest areas
in Ghana and
Philippines
Canadian Mining Operations
• Major Diamond Mining Operations:
1) Diavik
- ISO 14001 Certified
- Preparing for future reclamation
- Fish Habitat Restoration
2) Ekati
-BHP Billiton
- Open-pit mining operation
- little environmental information
Case: Sullivan Mine
• Located in Kimberley, BC
• Run by Teck Cominco
• 92 years of operation as a Zinc, Lead, and
Iron mine
• New initiatives to reclaim the mine
Case: Holloway
• Newmont in Canada
• Gold mine in Ontario
• Treatment of waste
• Reclamation procedures in place
Sustainable Jewellery
From the Mine
to the Golden Circle
Life Cycle
Waste?
Exploration
Extraction
Re-use
“A Diamond is Forever”
Processing
Use
Manufacture / Retail
Environmental Issues
• Air Pollution
- At all stages
• Ecosystem destruction
- Exploration and mining
• Chemicals
- Metal extraction
Tired of doom and gloom?
Jewellery Life Cycle
Waste?
Exploration
Extraction
Re-use
“A Diamond is Forever”
Processing
Use
Manufacture / Retail
Doom and gloom?
BE GONE!!!
The
Life
Golden
CycleCircles
Waste?
Exploration
Re-use
Re-Use
“A Diamond is Forever”
Extraction
Re-UseProcessing
Recycled Jewellery
Recycled Metals
Use
Use
Manufacture / Retail
The Golden Circles
Re-Use
Re-Use
Recycled Jewellery
Recycled Metals
Use
The
Golden
Circles
The Outer Circle
Emissions
Energy
• Post-consumer
materials
Re-Use
Recycled Metals
Use
Re-Use
Recycled
Jewellery Impacts
• Minimal
• Facilities visited
and inspected
The
Golden
Circles
The Inner Circle
Emissions
Energy
• Goldsmith
on staff
• Recycle Old Unused
Jewellery
Re-Use
Re-Use
Recycled Jewellery
Recycled Metals
• Design to your
specifications
• Minimum Ecological
Footprint
Use
The Inner Circle
Minimal Footprint
Hedging your bets…..?
The Golden Circles
Emissions
Energy
Re-Use
Re-Use
Recycled Jewellery
Recycled Metals
Use
Concluding Remarks
• Collaboration between business and
government is essential to the success of
sustainability initiatives
• Enforceable initiatives are key to reforming
mining standards
• Consumer education to affect the market
For Additional Information and a
Copy of the Presentation contact:
• Katharina Marcin
kmarcin@dal.ca
• Nicholas Ruder
nmruder@dal.ca