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Gold Mining & Sustainability Metrics: Analyzing the Environmental Costs

Explore the complex relationship between gold mining and sustainability metrics. This paper analyzes global gold production, energy, water, and cyanide consumption, and greenhouse emissions to reveal the environmental impact of gold mining. Understand the challenges and opportunities in achieving sustainable gold production.

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Gold Mining & Sustainability Metrics: Analyzing the Environmental Costs

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  1. Dr Gavin M MuddEnvironmental Engineering Sustainability Metrics of Gold Mining February 2007

  2. Gold …

  3. Gold Mining v Sustainability ? • Define oxymoron : sustainable gold mining • Gold mining has been a critical aspect of economic and social development in many countries • Gold mining has also left a legacy of impacts – social, environmental, etc • The application of sustainability principles to gold mining is, at first, counter-intuitive • This paper attempts to compile such data !

  4. Gold Mining & Sustainability Metrics • Data Sources and Methodology • Analysis of Sustainability Metrics • Results – Global Gold Production • Results – Energy, Water and Cyanide Consumption • Results – Greenhouse Emissions • Discussion : Deficiencies, Future Work … • Summary

  5. Analysis of Sustainability Metrics • Some key issues for sustainability include energy, water and cyanide consumption and greenhouse emissions • The ‘eco-efficiency’ of various gold mines is compared using the unit consumption (/emission) per gold produced relative to ore grade and ore throughput : • kL water / kg Au; t CO2 / kg Au; GJ energy / kg Au • kL water / t ore; t CO2 / t ore; GJ energy / t ore • t cyanide / kg Au

  6. Global Historical Gold Production

  7. Global Historical Gold Ore Grades

  8. Unit Water Consumption v Grade

  9. Unit Water Consumption v Ore

  10. Unit Energy Consumption v Grade

  11. Unit Energy Consumption v Ore

  12. Unit Cyanide Consumption v Grade

  13. Unit Greenhouse Emissions v Grade

  14. Unit Greenhouse Emissions v Ore

  15. Discussions & Debates .. • Gold mining has occurred throughout the world, with main factors including : • new discoveries, prices, technology, social, … • The most recent gold boom (>1980) has seen unprecedented global gold mining • Fundamental trends for gold mining : • declining ore grades, open cuts, technology, … • Sustainability metrics, unit consumption/ emissions, are highly grade dependent

  16. Sustainability ‘Costs’ of Gold • In general, based on data within this paper, the production of gold entails :

  17. Summary & Conclusions • Gold Mining continues around the world • Gold ore grades are in terminal decline • Sustainability metrics are clearly linked and very sensitive to ore grade • Due to the low grade, gold production entails significant unit costs for water, energy, cyanide, greenhouse emissions • Future sustainability is difficult to predict …

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