Bringing Sustainability in Coal Mining Operations is need-of-the-hour

By: Partha Das Sharma, B.Tech(Hons.) (E.Mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com)

A. Introduction - The importance of sustainable development principles has been

increasing within the mining sector over the past two decades. Early work focused mainly
on mining metals and commodities other than coal and energy fuels. Because
sustainability, however, is an important consideration for all human endeavors now, the
coal industry has become active in sustainability efforts. A number of global coal mining
companies have embraced sustainability as a key aspect of corporate philosophy.

Continued production of minerals and fossil energy fuels may not fit into commonly
understood definitions of sustainability. Mineral and energy extraction and reclamation
operations do, however, contribute significantly to sustainability through the benefits they
provide to society, when they are conducted in a manner that supports sustainable
economies, social structures and environments throughout all phases of mining, including
closure. Significant progress can also be made through the inclusion of sustainability
concepts in the original design of the operation, as well as in ongoing operations.
Innovative engineering, mining and reclamation operations can be optimized through
consideration of environmental and economic sustainability goals, side-by-side with
traditional technical mining engineering considerations.

B. Abate hazards in coal mining areas by promoting reclamation - Coal mining

operations can result in disturbances to the land surface that burden or adversely affect
commerce and the public welfare by destroying or diminishing the utility of land for
commercial, industrial, residential, recreational, agricultural, and forestry purposes, by
causing erosion and landslides, by contributing to floods, by polluting the water, by

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 1

destroying fish and wildlife habitats, by impairing natural beauty, by damaging the
property of citizens, by creating hazards dangerous to life and property, by degrading the
quality of life in local communities, and by counteracting governmental programs and
efforts to conserve soil, water, and other natural resources. The predicted expansion of
coal mining to meet the world’s growing energy needs makes it even more urgent to
establish appropriate standards to minimize additional damage to the environment and to
productivity of the soil and to protect the health and safety of the public. At the same time
it is important to develop programs with associated funding mechanisms to restore the
utility of land damaged by past mining.

For example, China has reported it has about 13.3 million acres “derelict” lands of which
four million of those acres were caused by past coal mining. This adversely impacts
nearly 1/10th of China’s total agricultural acreage. Although mining reclamation began in
the early 1960s in China, it has not been consistently implemented and about 40,000 new
hectares are presently being disturbed by coal mining activities each year. In India more
than 80,000 people have to be shifted to safer places as they are residing in areas which
are now considered unstable due to past unscientific mining and the coal mine fires
endangering such areas. Large tracts of mined out/subsided areas of the past also require
reclamation apart from dealing with fires in some of the old coalfields.

i. Goals and Objectives towards better Environmental Management - Mining becomes a

temporary land use through programs of environmental management and land
reclamation.

* Establish a nationwide program to protect society and the environment from the
adverse effects of coal mining operations.

* Assure that the coal supply essential for any nation’s energy requirements and to its
economic and social well-being is provided and strike a balance between protection of

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 2

the environment and agricultural productivity and the country’s need for coal as an
essential source of energy.

* Promote reclamation of mined areas left without adequate reclamation and which
continue, in their un-reclaimed condition, to substantially degrade the quality of the
environment, prevent damage of the beneficial use of land or water resources, or
endanger the health or safety of the public.

ii. Management of topsoil for geo-environmental reclamation - Topsoil is an essential

component for land reclamation in mining areas. It is seriously damaged if it is not mined
out separately without being contaminated, eroded and protected. Systematic handling
and storage practices can protect topsoil while in storage and after it has been
redistributed onto the re-graded area. Removed topsoil should be reclaimed technically
and its shelf-life period should be ascertained. Soil dumps of different age classes in the
area are to be identified and analyzed critically to evaluate the deterioration of soil quality
with respect to time, and compared with those of unmined areas. Biological reclamation
is essential if the soil is to be stored beyond the shelf-life period.

C. Current Issues -

i. The future of coal extraction - It is widely recognized that coal is and will continue to
be a crucial element in a modern, balanced energy portfolio, providing a bridge to the
future as an important low cost and secure energy solution to sustainability challenges.
Energy demand everywhere is expected to grow substantially. In emerging economy,
most of developed and developing nations, almost every energy source is expected to
grow, with coal, petroleum and natural gas dominating the energy mix. In these nations,
electricity generation relies heavily on fossil fuels; coal is the dominant component which
is expected to increase. As per estimation, overall, world use of coal is projected to grow
by 44 % by 2025.

In addition, coal and crude oil can both be used as feed stock for conversion into liquid
fuels and the choice depends on the price of feed stock. Energy economists maintain that
coal liquefaction is viable for crude oil prices greater than $40 per barrel. Experts predict
that Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) will be the largest contributor of “un-conventional” fuels.

ii. Corporate policies - The global coal and energy production industries have recently
begun a major effort to identify and accelerate the deployment and further development
of innovative, advanced, efficient, cleaner coal technologies. A number of coal producers
in developed nations are also involved in sustainable development activities, including
economic sup-port of communities and regions and environ-mental protection and
restoration. These companies have corporate sustainable development policies in place
that provide guidance for operations and some report annually on their contributions to
sustainability.

Challenges facing Mining industry for sustainable development are:

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 3

* Ensuring the long-term viability of the minerals industry,

* Control, use, and management of land,

* Using minerals to assist with economic development,

* Making a positive impact on local communities,

* Managing the environmental impact of mines,

* Integrating the approach to using minerals so as to reduce waste and inefficiency,

* Giving stakeholders access to information to build trust and cooperation,

* Managing the relationship between large companies and small-scale mining,

* Sector governance: Clearly defining the roles, responsibilities, and instruments for
change expected of all stakeholders.

iii. Traditional mine design considerations - Most mine designs are based on traditional
mining engineering factors, such as the quality of the commodity being mined, the
geology, topography, hydrology, land ownership, geography, infrastructure, etc.
Currently, environmental compliance and sustainability are considered in mine design
and operation as a modifying factor to those designs.

iv. Optimization - A cursory review of the available literature on engineering

optimization does not reveal any focus on mine design, environmental protection
associated with mines or sustainability. Mathematical multi-criteria optimization
approaches, however, have previously been used in resource management. Unfortunately,
there is a paucity of literature about the practice.

As with any optimization problem, mine design optimization would need to consider all
constraints, system parameters and characteristics and desired outcomes in order to build
a useful and reliable model. Since optimization of mine design, and in particular coal
mine design, to address sustainability along with other parameters has not been widely
practiced, identifying the appropriate parameters for measurement and the mathematical
or logical relation-ships between these parameters is not a trivial task.

D. Suggested approach - In order to optimize the design of coal mining and reclamation
operations, traditional mining engineering considerations and environmental and
sustainability goals must be accounted for simultaneously. It is essential to identify all of
the parameters, relationships, constraints and desired outcomes related to the widely
varying factors that contribute to mine design, as well as the additional factors that should
be considered as a part of a new, sustainable design approach.

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 4

i. Parameters - For successful optimization of mine design, required parameters must be
identified and measured as part of mine design and planning. To build an accurate model
of those operations, data must be collected on ongoing operations. This data accounts for
the modification of long-term designs as a part of permitting and the acquisition of
information during mine operation. The design and operation of current coal mining
properties should be evaluated by looking both at permitting documents and additional
data which obtained from mining companies and other public and private sources. This
data reflects the mining engineering, geologic, economic and other considerations
currently integrated into the design and planning process.

It can then be determined how legal, policy, environmental protection and sustainability
should be incorporated in mine design. Whenever possible, the effect of environmental
and post-mining land use considerations on mine design and operation needs to be
quantified in economic terms, so as to be on par with other engineering considerations.

ii. Relationships- Once sufficient data is collected, it will be necessary to determine if

and how these parameters influence one another and the desired outcomes for the specific
mining operation. These relationships may be apparent based on scientific, engineering or
other considerations, or may require detailed statistical analysis in order to determine
them. It may not be possible to state the precise interrelationships between numerous
parameters, particularly given the lack of complete independence of many of them. It
may be possible, however, to derive qualitative rather than quantitative models for those
relationships.

iii. Desired Outcomes- In most cases, the ultimate desired outcomes are the profitability
and long-term stability of the site. These are driven by corporate realities as well as the
concern for long term liability. Coal mining is, after all, a business focused on
profitability and long-term economic benefit for the shareholders or other owners.
Additional out-comes for community economic benefits, enhanced environmental
quality, and corporate image are also significant for many mining companies and in many
locations.

The optimization approach must address the relative importance of these outcomes in
order to weight them in the development of optimized models. For example, in an area
with low avail-ability of safe drinking water, protection of hydrologic resources may
prove to be of primary significance, and thus of higher weight in the models, since it will
greatly impact the feasibility and long-term profitability of the operation as well as the
post-mining health of the community.

The factors related to sustainability in the minerals industry, identified above, can serve
as the basis for desired sustainability outcomes. The first factor, industry viability, is ad-
dressed primarily through consideration of the economic profitability of an operation.
Giving stakeholders access to information; defining the roles, responsibilities and
instruments for change; managing the relationship between companies of different scales;
benefiting local communities; and, promoting efficient use of minerals, are social factors

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 5

which may be more difficult to measure and may not directly impact the design and
operation of a specific mining property.

However, managing the environmental impact of mines and the control, use and
management of lands are both more easily quantified and related to accepted practices
and legal frameworks. Future work should focus on the parameters related to these goals.
Many of these parameters may already be routinely measured as a part of environmental
or other compliance mechanisms.

E. Nation’s Mission To Protect Environment by Enacting Laws– It is of national

interest, Governments of every country should be dedicated to protecting the environment
of the nation. In other words, to protecting the health and safety of the miner and to
protecting the life, health, and property of citizens who are affected by mining or mining
activities through the enforcement of suitable state mining and reclamation laws. The
laws should ensure that the environment is protected during coal mine operations, and
that lands mined for coal are adequately reclaimed after mining is completed. It allows
alternative or experimental reclamation practices to encourage technological advances in
mine reclamation and innovative post-mining land uses.

i. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) - Some form of Environmental Impact

Assessment (EIA), and accompanying procedures for information disclosure, public
participation and judicial or administrative review, have become widely adopted as part
of the project and/or policy review process in most countries.

The US government introduced EIAs as an “action-forcing mechanism” to identify,

assess, and mitigate environmental and human impacts of government actions in the
United States. Since then, EIAs have spread to well over 100 countries, and have been
enshrine in Principle 17 of the Rio Declaration, gaining worldwide legitimacy as a critical
element of environmental management. EIAs have grown in both strength and scope and

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 6

are now one of the premiere tools in environmental management in most countries. EIAs
should address some of the basic factors listed below:
* Meteorology and air quality. Ambient levels of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide
(SO2), oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide (CO), suspended particulate matters, should
be determined. Additional contribution of pollutants at the locations are required to be
predicted after taking into account the emission rates of the pollutants from the stacks of
the proposed plant, under different meteorological conditions prevailing in the area.
* Hydrology and water quality
* Site and its surroundings
* Occupational safety and health
* Details of the treatment and disposal of effluents (liquid, air and solid) and the methods
of alternative uses.
* Transportation of raw material and details of material and details of material handling.
* Impact on sensitive targets.
* Control equipment and measures proposed to be adopted including post-mining
reclamation.

Preparation of environmental management plan is required for formulation,

implementation and monitoring and of environmental protection measures during and
after commissioning of projects. Planning for closure and reclamation should begin
during the earliest stages of project development, before operations start at a new site,
and continues throughout the mine life. Goal is to minimize the disturbance of land in all
phases of the mine life and to provide a post-closure land use which is compatible with
traditional uses or provides sustainable advantages to the local communities.

ii. Coal Mining Permit Process - Before commencement of coal mining operations, a
mining and reclamation permit must be obtained from the Govt. departments. A coal
permit should be issued when the mine operator submits an acceptable application and
posts adequate bond to cover reclamation costs, should it be necessary for a third party to
complete the reclamation process. The operator's permit application must include the
requirements for legal and financial compliance, the safeguard of environmental
resources, and an operation and reclamation plan. Before opening the site, the employees
of the coal mining operation must be trained and certified in accordance with state and
federal safety regulations. Mining practices, reclamation, and health and safety
procedures are monitored on a regular basis by the Departments' field inspectors.

iii. Following goals, in general, should be accomplished Through Permit Process -

* Reviewing permit, revision, field amendments applications for completeness and
technical adequacy.
* Ensuring that adequate bond to complete reclamation is posted by the permittee.
* Conducting complete and partial inspections on coal permits as required by state and
federal rules and regulations and the specific requirements of the approved permit such
that non-compliance items are identified and appropriate abatement measures
implemented.
* Conducting annual and mid-term permit reviews in compliance with statutes and
regulations.

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 7

* Conducting bond release inspections in compliance with statutes and regulations.
* Conducting citizen complaint inspections in compliance with statutes and regulations.
* Gathering evidence and testifying at hearings as required by statutes and regulations.
* Conducting Student Outreach Programs at local area schools to provide students and
teachers with a better understanding of the mining process.
* Receiving on-going training and information concerning current technical advances and
trends in mining, safety, and reclamation.

F. Summary and Conclusion - It is widely recognized that coal is and will continue to
be a crucial element in a modern, balanced energy portfolio, providing a bridge to the
future as an important low cost and secure energy solution to sustainability challenges. In
response, the global coal and energy production industries have begun a major effort
to identify and accelerate the deployment and further development of innovative,
advanced, efficient, cleaner coal technologies. A number of coal producers are also
involved in sustainable development activities, including economic support of
communities and regions, environmental restoration and social well-being.

The designer of coal mining operations needs to simultaneously consider legal,

environmental and sustainability goals along with traditional mining engineering
parameters as an integral part of the design process. The role of coal in the global energy
supply mix makes this of primary importance. There is a need for research into the
parameters for mining design that allow the building of models for optimization, the
relationships between those parameters, and the desired outcomes that the system is being
optimized to produce. In addition to quantifying the economic viability of the operation, a
number of sustainability goals should be built into the model and the relative importance
of those goals determined.

References:

1. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2007. Annual Energy Outlook 2007 with Projections to
2030. Washington: US Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/ in-dex.html accessed March 30, 2007.

2. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), 2007. G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

www.globalreporting.org accessed March 30, 2007.

3. Gibson, R.B., S. Hassan, S. Holtz, J. Tansey and G. Whitelaw, 2005. Sustainability Assessment.
London: Earthscan Publications.

4. International Energy Agency (IEA), 2004. World Energy Outlook 2004, Paris: Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development/International Energy Agency.

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 8

5. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and World Business Council for
Sustainable Development (WBCSD), 2002. Breaking new ground: The report of the Mining,
Minerals, and Sustainable Development Project. London: Earthscan Publica-tions.

6. Stadler, W. (ed.), 1988. Multicriteria optimization in engineering and in the sciences. New York:
Plenum Press.

7. Waddell, S. and B. Pruitt, 2005. The Role of Coal in Cli-mate Change: A Dialogic Change Process
Analysis. Presented at the Generative Dialogue Project Launch Meeting, New York, NY, October 6-8,
2005.

8. World Coal Institute (WCI), 2007. Environment and Society.

http://www.worldcoal.org/environment_&_so-ciety.asp

9. http://sharynmunro.com/?p=134

10. http://www.sustainableenergyresources.co.uk/fossil_fuels/fossil_fuels.asp

***

Author: Partha Das Sharma (E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com) 9