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Mining Waste

Tailings by metals

Following are estimates of tailings generated for select metals.

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Tailings by metal. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

As demand for minerals increases and mining technology improves, lower grade ores become profitable, increasing the tailings per ton harvested. An example of this is in copper in Chile.

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Source: 2.

Coal Refuse

Mining one ton of coal creates about 0.4 tons of mining waste, known as coal refuse 7. When not reclaimed properly, coal refuse causes unsightly, barren landscapes, water pollution via acid mine drainage, fires, and other problems 8.

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 creates two revenue sources for dealing with coal refuse. The Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AML) Fund is used to reclaim mines that closed prior to the SMCRA in 1977, as well as mines operated by companies that went bankrupt. As of 2022, coal miners are assessed a fee of up to 22.4 cents per ton of coal produced 9. This translates to about 0.0012 cents/kWh to the cost of coal-fired electricity if the power plant has 30% efficiency. Miners are also required to reclaim land disturbed by mining operations and must post a bond to insure that they can pay for it 10.

Land reclamation bonds can take the form of surety bonds, collatoral bonds, or self-bonding. Due to the contraction of the coal industry and bankruptcy among miners, self-bonding may be too risky and may result in the public being responsible for reclamation 10.

Problem:
Unfunded Reclamation From Bankrupticies
Solution:
End Self-Bonding in Mining Reclamation

It is also possible to burn coal refuse in a coal-fired power plant, but doing so carries most of the environmental costs of other forms of coal power 11.

References

  1. Calvo, C., Mudd, G., Valero, A., Valero, A. "Decreasing Ore Grades in Global Metallic Mining: A Theoretical Issue or a Global Reality?". Resources 5(36). 2016. ↩

  2. International Energy Agency. "The Role of Critical World Energy Outlook Special Report Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions". May 2021. ↩ ↩2

  3. Nemaska Lithium. "Lithium Resources & Reserves". June 2019. ↩

  4. Rashotte, N. "What Makes a World-class Gold Deposit?". Investing News. January 2020. ↩

  5. Sharma, R. "Environmental Issues of Deep-Sea Mining". Procedia Earth and Planetary Science 11, pp. 204-211. 2015. ↩

  6. University of Arizona. "Understanding ore deposits". Accessed November 27, 2020. ↩

  7. Fecko, P., Tora, B., Tod, M. "3 - Coal waste: handling, pollution impacts and utilization". From The Coal Handbook: Towards Cleaner Production, Coal Utilisation, Volume 2 in Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy, pp. 63-84. 2013. ↩

  8. Daniels, W. L., Stewart, B., Zipper. C. E. "Reclamation of Coal Refuse Disposal Areas". Virginia Coperate Extension, Publication 460-131. 2010. ↩

  9. Federal Register. "Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fee". National Archives, pp. 2341-2347. January 2022. ↩

  10. Larson, L. N. "Reclamation of Coal Mining Operations: Select Issues and Legislation". Congressional Research Service. November 2020. ↩ ↩2

  11. Patel, S. "The Coal Refuse Dilemma: Burning Coal for Environmental Benefits". Power. July 2016. ↩