Mining 101
Introduction:
Interests in Alaska’s rich and diverse mineral resources drew European settlers to our state and shaped Alaska’s history in many ways. In recent years, mining in Alaska has shifted from predominantly placer gold mining to large, industrial hardrock mines. As technology advances and metals prices generally increase, mining exploration and mining in Alaska is booming. In 2006, a record $179 million was spent on exploration in Alaska, and $2.9 billion worth of minerals were mined.Large mines as well as smaller mines can bring positive and negative changes to cultural, economic, and subsistence aspects of villages and regions. If you have mining interests near your village or in your region, it is important that you understand your rights and the mining companies’ rights. The process for mining claim to become a mine is a complex one, and there are many variables in each step. The most important question to ask is, “Who owns the land?” if you want to research a development project in your area. You will want to know who has both the surface and subsurface rights to the land, as often it is not the same entity. Once you have this information you will be able to determine the rules that must be followed to develop a mining project. By understanding this process and taking advantage of the information and resources available on this website, you can strengthen your voice and be an active participant in the process.
Sources: Northern Alaska Environmental Center http://www.northern.org/artman/publish/mining.shtml and “Allure of metals in state sets records for mining industry 2006: Investment in development and on exploration at a high” By Mary Pemberton, The Associated Press (In the Anchorage Daily News) November 8, 2007 http://www.adn.com/money/industries/mining/story/9438448p-9350290c.html
Types of Mining
The three major categories of mining are “placer”, “hardrock”, and “coal mining”. Each of these categories has a number of sub-categories (such as open pit, hydraulic mining, etc.). Placer mining generally involves the mining for minerals in river sediments, as is further described here(http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/placer+mining).
Hardrock mining may occur by creating an “open pit” as in surface mining, or by tunneling into an ore body to extract the minerals underground. Hardrock and placer mining techniques are described in detail in the EPA Mining 101 Executive Summary (page 2) http://www.nunat.net/mining_exec.pdf and the EPA training document Mining 101: Introduction to Non-coal Mining Operations (Chapter 2, pages 17-22) http://www.nunat.net/intro_noncoal.pdf. Coal mining is generally carried out either as strip mining or underground mining as is described here (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/coal+mining).
Overview Presentations and Resources
Here are links to several presentations created to convey general information on many aspects of mining:
Mining 101 Training: Executive Summary http://www.nunat.net/mining_exec.pdfU.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste (AFE 2007 Presentation)
Mining 101 Training: Introduction to Non-Coal Mining Operations U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste (AFE 2007 presentation) http://www.nunat.net/intro_noncoal.pdf
EPA and Hardrock Mining: A Source Book for Industry in the Northwest and Alaska http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/59f3b8c4fc8c923988256b580060f5d9/e4ba15715 e97ef2188256d2c00783a8e?OpenDocument
The Process and Requirements for Large Mine Permit Applications in Alaska. State of Alaska Large Mine Team presentation. (See pages 5-8 for Mining 101 information.) http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/largemine/lmpt.pdf
A Review of Industrial Hardrock Mining in Alaska http://www.reformakmines.org/Alaska%20Hard%20Rock%20Mining%20- %20Rothe%20Jan06.pdf
Mining Contaminants
The specific contaminants released to the environment from mining activities vary greatly depending on the local geology, minerals being extracted, and mining techniques that are used. The EPA training document entitled, “Mining 101: Introduction to Non-Coal Mining Operations,” Chapter 2 (pages 15-28) http://www.nunat.net/intro_noncoal.pdf gives excellent information on various mining sectors (gold, uranium, etc.) and the various waste materials that are generally associated with each type of mining. Chapter 3 (pages 29-57) provides information on potential environmental impacts (surface water, air, etc.) from each mining sector. Information on common coal mining contaminants can be found on the World Coal Institute’s website (http://www.worldcoal.org/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=126 ).For information on specific contaminants, such as cyanide, sulfuric acid, mercury, etc., see these Nunat fact sheets:
About ATSDR : This stands for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry – everyone just says “ATSDR” http://www.nunat.net/atsdr.pdf IRIS : http://www.nunat.net/iris.pdf
Other websites and resources with information on mining contaminants include:
US Geological Survey Investigations of Watershed Contamination from Mining http://toxics.usgs.gov/bib/bib-Mining.html
EPA Mining Waste http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/mining/index.htm
EPA Region 10 Mining and Cleanup http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/9f3c21896330b4898825687b007a0f33/f472 4f10ccdc2f4d8825699a007861dd?OpenDocument
Lead Exposure from Occupational Sources in Alaskans, 1995 to 2006. State of Alaska Epidemiology Bulletin, January 23, 2008. http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/b2008_02.pdf
Alaska Collaborative on Health and Environment Statewide Teleconference Seminar: The Bottom Line: Hardrock Mining and Human Health, http://www.nunat.net/hardrock.pdf October 10, 2007 Available as a downloadable MP3 file at: http://www.akaction.org/che51.htm
Mixing Zones
Mixing Zones are an important factor in some types of mining. See the Nunat Fact Sheet on Mixing Zones to learn about what these are.Acid Mine Drainage
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), also known as acid rock drainage, refers to the outflow of acidic water generally produced by abandoned metal mines or coal mines. AMD creates a toxic byproduct from the sulfide mining process and has been deemed one of the most serious threats to water quality by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Permits
All mines require permits, but how many and which permits depends on a number of factors, including who owns the land, will wetlands be affected by the project, etc. The section “Permitting processes of the various land managers” (in the document Regulation of Mining in Alaska http://www.nunat.net/regulation_mining_AK.pdf ) contains information on the requirements for state, federal, borough, Native Corporation, and private lands. In addition, here are links to several websites that contain permit information:An Alaska Mine-Permitting Checklist This Alaska Business Monthly publication gives an overview of the permitting process for the various types of mining. http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-alaska/644542-1.html
Permitting Large Mine Projects in Alaska http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/largemine/lmpt_process.pdf
The Process and Requirements for Large Mine Permit Applications in Alaska A Power Point presentation put together by the Inter-agency Large Mine Team. Pages 8-10 discuss permits. http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/largemine/lmpt.pdf
Permitting Section of Pure Bristol Bay Website This website is geared towards the Pebble Project and contains resources for the permits required of this large development project, as well information on an abundance of related topics. http://www.purebristolbay.com/permitting/default.asp
Factsheet on Mining Permits Through the Annual Placer Mining Application http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/factsht/mine_fs/apmathru.pdf
NPDES Permits
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) deserve a special note, as this program controls the discharge of pollutants for point sources into waters in the United States, including the ocean. NPDES is the permit that people hear the most about. A point source is most commonly a pipe from a treatment process.NPDES permits make discharges “legal” and limit the amount of pollutants that are allowed to be discharged. Section 402 of the Clean Water Act outlines the NPDES program. In Alaska, EPA currently has “primacy” over NPDES, meaning that EPA issues NPDES permits and monitors continued compliance of these permits: (http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/webpage/Current+NPDES+Permits+in+Alaska ).
However, the State of Alaska is in the process of submitting an application to EPA to gain primacy, in which case the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation will serve this role as described in this Power Point presentation (http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/aoo.nsf/34090d07b77d50bd88256b79006529e8/20342812a 0bef67b882564b9006fcb12/$FILE/Alaska%20NPDES%20Primacy.pdf ) and DEC’s NPDES Primacy webpage (http://www.dec.state.ak.us/water/npdes/work_group.htm ). Alaska is one of only about five states in which EPA has primacy; in all other states, the state has NPDES primacy. The currently proposed primacy-change timeline would occur in phases and would give DEC full primacy in 2011.
Since NPDES permits are required to discharge waste/effluent into any water in the U.S., a mine discharging into a waterbody during exploration and/or production requires an NPDES permit.
NEPA
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is an environmental law that created a process so that federal actions consider the environment. Certain types of federal agency involvement in projects and programs trigger the NEPA process including funding, permitting, and/or approving projects or programs; projects that take place on federal lands, and other types of involvements. A project that take place on non-federal land would trigger the NEPA process if a federal permit is required for the project, such as a Clean Water Act 401 (NPDES) or 404 (wetlands) permit is required.This law includes a requirement that an environmental impact statement (EIS) be drafted for any project that involves the federal government and could have a significant impact on the environment. Also, an environmental assessment (EA), more brief than an EIS, must be drafted for any federally-funded project that will not have a significant impact. NEPA, as amended, can be read at this website (http://www.nepa.gov/nepa/regs/nepa/nepaeqia.htm ).
Additional information can be found on at EPA’s NEPA Webpage http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/nepa/index.html
EIS and EA documents are developed so they can be used in making decisions about projects. If certain impacts to the environment from a proposed project are anticipated, the project could be modified to lessen this impact. An EIS must include baseline studies in a number of disciplines including hydrology, biology, geology, sociology, etc. The Alaska Inter-Tribal Council and Dr. Aaron Wernham are fueling momentum to include a Health Impact Assessment in NEPA documents (http://www.aitc.org/node/28 ).
Council on Environmental Quality’s “Citizen’s Guide to the National Environmental Policy Act” guide provides an additional explanation of NEPA, how it is implemented, and how people outside the Federal government – individual citizens, private sector applicants, members of organized groups, or representatives of Tribal, State, or local government agencies – can better participate in the assessment of environmental impacts conducted by Federal agencies. This guide is informational and does not establish new requirements. The guide is available at: http://www.nepa.gov/nepa/nepanet.htm
Primary resources used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act ; websites listed above; Tami Fordham, Personal Communication, 1/7/08 (forward from Jennifer Curtis); Cindy Godsey, Personal Communication, 9/11/07.