On 9 April 2021, the online lecture series was kicked off under the title “Responsible Mining Approach” by Professor Drebenstedt from the German branch.
Carsten Drebenstedt is a professor of surface mining, the former vice-rector for research, the former dean of the Faculty of Geoscience, Geoengineering and Mining, a member of the senate and the director of the Institute for Mining and Special Civil Engineering at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. He teaches and organises programmes and conferences nationally and internationally. He has also published numerous books and papers and worked on over 100 scientific, educational and industrial projects.
He started his presentation by drawing our attention to the fact that due to the growth of the population worldwide, the desire for better technology and the increase in the standard of living, the need for more raw materials is expanding. Steady growth is the common tendency for global raw material consumption. Not only the amount of materials has increased, but there is also a greater diversity among the required minerals.
In his lecture, Professor Drebenstedt addressed the social challenge the mining industry is facing: a poor reputation. The field of mining is often perceived as environmentally harmful and greedy for profit. In his opinion, it is important to counteract and ensure that the mining industry has and receives public acceptance.
He pointed out that it is essential to continue developing and advancing mining techniques and procedures to reduce risks to health, safety and the environment.
As a result of the above-mentioned considerations, he went on to compare two different mining approaches. The first one is based on maximum profit, where mostly high-grade ores are mined. This strategy leads to a high volume of waste materials; in addition to overburden, low-grade ores are not processed, which also leads to a loss of valuable components.
The second approach is based on moderate profit with more environmental and social considerations. The extraction level of the main product is increased and the lower-grade ores are processed. The waste rock is repurposed, creating a second source of income. Reclamation plans are considered and planned in the budget during the entire life cycle of the mine.
Reclamation and the cultivation of mining areas come with considerable costs that many companies unfortunately try to avoid. He emphasised that this would play a vital part in regaining social acceptance of the mining industry.
He suggested that considering standards vary a lot depending on the production country and governments are taking too long to issue regulations, consensus within the mining industry should be found.
In the following Q&A session, questions were asked concerning the profitability and position of the mining industry in the media, among others.
