As I have discussed in the previous blogs, there are urban issues that reside in Concepción, Chile: Air pollution, water pollution, and deforestation. Another urban issue that affects Concepción, as well as the entire country of Chile, is mining.
The most important mineral that is mined in Chile is copper. Their operations in mining were originally classified as small-scale and artisanal. Small-scale mining in Chile is dedicated mainly to gold, silver, and copper; moreover, most producers of small-scale mining are concentrated within the northern zone. Recently, the National Service of Geology and Mining began using the number of workers coming in per year as a basis for classification. Mines that have fewer than 80 workers coming in every year are now considered small-scale miners. These operations are usually located in the outmost rural areas of Chile which are highly unsafe, and they feature basic production and processing techniques as well as providing minimum incomes to employees.
The impact of mining in Chile has threatened the natural resources. There is pollution by liquid waste that flows into rivers, which made access to soils. It contaminates underground water, disposes residue, and threatens tailings dams. Abandoned tailings dams is a serious environmental problem in the Chilean small-scale mining division, because they are a threat to contamination, particularly when located so close to urban zones. The construction and operation of active dams is another contamination and safety risk to surrounding communities. In addition, Miners usually handle mercury minerals carelessly and often inhale toxic mercury vapors. Mercury toxics remain one of the most all-encompassing environmental impacts in Chilean small-scale mining division.
As for the urban solutions, efforts have been made to train miners on how to properly handle mercury minerals. Moreover, special equipment has been introduced in an attempt to improve mercury recovery during distillation. A group such as CONAMA, which stands for Comisio´n Nacional del Medio Ambiente, has collaborated with the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Mining, and the community to promote sustainable development in the Chilean mining division. Decontamination plans (which are challenging tasks due to the nature of its operations) have been executed to help lessen environmental impacts in Chile’s large-scale mining division, such as an agreement between the company and the authorities to solve environmental problems in a given period of time. The World Bank Group through the International Finance Corporation is exploring the possibility of establishing an international consultative group on artisanal and small-scale mining as a forum for assessing and addressing some of the sector’s problems. Its tasks include developing policy guidelines, providing advice to local miners, and disseminating knowledge concerning best practices.
The state launched a program that controls and reduces the environmental impact of small and medium-scale mining, and improves safety and hygiene in the industry. It provides training on basic environment protection issues, as well as helps to spread knowledge of positive experiences of cleaner production in the sector. It has worked to incorporate the small-scale mining sector into the national system of environmental impact. Universities have been used as research centers and consulted for feedback in the area of environmental training for small-scale mining. It also encourages the use of effective environmental management tools, and circulates more environmentally friendly techniques.