I. Introduction
Canada's rich natural resources are of great significance to its economic development. Canada is particularly rich in mineral resources, including almost all the mineral resources necessary for the development of modern economy, and is the main producer of nickel, zinc and asbestos in the world. Although the world economy has declined in recent years, Canada continues to maintain a leading position in the world in the production and export of mineral products. According to the statistics in 2000, the output of potassium and uranium in Canada ranks first in the world; The output of nickel and asbestos ranks second in the world; The output of titanium, zinc, cadmium, gypsum and platinum ranks third in the world. In 200 1 year, the output value of metals and mineral products reached193.4 million. In recent years, canadian shield, once considered a wasteland, has now become a cornucopia, where many major minerals have been found. Such as Voisey Bay mining area, Cheviot coal mine, Lac des lLes platinum mine, copper-gold mine found in sudbury basin, diamond mine found in Ekati, Diavik and Lake Snape, etc.
Canada is rich in mineral resources, and mining development plays an important role in social and economic development. Statistics show that the total output value of metal minerals in 200 1 year was 35.008 billion yuan, accounting for 3.73% of Canada's gross national product, and the total export value reached 47.4 billion yuan, accounting for 65.438+02.8% of Canada's total export value that year. In that year, the total number of mining institutions was 908, with 375,533 direct employees.
In the past decades, Canada's mining industry has been showing a good development momentum. With the large-scale exploration and development, serious environmental problems began to surface. In the prospecting stage, cutting down trees, building large buildings and building roads are one of the most common large-scale development activities. The use of fuel often leads to the impact on the local environment. Human activities, such as using trucks and planes, cause serious noise, but also lead to negative effects on the ecological environment. Using a large amount of lubricating oil in exploration activities will also cause different degrees of damage to the environment. If the above activities take place around rivers and lakes, mud deposited by drilling will endanger the water environment.
Mineral exploitation is generally divided into open-pit mining and underground mining. The environmental damage caused by open-pit mining is that the ecological environment around the mining area is completely destroyed during the mining process; Secondly, the problem of acid drainage has a great influence on the groundwater level and hydrogeology in this area. In Canada, underground mining is the main mining method. In fact, the impact of underground mining on the environment is far less than that of open-pit mining, but it will still affect the local groundwater level and hydrogeology. At the same time, grinding needs a lot of energy, mining leads to a lot of land waste, and tailings accumulation, smelting, ore roasting and acid discharge will all lead to serious environmental problems.
Sudbury is a typical mining city. Mining and smelting activities in the past 100 years have caused serious pollution in this area. In the 1970s, the land around sudbury 19500 hectares completely lost vegetation, and 64300 hectares were scattered with sparse birch and hay. Sudbury has almost become a barren "moon". Looking at the city from a distance, its black spots are faintly visible.
In order to ensure the sustainable development of mining cities, the Canadian government has formulated a series of policies. No matter any department or field, all problems related to mine environment must be considered first.
Two, the state, local governments and some organizations are committed to mine environmental protection.
At present, the central government and local governments at all levels have formulated a series of laws and regulations. After more than 30 years of joint efforts, many related policies have been introduced one after another. For example, the laws and regulations formulated by the central government are:
1977 promulgated and implemented the discharge standard of metal ore liquid. The standard strictly stipulates the emission standards of a series of toxic substances in newly opened and expanded mining areas.
Guide to existing mine liquid discharge control.
The fishery law, which aims to protect fish and their living waters, also has two chapters related to mining.
Mining law. This is a very important bill promulgated by the Northern Ministry of Mining Development. The seventh part of the bill specifies the specific requirements for mining environmental protection in detail.
All mining-related organizations, such as the Canadian Mining Association, the Canadian Security Association and the Canadian Environment Cabinet, have formulated environmental protection laws and regulations to ensure the smooth progress of the work. Among them, the Canadian Mining Association is one of the most representative organizations. The member companies of the Canadian Mining Association are committed to sustainable development, which is embodied in promoting human health, improving the natural environment and economic prosperity. In all authorities, except in strict accordance with legal requirements, all members will actively use technical and economic means to achieve environmental protection in all processes of exploration, mining, processing and manufacturing and pit closure.
In order to ensure that mining companies strictly implement environmental standards, the Canadian government first adopted the environmental management system under the guidelines of ISO 1400 1, requiring mining companies to solve their environmental problems first. These include management guidelines, environmental policy review and personnel training. Recovery and reconstruction are carried out at the same time to ensure that the cost of the final cleaning process is reduced.
In addition to the above practices, many provinces have also formulated their own pollution guidelines. Of course, these standards must be based on the framework of relevant policies formulated by the central government, or more stringent and specific than the laws and regulations of the central government.
With the strong advantages of land and water transportation, Ontario has become an important mining province in Canada. Many industries in Canada are concentrated in the Great Lakes. Cole City is located in Niagara Falls. Nickel refining started from 19 18. Long-term refining has released a large number of pollutants, and serious pollution problems have become increasingly apparent, resulting in serious damage to local soil. This has not only aroused the concern of the local government, but also aroused the anxiety of local residents. In this case, the local government has formulated and promulgated a series of relevant laws and regulations, which specify various environmental protection standards in detail. For example, the Canadian Environmental Quality Guide issued by the Canadian Environment Committee in 1999 clearly stipulates the air quality, drinking water standards and water quality standards of entertainment areas; The draft water quality guidelines aim at protecting aquatic organisms and agricultural aquatic products; The guide to sediment quality also raises the issue of protecting aquatic organisms. In addition, there are soil quality standards aimed at protecting the environment and human health, and Canadian pulp discharge regulations for protecting wildlife in aquatic areas.
1In July 1994, the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection promulgated water management policies, guidelines and water-saving quality objectives, which specified the quality of surface water and groundwater in detail. In addition, Ontario drinking water standards and standards for the supply of wells and groundwater have been implemented.
Mining law is a key bill closely related to mining environmental protection. This was formulated by the Northern Mining Development Department of Ontario and has been revised more than 20 times. The purpose of the bill is to encourage prospecting and exploration, so as to promote the development and recovery of mineral resources and minimize the impact of these activities on public health and the environment. Chapter 7 of the Mining Law, published in 199 1, was revised on June 30, 2000, mainly involving mining and mine reclamation in Ontario. Chapter 7 clearly points out:
All owners of old mines and new mines must submit a reclamation plan, which must specify the financial guarantee and the methods, plans and expenses adopted during reclamation. According to the Environmental Law, all reclamation plans must be published by the Environmental Registration Office of the Ministry of Environment.
Review the recycling plan to ensure that the required content can be achieved.
If all the requirements can be met, the Mine Reclamation Association will issue and approve the reclamation plan within 45 days.
In order to achieve the goal of sustainable development, the central government of Canada promulgated the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act in June 2009 1995+1October19. At the same time, Ontario has also formulated a series of supplementary regulations according to its own special situation, supplementing the laws and regulations of the central government, making it more suitable for the local specific situation and covering more specific situations.
In addition to the above-mentioned laws and regulations, some non-governmental organizations have also formulated procedures such as "environmental impact assessment" to help customers and appraisers plan, implement and interpret environmental assessment results.
Third, the laws and regulations are formulated comprehensively, and there are rules to follow at each stage.
Environmental laws, regulations and guidelines cover almost all relevant fields and are very detailed and specific. For example:
Canadian environmental quality guide
Canadian Security Association document number 769
Environmental governance assessment
Water quality management
Ontario drinking water standard
Well and groundwater supply in Ontario
Sampling and analysis methods in polluted areas of Ontario
Environmental protection act
Ontario water resources act
Guide to environmental application in polluted areas
From groundwater to air quality, from site assessment to reclamation of open pit mines, almost all aspects are included.
There are corresponding laws, regulations and guidelines from the beginning of mining to the final reclamation. For example, before mining, mining companies must first conduct environmental assessment. The whole evaluation process involves many aspects, such as project demand, resource management, land claim, air quality, tailings, ore, water source management, environmental pollution, freshwater fish and its habitat, marine environment, marine mammals, land environment and wildlife, birds, land use and historical resources in indigenous communities, employment and industry, family and community life, public services and environmental management, sustainable development and so on.
After the environmental assessment, the mining company will extract a certain proportion of funds according to the assessment results for future land reclamation. This kind of financial guarantee can be cash, letter of credit issued by designated banks, faithful insurance issued by insurance companies according to insurance clauses, mine reclamation trust stipulated in income tax clauses, other forms of corporate securities and their guarantees, including asset mortgage and sinking fund, etc.
In the whole development process, environmental audit is very necessary. In this way, mining companies can find existing environmental problems in time and solve them quickly.
Environmental protection runs through the whole mining process. Usually, the mining company itself will carry out land reclamation during the mining process. When preparing for reclamation, they must make their mine conditions conform to the relevant standards stipulated in Chapter VII of the Mining Law. At the same time, reclamation should follow several priority principles:
(1) Protect public health and safety;
(2) reduce environmental damage;
(3) Reasonable and effective use of land under the conditions of recovery or acceptable change;
(4) consider the harmony and unity with the surrounding environment.
Fourth, laws and regulations are meticulous and flexible.
Canada has been committed to economic development and environmental protection. From 65438 to 0980, the World Commission on Environment and Development turned its attention to the policies and practical activities that the public cared about to promote sustainable development. Sustainable development aims to meet the needs of contemporary people without endangering the needs of future generations. The Canadian government has set the goal of sustainable development and made active efforts to this end.
Environmental assessment is a useful tool to help decision makers achieve sustainable development goals. It provides a series of methods for determining the environmental impact of the proposed project. By analyzing the environmental impact that has not yet occurred, decision makers can modify the plan in time in order to minimize or eliminate this impact. 1974 the Canadian government began to use environmental impact assessment as a planning tool to predict the possible environmental impact and facilitate the formulation of government policies.
From 65438 to 0987, the central government conducted extensive consultation on the central environmental assessment procedure. Participants called for the establishment of an interpretable, administrative and simple evaluation procedure, which should be based on law and have the characteristics of implementation, efficiency, fairness and openness. At the same time, the World Council for Environmental Development is also promoting and paying attention to the public's requirements for Canadian environmental assessment methods. The Committee points out that environmental assessment will be more effective if it is legislated.
In addition, people are increasingly aware that the environmental assessment of the central government and provincial governments should be more consistent and harmonious. Without close cooperation, project evaluation will lead to unnecessary duplication, confusion and more input from all parties.
From 65438 to 0990, the Ministry of Environment of the government promulgated a package of reform measures, including new environmental assessment laws, new policies and environmental assessment methods for project plans, to support public participation in environmental assessment procedures. 1June, 1992, after national consultation and parliamentary hearing, Bill C- 13, namely the Canadian Environmental Assessment Bill, was approved by the government and promulgated in June, 1995 and June, 1995. The Act stipulates the responsibilities and procedures for environmental assessment of projects. The bill provides a clear and coordinated procedure and defines the degree of impact for environmental assessment, so that relevant institutions can estimate the possible environmental impact in advance at the planning stage. The main objectives of the bill are:
Ensure that the environmental impact of the project can be carefully considered before the EIA.
(1) Encourage environmental assessment to play a role in promoting sustainable development, so as to obtain a healthy economy and environment.
(2) Ensure that the implemented project will not cause obvious environmental impact.
(3) Ensure public participation in the environmental assessment process.
In addition, Canada has formulated detailed environmental assessment guidelines, such as early application, self-assessment, high efficiency and economy, and open participation.
In addition to detailed provisions, some laws and regulations have certain flexibility in the implementation process. The EIA law mentioned above has been formulated for a long time and is very detailed, but there are still many specific situations that cannot be covered by laws and regulations. For example, in three abandoned mines in Timmins, in order to prevent tailings from leaking, this Act was not followed in the implementation. According to the suggestion of the Northern Ministry of Mines and Development, if this law is observed, it will cause different impacts and injuries to people and property. Mainly manifested in:
(1) Lagging land consolidation in EIA compilation will lead to water leakage and tailings overflow, endangering dams and spillways.
(2) Uncontrolled water leakage and tailings overflow can also pollute the surrounding waters and their ecological environment, threaten people's health and property, and endanger aquatic habitats.
Therefore, special treatment can be carried out under the following circumstances:
(1) In ERG tailings mining area, the surface water from the southern dump was discharged into the porcupine river for a long time through the spillway, and the northern dam and spillway were repaired, ensuring the integrity of the dam and reducing disasters.
(2) For Huolinjie Mine, a ditch is excavated to discharge the wastewater from the top of the waste dump for a long time, so as to enhance the stability of the mine slope.
(3) Build a permeable road in the McIntyre mining area to stop the slag from falling down; Waste residue dug up in two sewage pits.
At the same time, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment, Matgami River Protection Bureau and Timmons Company should consider these factors before the implementation of the project. Some professional engineers will carry out analysis and design work, and construction engineers will participate in monitoring and checking the progress of the project.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) The importance of public participation
Public participation plays a very important role in the formulation of environmental policies. Traditionally, the government and enterprises have been committed to formulating mining implementation standards and policies. This makes it easy for people to accept and understand some mining work. Voiseybay is a very typical example. The nickel-copper mine is located 35 kilometers south of North Nebrado and 79 kilometers north of Aushmael. The mine will mine 32 million tons of ore from the open-pit mine for the first time, and at the same time further ascertain the exact underground ore reserves. It is estimated that the recoverable amount can be further increased by1180,000.
The mine will build a concentrator in 1 mining area for mineral processing, and the main waste rocks and other waste rocks mined in open-pit mines and underground mines will be placed in two tailings storage places. These two storage points are transformed from existing lakes. This can prevent tailings and waste rocks from contacting air and water at the same time and avoid the release of acid.
The mine will transport refined ore from Edward Bay to various places by water. Due to shipping reasons, some environmental impact factors have not yet been determined, and the potential impact has attracted public attention. Therefore,1June 1997, the company began to invite experts from all walks of life to conduct environmental assessment, including local representatives. The evaluation lasted more than two years and cost160,000 Canadian dollars. The central and provincial governments, local institutions and Inuit associations signed a memorandum of understanding with, proposing that the possible environmental impact of mining projects in this area will be considered. In the process of evaluation, the evaluation committee listens to the opinions of local people as much as possible, and local people also let the committee know more background information as much as possible. An example can illustrate this problem: the local people put forward a lot of statistical data and made them into videos. In the video, local people introduced their living conditions, their poor life, great cultural changes, their knowledge, resources and their dependence on the land, and expressed their fear of all possible changes. This video moved many members to tears. The Committee recognizes the importance of land to the local people. Finally, they decided that they must consider the local influence and consult with the local people in every process of the project.
Another example is the disaster assessment in Kerburn, Ontario. In this project, the largest British company in Canada is the undertaker. Other participants include an environmental protection company, the Niagara Ministry of Public Health and the owners of the area. In addition, the City Council also set up a public liaison committee to listen to public opinions, inform the public, inform the work of the British Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Environment, and conduct some specific environmental tests.
Obviously, public participation is a very important factor in mine environmental improvement projects.
The whole society is paying more and more attention to the mining environment.
1. Central and local government departments' concern for environmental issues
The earliest mining activities were usually open pit mining. Now, after years of land reclamation, traces of open-pit mining in those days are still faintly visible in the famous mining city of sudbury. Sudbury was founded at the end of 19, and developed rapidly with the development of mining resources. Like many mining cities in the north, the residents of this city have also been influenced by mining cities. After the discovery of copper mine and the largest nickel mine in the world at that time, the mining of some mining companies made this area a serious acid pollution area. Any plant near the acid gas pollution area will wither and die. By the 1970s, 654.38+0.95 million hectares around the city had no plants at all, and another 64.300 hectares were sparsely distributed with birch and bushes. This city has become an extremely polluted city.
Although local residents have never stopped fighting for land reclamation, the truly effective bill was first promulgated by the municipal government. 1967, the Ontario government passed the air pollution bill, which strictly controlled the two major companies in the city, Yingke and Yingqiao. Although the two companies have improved their processing procedures, problems still exist. By 1970, the emission of sulfur dioxide exceeded 23 1 times that stipulated by the government, and the urban air index was three times that stipulated by the provincial government. In the end, the government asked the mining companies to take responsibility. On the other hand, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources invited all experts in this field to solve the problem of environmental pollution. At the same time, the municipal government also warmly welcomes the innovative suggestions of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Finally, a sudbury Greening Organization composed of various experts and organizations was established. Since then, experts from all walks of life have participated in land reclamation projects. More than 65,438+065,438+0 million trees have started to rise, and the number is still increasing.
With the joint efforts of the local government, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the local people, sudbury has regained its vitality after 30 years. Today, sudbury has lush valleys, fertile pastures and fresh air. Fish swim in clear water and trees are built in clean water. The fact in sudbury shows that the government's attention plays a vital role in environmental protection.
2. Concerns of local residents
Residents in the mining city of sudbury are suffering from environmental damage, and they are determined to make great efforts to control the environment. An army composed of students, unemployed workers, local residents and people from all walks of life participated in the governance work. Everyone has a common goal, which is to save the damaged environment as soon as possible. Many volunteers took part in tree planting activities. Since 1970, more than 10,000 saplings have been planted on the barren slopes. Visitors here today can't imagine the story that happened decades ago. This vast land, once covered by more than 84,000 hectares of wilderness, is alive again today. After more than 30 years of governance, a brand-new green sudbury has appeared in front of people.
Colban in Niagara Falls faces the same problem. From 19 18, PCG began to establish a nickel refinery here. The long-term refining process in history has caused serious soil pollution in this area. Local residents set up a public liaison committee, representing everyone's interests, and asked ENTEC and the Ministry of Environment to organize an environmental assessment to specifically assess the pollution caused by ENTEC refinery. According to the requirements of local residents, the whole assessment includes:
Assess the impact of chemical pollution on human health and environment, establish a scientific model to calculate the soil control criteria in this area, and protect the healthy development of human beings and the environment.
Formulate specific measures to reduce environmental pollution. Because the whole society requires mining enterprises to consider the needs of the environment and society in the process of exploration and development and mine in a more responsible way. Now, environmental problems are getting more and more attention from people from all walks of life. Before mining, people should first conduct environmental assessment so that mine owners can change or maintain the standards they should follow.
3. Corporate concern
Environmental protection has increasingly become the real driving force for mining companies to develop new mines. Mining companies themselves have begun to pay more attention to environmental protection. For example, Pacific Century Company recently discovered a large nickel mine in Voisey Bay, and is ready to mine it. Before mining, ENTEC invited some experts to conduct environmental assessment to ensure that all possible environmental impacts and treatment work were considered in advance, so as to control all problems in future development.
In recent decades, more and more environmental protection companies have begun to appear. For example, JW Environment Company was established in Nova Scotia on 1972. At the beginning, its business scope included raw material testing, blasting monitoring, mining and building inspection. In the early 1980s, JW began to set foot in environmental business, first aquatic biology and biology, and then environmental engineering. Today, environmental engineering accounts for 75% of the company's total business, and its outstanding performance makes this young company the fifth environmental company in Canada with 36 branches, covering North America and the world.
These environmental protection companies not only carry out their own business, but also carry out cooperative training programs. JW Environment Company mentioned above has established a training college with York University to provide advanced training in health, safety, environment and disaster management. The training college has attracted a large number of experienced management professionals and formed a training team with rich experience and excellent professional skills. The training contents include environmental management system, environmental assessment, ISO 1400 1 900 1:2000, and pollution prevention. They provide training for people in many related industries all over the world every year, including China. At the same time, it has helped many other organizations to improve their ISO 1400 1 environmental management systems.
Seven. Advice to China
Looking at Canadian mining environmental protection, we can see some problems of mining development in China. It is suggested that China pay attention to the following aspects:
1. Policy construction
Land reclamation has a history of several decades in China, but it is still a new undertaking. After long-term disorderly exploitation, China is facing serious environmental problems. Land erosion and desertification seriously threaten the limited land. In recent years, with the decrease of agricultural land and the deterioration of climate, the government of China began to pay more attention to environmental protection, especially mine environmental protection and land reclamation. However, in many places and different links, the lack of a series of environmental protection policies is still a major problem, which seriously hinders environmental protection to some extent. When local governments began to emphasize environmental protection, they found that there were no ready-made laws, regulations and guidelines to follow. Therefore, at present, an urgent problem in this field is policy construction.
2. Public participation
Due to historical reasons, there is no public participation in practice in China. In Canada, due to historical lessons, they cherish public participation very much. Such as the environmental impact assessment of Jim Bay hydropower project. At first, they didn't predict the impact of this project on local residents. On the other hand, the participation of local residents has played a role in the production and transportation of hydrocarbons in Beaufort Sea and the environmental impact assessment of Norman oil well development project. All the successful experiences and failed lessons made them realize the importance of public participation. At present, public participation is an indispensable step in any stage of mining development projects.
In China, environmental protection is a brand-new undertaking, which must be understood and accepted by the public. Public participation is a good way to achieve good results. Without public participation, environmental protection cannot be effectively carried out.
3. Professional team training
As environmental protection is a brand-new concept for China, so far, there is no well-trained team in the implementation process. Environmental assessment is to consider the potential environmental impact in advance. Environmental assessment is currently implemented in more than 100 countries But in China, the environmental assessment of many mining projects is just a formality. The problem facing China at present is to establish a professional technical team as soon as possible. The contents of its training should include environmental inspection, environmental management system and many necessary technologies used today. These professionals not only need to know advanced environmental management technology, but also can lead local residents to know more about this knowledge. They are the key links in the process of environmental protection.
4. Strengthen the publicity of the concept of sustainable development.
The concept of sustainable development has been widely concerned in the field of mining environment. China government began to advocate sustainable development as early as 10 years ago. With limited land to support14 of the world population, the protection and reclamation of land has become very important. Because many local leaders, especially those in poor areas, pay more attention to economic development and neglect environmental protection. This short-sightedness has seriously affected the current and even future environmental protection. This is why today, after many years of advocating environmental protection by our government, we still can only see little effect. Therefore, it is still the main task for China to vigorously publicize the concept of sustainable development and advocate mine reclamation and environmental protection. China still has a long way to go.