SME Annual Meeting

Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

1 Copyright 2011 by SME

Preprint 11-041



WASTE DESIGN IN MINING

M. Javier, Enviromine, Denver, CO


ABSTRACT
Mining, waste is growing problem both physical accumulation and
increasing toxic uncertainties it presents in the long run. Its value
zero is strictly calculated by economy. This mining model begs the
question: What is the value of waste & what does it represent to the
mining industry? Waste is widely accepted as a by product generated
as a consequences of the mining process. The abundant waste
accumulation affects society, as receptor, in many ways and the waste
piles of materials has no use and no destiny. In reality, this waste is
monument of imperfection of the extractive industries worldwide. Our
planet is finite and has strict limitations, which mining has traditionally
ignored. It is time to design a new system, in which clearly, waste
design must be integrated in whole mining process; it has no room to
postpone. This paper presents a concept in waste design by which
toxic mining waste not only can be rendered inert but also act as
nutrient to help balance the ecosystems. This concept calls for
extractive industries to pursue EQUILIBRIUM with nature (Geomimic).
Also, this concept offers countless gains and opportunities fro the
industry and by converting liabilities into assets; mining engineers
become the managers and stewards of nature. Also, waste design
offers new solutions for proper and sustainable waste management of
the mining industry.
Keywords: Equilibrium of Nature, Geomimic, Manager of Nature,
Sustainable Waste Management, Waste Design.
PREFACE
It is necessary to clarify two aspects of this proposal. First, the
title, Waste Design might be confusing to some people that it may
read that the real objective in mining is the waste rather than ore. We
design and establish processes that treat ore in order to achieve higher
concentrations. Mining is an activity of accumulation of metals of no
abundance from low concentration to higher concentration of it. Lately,
the market has high prices of metals that allow extraction even of lower
grade of metal deposits. Likewise, the ore always abandons the mining
area, but it is the waste staying in the mining area that expresses the
imperfection of the process to the concern of society. This
characteristic of the mining process makes waste the main issue for
mining engineering because it represents many future impacts, as well
as potential impacts in the short and long term. Moreover, wastes are
constantly accumulating around the mining areas without being
addressed as an important issue. Therefore, it demands immediate
restoration to satisfy nature and society. In reality, nothing in this planet
is waste; otherwise, waste would not exist. The message is clear to
interpret as nature does there is no waste. The presumption to classify
material as waste over diminishes the know how of nature.
Second, it is necessary to design waste because the ore (metal or
mineral) always leaves the mining area whereas waste stays and
loudly demands stability in nature. That depicts how imperfect the
mining process is and how it has become a major concern for the
environment and for society. Having ignored the loud demands of
waste for so long, it is remarkable that we design a process that takes
care; the ore under many circumstances of volume and grade, but the
main concern is the waste. We do not design anything that will give
remediation by design to the cause of well-founded liabilities in claims
all over the world against mining. We allow waste, the materials of
extraction, to accumulate and stay in piles, which are to this monument
dichotomy in the mining industry. As mining engineers, we have the
responsibility to confront challenges of these times. We raise the
proposal that appropriate design of mining waste will minimize its
impact on the ecosystem. These are reasons enough to present this
paper.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Background
Importance of Waste Design
Benefits and Challenges of designing Waste in Mining
Objective of design
Model of Waste Design
Discussions
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
Mining is an important and vital activity to society in order to
maintain civilization. The wastes it creates speak loud and clear to
what is and is not going on in mining. The situation of mining around
the world is critical and has to be dealt with through the strictest
regulation and standards; thousands of liabilities exist that were
generated by mining. In todays business, we still do not have a clean
technology that figures out how to turn those liabilities into assets. At
the end of the day, catastrophic mining impacts are associated with
this large volume of material waste in any given mining area. We are
disturbing our planet and we need different tools to restore its balance.
Those disturbances remit only negative impacts back to nature. Here is
a proposal that covers the relevance to these issues.
The problem with mining liabilities is the dangerous effects
produced throughout time, not only to humans but also to nature. It
denies many other good projects in the future due to its orientation in
different goals rather than natures values. Mining to this day functions
and continues to persist in the traditional mindset, which expresses
and imposes its behavior and adaptation in the wrong time. It looks like
we forgot to change our new calendar. The traditional business model
is not immersed in todays values, that is, it is confronted with
contradictions. This anthropogenic activity presents disequilibrium in
nature. Therefore, it requires a balance and different objectives than it
is used to.
The solution still remains in the proposal that we present in this
research paper. We must create clean technology thinking in long-term
effects, that is a key definer of mine operation. Thinking in the mindset
proposed resides in the effect to act according to the causes, which
gives the trust in equilibrium for the disturbance of nature. In reality,
wastes are an expression of inefficiency and imperfection in the
application of any human technology. In mining, waste is originated by
the cut-off grade, which discriminates ore or minerals (mineral with
economical values assigned) and waste (others minerals with
presumed non-economical value are rejected). The amount of waste is
an indicator or measurement of performance. Waste is an
announcement of the imperfect process in use. Therefore, mining
projects must start to design its waste as priority to minimize impacts in
nature.
Currently, we do not have a process that takes care of the waste.
With a proper design of waste also, we are able to fix the destiny of the
waste in accumulation and expose it to different conditions not
dissimilar from what it was prior to mining. Through this paper, we will
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

2 Copyright 2011 by SME
Figure 1. Mining Cycle.
the definition of waste is determined by its
economi

Figure 2. Generation of Waste.
n of acid rock from mining waste was
public
present the importance and know how to design waste in order to offer
a more efficient style of mining for the future generation of miners.
BACKGROUND
The mining industry employs an economic framework where
profitability is the objective rather than the consequence of the exercise
and the practice. It presents a conflict in objectives when we compare
it to natures values. Mining activity generates disequilibrium in nature,
present and past. The disequilibrium damages ecosystems as well as
human health because mining disturbs geological formations that took
millions of years to form and is then disturbed in an extremely short
time of human lifespan. Mining defines waste to mean any material
without economical value and is rejected. In the process of piling
waste, not only do we destroy pre-existing geological formations, but
we also create a new substance, which is exposed to unfamiliar
conditions. As soon as this disturbance happens the physical,
chemical, and biological properties are changed and show up later on
as contamination in water, air, and soil. As we explained, the
disequilibrium in nature is notoriously expressed in the accumulation of
by-products without a future use. This large accumulation and the
potential to generate negative effects is a huge concern to society as
the main receptor of these effects. In reviewing many ecological
disasters, which have occurred in mining, we find of the many of pre-
conditions of those disasters, none are necessarily attributable to the
technology but are attributable to the style of management. Knowing
the result of this type of management of waste (or lack thereof) invites
society to decide that many strict regulations should be applied to
mining, which impedes mining operations. Today, we are debating
mining and its vitality, which is also subject to a long discussion within
society because of the style of life that society is immersed in. Mainly,
the negative effects of those accumulations insert a big compromise to
society about unpredicted conditions in future time. Society is highly
concerned for its welfare, as a main receptor of this imbalance in
nature is by mining. In the analysis and evaluation of many ecological
disasters in mining, the reviews found that those accidents have a
common cause not only in the technology but also as being a product
of the management style in place (human error). With this mining
background, society must determine the stricter regulations than
before, as prevention of those proven disasters, including the disaster
of a five-month oil spill in the ocean, by British Petroleum in April 2010.
The oil spill was due to human error in its management type, as a
result of a flow of oil from nature lacking any human control. Also the
accident in Chile, San Jose Gold and Copper Mine (August 05,2010),
where the mining company declares that they do not have the budget
to rescue 33 miners from underground more than 350 meters. The
company was leaning on going bankrupt because the drilling rescue
was so expensive. After the media exposure the Chilean government
stepped in to bail out San Jose Gold & Copper Mine. These are proven
concerns to the society in order to stipulate more regulations and
stricter standards during mining operations. Many mining projects have
been scrutinized by the communities and were rejected such as
Tambo Grande Mining Project in Peru, though those communities had
no education of appropriate mining techniques or studies of
environmental impacts. The facts are impossible to refute at this time.
In consequence, mining is dealing with scenarios that make mining a
SOCIAL ISSUE. See the graph (Fig 1), it explains the mining cycle
attributing the remediation as the first stage in mining.

In the human view,
c value. Waste in mining starts from the concept of cutoff
grade and continues all the way until the presentation of metal. In this
definition, waste only knows addition of material without subtraction,
and it starts in the waste rock, the tailing, and unrecoverable economic
sulfide minerals (minerals of low-grade to cut-off) that have left the
mining area. It is important to note that the orebody is a polimetallic
and it contains sulfides, which potentially will generate (ARD) Acid
Rock Drainage. Polimetallic is becoming the main source of acidic
drainage when it is exposed to oxygen and water. Water becomes an
essential indicator of the disturbance because its characteristic is to
shape different ecosystems revealing hazards when it flows through.
Although we still do not know much about water as a source of energy
and other characteristics that are difficult to easily explain (lighting {two
clouds of H2O vapor}, penetration of light, penetration of bullet, nano
behaviors (Gerald Pollack, 2009), water plays a crucial role to research
as an indicator of restoration of nature. The constant disequilibrium in
nature relates to imbalance in water, mass, energy, and pollutants
(ARD) that are the expression of its position to the respect of natures
laws. The production and accumulation of liabilities are not new to
mining because mining extracts a low concentration of metals from a
large movement of earth, with a large accumulation of waste,
emissions of pollutants and disruption of nature with no restoration that
represents imperfection in the process. While the orebody may be full
of metals, only one metal will be extracted in the majority of cases
depending on the type of metal a particular company deals in. The
company then limits its self technologically while leaving a trail of
useable ore in the waste pile. The richest orebodies were exploited
and depleted along time ago. In (Fig.# 2) it shows the generation of
waste in mining without geographically limit around the world.
Metal
Mineral
For example: The generatio
ized initially by George Agricola in De Re Metallica in 1556, and
again in the Handbooks of Mining Engineer by Robert Peele in 1919. It
is not a new phenomenon. This is an old issue for mining; even in the
Inca mining, before mine exploitation, they first made an inclined labor
to find the water level in order to avoid polluting it (Chacana Law, Inca
equilibrium law) even though this labor was misunderstood by many
that it eventually went to the richest orebody. It was widely recognized
for many years without the attention of today by society. It is citable
that in the USA, acid rock drainage was well publicized in coal mining
of the Appalachian region in the 70s. The chemical process is well
NATURE
MI NE
OPERATI ON
CLOSURE
FIRST STAGE OF MINING: REMEDIATION
REFINERY
Mineral
CONCENTRATION
MINE
Tailing
Waste
Matte, Slag
Total = W+ T +S
Minimization for less socio-environmental impacts (Waste Design)
It happens only add and not subtraction
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Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

3 Copyright 2011 by SME
established in many publications (Environmental Protection Agency
USA, www.epa.gov.us ), but it is remarkable that the oxidation of
mineral is heavily dependent on the pH of the waste (rate of oxidation).
Initially, the process could start with the pH neutral, but over time the
pH slowly decreases, which means an increase in acidity as the pH
drops below 4.5 due to the influence of the bacteria activity
(Thiobacillus Ferroxidans bacteria) or the role of microorganisms which
is primarily associated with the oxidation of sulfide minerals. Moreover,
this degeneration of ARD is the result of the activity of oxygen and
water combined and also the mining process tends to break the rock
into smaller fragments where they present an increasingly open
surface of the sulfide mineral to affect its oxidation. The size of the
material is important because it directly influences the production of
ARD. In the tailing, the size of the material helps to increase
tremendously the rate of oxidation to develop acidic conditions in the
area. The task of keeping materials with the same characteristics
together could be easier, but in the mining process we do not conserve
the type of rock as found in the orebody because we mixed it in without
any constraint of future reactions. This reflects its consequences in the
size of sampling when we extract data of information from those piles.
Nevertheless handling the waste in the operation alters its
representative data. In summary, the management of waste disposal is
fundamentally based on the production of acid and acid consumption
reactions that occur with in the pile.
In normal mining operations, we aim to be closer to the smelter
and to the refinery. We choose to build closer to the mine in order to
redu
cause its place in business was based on short-term
crite
e different results for the future of the mining industry.
As w
The impact s effects in the
perception of the rformance
of th
start it is necessary to stipulate the waste
char
nd during
oper
ce the extreme costs of transporting materials farther than is
allowable, but this concept is twisted when the customer only wants
concentrate minerals (ore plus waste) from another corner of the
planet. In spite of that, this practice originates the imbalance of the
ecosystems at both ends, except that the market permits this practice.
Also, the market only executes one payment for a metal that could be
recycled many times (Unique payment for a finite resources). If we
contemplate a holistic view of the mining operation, we know this
practice is wrong for its adverse effects are in place. The waste as an
issue (Concept of property) will always belong to the operators;
otherwise the property of minerals is eternal without transferring or
stopping their liabilities of the production of metals. Therefore, it is an
illusion to think that as soon as mining closes we will be exempt of
liabilities. If we consider the seriousness of this condition we must
address the operation of business under the highest rules of ethics that
should be practiced in all models of business. It is easy to misinterpret
this situation, but confronting the same pattern in ecological mining
disasters could provide the better picture of the issue in reference. It is
not to be so critical of the business as to stop it, but it is necessary to
present the case accurately so it can be solved by this enduring
generation.
Again, the management of all the generation of waste was less
understood be
ria rather than on its long-term effects. Still our industry is framed
in a fragmental linear system and a rigid style of management that
does not have the foresight to see the other end as a cause-effect
condition (Producer-Market). In analyzing many mining projects in
South America, which is geomorphologically as diverse as a wrinkled
paper, how can we ask mining companies to promise not to dispose of
waste in the river or the valley? Many projects produce wastes that
need a place to be piled. Waste, in the traditional sense of mining is: a
mineral deposit without a viable waste disposal option is not a viable
mine. Then, it is crucial that when we promise not to dump waste
into the river, that the viable location for waste be in place at a new
mine. This is crucial not only to the company but also to the
environment and surrounding communities. It requires creative
engineering to solve the storage waste of mining without contaminating
the environment. Not to mention the principle of engineering is to adapt
technology to nature and never vice-versa. There are many cases that
nature is adapted to technology rather than the inverse. Contrary to
nature, it is typical to describe that if we are able to have a 500 ton
truck capacity we can install it in a mine that was designed for a 100
ton truck and this decision is supported for the volume of production
and the rule of thumb that more materials are cheaper to carry at once.
The actual system only permits us to see waste as consequences of
the business rather than seeing waste also as an objective of the
business to have results that minimize impacts in nature, as priority of
this activity.
Our thinking about waste and how to transform it is a guarantee
that we could se
aste decomposes uncertainties increase in time. Also, waste has
direct influence in the RECONCILIATION OF RESERVES, although
many specialists call this inefficiency risks of the business instead of
naming it for the real condition: incorrect method in the wrong time. To
continue covering and to accept these imperfections in the industry are
contradictory to societys demands. It becomes much easier if we
focus on nature to provide our hope of an answer to solve uncertainties
because we will able to understand natures language for restoration of
ecosystems. If we delay this consideration for the laws of nature we
will invite the establishment of higher regulations in the business,
which will only make it more difficult to deal with the situation later on.
Also, there will be a high response about safety and its
implementation; still mining is considered one of the most dangerous
jobs. By developing better techniques of the management of mining
waste, we can establish a system that not only handles proper waste
disposal, but also improves mine safety and accounts for HUMAN
PROFITABILITY as well. However, the actual mining business is
involved in many conditions related to the infinite profit in a limited
planet. Society pounds constantly in answer to the question: what is
the characteristic of profit? And which model of business is delivered to
the next generation? This mindset is similar to the perception that in
many cases the human views are more important than reality; as a
result, mining is socially involved in a purely bad perception.
IMPORTANCE OF WASTE DESIGN
s of those mining wastes have imperiou
business. We also should evaluate the pe
e business by the volume of waste that it generates rather than
standards according to economic indicators. Having less ecological
footprint guarantees less disturbance during the operation of mining
and will implicate higher productivity through consequence. To design
the waste requires a holistic view of the mining operation. When we
integrate all the consequences in each of the stages of mining, we will
be able to count and register the magnitude of waste generation.
Therefore, the waste design is a multiplier of efficiency and restorer of
nature.
The highest importance of the waste design is to mitigate those
effects in mining. To
acterization. It is a key to develop a design in compliance with the
values of nature. Uncontrollable waste generates higher dilution, a big
loss of reserves, piles of unwanted material, acid rock mine ADR
index, and other unwanted results. The waste characterization is
determined with all the physical, chemical, and biological properties
specially assessing the acid generation potential and leachability of the
waste to the combination of static and kinetic tests. This condition will
dictate the features of the design of the waste facility to ensure
environmental protection. The waste characterization results are
integrated in the type of mining that we establish in the project. Waste
is also integrated with the groundwater characterization for expressing
the mining performance under appropriate levels of environmental
protection. Likewise, the characterization of orebody is a main factor to
develop the model of waste. It also would forecast the stability of the
waste in time. The analysis of the waste composition is unique to each
mine and region and does not have a characteristic of a unique
planning of design (one formula fits all). Waste design will integrate
the environmental policies, standards, assessment, planning,
monitoring, auditing and processes to achieve our final goal of having
nature in balance. The design of waste will integrate environmental
policies, jobs standards, project assessment, mine planning,
monitoring of results, social and environmental auditors and any
auditors process that achieves the final objective of mining is to offer to
nature, balance, after mining to the next generation.
Another importance of waste design is to develop management
programs to control the generation of mining waste in a
ation, as well as to sustain productivity. To keep this in a more
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Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

4 Copyright 2011 by SME
on of restoration. As we review in the principles of
ARD
proper perspective, the mining engineer needs to learn and understand
the language of nature. Ecosystems require stabilization of physical,
chemical, and biological properties of their components. For example,
in order to achieve this balanced condition, we model closed loop
systems where we cancel seepage to protect the groundwater. We end
up having a framework of the greatest amount of extraction /
restoration possible at the same time, and by working under this
framework we manage the negative effects which are produced that
constitutes what is proper to nature. It is important to reach waste
management stability in proper time. The benefit is also extended to
preserving the double impacts in two open mines for the same
purpose.
Having a waste management program will provide evidence of the
ethical explanati
(www.epa.gov) the exposition of mineral to water and oxygen are
the basis of acidic potential generation. For example, air movement is
associated to oxygen transport through waste rock dump, which has a
potential to enhance the rate of oxidation of pyrite bearing material.
Airflow in the waste rock piles can generate ARD. A better
understanding of the internal airflow through waste rock pile will
minimize ARD and its consequences. Therefore it is necessary to
control the mechanics of airflow such as convection, diffusion, fugacity,
and barometric pumping; all of these factors are included in the
characterization of the waste. Another example is the necessity to
define the water balance in the site equally with the evolution and
sequence of the waste pile. As a result, less monitoring and mapping
are required in the future. In view of the evidencethe complexity of
the formation of ARDwe will be able to develop the clean technology
that society demands at this time. In addition, we could protect the
groundwater through prevention. To control specific conditions such as
airflow, water, mineral content, and design we will mitigate the effects
of decomposition from one material to another that is unknown. By
reducing the airspace utilization factor, we would produce far less
accumulation of waste in the mining area. In Fig. # 3 Sequence of
Waste Pile.

design reside in the integration
should be a
prod
equilibrium. But, we have to
reco
s
cond
ning waste in a complex nature. In the case of ARD
forec
s about less than 100 years for disturbing
millio
Figure 3. Sequence of Waste Pile.
The important elements of waste
of the generation of waste to the whole mining process. It
uct of integration under stable conditions of the physical, chemical,
and biological properties. Another vital source of mitigation is to
change the concept of waste as a constraint factor of the mining
operation and in mine closure. To achieve such an accomplishment
requires our commitment in innovation and creativity. We cannot forget
that creativity is inefficiency because it is not established to satisfy a
certain immediate interest of the company. It also does not have a
roadmap or recipe to produce useful ideas instantly or to resolve
issues immediately. It only comes from knowledge, expertise,
understanding, persistence and confidence in proposing different
mining techniques for different and new purposes. We can only mine
by wisdom. Creativity is an investment in failure that arrives with
practical solutions due to its freedom of action to solve mining issues in
todays debate, but the solution will only come from the understanding
of the language of nature (Geomimic).
So, can we avoid a heavy or strict regulation in mining? Yes, of
course, if our nature is in harmonious
gnize that there are many things in nature we still do not
understand. By designing the waste, we could present a specific
approach that we could see differently in the business and its
regulations. To have less regulation demands a greater
characterization and evaluation of the orebody. The main condition of
this case is in a preventative policy about the generation of waste site.
The characterization of the orebody is met with a specific performance
standard in the waste facility. We believe in auto-regulation rather than
simple compliance of the established means of regulation. In essence,
also here is an opportunity to implement Management by loss in the
project. The future will not permit our generation to continue to
accumulate mining liabilities as we do now and did in the past, without
the adequate attention to it. Finally, the importance of design is to
present to nature a stable waste or no waste at all because it will
nurture nature.
BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING WASTE IN MINING
The benefits of designing wastes will manifest themselves in the
tability of the waste under any external or internal unfavorable
itions in nature. So, our priority is to make waste a commodity of
value in mining, and to perceive waste as useful material in this new
millennium. Much of the mining waste has an industrial use as acidic
neutralization, (as captured and sequestration of anthropogenic carbon
dioxide), for use as building materials, and many other industrial
applications, and also in the extraction of other metals with social
interest. One of the main benefits of the waste design in mining is in
the ecological benefits to convert liabilities into active assets that
include conservation of resources and reduction of the impacts to
nature.
To attain those benefits, many simple steps are applied to the
process of desig
asting, for example, we must attend the water and airflow in the
waste site to plan the period of oxidation of pyrite bearing ore to
determine the index of ARD in the site. By controlling infiltration of
water, we will reduce erosion and will have better distribution of
surface water, which improves long-term stability. By controlling the air,
ARD can be limited and controlled in the design of the site. This
purpose in mind is to achieve the stability of the waste during and after
mining operation. This design is framed in the replication of nature in
the surrounding areas to achieve its own characteristics (Geomimic),
remembering that nature is not a juxtaposing of events, but that nature
is its own manifestation of an engineered design of interrelationship
developed and sealed its own technology for millions of years to
perfection. In the piling of waste, some physical considerations such as
re-gradient tasks could be less of an issue with a new condition of the
sequence of filling the pile. Better planning to develop waste sites for
landform evolution could be achieved through better administration of
the erosion rate.
We do not forget that mining operations are a finite economic
activity. Usually its life span i
SEQUENCE OF FI LLI N
ns of years of formation of those orebodies. This missing link of
time is lost in translation by its effects. Those long-term impacts are
still being dealt with through the mining activities of many human
generations without acceptable results. To achieve the reduction of
waste through an efficient energy use in the process is still the
challenge of this generation in which we would like to discharge less
waste and less possible toxics into the mining area. To this point, it has
only a few ways of using wastes in place; mining waste could be used
in recycling, or building tiles, or building roads or housing, or extracting
other metals from it, but we are still accumulating wastes throughout
time without design or having future uses. In reality, there is no
justifiable logic or reason for accepting waste as a consequence of the
process. When industries claim results of productivity, optimization
and efficiency in their performance, several factors were not
considered. In Fig # 4 shows when efficiency reaches a maximum
point it transpires to become inefficient with different processes under
a structure of time. In consequence technology reaches its level of
A
A
F
C
E
B
D
E
B
C
D
F
FILLING
MINING
G WASTE PI LES
MINE

PILES
LOW ALKALI NE
ALKALI NE
ACI D
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Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

5 Copyright 2011 by SME

Figure 4. Efficiency Cycle.
waste design are to have better protocols
for an accounting of metal and processing of the reconciliation of the
mine
reducing the amount of bonding posting. In accordance to the law for
mini
because a lack of attention for the waste generated by mining is no
long
important steps:
first,
We
cann
The main objecti blish a commitment
to natures equilibrium (G g industry. It would
repre
we
incompetence and/or obsolescence to reengineering. Therefore, the
main mission of the mining engineer is to take those technologies to its
level of incompetence in order to reengineer it.
Some of the benefits of
/plant, reserves (mass conservation), energy, water, and soils
usage in order to avoid the misclassification of ore/waste.
Misclassification will result in higher dilution and a higher loss of
reserve in tailing. Practically, we create the re-mining in the waste pile
as well as in the tailing. Through re-mining, we will achieve the
beneficiation of tailing and all of the minerals that are contained within
and the pile of waste. If we take into consideration all these factors of
waste design, we will no longer have a need for re-mining as an option
of recovering values from the mining area. The green image of the
industry could be more of a realization than a designation of pursuit.
Furthermore, the designation of being green needs to be supported
by a different process of new technology in place that includes the
recovery of a wide variety of minerals including rare earth elements
(REE). The inputs and outputs in mining are not well uniformed or
standardized because the quality of their information is not adequate or
reliable for balance (ins-outs). The actual mining process is done in a
linear transformation of inputs flowing to products rather than to nature
and its diversity of relationships in a closed loop to achieve balance.
Another benefit of proper waste design is found in drastically
ng operation of the state, companies are required to have a
performance bond posted (operation guarantee or Social license) in
order to assure proper closure of the waste sides. This reduction in the
amount of money posted by the company also lowers the cost of the
financial instruments that guarantee the monitoring and long-term care
of the site after closing. In many states, this period of monitoring varies
for more than 40 years in average. Proper waste design will help in the
establishment of a comprehensive permitting process in mining
licenses. As well, it is remarkable that poverty eradication issues can
be involved with the industry if it uses the best practice that mining can
offer and if it assumes direct participation with its mining community.
The essence of mining in today scenario is not only in the production of
metal, but also in the production of relations specifically social
relations.
Waste design will also contribute to the legal status of the industry
er supported. With waste design in place, the actual practices of
mining will be dynamically in balance with nature, which is a far better
condition than being under the limit of illegal and/or legal status, in
spite of which many executives might consider it as management
strategy. Now, those strategys enterprise could be abandoned
through the proposal of having a waste design as a better alternative of
mining in the future. In spite of the legality that creates a temporal
socio acceptance, it is necessary and important to insist on motivation
for the auto-regulation of the industry as a vision of the future of
mining. Knowing its meaning that this temporal acceptance is
sustained by the prejudice of society that those temporal acceptance,
in reality, impede the fairness of the business. It also immerses an
ethical condition and loyalty to nature rather than to a group of humans
with an interest in temporal and ephemeral tasks. It is notorious that
looking for the legality of the business only gives to society a new
makeup of the business itself, but it hides the extended truth about its
disequilibrium achieved in nature during and after mining operation. In
addition to the above contributions, the waste design also will be
helpful to accommodate an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
under the better technology applied. It carries a re-definition of EIA in
the same legal frame all over the world.
In the search for more benefits, some might ask: How can we
avoid more strict regulation in mining? There are two
designing our waste, and second, being an auto-regulated and
responsive industry. These two steps hold a complete prevention
policy during all stages of mining as well as through time. Also, it is
necessary to address an answer for the following question: Is your
orebody a generator of ARD? This answer is provided through a
warning of the production ARD in the long term and the seeping
condition of the orebody. Why must we answer this question? ARD is
the most serious problem that mining is facing in various degrees of
the potential acid production around the world. Mine water is
considered to be a waste from the mining works, as well. Wastewater
can also be treated to obtain different mineral extraction at the same
time. These are urgent risks to minimize in the frame of challenging the
industry to present projects that are efficient, effective, and efficacious.
In principle, when we minimize the long-term impacts implicitly we
maximize potential benefits of the mining projects.
The Challenge to develop practical indicators of dangerous
environmental and social effects to nature still would persist.
ot forget that mines exist within a company to satisfy various main
human objectives but do not attend to the objectives of nature. Todays
mining business is loaded with full, strict regulations because of its
past practices and behaviors. Our focus will be in developing indicators
with the characteristics of practical usage in the operation of mines. In
addition, the design of waste would attend to the human requirements
of the company and also to the legacy that still remains for the next
generation of the industry. The legacy of the industry is a mindset,
which needs to be changed in actual business practices. Keeping and
persisting in doing mining with the same model would be a big
disadvantage to this time because it has the same, well-known results
of the accumulation of liabilities expected to be mitigated by the next
generation of miners. Albert Einstein once said: The definition of
insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting
different results. The future legacy of mining must be different from the
present and the past in order to continue mining in the future. That is
our mission.
OBJECTIVES OF DESIGN
ve of waste design is to esta
EOMIMIC) by the minin
sent an effort to minimize impacts in nature and to make mining
more acceptable to society in a unique planet. Having restored the
equilibrium in nature will determine our performance for a better planet.
Waste design is committed to provide and to protect equilibrium in
nature. When this condition is met the mining stability is achieved. If
protect nature, it is a logical consequence that that protection
extends to humanity (Human Zero Theory). The design of the
operation will interact and integrate all objectives into one. The
principles of prevention, protection, and conservation will enable
effective communication with all hierarchy of any human organization
framed with ethics and transparency in the decision process. With
proper mine closure in mind, using this method of design will be a key
to success in offering an ecological ratio of effective waste/mineral
% EFF
TECHNOLOGY
PROCESS #2
PROCESS #1
PROCESS #3
TIME
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6 Copyright 2011 by SME
n. It has its roots in the protection of ecosystems,
hum
First of all, to design we must
understand that nature is a dynamic and evol ot to
men
model to represent
reali

Figure 5. Model of Nature.
ry complex and requires a magnificent
Currently, we are facing the challenge
of re
sferring and changing of matter and energy.
Ther

equi
osystem. The design of waste will change the
was
management.
This emergent management principle of mining would be based
on waste desig
anitys health, and the conservation of resources to the next
generation, and afterwards, to establish carefree mining closure. With
this mentality, mining can reach the end of production with materials
that are totally harmless to nature, and also to use the materials for
human purposes. We will also nurture nature in order to close the cycle
of effects. Eventually, the goal of waste design is to create a waste
design model that mimics nature, this also adds the benefit of
protecting humans and enforcing a good healthy environment, while
maintaining the material utilization and process to restore equilibrium
to nature.
MODEL OF WASTE DESIGN
develop the model of waste
ving system. N
tion that earth is a violent planet: earthquakes, hurricanes,
typhoons, monsoons, tsunamis, volcanoes, etc. all which will help to
establish the identity of this model as inspired by nature just as ancient
civilizations in America (Inca, etc.) believed that the Earth is a living
planet (Pachamama), and demands our respect.
The model of waste design is only a tool to be used in assisting
the business decision. It is impossible for the
ty; otherwise, the model would be reality itself. We cannot
ambitiously and arrogantly design nature because nature has
established its own design over the course of millions of years. In Fig.
# 5 Shown model of nature.
Modeling nature is ve
understanding of its language.

plicating a model of nature. Modeling of nature is the application of
methods and systems found within nature for the study and design of
engineering systems and to convert them into modern technology. The
transfer of technology between life forms and synthetic constructs is in
accordance to nature; nature is the model and we are inspired by the
systems of nature. From this beginning, mining will become different
because we cannot release the same results into nature as traditional
mining has done in the past by accumulating many social-
environmental liabilities. We cannot expect different results by
following the same patterns of the past. Developing a model of nature
is a challenge and in this order we put numbers (numerizing) to nature.
Nature is perceived as what is pure or free from human intervention
(mining). Studying nature by modeling techniques is very beneficial
because it gives indicators of the effects of mining in the future. Human
knowledge of nature is great, but our understanding of nature is very
little. Under this concept we must grow not only from a simple
accumulation of data, but we must also expand the experience of
understanding the language and concepts of nature. In the minds of
many, however, complex systems theory is not a new branch of
science, but rather a new framework; many researchers consider it to
be a new perspective that allows us to see old scientific content in new
ways. This new perspective and the methods that it brings to bear
have been adopted across a wide array of natural and social sciences.
An understanding of complex systems is becoming an essential part of
every scientists knowledge and skills. The time has come for these
ideas and methods to become a central part of every student of
natures learning
Again, modeling of nature is a very complex task because there
exists a constant tran
e are two principles to weigh in this model. First, the criteria of
physical, chemical, and biological equilibrium must be in place at any
moment in the mining processes. The conservation of mass matter is
practically in a closed system in dynamic harmony, and the energy of
the earth is nearly in a steady state, keeping in balance constantly. For
example, the earth receives energy from the sun and releases an
equal amount of energy to space; in the end there is no net gain or
loss of energy for the earth. Second, the most important condition is
that we only have one earth, which is the only suitable habitat that we
have available to us. With those two main conditions in mind, we will
be able to develop a model of waste from the viewpoint of nature
before the presence of human disturbances. In order to understand the
balance of nature, in many cases it is important to understand
disequilibrium before you can organize equilibrium. When we pile
mining waste, we create practically new substances because we
expose existing elements to new variables. This new substance would
be included in the model. The model would describe the state of the
system at any given time (t+n), and also it is a tool to decide
restoration immediately for attending its effects for better
environmental management. When we develop this model, those two
principles are important because the model will have identity in reality.
Mining waste is designed to attend its effects to nature.
Practically, we would achieve a mine production totally based on
NATURE
librium in nature by following the principles of this model. The
model is an integrated framework of all processes in place that
provides less accumulation, less transportation, adequate transferring,
and services in all the stages of mining. Besides that, this model is
suited to analyze any scenarios in mining at any time because its
flexibility and the dynamic concepts of the model are attended. The
propagation of errors and the management of uncertainties will be
included in the result of the model. In Fig. #6 Conceptual Model of
Contaminant in Nature
The appropriate waste design will vary from mine to mine
depending of every ec
MASS, ENERGY, WATER, SOIL, AIR
DIMENSION:

MACRO

MICRO

NANO

TIME

PHYSIC CHEMICAL BIOLOGIC COSMIC
te pile operation (sequence of disposition in the waste site)
because it presents an emerging approach to the degree of saturation
in the waste. We will be able to control the fluid flow and the
concentration of coarse and fine material distributed through the waste
piling. Air permeability of waste rock can be determined by the
response of internal air pressure in response to atmospheric pressure
change in the area. Likewise, the diffusion of oxygen is an important
factor in order to determine the distribution of oxygen in the waste rock
dump. In respect to the leachate flow data, it is founded by the ratio of
liquid flow and liquid mass to determine the transport properties
through the waste rock dump. Additionally, many other characteristics
such as conductivity, energy free (factor of Gibbs), temperature, and
pH in the waste are determined to control its specific distribution in the
waste pile. These aspects of permeability and reactivity in the waste
are important to control the flow fluids and the process of oxidation
during the operation of the waste dump. Our thinking is established in
the association of nature viewpoints with assumptions to reach the
sense of the concept from global to the specific; it is focusing on the
dynamic processes of nature with a closed loop system (cause-effects)
given to the explanation and the identification of the feedback loops
framed in a scheme of checks and balances and their relationship to
their effects in nature.
EVOLUTION & DYNAMIC BALANCE : EQUILIBRIUM
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7 Copyright 2011 by SME

Figure 6. Conceptual Model of Contaminant.
In reality, nature is our model. By identifying the component
elements that we should include in our model, previously observed
from nature, we will be able to build it to represent the system as a
useful representation of the system in its common behavior and always
in an integrated configuration of this worthwhile effort (Geomimic). The
definition of waste design that is proposed represents an incredibly
complex system. This model would represent everything in the system
and would pursue our choice based on what questions we are able to
answer. As a result, the model is always a simplified representation of
the system without pretending or giving the illusion to represent reality.
The model is validated when its prediction of the system reaches
adequate level of mimicking nature. It is remarkable to achieve
equilibrium in order to demonstrate the capability and application of the
model to the large volume of material. It is always important to
consider the know-how of nature in a normal area or region of the
proposed mining before the operation begins.
The model would consider the following aspects:
1. The size and scale of the project
2. The three-dimensional size of the maximum waste possible
on-site.
3. eology (characterization and mineralogy)
4. Geotechnical and Hydrology properties
5. Waste dumps stability
6. Air movement associated with the transport of oxygen
through waste rock
7. Aquifer vulnerability (underground water)
8. Storage capability of waste
9. Waste characterization (physical, chemical, and biological)
10. Seismic characteristics
11. Mine Closure
12. Program of facility (abandon and dismantling)
13. Good sources of information
14. Good tools of forecasting effects
Mass flow is accounted for in terms of material intensity (minerals
moved or range of production) to generate mining waste. This concept
would be expressed through any of the following formulas:
Dissolution
Absorption
Volatilization
Bioconcentration
FATE TRANSPORT
PARTITION COEFFICIENT
FUGACITY
PARTITIONING REACTION
KINETICS
ADVECTION
DISPERSION
DIFUSION
COMPARTMENTAL
Balance of Mass:
Output = input + Loss + transformed (mass conservation law)
Total Mass in System = (Mass in each phase)
{Accumulation/loss of mass} = {Mass input} {Mass output}
{Reactions}(+generation-consumption)
Change in storage of mass = Mass transported in Mass
transported out + Mass Produced by sources Mass eliminated by
sinks.
The control of volume in waste dump rock is submitted to a
rearrangement of the ecosystem by nature with all the generation of
different compounds due to exposition to erosion, wind, weather
temperature, and rain.
The model of design is developed in a close loop waste
generation in order to mitigate immediately those negatives impacts in
the area; everything would be under the criteria of the values of nature.
This model of design will determine physical, chemical, and biological
stability in the mine site. It will also determine the cleaner production of
minerals without socio-environmental impacts. In the end, the mining
will provide practically no liabilities; nature does not allow corruption in
a holistic view of the mining operation. In consequence, we would not
need regulation or environmental law enforcement; we could aim for a
model of mining without regulations. Finally, the model of design in
waste is a state of mind for the de-production and de-accumulation of
wastes in mining.
DISCUSSIONS
First, the entire ore body is mined on paper. Mining values reach
their limit when its values no longer increase. By nature, the orebody is
not monometallic; this model of thinking that the orebody is
monometallic in the mining system carries a lot of sources of errors
and uncertainties involved with the disposition in the estimation of the
cut off grade. The cut off grade discriminates ore and wastes which
directly influences the generation of waste. The assumption of the
estimation of the cut off grade does not include the environmental and
social cost in its calculation in spite of its economic configuration.
Likewise, the relation waste/mineral is an important factor to the
operation of the mine. Here is an opportunity to develop a sound ratio
of ecological waste/mineral. Because this ecoefficient relation of
waste/mineral measures mining operation under the principles of
nature, this will ensure the health of the environment and will promote
less generation of waste. Also, it is necessary to reach an efficient
relation of energy/mineral and energy/waste in order to reduce a
generation of overall waste; both are indicators to evaluate
performances of the mining operation. Therefore, integration of ratios
could attend balance in nature for less generation of waste. Each of
those ratios vary per each mine because there is no a unique formula
for all mining areas.
In the traditional mining of today we could develop the sequence
of filling the waste pile while attending to its acidic/alkaline factor. In
this manner, waste piles are planned to achieve low permeability and
limit the influx of water/air in to the waste rock dump (encapsulation
implicatively) see Fig.# 4. Moreover, it will be able to control the
oxygen that transports into the waste rock piles through diffusion,
convection, and barometric pumping. Practically, it would be a
rearrangement of the system of accumulation of wastes in piles. This
accumulation could be expressed in the Balance of mass = (Solid
moved + Solid not use in destination + solid transformed with
percentage admitted to every waste dump) (Solid benefit). It is
admissible to perform waste audit to keep reserves registered and to
achieve a stable rock dump. In Fig. # 7 Water is an Indicator of mining
performance.
The design of waste would permit to extract all metals from
mining including rare earth elements (REE) and those with social
interest as well. It will be the full utilization of the mineral resource. It
could completely become the extension of the value until the resource
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Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

8 Copyright 2011 by SME
reaches an inert material for social use and stable material to nature.
The definition of by-product in any mining operation must be redefined
in a new business model in the industry. The business model does not
have the room to hold the concept that there is no profitable use for
mining waste. In the past, that definition was convenient to accumulate
the least expensive way of disposing of waste in rivers and areas
sensible to nature. Also, these old practices describe the common
industrial disposal of waste, which are different to the new challenges
of this millennium. In pursuing the definition of waste, to nature, all
matter is not waste and the cyclical condition of its complex
interrelationships of fields makes it a valuable condition. Not to mention
that we as humans are living thanks to the waste of the plants
(oxygen). The definition of waste is extremely relative due to its
scenarios in the human view, which is irrelevant because we are a part
of nature. In this paper, it explains to us that using waste until its inert
condition of nature, we would understand a nature that reflects its
control mechanisms for efficacy, efficiency, and effectivenessall
based on the science of nature that still is an unknown to our
disposition for comprehensive remediation after mining. These are our
challenges as mining engineers.

Figure 7. Hydrologic Cycle.
The waste design should not fail to deliver the promises of
increased productivity, decreased expenses, decreased waste, highest
morale and ethics, and to have an industry with a future and their
acceptance to society. In order to compel those promises we
establish indicators that determine causes of events prior to its
consequences. Here, it appears an important tool to address this issue
in the waste design through developing models; in spite of everything,
all models are wrong but some are useful (Box 1979). When evaluating
the complexity of nature it is hard to consider all the elements and
parameters that conserve harmony and dynamic evolution. Moreover,
models have limitations due to their errors and uncertainties for the
assimilation of the assumptions in it. It is clear from new experiences
and testimonies, that if a model is deemed good, with that known
reality, which is almost impossible to achieve as nature does, it is only
appropriate to replicate it (Geomimic).
Effective leadership in mining will provide a comprehensive waste
management program in the reduction, re-usage, recycling, and
recovery of the resources into action. That is what waste management
is all about it. We cannot waste our finite natural resources; otherwise,
we could start to ask who is given the right to be a waster or polluter on
this planet? The recovery of the element of the resource is not an
option of business; it is the business or not the business because in
the end, we again are confronting the condemnation of society.
Moreover, it will provide less difference in the reconciliation of reserves
in the annual exercise, which determines a new policy of
RECONCILIATION OF RESERVES. Practically, this old issue about
reconciliation was postponed for many decades in the mining industry
because some still do not recognize it as an emergency or even as an
important issue about our management of finite natural resources. We
arrive at a simple turning point whether to design the mining waste or
to negotiate the pollutants through trade by environmental effects that
it would be integrated; either way we will not have any excuse to
postpone this issue any longer. The selection of both ways will present
better images of mining to society. In the end, society no matter what
and how will pay for those considered externalities without the
reflection on environmental policy or lacking of theory of compensation
unattended for these conditions. In the majority of cases, this will be
typified as anti-mining or fanatic environmentalism, but in reality, those
people who classify this model in such a manner are incompetent to
accept the new generation of challenges we are facing in an at-risk
planet. These issues must be solved now in this generation because
the problems belong to us but the earth belongs to all generations. Of
course, this new thinking would be supported in the transfer of
knowledge and understanding with the concept of ownership in a
framework of effective communication to each participant in this
proposed model of business. To reiterate, it is necessary to have the
full participation of people and the cooperation of companies to
improve waste management in mining with new and better ideas for
the future.
Environmental accountability of companies cannot be subscribed
to legal framework in order to force them to accomplish their
assignment with nature. Instead of compliance, we need a commitment
to nature. This would be in the best interest of the company. Society
would not need to enforce it with fines and penalties for those guilty of
pollution. Likewise, filling empty courts for this concept would be
ineffective. The key point here is that society needs to have a strong
commitment to nature, through understanding and education in
preservation. These are the key factors we must strive for. Having a
legislation to hold polluters accountable is a reality of the wrong sign of
operating mines around the world; it only reflects its lack of design and
demonstrates our lack of critical thinking. A mere fine or penalty will not
deter our cyclical thinking in the pollution we create and produce. This
is because in many mining projects the design of wastes is not
considered as a part of the mining development process. Also, it would
be an opportunity to rectify in many projects that waste design is the
only alternative to consider before the sensitivity of ecosystem.
Otherwise, the sensitivity of the ecosystem will be assimilated into the
design of the project when we design the waste. In Fig. # 8 it is shown
the effects of waste design in mining.
BALANCE NATURE
Control Risks &
uncertainties of
waste

Figure 8. 8 Effects of Waste Design in Mining.
How do we measure moral worth or ethical practices in mining?
Regulation is not based on corporate objectives or international
standards. Regardless, the mining industry does not need regulations
EHS
INDEX
Better Administrationof
Finiteresources
Flexible
Mine
Planning
Productivity
of Energy
Social
Value
Economy
without
compromise
EHS index
DESIGN by
EFFECTS
HighValue
Mineral/
Resources
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Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

9 Copyright 2011 by SME
when they are determined by equilibrium of nature. The responsibility
of managing the generation in pollution must take place at both ends of
productionconsumption in order to celebrate a good trade.
Considering those effects of trade could provide a compensated quality
environment in both ends due to technology, lower taxes, investment
incentives, and other economical devices in order to produce
minerals for consumption without socio-environmental liabilities. This
perception is easy to assimilate when we address the planet under
implicit global views. We could cancel international regulation,
agreement, treaties and certifications given by biased institutions
because we would be restoring equilibrium in nature that has nothing
to do with implemented human regulations. Nature is nature. We
cannot forget that the air and the earth crust are practically a thin film
without going farther to compare our position in the Milky Way galaxy
and universe to justify our relevance. Our moral must be reflected in
the highest ethics for the respect of natures laws.
CONCLUSIONS
Mining without a waste design does not have room in this century;
otherwise, we cannot carry the concepts of the 20
th
century in
todays business. Moreover, waste design in mining is the basis of
clean technology without socio-environment impacts.
Designing the waste in mining is a methodology of designing by
effects; the mining plan incorporates a waste design. Otherwise,
without waste design is there is no mine planning. The thinking in
the long term is not a statement, but rather a condition of action.
Innovation and design are rights for the long-term goals in mind.
The design of waste will vary from mine to mine depending on the
ecosystems involved.
Reeducation in the university about the design of waste in mining
is necessary because our responsibilities are to acquire our duties
without external imposition. The idea of the university to form the
good employee would transform into the formation of leaders as
managers of nature. (The mining engineer is the manager of
nature).
Mining cannot have materials without a usage destination.
Materials of waste dump, tailing, other materials are
MONUMENTS OF IMPERFECTION. This could consolidate
under the welfare of nature and humanity.
To design the waste in mining we practically redefine the cutoff
grade, dilution, and the policy to reconcile reserves in mining.
Waste design would be set to implement a better process of
reconciliation in reserves losses.
Waste design performs the ability to be an industry leader for
natures interest.
Nothing is sustainable. We have the evidences that the waste
management practices applied in the past to mining waste sites
have not been successful in preventing severe environmental
degradation. We need to build the future different from the past.
Its still pending further study to develop a recycling flow of
materials to avoid the generation of pollutants which could avoid
association with other substances that produce unknown
compounds or detrimental subsequent use for its hazardous
contents to nature.
The design is about ideas to lead to the right answer and give the
right solution for mining problems. All of those ideas are
transferable to management because they are guides to embrace
the contemplation of the laws of nature: Equilibrium. Finding the
new state of equilibrium after mining is a key state that mining
engineers need to restore. Otherwise, the past would repeat itself.
To avoid wastes accumulation as a liability, waste cannot be left
unused. This is a different time; we can present the vision of
future in mining where our benefit not only reflects on economical
aspects, but also the aspects of nature. This condition would
allow benefits, challenges, and opportunities, which are inherent
in the vision. The values are in the relationships of restoration of
stability where waste is not a consequence, but byproduct with
high utilization. The harmony is replicated from nature
(Geomimic). There is big difference between efficiency and
effectiveness. We are effective with nature. Innovation with
imitation also has a big difference, but both are on the same coin
face.
The challenge in todays business for the future is that we can
start with the simplicity of the answer to the following question:
How can we run mining without petroleum? Thinking as it is, we
will arrive that we do not need the obsolete internal combustion
motor (created in1879). It is well known, in spite of the solution in
other source of energies, the equipment presented in todays
market is based on petroleum. This condition has immediately
enough motivation to display a brainstorm of alternatives. We will
generate a new model for a new system. Ethics must be the
classic systemic guide to think. Knowledge comes from people
who know very little but want to know more; not from authorities.
All knowledge derives from the senses and observation. The book
of nature is always open because our nature does not have many
formulas written in our nature or our mountains. Our senses find
disequilibrium. Our connection to reality is observation in its
symmetry of nature to try to communicate with nature in its own
language (back to basics).
It is important to have or to develop an important base of
meteorological data to support the condition in the long term of
the waste (rainfall, microclimate change, runoff, etc). The
ecosystems are different in every mine therefore is acceptable to
have different designs as well. The main contribution is in the
stability of the planet, which makes it more livable to humans.
It is relevant to bear that economy in the dimension of engineering
is clear specifically in design We cannot make design
economically acceptable but only design naturally acceptable.
The model of the business cannot continue where it permits
depreciation of capital and depletion of finite natural resource
carrying NPV to zero are from a economist view which means
lack of the holistic view of the business. Given this condition also
it is necessary to calculate the value of the resource in the time
rather than money in time to determine level of scarcity as an item
of mine valuation. Economy should serve the people but not vice
versa.
Mining engineer is a manager of nature
Then, we cannot do mining without a waste design. We do not
have room to avoid it. There is no room for compromises. It is
determinant; nature does not need human promises or reduction
because nature does not work with those standards of human ways.
Nature needs different human input to reach different results from the
traditional model in place. We need the Earth for survival! The Earth
does not need us! If we see the universe we can realize that we are
nothing and have nothing to rule the magnificence of the universe. We
cannot continue business as usual; the form of doing actual business
is a mindset with caducity. We can only generate different results with
different methods of mining. We only follow guidelines that other
people created without a consultation from nature, and we do not have
any guilt conveyed or attached in our action. Mining engineering must
be inspired in nature to survive the industry of the future. Even though
in mining, the highest volumes of material removed looks like we have
a determination to abandon Earth in short term. This is a scenario that
portrays only in a fantasy story because we cannot reach the universe,
yet. It is important to restore our nature as soon we intervene with
disturbance in the equilibrium. It is necessary to explain that growth
has limitation and development is unlimited creativity and innovation in
the harmony of nature.
The bottom line is TIME. We must have the time of disturbance
and the time of restoration of nature to determine the restoration to
nature. Its balance cannot finalize in disequilibrium in order to restore
its balance over time. To evaluate the perturbation into a stable system
is our priority for stable nature. It is important to get the performance to
know what is going on in a system. With the model we can observe
significantly different characteristics and dynamics under different
conditions exposed.
This paper is prepared to motivate critical thinking as the first
manifestation of the mining career in order to find the identity and
attitude regarding mining liabilities. Hopefully, these also will conduct
the dialogue and spirit of contribution and begin to develop an
intergenerational effective communication.
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 27-Mar. 02, 2011, Denver, CO

10 Copyright 2011 by SME
REFERENCES
1. Masters, Gil Introduction to environmental Engineering & Science,
2
nd
Edition Prentice Hall, 1997.
2. Environmental Protection Agency EPA, USA 2010.
3. Mines, Richards, Introduction to Environmental Engineering,
Prentice Hall, 2009.
4. ASCE, The committee on Sustainability of Technical Activities
communities, Sustainable Engineering Practice: An Introduction,
Reston Virginia 2004.
5. Javier, Mauro, Management by Loss, SME 2008.
6. John Adams, Mathematics in Nature, Princeton University Press,
2003.
7. Pollack, H. Gerald, Seminar of Water, Energy & Biology, Theory
of Water, Water Center University of Washington, 2010.