In the face of rising public support for environmental protection, mining companies have begun looking into new techniques and equipment for lowering their environmental impact. Adopting such measures can be costly, but more and more companies are beginning to see the value in taking the risk. While scrap metal recycling in Calgary continues to be the most environmentally friendly way to produce new metal products, there is optimism that these new trends and innovations in green mining can grow to play an important role in metal production as well.
Why Does Mining Need to Be More Environmentally Friendly?
The mining industry consumes enormous amounts of energy in order to extract and smelt ore with heavy machinery, contributing to the rise of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. It is also estimated that the mining industry is using up an astounding 20% of the world’s water supply, as large amounts of water are required for every stage of the mining process. Many mines continue to pose an environmental risk long after they are run down as well, especially if the mine closure is carried out haphazardly.
What Steps Are Being Taken to Reduce the Ecological Footprint of Mining?
To preserve energy, the mining industry is implementing plans for using energy more efficiently without hurting production. A good example of this is the GMI mine in Sudbury, Ontario. By installing an automated mine ventilation system, the mine was able to decrease energy usage by 40%.
To preserve water, many mining companies are utilizing real-time water usage calculations. This allows them to continue using as much water as is needed to sustain operations but stops water waste and overuse due to inaccurate calculations.
To reduce the environmental safety risk after a mine has been closed, mining companies are using smarter and more effective closure methods and implementing plans for aggressive environmental rehabilitation. These plans typically involve soil recovery, tree replanting, or the planting of bio-energy crops such as canola and corn.
Mining companies are helping to support advances in green mining techniques and technologies by investing in greater research and development. In order for environmentally friendly mining practices to become widespread, they need to be effective, unobtrusive, and relatively easy to implement. Investing in research and development will create the scientific infrastructure necessary to continue lowering the environmental impact of mining.
Help the Environment by Recycling Your Scrap Metal in Calgary
It’s fantastic that mining companies are paying more attention to lowering their environmental impact. However, reducing the need for mining operations altogether has even greater benefits for the environment. Recycling scrap metal takes only a fraction of the energy and resources as it does to mine for new ore, even with today’s new mining techniques and innovations.
You can do your part to help the environment by bringing your scrap metal to a metal and copper recycling facility such as Federal Metals Inc. in Calgary. Our metal recyclers and suppliers accept both ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals, and we offer good scrap metal prices in Calgary as well. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Federal Metals Inc. today.
