Algae and mining: A new frontier in sustainable site rehabilitation

Algae might seem an unlikely candidate to help transform Australia’s post-mining landscapes, but a new CSIRO -led project suggests these tiny aquatic organisms could provide sustainable futures for mine sites, surrounding ecosystems, and local communities. Looking down the microscope at the microalgae Nannochloropsis Australia’s mining sector is approaching a crossroads—where economic legacy and environmental responsibility must find common ground. A new CSIRO -led study, supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME), suggests that one of the most promising bridges between these imperatives may come from an unexpected source: algae. Though small in stature, algae are emerging as giants in their potential to transform post-mining landscapes. The study, developed in partnership with the University of Queensland and Murdoch University , proposes that algae-based technologies could reduce mining’s environmental footprint while seeding new...

Philippines mining reforms to manage 'small-scale mining' safety and environment chaos

The Philippine government wants to close thousands of small-scale mines blamed for environmental devastation. President Benigno Aquino announced mining reforms last month that his government said would better regulate a chaotic industry, improve environmental standards and deliver a bigger share of revenues to state coffers.

The changes will amend the government’s small-scale mining provisions which were originally intended to give poor, mainly rural people a chance to earn a little money, according to the head of the government’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Leo Jasareno. But it has been widely exploited and most of the small-scale miners today violate the conditions for small-scale mining by using explosives and poisonous chemicals such as mercury, Jasareno said.

He estimated that there may be as many as 300,000 such small-scale miners across the country, creating a major environmental problem. With few safety regulations, workplace deaths also occur frequently.

“The executive order [Aquino’s mining reforms] will address all the problems in small-scale mining. Environmental problems will be addressed as well as safety,” Jasareno told AFP in Manila.

Some of the key reforms will be to restrict small-scale operations to “community mines”, so that they can be more closely supervised, while others deemed to be dangerous or bad for the environment will be closed.