National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn and Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) Executive Director David Kanagy today jointly announced the availability of a new tool to aid hardrock mining operations with managing environmental performance. The Hardrock Mining and Beneficiation Environmental Management System Guide was jointly developed by a team of environmental professionals drawn from each group’s membership.
“We believe all hardrock mining operations can benefit from this guide, even if they already have an environmental management system in place. It should be particularly helpful for small to medium-sized operators who have decided to implement a management systems approach to environmental performance but are not sure how to begin and want to learn from the experiences of others,” said Quinn.
Kanagy added, “By using the ‘plan-do-check-act’ continual improvement process inherent in most management systems, companies can deliver reliable regulatory compliance, reduce impacts to the environment and improve environmental stewardship.”
The Hardrock Mining and Beneficiation Environmental Management System Guide includes eight steps covering initial implementation of the management system through to continual improvement stages. The guide is designed to provide useful examples and tools for each step of the process and addresses environmental impacts uniquely associated with the hardrock mining sector to improve a company’s environmental stewardship.