Abstract
M.Tech. (Operations Management)
This study establishes the extent to which artisanal sandstone mining affects the environment. A review of literature on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and environmental damages shows that studies focusing on the environmental impacts of ASM – including sandstone – are very scarce, in comparison to those on other mined commodities such as gold and diamond. The present study was undertaken in an effort to address this shortfall. Although most studies on the effects of artisanal mining focus on social, economic, human health and other aspects, the present study examines the environment – from a holistic point of view – and considers the overall environmental degradations resulting from artisanal and small-scale sandstone mining activities in QwaQwa, South Africa.
ASM is generally regarded as a means to support and improve local communities’ quality of life. In rural areas, especially, ASM is often the only activity that local communities have to sustain themselves. As such, it becomes important to understand the nature of artisanal sandstone mining and its associated environmental effects, so that informed decisions can be made regarding the management, licensing, and policy formulation in this particular sector.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a very useful framework for analysing the environmental burdens associated with artisanal mining processes and products. So far, its various applications in the mining sector, though still minimal, show that the LCA is very much versatile and can offer great opportunities to the mining sector. It is for this reason that this study applied the general principles of the ISO 14040 series (which deals with LCA standards) to artisanal sandstone mining, to assess the overall environmental damages related to that activity. The study focussed on the following impact categories: resource depletion, global warming, ozone layer depletion, and acidification. Energy, land, and water usage as well as work environment were also considered.
The study revealed that the impacts of artisanal sandstone mining on the environment were minimal, when compared to those of other artisanally-mined commodities. For most of the impact categories selected, transportation involving the use of fossil fuel was the greatest contributor. The results also showed that the high physical demand of the work negatively affected the miners’ health and that the most significant negative impacts of sandstone mining were on the natural landscape.