Knowledge Modelling and Comparison of Cyanide-free Gold Leaching Processes -Research Summary

Abstract. There is increasing pressure from authorities in many countries to find cyanide-free methods for gold processing due to environmental and safety risks. Therefore, it is now under investigation whether the knowledge extraction and formalization procedure can be applied for comparing cyanide-free leaching methods for a certain type of raw material. Research is needed to determine and code the similarity models related to cyanide-free processes. The task is challenging, since most of the processes are still in the development phase and there is not much information available on the new-coming processes

Hydrometallurgy

Hydrometallurgy, which involves the use of aqueous solutions for the recovery of metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual material, plays an integral role in the multi-billion dollar minerals processing industry. There are numerous hydrometallurgical process technologies used for recovering metals, such as: agglomeration; leaching; solvent extraction/ion exchange; metal recovery; and remediation of tailings/waste. Modern hydrometallurgical routes to extract metals from their ores are faced with a number of issues related to both the chemistry and engineering aspects of the processes involved. These issues include declining ore grade, variations in mineralogy across the deposits and geo-metallurgical locations of the ore site; which would influence the hydrometallurgical route chosen. The development of technologies to improve energy efficiency, water/resources consumption and waste remediation across the circuit is also an important factor to be considered. Therefore, there is an increasing need to develop novel solutions to these existing problems, to implement environmentally sustainable practices in the recovery of these valuable metals. Papers on recent advances, and review articles, particularly in regard to fundamental chemistry and the development of novel techniques and technologies in commercial processing of mineral commodities from their ores, are included in this Special Monograph on "Hydrometallurgy"

Eight Karats of Justice: Analysis of the Grassroots Resistance Movement Against Goldmining in the Villages of Bergama, Turkey

This study explores and analyzes the grassroots movement against goldmining in the villages of Bergama, Turkey. The struggle of Bergama villagers started out as a local ecological resistance movement in the early 1990s and gradually transformed into an environmental justice movement with national implications when activists adopted a rights-based discourse by incorporating into their claims the notions of justice, democratic participation, and citizenship rights. Since goldmining investment in Bergama was a manifestation of significant shifts in the global corporate mining industry starting in the 1980s, and of changes in the world political economy, an account of these shifts is presented as the global political-economic background for the grassroots resistance movement in Bergama. This global perspective is complemented by an account of the domestic socio-economic and political context in which the Bergama villagers’ resistance movement unfolded. The study employs two reference frames for the conceptual and theoretical analysis of the Bergama villagers’ movement. The Environmental Justice Movement (EJM) Literature is reviewed for conceptual clues pertaining to the transformation process of the movement under investigation. As the theoretical reference frame, the New Social Movements (NSM) approach to contemporary social movements is employed in an attempt to assess the applicability of this theoretical approach to the resistance movement of Bergama villagers, as well as the EJM in the United States. NSM theories are inadequate in explaining these movements. Based on the weaknesses of the NSM and the similarities identified between the Bergama villagers’ movement and the EJM, I assert that a new approach to theorizing social movements, which takes as its point of departure these similarities, is necessary. I argue that such an approach will guide not only social movement scholars in understanding ecological grassroots movements in the global North and South but also movement activists in their struggle for social change. In contrast, an exclusive focus on the distinctions between the ecological grassroots movements in the global South, on the one hand, and in the North, on the other, based merely on their economic and cultural differences, will be counter-productive in challenging the systemic root causes of ecological problems plaguing the people of the world today

Managing Uncertain Causation in Toxic Exposure Cases

Under Articles 2 (right to life) and Article 8 (right to private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg Court) decides cases involving personal health injuries allegedly caused by toxic exposures. Thus far no one has conducted a systematic inquiry on how the Strasbourg Court deals with uncertain causation inherent in toxic exposure cases. This paper provides an analytic framework for examining situations involving uncertain causal links under the Strasbourg system and evaluates the Strasbourg Court’s approach to uncertain causation and scientific evidence. It argues that the Strasbourg Court decides these cases based on certain proxies that describe some non-causal aspects of the case. By doing so, the Strasbourg Court can adjudge toxic exposure claims without evaluating scientific proof of causal links, which approach entails several drawbacks. The paper surveys the innovative legal tools US courts employ in toxic tort litigation to assess probabilistic scientific evidence and uncertain causation. It concludes with proposals for the Strasbourg Court to borrow certain techniques from toxic tort case law, which would help the Strasbourg Court adopt a more consistent approach to uncertain causation

Mining conflicts around the world: Common grounds from an Environmental Justice perspective

Abstract. This report aims at exploring contemporary mining conflicts in the context of the sustainable development and environmental justice movement. This is done based on 24 real case studies from 18 different countries which are described by local activists and scholars. While 17 of the reported cases focus on conflicts related to metal mining (e.g. gold, silver, copper, zinc, and lead), four address uranium mining and one refers to coal mining. As an example of a new frontier in the industry, a sand mining conflict from India is also reported. All of these cases are directly chosen and reported, either in factsheet or in-depth study format, by EJOs, as part of a knowledge sharing activity well-established in EJOLT between EJOs and the academic community. Although the cases covered here are all quite unique and diverse in terms of type of conflict and geographical setting, they all share a common frame of analysis. First, the project and type of conflict are characterized in a nutshell, with some basic factual background that describe the companies involved, and the communities and locations affected. The roots of the conflicts are explored next, as well as relevant socioeconomic, cultural, health, and ecological impacts and related community claims. Where relevant, means of resistance are also specified with their influence on the project and/or the outcome of the conflict. The report then offers a synthesis of the described mining cases, review their commonalities, link gained insights with research needs and discuss some policy recommendations that might follow from this analysis. Despite its limitations, compiling such a diverse set of mining conflicts that builds on EJO knowledge promotes mutual learning and collaboration among stakeholders, EJOs and academia, which is one of the key objectives of EJOLT

Environmental life cycle considerations for design-related decision making in minerals processing

The objective of this work is to inform environmental decision making in design for the environment in minerals processing. To this end an integrated decision hierarchy has been developed. This decision hierarchy incorporates technical, environmental and social considerations in the design process. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been chosen as the metric whereby environmental considerations will be included in the decision making process. LCA information is augmented by information from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in detailed design. There are four themes in this thesis; Minerals Processing, Process Design, LCA and Decision Making. Considerations specific to process design in the minerals industry are highlighted. The use ofLCA as a tool to assess the environmental performance of the minerals industry is discussed. LCA is then used to inform the decisions taken during process design

Deliberation, Representation, Equity

"What can we learn about the development of public interaction in e-democracy from a drama delivered by mobile headphones to an audience standing around a shopping center in a Stockholm suburb? In democratic societies there is widespread acknowledgment of the need to incorporate citizens’ input in decision-making processes in more or less structured ways. But participatory decision making is balancing on the borders of inclusion, structure, precision and accuracy. To simply enable more participation will not yield enhanced democracy, and there is a clear need for more elaborated elicitation and decision analytical tools. This rigorous and thought-provoking volume draws on a stimulating variety of international case studies, from flood risk management in the Red River Delta of Vietnam, to the consideration of alternatives to gold mining in Roșia Montană in Transylvania, to the application of multi-criteria decision analysis in evaluating the impact of e-learning opportunities at Uganda's Makerere University. Editors Love Ekenberg (senior research scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis [IIASA], Laxenburg, professor of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University), Karin Hansson (artist and research fellow, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University), Mats Danielson (vice president and professor of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, affiliate researcher, IIASA) and Göran Cars (professor of Societal Planning and Environment, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm) draw innovative collaborations between mathematics, social science, and the arts. They develop new problem formulations and solutions, with the aim of carrying decisions from agenda setting and problem awareness through to feasible courses of action by setting objectives, alternative generation, consequence assessments, and trade-off clarifications. As a result, this book is important new reading for decision makers in government, public administration and urban planning, as well as students and researchers in the fields of participatory democracy, urban planning, social policy, communication design, participatory art, decision theory, risk analysis and computer and systems sciences.

Deliberation, Representation, Equity: Research Approaches, Tools and Algorithms for Participatory Processes

In democratic societies there is widespread acknowledgment of the need to incorporate citizens’ input in decision-making processes in more or less structured ways. But participatory decision making is balancing on the borders of inclusion, structure, precision and accuracy. To simply enable more participation will not yield enhanced democracy, and there is a clear need for more elaborated elicitation and decision analytical tools. This rigorous and thought-provoking volume draws on a stimulating variety of international case studies, from flood risk management in the Red River Delta of Vietnam, to the consideration of alternatives to gold mining in Roșia Montană in Transylvania, to the application of multi-criteria decision analysis in evaluating the impact of e-learning opportunities at Uganda's Makerere University. This book is important new reading for decision makers in government, public administration and urban planning, as well as students and researchers in the fields of participatory democracy, urban planning, social policy, communication design, participatory art, decision theory, risk analysis and computer and systems sciences