proposal for a mine waste classification system

The proposal for a mine waste classification system recently described by Ljiljana Josic and Lawrence Devon Smith fills a blatant (and often costly) gap in the industry standards.

Factors like management, legislation and permitting of mining wastes have become driving forces in decisions. NI43-101 and other public disclosure requirements will further boost all related issues.

The need for unified and univocal glossary and unequivocal definitions is of course of primary importance. The same occurs in risk management.

A proposal for a mine waste classification system

We really like and salute the idea pushed forward by the proposal. However note that it entertains the ubiquitous confusion between hazard and risk.

That glossary confusions will certainly cause problem down the road. The proposed classification is indeed a “chemical hazard based” one, not a risk based classification.

from It’s time to classify waste A proposal for a CIM waste classification system By Ljiljana Josic and Lawrence Devon Smith May 04, 2018

The risks a Waste Code 3 generates are indeed highly dependent on the location of the area of production, transport or storage. The hazard generates different risks depending on what the consequences of a loss of containment (in the underground, at surface or in the air) are. The consequences depend on the surrounding environment, land use, etc.

Furthermore, while the chemical aspects are certainly important, many other hazard aspects should influence the risk assessment. Among these and for example:

• viscosity,
• potential for liquefaction,
• volume,
• etc.

At CIM 2018 I had the pleasure to listen Ljiljana’s conference on the subject. We then discussed these very points at SNC-Lavalin booth.

We convened the proposal for a mine waste classification system is a first important step in filling the extant gap in the mining codes. It proposes a scale of chemical hazard of mine waste.

Closing remarks

In a chapter we wrote in 2016 for an Intech book titled :” The Long Shadow of Human‐Generated Geohazards: Risks and Crises“we stated that : “The need for a unified emergency/accident scale is vital to facilitate clear communication and mutual understanding of the nature of the emergency, by the public, government agencies, and responding organizations“.

The proposal for a mine waste classification system goes in the right direction. So we look forward to seeing it completed. We hope for more and more such initiatives in mining and other industries.

Thanks to well defined glossaries, taxonomies and classifications public embarassement will be reduced, Social License to Operate (SLO) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fostered and reinforced.

Tagged with: chemical hazard based, CIM, mine waste classification system

Category: Risk analysis, Risk management