This Volume Comprises Of Papers Presented At A Conference Organized By The Mining Geological And Metallurgical Institute Of India, Which Debate The Issues Confronting The Mining Industry And Explore Ways And Means To Make The Industry Sustainable, Economical And Safe.

Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.

This report is intended as a checklist and guidebook on best practices related to mining. It aims to present a basis for action within South Eastern Europe and the Tisza River Basin towards the development of regulatory frameworks and governance guidelines suitable for the support of a modern mining industry in the region. In particular, the report seeks to present a number of options and ideas that can be applied to address the funding and execution of mine closure and mine rehabilitation while still achieving social and economic conditions suitable for new and ongoing mining activities.

Historically, the mining industry has had a high incidence of work related injury and disease, and of disasters involving multiple fatalities. It also faces OHS challenges far exceeding those confronting most other industry sectors.Mine safety legislation can play an important role in meeting those challenges. Although regulation is never likely to be the entire answer, good regulation not only brings laggards up to a minimum legal standard, it also encourages, rewards and facilitates leaders in going beyond them. Bad regulation, in contrast, constrains good enterprises from taking the initiative to improve OHS, while failing to deter bad ones.This book describes mine safety legislation in the "mining states" and analyses its strengths and weaknesses. It also examines the broader policy questions of how best to design, implement and enforce mine safety regulation.It argues that substantial reform will be necessary not only in setting standards, but also in their implementation, if further OHS improvements are to be achieved. This implies substantial changes in the way the mine safety inspectorates go about their tasks: in how they administer and enforce the law; and in the circumstances in which they choose to prosecute. It also requires the nurturing of a degree of trust between employers and workers (individually and collectively) and between both these parties and the mines inspectorates, that has been substantially lacking in recent years.

This Encyclopedia provides a cutting-edge, up-to-date reference source on mineral and energy policies around the world. It offers information on GDP, population, investment scenarios and current environmental regulations in over one hundred thirty countries from 13 geographic regions around the world. It covers topics such as geo-conservation, deep mining technology as well as rare earth, green technology and international organizations that are actively involved in minerals and energy through exploration, arbitration, marketing and investment. Topical entries are presented alphabetically with extensive cross-referencing to ensure user-friendly reading. This Encyclopedia presents the work of more than 20 section editors and more than 100 international experts in the fields of mineral and energy policies. It is designed as a essential resource for researchers, students, libraries, industry, governments, and international organizations and presents a wealth of insights and guidance for corporate planning regarding exploration and financial investments, as well as for venture capitalist and international funding bodies. As such, it provides an indispensable point of reference for future research on mineral and energy policy.