Management of Mining, Quarrying and Ore-Processing Waste in the European Union

MANAGEMENT OF MINING, QUARRYING AND ORE-PROCESSING WASTE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Study made for DG Environment, European Commission Co-ordination by P. Charbonnier

December 2001 BRGM/RP-50319-FR

Key words: mining waste, mines, quarry, exploitation, ore processing, environment, impact, inventory, legislation, simplified risk assessment, European Union

In bibliography, this report should be cited as: BRGM (2001): Management of mining, quarrying and ore-processing waste in the European Union, 79 p., 7 Figs., 17 Tables, 7 annexes, 1 CD-ROM (Collected data)

DISCLAIMER: This document does not necessarily represent the Commission’s official position. The terminology used and the opinions expressed in this document may not be attributed to the Commission.

BRGM/RP-50319-F

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Summary

At the request of the Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission, BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières) has conducted a study on the management of mining, quarrying and ore-processing waste in the European Union. This project was completed mainly through the use of questionnaire sent to subcontractors in almost each country of the EU. To assess this information and to extrapolate to the next twenty years, this approach has been reinforced using published estimators1 on the waste quantity from the knowledge of produced metals. Mining-selected waste (or simply mining waste) can be defined as a part of materials that result from the exploration, mining and concentration of substances governed by legislation on mines and quarries Identification of the environmental risks associated with such waste requires the characterisation and quantification of their different types but also an assessment of the vulnerability of the specific environments contingent upon the geological and hydrogeological conditions and peripheral targets. 1. - Characterisation and quantification of the different types of waste. This report is based on country-by-country...