Climate Change
One of the biggest challenges faced by mankind in this century.
Mining in Canada provides employment to almost half a million Canadians.
Primary mineral extraction alone contributes about $10 billion a year to the Canadian economy and $32 billion in mineral processing and manufacturing.
Like many others sectors the natural resource sector, which includes mining activities related to exploration, development, operation, distribution, closure and reclamation/rehabilitation are also vulnerable to the changing climate. The change in climate is associated with rising air and ocean temperatures, extreme temperature changes, intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, changes in the distribution of precipitation, and rising sea levels. These changes can affect the mining infrastructure by affecting buildings and structures, slope stability, tailings and water retention structures, and site hydrology. Transportation infrastructure for mining, especially in the northern areas faces risks from melting permafrost and road embankment instability and accelerated erosion due to changes in the intensity and frequency of the extreme precipitation events. Generation and containment of the Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) is contingent on changes in increase/decrease in precipitation quantities. Similarly, development of drought conditions due to decrease in annual precipitation and increases in evapotranspiration due to rising temperatures can make it difficult to maintain closure scenarios and rehabilitation.
The mining sector needs to implement effective and enduring adaptation initiatives to maintain the global supplies and mitigate environmental, community and societal impacts. Hatley Engineering can help clients in Canada and around the world in assessing and developing adaptation strategies for all aspects of climate change effects on mining activities in the exploration, development, construction, operation and closure and rehabilitation phases. Our expertise can add value to climate change assessments at the Environmental Assessment at the start of the project to site closure and rehabilitation. Hatley Engineering can also analyze the implications that the climate change on a mining project from a business point of view. This includes assessment of potential costs as a result of climate change, and the business and economic opportunities due to the changing climate.
Further Reading
“We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.”
— Barack Obama, Former US President
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