Mining in Asia involves the extraction of minerals and metals for commercial sale. However, the industry has its concerns ranging which include concerns about financial stability, labor rights, and the impact on the environment. There are several sustainability pathways that can be followed in the future to build methods to reduce environmental damage and maintain long-term operations.
Work and labor concerns are a pressing matter for this industry: low regulation amongst small mines can sometimes lead to exploitation of child labor and lower than fair wages. Additionally, work safety is not always at the forefront of concerns, which also stems from a lack of regulation for these smaller scale mines.
Pollution is another concern for industry researchers and professionals. The fumes and air waste can contaminate the air, making it hard to breathe and toxic around these areas. Additionally, as the waste mixes with ground water and liquids used for operation, they can pollute the soil and spread toxic materials to nearby water sources and residential areas. Furthermore, they can drastically change the physical features of a landscape, making it hard to utilize land and increasing the risk of flooding.
Work safety Safety has long been a concern in the mining industry, especially in underground mining. There are many occupational hazards associated with mining, such as mining equipment produces considerable noise and puts miners at risk of hearing loss. Although all miners have right to require a safe and healthy workplace, this can be objectified for some workers. Mining industry has made significant contributions to the growth of gross domestic product (GDP), however, it can pose health and safety threats to the laborers of this industry. In order to effectively address the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) problems for the miners in Asia, 11 countries discussed this issue in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. One of the solutions was to set up a union check inspector in all countries. They could promote institutions to improve working conditions for miners. The government offers a policy called ‘Fitness for Work’ which require companies be responsible for the health of miners. ‘Mine Safety and Health Convention’ (NO.176) was proposed as a core of the occupational safety and health work in 1995. However, few states have ratified Convention No. 176. Philippines is the only Asian member State ratifies the convention. Therefore, the Council decided to hold a two-day seminar in the Asian area to outline good practices for safe mining.
Illegal labor The main feature of small-scale mining (SSM) is a family business, which means a group of families gather resources together and attempt to find precious metals from known deposits or excavated mines abandoned by large mining companies. According to data statistics, 4 million workers are found to be in Asia who engaged in SSM activities out of 6 million, mostly in China, Philippines and India. The issues brought about by SSM are similar globally and locally. SSM provides a number of career opportunities for women and children who lack of educated and unskilled, most of them live in rural areas and undergo poverty. Actually, they were all forced to join the SSM, driven by poverty and lack of food.
Another driver for child labor is the lack of affordable education and schooling.Radfar, A., Asgharzadeh, S. A. A., Quesada, F., & Filip, I. (2018, July 20). Challenges and perspectives of Child labor. Industrial psychiatry journal. Therefore, for many children, school is not an option and they therefore decide to go straight to the work force. Additionally, it is influenced by macroeconomic factors such as tendencies for cheap products and labor. This makes child labor attractive to mine owners as they are able to pay less money in labor expenses. However, as education has become more available, the problem is decreasing, although still very prevalent.
The recent ILO’s global report confirms that there are estimated 127.3 million economically active children age from 5 to 14 in Asia. According to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics in 1995, the mining department employed about 15626 children in mining. More than 31% of children drop out of high school, and others do poorly at school. Poverty is the common reason for why child labour exists. The purpose of child labor is to assist parents to subsidize their families. Their annual income accounts for 30 percent of total household income, approximately PhP36,614. The majority of child labour are male, but girls are also involved. Girls are more vulnerable than boys to other forms of exploitation, such as child prostitution. Children are deprived of their childhood and education by child labour and exposed to occupational hazards related to working conditions in SSM. Children work in the mine under an incredible conditions. The soil, water and the air were polluted by heavy metal, such as mercury due to environmental hazards. In most of the mines, children have to work underground in darkness and airless. There is only one rope to get in and out of the mine. Sometimes they will use flashlights for lighting.
On Friday, June 10, the annual meeting of the International Labour Organization held in Geneva, Switzerland. At the same time, a global initiative was launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) that to eliminate child labour in SSM with the government. With regard to mining, the Asian Labour Organization has taken positive measures to combat child labour in small-scale mining, while a number of technical cooperation projects have been carried out to illustrate how to crack down child labour in the mining industries. The best way to help child laborers is to improve the survivability, environmental sustainability and safety of the SSM economy.
Mining pollution Due to the irregular operation of mining, it has caused irreversible damage to the environment. Mining produces a lot of chemicals, causing serious pollution to air, soil and water resources.
Air pollution Underground mining is a common method of mining. In the process of mining, drilling and blasting are usually used to underground mining. Large amounts of dust and toxic gas are emitted after blasting, such as carbon monoxide, methane and sulfur dioxide. These particles are harmful to the human body if consumed or exposed to in large amounts.
Coal is the primary energy need of most countries in Northeast Asia. In terms of energy usage, coal accounts for 77% of China, 85% of South Korea and 80% of Mongolia. In Northeast Asia, coal is used for both industrial and residential activities. In general, the main problem is that the sources of air pollution are generated during the coal combustion and conversion phases. The air pollution will result in respiratory diseases.
Water pollution In China, coal mines pollute both air and water resources. Chemicals from coal mining begin to erode the soil, then gradually seep into the groundwater. According to the research, each ton of coal mined will pollute 1 - 2.5 cubic meters of water resources. Mine water is essential for mine operation, and in the process of mining, mine water will be contaminated with different acidic chemicals which form acid mine drainage (AMD). A large number of sulfides-containing rocks are exploited during mining. These rocks react with oxygen and water in the air to produce sulfuric acid. As long as the rocks are exposed to the air, sulfuric acid seeps from them. These acidic substances will pass through rainwater into the river and soil.
Mining spill in Fujian, China In Fujian Province, China, a leakage accident occurred in the mining waste pool of a Zijinshan Copper Mine, resulting in reservoir pollution. This damaged the local fishing industry as more than 4 million pounds of fish were lost with the spill. Xinghua news reported that Zijin Mining Company will take full responsibility for the incident. The company will compensate the fishermen for their losses. At the same time, the government issued a notice and mobilized local villagers to help salvage the toxic fish from the rivers.
Gold mine in Lao The mining industry is the main source of income for Lao. Gold mining in Vientiane has contaminated nearby rivers with cyanide, which is one of the most common mining chemicals and used mainly to dissolve gold. Cyanide leaks usually occur during the rainy season. Overflow from sewage treatment plant caused cyanide to enter rivers through the soil.
Coal mining around Gujiao The basin around Gujiao in China features the confluence of four major rivers, and this mining center is positioned near the peak of the mountain bordering this valley.Ping, Jianhua, et al. "Application of Mike she to study the impact of coal mining on river runoff in Gujiao mining area, Shanxi, China". PLOS ONE, vol. 12, no. 12, 21 Dec. 2017, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188949 Coal mining requires large amounts of water. Large volumes of contaminated water flow down the mountainside and mix with the river water. This affects farmers and local villages that live downstream of the mine. Mining has been operating in the Gujiao area for two centuries years, which had caused the landscape to change dramatically since these mining facilities' inception.
Soil pollution Soil is important to humanity. People use soil to develop agriculture and rely on soil-grown crops to survive. However, due to the large number of mining companies to develop the mining industry, soil pollution has become more prevalent. Chemicals from mining minerals tend to create biochemical reactions when exposed to air. The resulting new material will slowly seep into the soil. As a result, over time, these chemicals accumulate more and more. The accumulated chemicals eventually form a variety of toxins that harm human health. Farmers grow crops on the contaminated soil. During the growth of crops, nutrients are drawn from the soil. These toxins are absorbed through the roots of the plant. When the crops are ripe, they are sold to the market and end up being eaten by people. These toxins are absorbed by human body and threaten their health.
The staple food in China is rice, and the annual production of rice is also considerable. According to the industrial and commercial bureau investigation, some rice was found to contain excessive levels of heavy metals. These heavy metals are all carcinogens to human body.
China has always been beset by soil pollution. According to the study, more than 2/3 of the cultivated land is polluted, and 82.8% of the soil samples contain nickel, lead, arsenic, copper, mercury, chromium, zinc and cadmium.
Mine runoff In addition to chemicals, Gold, Copper, Coal, and Zinc mines in Asia require substantial amounts of water for operation. As this water is used, it creates runoff which is released from the perimeter of the mine.Florea, R. M., et al. “Water pollution in the gold mining industry: A case study in Roşia Montană District, Romania.” Environmental Geology, vol. 48, no. 8, 24 Sept. 2005, pp. 1132–1136, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0054-7. As this water travels down hills and mountains, it slowly erodes the geographical landscape of the area. Additionally, this runoff carries soil and loose sediment with it, usually taking it from its original place to rivers or valleys. This decreases the potential use of the land by making it difficult to build on or utilize, given that this shift in sediment will make the land too rocky or too soft.Favas, Paulo J.C., et al. “Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation—Challenges and opportunities (holistic approach).” Bio-Geotechnologies for Mine Site Rehabilitation, 2018, pp. 3–31, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-812986-9.00001-4.
Soil displacement and erosion