Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
Issue link: https://emj.epubxp.com/i/613149
The locals simply refer to the massive discharge from a local mine as the Mariana tragedy. This month's news opens with the worst mining-related environmental disas- ter yet, the Fundão dam failure at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil. While one accidental release into the envi- ronment is one too many, this spill was different; civilians lost their lives. Beyond damaging the Rio Doce (Portuguese for Sweet River) and its ecosystem, this tail- ings release wiped out villages. In its news report, E&MJ; offers a detailed explana- tion of what happened and the reaction from the executives at the two major min- ing companies that hold 50% stakes in Samarco (BHP Billiton and Vale). Accidental releases such as this usually occur in fairly remote areas, where min- ing predominantly takes place. In Minas Gerais, however, many of the iron ore mines operate in close proximity to urban areas. The collateral damage was significant. Environmental activists are already making comparisons between the Samarco tail- ings spill and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and deciding which one is the worst environmental disaster. The fact that Samarco may be remembered for a tail- ings spill that rivaled a major oil spill is a frightening proposition. It will have a knock-on effect for Vale and BHP Billiton. Who is to blame? Ultimately a dam failed. Tailings dams require a certain level of engineering and design. It's obvious from the news report that the failure was slow enough to warn people of the impending danger and evacuate most of them. Could all of this been avoided? Too many rivers are turning orange and, no matter whether its active mining operations or legacy remediation sites, the mining indus- try is the culprit. In the U.S., the people in West Virginia refer to it as the UBB disaster—the explo- sion at the Upper Big Branch mine that took the lives of 29 coal miners. This month, a federal jury found former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship guilty of conspir- acy for federal mine safety regulations (See This Month in Coal, p. 34). This is the first time that a CEO of a publicly held mining company has stood trial for the deaths of miners, and the jury's decision has far ranging implications. Those who knowing- ly flout safety regulations and misrepresent the situation will be held accountable. While it's not over yet—sentencing is scheduled for March and Blankenship will likely appeal—the conviction will give surviving relatives some level of solace. Blankenship shares the blame with others, some of which have already been pros- ecuted. Yes, this too could have been avoided. Others will say that regulators had an obligation to close that mine and that they too failed those 29 miners. Massey Energy will not be remembered for its accomplishments. Instead, it will be remem- bered as an unsafe Appalachian coal operator. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. It takes years, sometimes decades to build trust and brand credibility, especially in the mining business. The weak link can erase all of those efforts in hours. Engineers have a fiduciary responsibility to identify these types of risks to the best of their ability, daylight them as soon as pos- sible and eliminate them. When a surgeon has a bad day, his or her patient dies; when an engineer has a bad day, people perish, the environment suffers and the livelihoods of many more are jeopardized. Steve Fiscor, E&MJ; Editor-in-Chief, sfiscor@mining-media.com How Will They Be Remembered? 2 E&MJ; • DECEMBER 2015 F R O M T H E E D I T O R Steve Fiscor/Editor-in-Chief www.mining-media.com Engineering & Mining Journal , Volume 216, Issue 12, (ISSN 0095-8948) is published monthly by Mining Media, Inc., 10 Sedgwick Drive, Englewood, Colorado 80113 (mining- media.com). Periodicals Postage paid at Englewood, CO, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40845540. Canada return address: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5, Email: circulation@mining-media.com. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial cal- endar, are available on the World Wide Web at www.e-mj.com. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscribers. Non-qualified persons may subscribe at the following rates: USA and Canada, 1 year, $82.00, 2 year, $139.00. Outside the USA and Canada, 1 year, $134.00, 2 year, $249.00 sur- face mail (1 year, $191.00, 2 year, $352.00 airmail delivery). For subscriber services or to order single copies, write to E&MJ; , 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA; call +1.303.283.0640 (USA) or visit www.mining-media.com. ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and retrieval of select- ed archived articles from leading electronic databases and online search services, including Factiva, LexisNexis, and Proquest. For microform availability, contact ProQuest at 800-521- 0600 or +1.734.761.4700, or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to E&MJ; , P.O. Box 1337, Skokie, IL 60076 USA. REPRINTS: Mining Media Inc, 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA phone: +1.303.283.0640, fax: +1.303.283.0641, www.mining-media.com PHOTOCOPIES: Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate, personal, or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at +1.978.750.8400. Obtain further information at copyright.com. EXECUTIVE OFFICE: Mining Media, Inc., 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA phone: +1.303.283.0640, fax: +1.303.283.0641, www.mining-media.com COPYRIGHT 2015: Engineering & Mining Journal, incorporating World Mining Equipment, World Mining and Mining Equipment International. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Editor-In-Chief—Steve Fiscor, sfiscor@mining-media.com Managing Editor—Russ Carter, rcarter@mining-media.com European Editor—Simon Walker, simon.emj@btinternet.com Latin American Editor—Oscar Martinez, omartinez@mining-media.com South African Editor—Gavin du Venage, gavinduvenage@gmail.com Australian Editor—John Miller, john@asiaminer.com Assistant Editor—Jennifer Jensen, jjensen@mining-media.com Graphic Designer—Tad Seabrook, tseabrook@mining-media.com Mining Media International—Editorial Office 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306; Jacksonville, Florida 32224 USA Phone: +1.904.721.2925 / Fax: +1.904.721.2930 Mining Media International—Corporate Office 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1; Denver, Colorado 80231 USA Phone: +1.303.283.0640 / Fax: +1.303.283.0641 President/Publisher—Peter Johnson, pjohnson@mining-media.com VP-Sales and Marketing—John Bold, jbold@mining-media.com Midwest/Eastern U.S. & Canada, Sales—Victor Matteucci, vmatteucci@mining-media.com Western U.S. & Canada, Sales—Mary Lu Buse, mlbuse@mining-media.com Scandinavia, UK & European Sales—Colm Barry, colm.barry@telia.com Germany, Austria & Switzerland Sales—Gerd Strasmann, info@strasmann-media.de Australia & Asia Sales—Lanita Idrus, lanita@mining-media.com Japan Sales—Masao Ishiguro, ishiguro@irm.jp Indonesia Sales—Dimas Abdillah, dabdillah@mining-media.com Latin America Sales—Sylvia Palma, sylvia@downeyassociates.cl Classified Advertising—Kirk Carbo, kcarbo@mining-media.com Production Manager—Dan Fitts, dfitts@mining-media.com