ORAL
| SESSION: Non-ferrousTuePM-R1 | Barrios International Symposium on Sustainable Non-ferrous Smelting and Hydro/Electrochemical Processing (5th Intl. Symp. on Sustainable Non-ferrous Smelting and Hydro/Electrochemical Processing) |
| Tue Oct, 24 2017 | Room: Condesa II |
| Session Chairs: Juergen Antrekowitsch; Krishna Parameswaran; Session Monitor: TBA |
14:30: [Non-ferrousTuePM05] Plenary
Mining and Sustainable Development: Oxymoron or RX for a Bright Future? An Update Krishna
Parameswaran1 ; Manuel
Ramos
2 ;
1tfgMM Strategic Consulting, Scottsdale, United States;
2ASARCO LLC, Tucson, United States;
Paper Id: 105
[Abstract] This paper is an update of a keynote talk with the same title at the 2011 Fray Symposium in Cancun, Mexico in 2011, at which ASARCO LLC received the Fray International sustainability award for its on-going sustainable development initiatives. It attempts to answer the often-asked question of whether metal mining (defined broadly to incorporate mining, beneficiation, smelting and refining) is compatible with the concept of sustainable development. Starting with the classic Brundtland Commission definition of sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, it makes the case that mining can and should be sustainable, using select examples of sustainable mining practices at Asarco. These examples cover the entire mining cycle starting with exploration, operation, closure and post-closure and post mining land use.
| SESSION: Non-ferrousTueAM-R1 | Barrios International Symposium on Sustainable Non-ferrous Smelting and Hydro/Electrochemical Processing (5th Intl. Symp. on Sustainable Non-ferrous Smelting and Hydro/Electrochemical Processing) |
| Tue Oct, 24 2017 | Room: Condesa II |
| Session Chairs: Yoshiei Kato; Takahiko Okura; Session Monitor: TBA |
15:00: [Non-ferrousTueAM06] Keynote
21st Century Alchemy: Transitioning from Mining to Solar Manuel
Ramos
1 ;
Krishna
Parameswaran2 ;
1ASARCO LLC, Tucson, United States;
2tfgMM Strategic Consulting, Scottsdale, United States;
Paper Id: 186
[Abstract] ASARCO LLC (Asarco) and its parent Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V (Grupo Mexico) are of the view that a renewable energy project can be viable use of un-utilized mine lands and post-mining use of disturbed mined lands that have been reclaimed. This paper examines the drivers that make mining and solar energy development a good fit and, through a case study, discusses Asarco’s experience in hosting the Avalon Solar Project, a 57-megawatt (MW) single-axis tracking solar power photovoltaic (PV) facility situated on approximately 500-acres tract of retired agricultural land, acquired for water rights purposes, in Pima County, Arizona near the Asarco’s Mission Complex. The paper also discusses the reclamation of the San Xavier tailings storage facilities and waste rock deposition area, located within the boundaries of the San Xavier District (District) of the Tohono O’odham Nation where a portion of the Asarco Mission mining operations occur. These and other closed and reclaimed tailings storage facilities and possibly waste rock deposition areas could be suitable for siting future photovoltaic (PV) solar projects.
