ENVSEC: GRID Arendal

Risk Assessment Considerations in the Donetsk Basin

Mine Closure and Spoil Dumps

For UNEP GRID Arendal January 2009

In support of the Environment & Security (ENVSEC) Initiative work with the Ukrainian Coal Mining Sector, 2008

ENVSEC UNEP GRID Arendal

 UNEP Grid Arendal

Risk, Mine Closure and Spoil Dumps in Ukraine

Executive Summary
The coal industry of Ukraine is a vital component of the national industrial infrastructure and economy. Among other things, it underpins the metallurgical industry of the country with coking coals, the thermal power generation sector with steaming coals, and it also supplies both energy carrier and feedstock to the chemicals sector. Ukrainian coal reserves are enormous, at some 25-30 billion metric tonnes, roughly half of which is anthracite and bituminous coals, half lignite and subbituminous coals (IEA 2003; EIA 2007). Despite this importance, the cost of mining activities to the country in environmental and social terms has also been large. As a prime example, the mining areas surrounding Donetsk constitute one of the most environmentally damaged regions of the Ukraine. The many hundreds of coal mine sites have been key contributors to this degradation. In the past 15 years or so pursuant to economic restructuring, many mines have ceased activities or have been targeted for closure. For most of these sites, closure is premature and is taking place both before coal reserves are exhausted and before development of proper plans for safe, environmentally responsible and socially robust closure. As such, the Ukraine has been faced with an unprecedented occurrence of premature mine closures that have the potential to cause significant adverse impacts on the environment and community. The Ukraine is struggling to manage the process of mine closure in an appropriate manner and society and the environment are suffering. This document seeks to present a structured overview of risks that are associated with mine operations and closure, and options for the conduct of work towards the reduction of such risks. It has the intent to both support, and generate new ideas for, the ongoing coalmine closure programme in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. While there are numerous environmental and social effects related to the mining of coal in Ukraine, this document addresses one key category that of the ongoing environmental effects of the many mine spoil dumps that litter the Ukrainian landscape. Because of their makeup, positioning and condition, these dumps affect society and all the natural media (air, water, subsurface) negatively. This work is a response from the ENVSEC Initiative to these challenges. Thus, Risk Assessment Considerations in the Donetsk Basin: Mine Closure and Spoil Dumps provides insights into how to improve processes to reduce environmental and social risks associated with mine closure in the region with a particular focus on mine spoil dumps. It has also been formulated in such a way that it can support work that must conducted in the country to revise, improve and enforce regulatory frameworks for mining if the industry is to yield the benefits that it could. In this light, the work carried out by the ENVSEC initiative has had a point of departure that Ukrainian regulation will evolve so
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that it is more in line with the forms of practice that are maintained in the worlds leading mining countries. Moreover, generation of the text reflects recognition that a significant proportion of the spoil dumps in the country (perhaps 2-5% of them) 1 also have economic value that may be leveraged. Where this is the case, opportunities exist to both remove the risks they entail, and regain the land they occupy for alternative uses, at very low cost or even at a profit. However, the task of risk reduction and rehabilitation at dumps is undeniably complex and presently beyond the capacity of the Ukrainian institutions. In addition to the evolution of mining policy, such work will require innovation and commitment from all stakeholders. All of this is to be achieved in a difficult economic and institutional environment where the Ukrainian coal sector remains in crisis. In this light, industry production has fallen to less than half of historical highs and the country is now a net coal importer. Moreover, the restructuring process has essentially been one-way. Rather than a combination of unprofitable enterprise closure; revitalisation of mines with profit potential, and opening of new modern mines operating in a transparent manner and largely market economy, apparently ad hoc mine shutdown has dominated and progress has been slow with revitalisation and market formation. The dominant proportion of mines remains old with low productivity and many are dangerous and unprofitable. Moreover, national plans to open new mines have gone slowly or have failed. Contributing to the complexity of mine closure and the flow on effects of closure are difficulties in general economic and market structures, and the nature of the privatization process. Privatization of the coal industry in Ukraine has faced a variety of challenges, including financial instability and common bankruptcy proceedings, a lack of transparency, and even (alleged chronic corruption). All of these have also contributed to both a lack of funds for addressing the social and environmental problems associated with mine closures, and a lack of focus on achieving such goals. It is clear that technical excellence and institutional dedication is required to improve the situation. In recognition of these issues, the ENVSEC project has commissioned this document. It is to be constitute the basis for ongoing work, and as such should be considered a foundation for living document that can be revised and updated in parallel with data gathering on the ground in Ukraine. This version of the document has been produced after two field missions to the mining areas surrounding Donetsk and desk-top research. The first data-gathering mission was in the Autumn of 2007, when a wide range of technical expert groups dealing with mining and mining/environment issues were consulted. The second was conducted in the Summer of 2008; here, a smaller group of informants were consulted and a site visits were conducted to some 15 mine sites.
1

Personal communication: Evgeniy Altukhov, Uglemash, 5 August, 2008

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As such, this work has the following aim and objectives. Aim: to map the relevant issues for mine closure in the region with a particular focus on mine spoil dumps. Moreover, it should also provide a basis for ongoing work by National partners that involves: a) adaptation and application of relevant concepts of mining best practice to the Ukrainian context; b) adaptation and application of best practice mine closure planning processes to the Ukrainian context; c) examination of the completeness and reflection of best practice in Ukrainian closure legislation; d) examining the effectiveness of how the existing legislation has been implemented; e) generating proposals for improvement of some policy measures (e.g. to the Ministry of coal and eventually to the Ukrainian parliament). While the prime focus in this work is spoil dumps and pathways that can be taken to ameliorate their negative environmental effects, this is not to imply that other issues are not of great importance. To the contrary, it is simply that in line with the desires of the participating Ukrainian Ministries, the focus of this work is upon spoil heaps and their effects. Other key areas of environmental damage are addressed to a much lesser extent here but they are not ignored. Such categories include land subsidence, coal bed methane, and the impacts of pumped mine waters. Moreover, it is recognised that structured mine closure risk consideration should be a part of mine design and mine operational planning. As this is not the case in the Donetsk region, only a portion of best practice is possible to apply. However, this work will fit into the broad suite of work that needs to be performed in coming years and decades in the mining regions of Ukraine if indeed the unacceptable environmental, health and safety impacts caused by operational and closed coal mines are to be dealt with effectively. As such, best practice principles applied elsewhere in the world underpin the content of this report. This document addresses a number of topics relevant to the challenges and opportunities outlined above as indicated in the statement of aim, the major task is to map the relevant issues for mine closure with a particular focus on mine spoil dumps and then provide guidance upon where ongoing and future work needs to focus. In the opening part of this document, it is explained that while best environmental and social practice in mine planning and closure and better management of closure related risks may not be solutions for the
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broad set of difficulties of the coal sector in Ukraine, they are vital components of such solutions. In this context, an introduction to the growth of public and institutional expectations of mining organisations all around the world, and the role of planning for mine closure in meeting such expectations is provided. The text then introduces a number of important environmental and social problems in the Donetsk region. These include a number problems associated with mine spoil heaps (the prime focus of this document) then land subsidence, mine waters and coal bed methane. In closing Section 1, the concepts of integrated mine planning, best practice mine closure and the utilisation of risk management and prioritisation techniques focused on mine closure are introduced. These are demanding concepts, and delineate approaches that are very different from how such tasks are perceived and performed in Ukraine. As such, these concepts are to form an important springboard for the rest of the report. The second, and most substantive risk-related part of the report, provides details of six different categories of risk relevant to mining and mine closure. The items addressed include environmental risks, health and safety risks, community and social risks, final land use risks, legal and financial risks and technical risks. Due to factors such as the nature of the ENVSEC initiative itself (where environment is a key parameter), and due to the high environmental profile of spoil heaps in the Ukraine, the major focus is placed upon matters of environment. For each of the six categories of risk, examples are provided of how risks can be classified. Three generic categories are applied for this: broad closure risks, sub-issues and specific events or options. For each sub-issue, examples are provided that apply to the coal mines in the Donbas. This section provides a fundamental foundation for the identification of pressing issues surrounding mine closure and the manner in which they relate back to risk. The data, observations and discussions collected/conducted during missions to the field by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) GRID Arendal personnel, and the supporting work of the partner organisations in Ukraine, have been utilised to populate the tables in this part of the document with examples. In the third section of the document, an important side-track is taken. This provides details of international developments helping to drive the uptake of improved mining practices around the world. Importantly, these topics link the issues of coal mining and mine closure in Ukraine to the outside world of international finance (both for mining and for closure of mines) as well as evolving EU regulatory frameworks for mining. The first topic taken up is financial assurance for mine closure and reclamation, an important emerging requirement from governments of leading mining countries. This is followed by discussions of the Seveso II Directive enacted by the EU to help prevent and control major accidents involving dangerous substances and the so-called extractive industry waste directive again put in place within the EU system. The focus then shifts to project financing with discussion of the Equator Principles for socially responsible project investment
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the result of an initiative started by the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank. Finally, this section introduces a second set of investment principles developed by the ENVSEC partner, the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe that explicitly target jurisdictions such as Ukraine. Following these external issues, the content returns firmly to mine spoil dumps, focusing in on the environmental aspects and potential environmental impacts of mine dumps and infrastructure, and activities co-located with dumps or relevant to their operation. Guidance for ongoing field work is also provided in the form of an indicative listing of information requirements and potential information collection modes for spoil dump risk assessment. Examples are given for three forms of data collection: historical document/interview methods, scanning field assessments, and detail field assessments. Having established the broader content of such interactions with the environment and society, and how one might collect data, the fifth section then introduces simple methods for the process of prioritising risks. In the light of the large number of activities and the broad nature of some issues, such methods are vital for focusing on those issues most critical for risk amelioration associated with closure activities. The final content orientated section of the report provides a suite of seven case studies that are intended to place the terms best practice or good practice used in this document in a clearer context. Despite the fact that the works outlined have taken place in a different set of climates to that found in the Donbas, and with differing social and economic contexts, each of them has a number of learning points that are valid for the coal mining areas of Ukraine. The Australian Government generated these cases within the auspices of a programme involving considerable collaboration with UNEP (principally during the 1990s). Two cases address dump fire control, three address revegetation and management of micro-topography, and two are focused upon the utilisation of computer aided analysis to guide cost and time effective mine site and dump rehabilitation. The final sections of the report turn from content and description of tools to findings of investigative work. The final chapter delineates a number of key items for closure and closure risk consideration. The content here consists of general comments with some limited recommendations. They are largely directed towards the Ukrainian mining stakeholders that could pursue and perform such works in the future. In this light, the report generally avoids pointed recommendations directed towards specific sites, specific pieces of legislation or specific actors. Liability and ownership issues A clear message delivered by this study is that a lack of adequate legislative structures for the sale of mine lands, mine spoil dumps etc., is a significant barrier to progress in the rehabilitation of mine lands. It
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is also a barrier to the extraction of value from mine wastes. This barrier relates to both the potential for extraction of value from the materials and the potential value of the land itself for alternative uses once a dump is removed, or made safe. Informants indicated that while the Ukraine does have a law on environmental audit that to some extent addresses accountability for risks associated with changes in industrial land use, the transfer or sale of mine lands is difficult. Pointedly, there is no legal framework for a trade in dumps. From the viewpoints of land sellers, buyers and the public, delineation of liability for risks is clearly important. Moreover, examples were given of dumps that apparently have no specified legal owner, and of (generally old) dumps where land ownership has been passed to local authorities that appear to have little capacity to manage associated risks or to effectively valorize materials within the dumps. While this challenge has not been researched in detail, it appears clear that improvement of legal frameworks for liability and site ownership are vital to the process of reducing mine related risks in the region. Extracting value from spoil dumps Essentially all stakeholders in the Ukrainian mining sector indicate that extraction of value from mine legacies (in this instance spoil heaps) is desirable. Four dominant approaches are discussed: recovery of coal for sale to power stations, or for value adding into coal briquettes for private sale; extraction of aggregates for the building industry, for road building, or for fill, processing for the recovery of rare earth elements, germanium, aluminium rich minerals, and iron ore; dump removal or reshaping so that land is suitable for alternative uses and/or can be sold.

Despite broad interest, limited progress appears to have been made. Indeed, only one formal large scale coal recovery operation exists in the region. An abundance of simple, mobile informal operations for coal recovery however, indicates that there is potential for more dumps to be rehabilitated in this manner. Similarly, the recovery of aggregates and in some cases precious metals or minerals does appear feasible. Challenges to progress in the above areas are generally indicated to relate to lack of finance; lack of examples to follow; inexperience with technologies and markets, and problems with legislative structures such as ownership/liability listed above. Site security and informal coal-related activities Site security and informal mining activities carried out on mining leases are a problem in the region when viewed from a risk perspective.
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Informal activities witnessed or mentioned during the ENVSEC missions and aspects of risks associated with them include: Unlicensed and informal mining activities these small scale mines are apparently run with a minimum, or primitive consideration of, health and safety standards. As such, they pose a risk to the miners that engage in them. Moreover, worked out areas are highly likely to constitute risks (gas leakage, subsidence, void hazard etc.) for future (or present) land users or owners. It is also presumably very unclear how liability for accidents or damage, or environmental problems associated with these operations, would be managed. As formal records are not kept of operations, such difficulties can be expected to compound as time passes. Unlicensed and informal coal recovery operations again, these operations are apparently conducted with limited consideration of health and safety standards. In this case however, inspection of operations during the ENVSEC mission of 2008, indicate that these are unlikely to be particularly hazardous. Nuisance in the form of dust, noise and heavy goods traffic is evident however. As with informal mining, liability concerns also clearly exist, albeit of an apparently lesser degree. While the comments above have highlighted weaknesses and threats, another important consideration for these issues is the value that the activities yield. They provide employment and economic benefit to those that engage in them. Indeed, anecdotal evidence indicates that unlicensed mining operations pay considerably higher wages than are awarded by state operations. Moreover, they contribute to National coal production thus reducing the net production/import deficit. Dump reprocessing is also contributing to the removal of dumps that take up land and have potential to burn in itself a form of rehabilitation. In this light, it is considered that examination of possibilities to bring such activities into the formal economy is worthy of attention. Revegetation and dump rehabilitation The missions to the Donbas region have observed that the existing planning and goals for site (environmental) rehabilitation and risk reduction are inadequate. Moreover, the methods designs and methods utilised appear to differ markedly from those applied in leading mining nations and also appear to yield markedly inferior results. In this regard it is considered that new approaches have an important role to play in Ukraine if tangible progress is to be made. It is deemed that initial topics to be addressed should include, but not be limited to: landform management, dump reshaping, dump fire prevention techniques, fire management techniques, management of acidic and saline wastes, topsoil management, soil amendment, water management, revegetation techniques and final land use considerations. Information on mining objects
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Critical to achievement of improvement in all of the areas mentioned above, is access to up-to-date knowledge describing mining objects. Such information is relevant to mine closure, mine risk and mining operations. This study has indicated that effective application of computerised geographical informations systems (GIS) will be invaluable in the management of such information in the Ukrainian context. While very considerable data does exist, it is widely spread and only very limited quantities are available in digital form. Moreover, this study has revealed that there are many types of information that simply have not been collected, or where even the capacity to collect them is limited. The issue of collecting and centralising information will doubtless be a huge task, but this research indicates that it must be started and given priority if progress is to be made effectively on risk amelioration. Due to the large number of sites and objects that have significant environmental aspects a key task for data managers will be the prioritisation of risks. In this light, the content of Chapters 4 and 5 in this report provide details of how such processes may be started. Moreover, and very strongly linked to previous items mentioned in this summary, is the issue of ownership and liability. Accurate and up-todate information for such parameters is vital for the support of all mine closure and risk reduction work, and as such it must be a key component of any data management system. Closing remarks and general recommendations The report closes with a number of general recommendations for future works. 1. Adaptation and application of relevant concepts of mining best practice and best practice mine closureplanning processes to the Ukrainian context In this area, it is considered that the work has clearly established a large gap between practices applied in Ukraine and those applied in countries deemed to have best practice. However, it is doubtful that practice can simply be transposed. Many of the technical conditions and most of the socio-economic conditions in Ukraine do not have direct parallels elsewhere. As such, this study concludes that there is a clear need to conduct work to both adapt and apply best practices for the Ukraine. Further, it seems logical that external parties with extensive experience of such practices abroad should participate with Ukrainian actors in the pursuit of better practice for mining and mine closure. 2. Examination of the completeness and reflection of best practice in Ukrainian closure legislation AND the
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effectiveness of how the existing legislation has been implemented This work has found strong indications that Ukrainian practice and legal frameworks do not support good practice. It appears that work is required to analyse national regulations in the light of sound practices elsewhere and delineate those items that are addressed and those that are not. Legislation surrounding transfer of site ownership and liability is one critical area for initial examination. Moreover, the work conducted within this project has indicated that implementation of existing rules and regulations are not taking place as prescribed. Examination of enforcement in areas where health, safety or environmental risks are high, also appears worthy of immediate attention. 3. Generating proposals for improvement of the some policy measures A number of areas where proposals for policy improvement appear relevant have been identified within this study (e.g. clear delineation of ownership of sites, clarification of transfer and/or sharing of liability, examination of financial assurance/bonding schemes for new mining operations, examination of liability for hazardous historical sites, etc.). However, it is considered premature to pursue such work at this juncture. Work on the two items listed above will need to precede such action or at least be advanced to some degree before sufficient delineation of policy weaknesses is achieved. In closing this summary text, it is reiterated that many important risk concerns were found in this work. However, it was also found that the structured approaches to risk documentation and analysis can help prioritize work on reduction of such risks.

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Acknowledgments
The development of this document has been an undertaking of The Environment & Security (ENVSEC) initiative.2 As such, the document was prepared under the direction of the initiative partners. These include the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Regional Environment Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an associate partner. This report was prepared on behalf of these organisations by Philip Peck (Extractive Industries Specialist) with the close support of Elena SanterVeligosh (Capacity Building Programme Officer) of UNEP/Grid-Arendal. Any errors and/or omissions of this document remain the fault of the author.

ENVSEC was established in 2003 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) became an associate member of the Initiative in 2004, through its Public Diplomacy Division. From 2006 onwards the Initiative is strengthened with two new members: the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); and the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC).

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Table of Contents
List of Figures List of Tables
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................5 1.1 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS FOR MINE CLOSURE AND REMEDIATION ................................................7 1.2 SOME KEY ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN THE DONBAS........................................9 1.3 UNDERSTANDING MINE CLOSURE RISKS TO FACILITATE CLOSURE............................................13 2 CLASSIFICATION OF RISKS .............................................................16 2.1 ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS..........................................................................................16 2.2 HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS.....................................................................................20 2.3 COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL RISKS.................................................................................22 2.4 FINAL LAND USE RISKS ............................................................................................25 2.5 LEGAL AND FINANCIAL RISKS .....................................................................................27 2.6 TECHNICAL RISKS.................................................................................................31 3 EMERGING TRENDS FOR BEST ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICE MINING . .33 3.1 FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR MINE CLOSURE & RECLAMATION.............................................33 3.2 SEVESO II..........................................................................................................43 3.3 THE EU MINE WASTE DIRECTIVE................................................................................45 3.4 THE EQUATOR PRINCIPLES .......................................................................................48 3.5 GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES FOR FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN HAZARDOUS ACTIVITIES.............50 3.6 REAL OR PERCEIVED FINANCIAL BARRIERS ......................................................................50 4 MINE SPOIL DUMPS: A KEY CLOSURE ISSUE IN THE DONBAS............54 4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS ASSOCIATED WITH COAL MINE SPOIL DUMPS AND ADJACENT MINE ACTIVITIES /FACILITIES ............................................................................................54 4.2 INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CREATING RISK PROFILES FOR SPOIL DUMPS ...........................55 5 PRIORITISING RISKS.......................................................................59 5.1 WORKPLACE RISK AND CONTROL...............................................................................59 5.2 A CLOSURE RISK EXAMPLE URANIUM MINE.................................................................61 6 GOOD PRACTICE CASE STUDIES......................................................64 6.1 CASE 65 6.2 CASE 6.3 CASE 6.4 CASE 6.5 CASE 6.6 CASE 6.7 CASE STUDY 1: RECOGNITION, STUDY STUDY STUDY STUDY STUDY
STUDY PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SELF HEATING IN COAL MINE SPOIL

2: TOP SOIL GRAFTING AVERTS SELF HEATING............................................67 3: PROGRESSIVE REVEGETATION AND WATER BODY PROTECTION..........................70 4: BASIN LISTINGAN ALTERNATIVE TO CONTOUR RIPPING............................72 5: INNOVATIVE REVEGETATION METHODS ......................................................73 6: MINE SCHEDULING AND COMPUTER AIDED TECHNIQUES FOR MINE REHABILITATION.77 7: COMPUTER ASSISTED DESIGN FOR MINE REHABILITATION..............................79

7 CONCLUDING DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS......................83 7.1 RECAPITULATION...................................................................................................83 7.2 KEY ITEMS FOR CLOSURE AND CLOSURE RISK CONSIDERATION..............................................85 7.3 CLOSING REMARKS AND GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................90 GLOSSARY OF MINING TERMS...........................................................92 APPENDIX A ACID BASE ACCOUNTING REFERENCES......................100 APPENDIX B: DRAFT FIELD PROCEDURES FIELD SCANNING SURVEY OF DONBAS COALMINE SPOIL DUMPS..............................................101 I

APPENDIX C: DRAFT REPORT FROM UKRAINIAN PARTNER ORGANISATION: UGLEMASH .......................................................104 APPENDIX D: MINE DUMP INVENTORY ( DONUGLERESTRUKTURIZATSIA) ................................................................................................116 APPENDIX E GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES FOR FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN HAZARDOUS ACTIVITIES ....................................137 BIBLIOGRAPHY...............................................................................145

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List of Figures
FIGURE 4-1 CONCEPT DIAGRAM: PLANNED ENCAPSULATION OF ACID GENERATING MINE WASTES IN SPOIL DUMPS/TAILINGS DUMPS. . . .56 FIGURE 5-2 CALCULATION OF RISK USING THE RISK MATRIX (AFTER THOMPSON, 1999).......................................................................59 FIGURE 5-3 MINE CLOSURE RISK ASSESSMENT MATRIX (LAURENCE 2006)..........................................................................................60 FIGURE 5-4 EXAMPLE OF AN APPLICATION OF THE CLOSURE RISK MODEL IN AN AUSTRALIAN MINE (LAURENCE 2006)......................63 FIGURE 6-5 FINAL REHABILITATION COVER COALMINE SPOIL DUMP....65 FIGURE 6-6 RESHAPING DUMPS COALMINE SPOIL............................67 FIGURE 6-7 SPOIL HEAPS PRIOR TO REHABILITATION.........................68 FIGURE 6-8 DRAGLINE ADJUSTING DUMP SLOPES AND COVER WITH TOPSOIL......................................................................................69 FIGURE 6-9 VEGETATION ESTABLISHMENT ON SPOIL DUMP................69 FIGURE 6-10 MINE PITS RESHAPED TO CAPTURE SITE RUN-OFF...........71 FIGURE 6-11 VIEW OVER REHABILITATED MINE LAND.........................72 FIGURE 6-12 SITE PRIOR TO REHABILITATION.....................................75 FIGURE 6-13 SITE 3-4 YEARS AFTER REHABILITATION WORKS COMMENCED...............................................................................75 FIGURE 6-14 VEGETATION GROWTH ON FORMER PIT..........................76 FIGURE 6-15 GENERAL LAYOUT OF OPERATION AT NABARLEK............76 FIGURE 6-16 NABARLEK: AS DESIGNED (AFTER RILEY 1994)...............77 FIGURE 6-17 NABARLEK: AS CONSTRUCTED SHOWING FINAL LANDFORM (AFTER RILEY 1994).....................................................................77 FIGURE 6-18 CAD MINE DESIGN OPERATOR........................................78 FIGURE 6-19 AN EXAMPLE OF COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN USED TO GIVE A THREE DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF A PROPOSED MINE SITE..........81

List of Tables
TABLE 2-1 CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS PART A (AFTER LAURENCE 2006).............................................................17 III

TABLE 2-2 CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS PART B (AFTER LAURENCE 2006).............................................................18 TABLE 2-3 CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS PART C (AFTER LAURENCE 2006).............................................................19 TABLE 2-4 CLASSIFICATION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS................20 TABLE 2-5 CLASSIFICATION OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL RISKS..........23 TABLE 2-6 CLASSIFICATION OF FINAL LAND USE RISKS......................26 TABLE 2-7 CLASSIFICATION OF LEGAL AND FINANCIAL RISKS (PART A) ..................................................................................................28 TABLE 2-8 CLASSIFICATION OF LEGAL AND FINANCIAL RISKS (PART B) ..................................................................................................30 TABLE 2-9 CLASSIFICATION OF TECHNICAL RISKS...............................31 TABLE 3-10 DIFFERING TYPES OF FINANCIAL ASSURANCE..................35 TABLE 3-11 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FINANCIAL ASSURANCE THROUGH BONDING.................................................38 TABLE 3-12 GUIDELINES FOR FRAMEWORK POLICIES. ........................40 TABLE 4-13 INDICATIVE LISTING OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: COAL SPOIL DUMPS IN THE DONBAS.....................................................54 TABLE 4-14 INDICATIVE LISTING OF INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS AND POTENTIAL COLLECTION MODES FOR SPOIL DUMP RISK ASSESSMENT..............................................................................57

IV

1 Introduction
The coal industry of Ukraine is a vital component of the national economy and industrial infrastructure. Among other things, it underpins the metallurgical industry of the country with coking coals, the thermal power generation sector with steaming coals as well as supplying both energy carrier and feedstock to the chemicals sector. Ukrainian coal reserves are enormous, with some 25-30 billion metric tonnes, roughly half of which is anthracite and bituminous coals and half lignite and sub-bituminous coals (IEA 2003; EIA 2007). Covering some 12 500 km2, the nations coal seams typically occur at depths of 200-700 m (Ivanova 2004). Despite this importance, the cost to the country in environmental and social terms has also been large. As a prime example, the Western Donetsk Basin (also known as the Donbas) is one of the most environmentally damaged regions of the Ukraine. Coal mining activities have been one of the key contributors to this degradation. During the 20th century, some 600 coal mines with over one thousand shafts were developed in the coal regions of Ukraine. These have exploited some 600 km2 of coal seams during the active period of mining. In the past 15 years or so (pursuant to economic restructuring) many mines have ceased activities or are slated for closure. For most of these sites, a situation has arisen that mirrors developments all around the mining world while closure may be planned, most commonly it is premature and occurs before coal (or ore) reserves are exhausted. While the reasons why mines close are diverse and include economic, geological, geotechnical, regulatory, community and other pressures (Laurence 2006) the closure of so many mines in a short period in the Donbas is predominantly linked to one major change. This being the marked collapse of the broad centrally-planned economy. As such, the Ukraine has been faced with an unprecedented occurrence of premature mine closures that (as with any mine closure) have the potential to cause significant adverse impacts on the environment and community. Ukraine is struggling to manage the process of mine closure in an appropriate manner. As Ukraine is faced with both the legacies of at least a century of intensive coal mining and unprecedented occurrence of premature mine closures and energy security of supply concerns, action is required to ensure that future coal mining contributes more to the nation. Closure related planning is part of such action. Moreover, principles guiding closure must be embodied in some way by mining policy frameworks. Evolution of mine policy frameworks including the frameworks guiding mine closure planning and risk management is vital for maximising economic benefit, minimising environmental and social costs, attracting reputable international project finance, and maintaining a social licence to operate for the sector.

While there are numerous environmental and social effects related to the mining of coal in Ukraine, this document addresses one category that is of key interest in the context of mines slated for closure or where mining activities have ceased. This encompasses the ongoing environmental effects of the many mine spoil dumps that litter the Ukrainian landscape. Because of their makeup, positioning and condition, these dumps affect society and all the natural media (air, water, subsurface) negatively. This stated, many of these also have economic value that may be leveraged. Particularly in cases where dumps have economic value, opportunities exist to both remove the risks they entail and regain the land they occupy for alternative uses. In a proportion of cases, it will be feasible to generate profit from such dumps either from the value of coal, aggregates, or other minerals they obtain, or from the land itself. The task of risk reduction and rehabilitation at all dumps however is undeniably complex. In addition to the evolution of mining policy spoken of above it will require innovation and commitment from all stakeholders. All of this must also be managed in a difficult economic and institutional environment where the Ukrainian coal sector remains in crisis. Industry production has fallen to less than half of historical highs and the country is now a net coal importer. Moreover, the restructuring process has essentially been one-way. Rather than a combination of unprofitable enterprise closure, revitalisation of mines with profit potential, and opening of new modern mines operating in a transparent and largely market economy mine shutdown has dominated and progress has been slow with revitalisation and market formation. The dominant proportion of mines remains old with low productivity. Many are dangerous and unprofitable. Moreover, national plans to open new mines have gone slowly or have failed. Contributing to the complexity of mine closure and the flow on effects of closure are difficulties in general economic and market structures, and the largely unsuccessful nature of the privatization process. Privatization of the coal industry in Ukraine has faced a variety of challenges. These have included financial instability, common bankruptcy proceedings, and a chronic shortage (or reallocation) of funds for addressing the social and environmental problems associated with mine closures. Operating profitably is a challenge for technical reasons as well as for market reasons. There are very difficult geological conditions at many of the underground coalmines. Challenges include thin, steeply sloping coal seams, very deep mines, and high concentrations of methane gas. As a result, Ukraines coal mines rank among the least productive operations in the world. In 2002, average coal mining productivity in Ukraine was approximately 320 tons per miner per year a figure less than half that of Poland and a tenth that of the UK. Despite hundreds of millions of $ in government subsidies, many mines are still not profitable. It is clear that technical
6

excellence and institutional dedication is truly required productivity to profitable levels under such conditions.

to

lift

In recognition of such issues, this ENVSEC project has commissioned this document. It is to be a living document that is revised and updated in parallel with data gathering on the ground in the Donbas. This version of the document has been produced after two field missions to the Donbas and extensive desktop research. The first data-gathering mission was in the Autumn of 2007 when a wide range of technical expert groups dealing with mining and mining/environment issues were consulted. The second was conducted in the Summer of 2008; here, a smaller group of informants were consulted and a site visits were conducted to some 15 mine sites. As such, this work has the following aim and objectives. Aim: to provide a mapping of the relevant issues for mine closure in the region with a particular focus on mine spoil dumps. Moreover, it should also provide a basis for ongoing work by National partners that involves: a) adaptation and application of relevant concepts of mining best practice to the Ukrainian context; b) adaptation and application of best practice mine closure planning processes to the Ukrainian context; c) examination of the completeness and reflection of best practice in Ukrainian closure legislation; d) examining the effectiveness of how the existing legislation has been implemented; e) generating proposals for improvement of some policy measures (e.g. to the Ministry of coal and eventually to the Ukrainian parliament). While the prime focus in this work is spoil dumps and pathways that can be taken to ameliorate their negative environmental effects, that is not to imply that other issues are not of great importance. To the contrary, it is simply that in line with the desires of the participating Ukrainian Ministries, the focus of this work is upon spoil heaps and their effects. Other key areas of environmental damage are addressed to a much lesser extent here. Such categories include land subsidence, coal bed methane, and the impacts of pumped mine waters.

1.1 Higher expectations for mine closure and remediation

Increasing expectations for environmental protection, desires for reduced human health risks, competition for land, and the increasing value of the natural environment as recreational space are a significant
7

driver for improvement of performance in the mining sector. Such pressures have led to marked improvements in regulatory requirements and mining practice in a number of countries. Indeed, in response to social and regulatory pressures, many mining companies and authorities around the world have introduced management policies, practices and technologies that markedly reduce the environmental harm caused by mining (Environment Australia 2002; Gammon 2002; Miller 2005) . Awareness of the environmental implications of its mining sector, and of opportunities for post-mining environmental and social restitution are also on the increase in the Ukraine. When viewed in combination with growing desires to preserve land areas as a repository for valuable biological assets, for natural environmental services, and for aesthetic appeal, these developments appear likely continue to drive continued improvement in mining practice in Ukraine as is taking place abroad. As a part of this positive trend, mine planning, mine closure practices and the conduct of mine operations to facilitate environmentally and socially acceptable closure have also evolved significantly in recent years. While in the past, communities often saw that the only choice available was whether a deposit should be mined or not, it has been clearly shown that the manner in which a mine is planned and operated can have major positive influences on the magnitude and duration of impacts over the life of the development. Importantly, the same holds for the period following its closure (Environmental Protection Agency 1995; Environmental Protection Agency 1995). Where planning for the closure phase has been largely absent, as in Ukraine, the problems inherited by the authorities (or by following generations) can be enormous. This however, does not remove the need for works to reduce the risks associated with environmental legacies. In the context of this document, it is important to note that the mining sector is a very important contributor to local and national economies (as in the Donbas). Furthermore, it must be recognised that in the past, authorities did generally not require the closing of mines in the manner described throughout this report. Pursuant to this, blame is not intended to be directed towards those actors that have inherited such problems. Further, the extractive industries will continue to underpin the economies of many countries including Ukraine into the future. As such, ongoing and new developments to mine resources such as the coal seams of the Donbas will be vital for the pursuit of sustainable development. Here however, the accountability for avoiding the poor practice of the past does rest with the incumbent authorities. In recognition of this importance, this document intends to help facilitate the works already commenced by mining authorities in Ukraine as they seek to develop better mining policy, and increase national capacity and institutional development in order to achieve a

(more) sustainable mix outcomes from mining.

of

social,

economic,

and

environmental

While the key focus of this document is upon the coal mining areas of the Donetsk Oblast, much of the material and ideas presented here are generic.

1.2 Some key environmental and social problems in the Donbas

As indicated above, there are many environmental, health and social problems in the Donbas that are contributed to by the closure (and/or operation) of coal mines. The following sections introduce some selected items in order to provide context to this document.

1.2.1 Spoil heaps

At the current time, the Ministry of the Coal industry of Ukraine is in the process of closing some 121 mining enterprises and liquidating their assets. They report that 341 spoil dumps are located within this suite of mines. At least 105 of these dumps are burning. The ministry holds that all dumps require some degree of activity to extinguish, reshape, and/or revegetate (Yermakov 2008). Protection of the environment from contaminated leachates will also require that a number of the dumps be capped with low permeability seals in order to prevent the influx of air and water. Appendix D provides an inventory of those dumps under the jurisdiction of the Ukaines mine restructureing programme (Donuglerestrukturizatsia) as of the start of 2008. While not comprehensive, this material provides an overview of the status of some 400 objects at more than 50 sites. Key environmental and social challenges associated with dumps include: Dust generation surfaces; from unsealed or non-revegetated dump

Emission of toxic fumes from burning dumps; Effluents and leachates to surface waters and land including sediment, salts, acids and heavy metal contamination; Leachates to groundwaters including salts, acids and heavy metal contamination; Physical hazard related to dump morphology or stability; Land-take and negative visual impact.

Burning heaps - after the ejection of waste rock and rejected coal from the mine, large volumes of coal and carbonaceous material are exposed to oxygen in air. Once exposed, (and if left exposed) the materials oxidise and liberate heat. If the heat is not dissipated rapidly enough, the temperature rises. This drives oxidation and the heat generation process at a faster rate and if not controlled, spontaneous
9

combustion can result. This situation has arisen many times in the Donbas. The consequences of spontaneous combustion in spoil heaps may be significant and in the populated areas of the Donbas the consequences are indeed reported to be serious. For example, open fires and smouldering combustion can give rise to toxic fumes (and/or emissions of concern) such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2), as well as the tarry emission products (including poly-aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) associated with incomplete coal combustion. The Scientific and Research Institute of Mining Engineering and Fire Safety (NIIGD) (UNEP Mission Report 2007) indicates that coal dumps release some 500kt/yr of these emissions in the Ukraine and some 120kt/yr in the Donetsk Oblast. Further consequences arise from the danger of fire spreading to surrounding land, the destabilisation of the landform with possible subsidence, landslides and the death of vegetation in the vicinity of hot spoil. It should also be noted that burning dumps constitute a potentially deadly hazard for animals or humans venturing onto their surfaces. Burning dumps indicated by the Ministry of Coal include: 3 Donetsk region 52 closed/closing mines where 69 of 177 waste dumps are burning; Lugansk region 36 closed/closing mines where 34 of 244 waste dumps are burning; Lvovsko- volynskiy region 8 mines closed/closing mines where 2 of 7 dumps are burning.

Generation of acid and heavy metal contaminated leachates - on the spoil dumps in the Donbas (as in almost all mine dumps where rock with acid generating potential is present) the oxidation of pyrite upon the extraction of sulfidic rock from coal mines and its dumping on the surface is accompanied by a sharp drop in the pH of the surface layer. This in turn facilitates the transformation of a number of metals present in waste rock (e.g. Fe, Al, Mn, Zn) into mobile forms; and the synthesis of typical mineral products of sulphuric weathering, such as gypsum, jarosite, schwertmannite, iron oxides, etc. (Kostenko and Opanasenko 2007). On the surface of Dumps in the Donbas, this substrate is progressively leached of excessive toxic components and is gradually becoming overgrown with vegetation (Kostenko and Opanasenko 2007). Anecdotal evidence collected during UNEP missions to coal dumps indicates that some 30 to 50 years is required for surface soils to be
3

Note: these details may not correspond exactly with the content of the inventory included in Appendix D.

10

sufficiently leached that they support the vegetation growth. Providing confirmation of this is that several un-remediated dumps that were more than 50 to 75 years old inspected during UNEP missions appeared to have vegetation or forest cover on 50% or more of their surfaces. Steeply sloping faces (at the natural angle of repose of dump materials) and south-facing slopes often remain bare. Dust, erosion and visual impact A lack of vegetation on dumps maintains a high propensity for erosion by wind and water. Wind erosion generates dust that in turn constitutes either a nuisance or a chronic hazard to the surrounding communities. The severity of impacts is dependent upon the nature of the dust and the existence of receptors. Erosion by water also generates sediment. Again, the degree of harm it can cause depends upon the make up of the dumps that it arises from and where it flows to. Also important from a stakeholder perspective, is that revegetated dumps are significantly less visually disturbing than bare spoil heaps. As such, achievement of dump revegetation of dumps is perceived as an important activity within any closure plan. As indicated above, many decades is required for this to occur if no action is taken. The Steppe zone of Ukraine where the Donbas is situated lies in a continental-temperate climate area where moisture is the one of the main limiting factors and where grasses dominate natural vegetation (Loza and Nazarenko 2006). As such, the dry hot summers of the region represent a significant challenge for revegetation activities.

1.2.2 Land subsidence

Following mining in the Donbas, subsidence equivalent to about 90% of the depth of the extracted layer is common. In the region there are two primarily damage pathways. Firstly there is physical infrastructure damage (to buildings, roads, etc.). Secondly there is flooding if groundwater levels are permitted to rise to original levels after mine closure then up to 35% of the surface area of many villages and towns may be submerged (Yermakov 2008). According to Yermakov (2008) three Donetsk regions are under study due to the seriousness of land subsidence impacts. These include: circa 160 km2 in the Stahanov region where deformation of 72 buildings has occurred; some 60 km2 in the Proletarsko-Bydenovskyi (Donetsk) area where 31 buildings are affected; the central area of Donbas where deformation of 120 buildings has occurred.

11

1.2.3 Pumped mine waters

Each year the mines in the Donbas pump some 700 million m 3 mine water in order to facilitate coal extraction. Technical experts indicate that 60-80% of mines are hydraulically linked indicating that a closed mine that is close to a mine that is operational must still be dewatered (Organisation dealing with the development of mine closure projects State Enterprise Ukruglerestrukturizatsia , 2007 UNEP mission). Due to the geochemistry of the waters and particularly due to high salt concentrations associated with saline coal deposits in the region, or heavy metal contamination, this represents a particularly serious environmental aspect of mining (Yermakov 2008). Not all mine waters are saline however, and a significant number of mines pump water suitable for both irrigation and for human consumption. In such instances, the direct release of such waters to the environment is also perceived as a loss of an economic resource. Saline coalfields are known in many countries of the world, such as Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Czechia, Russia, the United States, Australia, and others. In the Ukraine, and the Donbas in particular, such coals are common (Ivanova 2004). The demonstrated reserves in the Ukraine amount to more than 25 Gt and are mainly concentrated within the western part and, to a lesser degree, northern part of the Donets Basin. Key areas with saline coal include the lignites of the Petrikovka coalfield and high-volatile B bituminous (hvBb) coals of the Novomoskovsk coalfield, Starobelsk coal-bearing area, and Millerovo coal-bearing district. Coals of the Novomoskovsk field in the western Donbas contain nearly 1% Na2O on a whole coal basis at 10% ash content. Coals of northern Donbas are less saline and locally distributed. Most of the coals mined in the Donbas occur in the geological horizons from 170200m to 600640 m) below the surface (Ivanova 2004). Mining involves the extraction of groundwaters that would otherwise flood the mines. Mine waters are loaded with heavy metal ions and salts, especially Na+ and sulphides. Ivanova (2004) indicates that extracted waters are pumped into storage ponds, where the pumped water should settle and be remediated. That author indicates that these processes are not up to standard and much mine water seeps away to mix with, and contaminate groundwaters and raise the levels of shallow aquifers. Anecdotal evidence collected by the authors of this report indicates that mine water also discharges directly to surface waterways.

1.2.4 Coal bed methane

Significant concentrations of methane are associated with many of the coal seams mined in the Donbas and the management of this flammable and explosive gas constitutes on the prime safety issues for mining activities. After closure, the potential for methane to leak from coal seams to the surface remains a major issue. Gas migration can occur via voids such as shafts and also via fissures and cracks that reach from the seams up to the surface.
12

In the context of closure, CH4 leakage is an issue that must be monitored. In some instances, the residual gas in closed mines may also constitute an economic resource for recovery.

1.3 Understanding mine closure risks to facilitate closure

In the context of both the Donbas environmental challenges outlined in the previous sub-section and the Ministry of the Coal industry process of achieving closure for some 121 mining enterprises, the following section (Section 2) will outline a thorough categorisation process that can support more acceptable forms of closure. Section 2 addresses a broad set of risk assessment categories that are primarily intended to be used at the planning and operational phases of a mine life cycle. Yet here, this document is largely examining a situation where the challenges are inherited and as such cannot be circumvented. It is held however, that consideration of all such categories, even at this stage, has great value. Prior to that discussion of closure two last sub-sections are included in this introduction. First, clarification is provided for two vital concepts applied in leading mining countries. Although the words appear in the Ukrainian mining industry, it is held here that the practices embodied by them do not. Second, the manner in which this discussion seeks to address risk management (associated with closure) is introduced.

1.3.1 The terms mine closure and integrated mine planning

Within this document, the general ethos of so called sustainable mining is captured by integrated mine planning where a mine closure plan should be an integral part of a project life cycle. Such closure plans should be designed to ensure that: future public health and safety are not compromised ;

environmental and resources are not subject to physical and chemical deterioration; the after-use of the site is beneficial and sustainable in the long term; any adverse socio-economic impacts are minimized; and all socio-economic benefits are maximized.

As has been mentioned, mine closure was not considered as an integral part of the project life cycle for the mines in the Donbas addressed by this text and as a result significant legacies remain. Proper mine closure is still desirable, however. Here we shall clarify what we mean by this term. According to Sassoon (2000), integrated mine planning requires proper mine closure and:
13

.... a mine closure plan should be an integral part of a project life cycle and be designed to ensure that: Future public health and safety are not compromised;

Environmental resources are not subject to physical and chemical deterioration; The after-use of the site is beneficial and sustainable in the long term; Any adverse socio-economic impacts are minimised; and All socio-economic benefits are maximised.

In a more environmentally focused manner, Australia key minerals industry representative groups hold that: Mine rehabilitation is an ongoing programme designed to restore the physical, chemical and biological quality or potential of air, land and water regimes disturbed by mining to a state acceptable to the regulators and to post-mining land users. The objective of mine closure is to prevent or minimise adverse long-term environmental impacts, and to create a self-sustaining natural ecosystem or alternate land use based on an agreed set of objectives (ANZMEC MCA, 2000, p. v) For the purpose of this discussion it is held that the process of operating and closing mines must integrate community expectations and concerns, governmental requirements, and profitability of the mining project, while also minimising environmental impacts. Moreover, it is held that operation and closure must be achieved so that future public health and safety are not compromised; environmental resources are not subject to (abnormal) physical and chemical deterioration in the long term; and that the afteruse of the site is beneficial and sustainable in the long term. This stated, it is clearly recognised that one immediate difficulty for the Donbas is that most mines have been operational for long periods or have ceased operation. As van Zyl et al (2002a) underline, while mines in planning stage have maximum freedom to address sustainable development goals during closure, and while those that are in the middle of their operating life have significant opportunities to do so, operating mines that are close to the end of their economic life have limited options available. Mines that have ceased operations have the least degrees of freedom. Unfortunately, this is often the case that is to be dealt with in the Donbas. Moreover, it can be added that due to a long history of mining in the area and the substantial time since the cessation of mining activities, the ownership of many sites is unclear or problematical. For instance, some sites of significant hazard have been handed over to local municipalities or are technically ownerless. Dealing with risk reduction at such sites is even more of a challenge.
14

1.3.2 Risk management to reduce impacts and aid prioritisation

In order to aid the process of risk assessment for the mines subject to closure in the Donbas, some parts of established mine risk management techniques shall be modified to the local context. Laurence (2006) has performed extensive work to document risk management techniques to help reduce the impacts of mine closure. Parts of a tool and closure risk model developed by that author are applied here. Tools such as this can be applied to assess the major closure risks at individual mine sites in a structured, systematic manner. Full application of risk assessment tools can also facilitate comparisons between the closure issues at a single site as well as between different mines.4 Comprehensive ex ante assessment of mining risks is NOT sought in this work nor is it feasible at this stage of this work or for mines already at closure status. Rather, the next section will simply outline a number of risk categories that commonly require consideration within a mining context and provide some guidance upon their relevance to the mine closure challenges in the Donbas. It is intended that field work performed as part of this ENVSEC project will commence the process of examining such categories. When performing such assessments, Laurence (2006) (and like-minded risk assessors) also provide guidance regarding the makeup of the teams performing assessments, and recommendations for how the procedures should be undertaken. Laurence for example indicates that: a team-based approach is essential to ensure that all of the risks are incorporated; the use of an external facilitator should be used in order to reduce subjective bias; community engagement (e.g. employees, landholders, local and state governments, and other stakeholders), both during operation and the inevitable mine closure phases is important with the consequences of a poor consultation strategy being potentially severe in terms of community impacts. Other benefits include significant cost savings and a competitive advantage for future exploration/mining activities.

Following the approach of Laurence and his model, the components of mine closure risk introduced here are broadly divided into environmental risks, safety and health risks, community and social risks, final land use risks, legal and financial risks and technical risks.

Laurence for example, seeks to generate a single qualitative and quantitative measure (the Closure Risk Factor or CRF) that captures the various significant risk components of mine closure.

15

2 Classification of risks
In the following six sections, different categories of risks relevant to mining are presented. As the original utilisation of such risk assessments is usually to assess possible risks that could arise in the future when a mine closes (either according to mine plan or prematurely) then the utilisation within this document is different. In the Donbas, the premature (or unexpected) cessation of mining activities has already occurred. As such, many opportunities for pre-emption of problems are lost. However, the very process of systematically placing the risks associated with the closure of mines has, in itself, significant value as a guide for required actions and as a tool for communication to other stakeholders. Moreover, and has been noted in the introductory chapter, prime focus for this mine closure work is upon spoil dumps and environmentally related issues. As such, more weight has been placed on categories associated with dumps. Environmental risks, health and safety risks, community and social risks, final land use risks, legal and financial risks and technical risks are addressed in the following sections. The most relevant risk category for the ENVSEC study being undertaken is that of Environmental Risk.

2.1 Environmental Risks

Table 2-1, Table 2-2, and Table 2-3 overleaf indicate broad categories of environmental risk grouped into sub-issues, specific events for mining and specific examples identified for coal mines in the Donbas. As indicated in the introductory chapter, the mine spoil dumps are a key focus for this study the many potential pathways for negative environmental effects are highlighted within the table.

16

Table 2-1
2006)
Broad closure risk Water

Classification of environmental risks part A (after Laurence

Specific event (options) Sedimentation Effluent Drainage Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)/heavy metals Salinity Contamination (ARD, NMD and processing chemicals) Drawdown Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines

Sub-issue

Surface waters

Sediment to surface waters from dump erosion and from disturbed land. Runoff from dumps contaminated with heavy metals, sediment, acidity from oxidation of pyrite in sulphidic rock and heavy metals, sulphates etc. Potential for hydrocarbon contamination (including PAHs) contamination from incomplete combustion of coal in dumps. Leachates with acid from oxidation of pyrite in sulfidic rock and coal, heavy metals, sulphates etc. Leachates from hydrocarbons (including PAHs) contamination from incomplete combustion of coal in dumps. Residual coal washing/processing chemicals (albeit, their application in the Donbas is reportedly rare).. Aquifer drawdown (in areas where active pumping continues). Low level area flooding (in areas where mine dewatering has ceased and groundwaters have recovered). Massive pumping operations in many cases due to hydraulic linkages between closed and operational mines 100s of m3/hr is common. Shallow aquifers affected by saline or otherwise contaminated waters. Some high quality mine waters are suitable for drinking water and/or agricultural application. Existing aquatic ecosystems affected by waters with elevated levels of salts and/or metals. New aquatic ecosystems created in subsidence/shallow aquifer areas where wetlands form after groundwater recovery (Loza and Nazarenko 2006). Active ventilation of methane CH4 from mines Chronic leakage of CH4 from mines Emissions from burning dumps including carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatilised heavy metals and tarry compounds. Further details are available in Appendix C. Dust generation from spoil dumps including the formation of dump with trucks loaded with coal waste. Potential for increased dust emissions during dump reshaping, aggregate or coal recovery, truck movements, rehabilitation works etc. Urban and peri-urban location of spoil dumps implies heightened risk to community.

Ground waters

Downstrea m usage

Agriculture Drinking Aquatic ecosystem

Air

Gas

Greenhouse gas emissions Other emissions (e.g. SO2) Tailings Stockpiles Rehabilitated areas

Dust

17

Table 2-2
2006)
Broad closur e risk Land system s

Classification of environmental risks part B (after Laurence

Specific event (options) Close to population centre or main roads Remote Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines

Sub-issue

Aesthetic values

Infrastructur e

Soils

Buildings, equipment, camps Roads Stockpiles, dumps, dams, sumps Borrow pits Contamination Topsoil availability/suitabil ity Erosion potential Reshaping/earthw orks

Significant visual impact of mine dumps in urban and periurban areas. Essentially all mine dumps markedly visible in Steppe landscape. Visual impact may not necessarily have negative connotations due to a) being part of the cultural landscape; b) absence of other significant topographical features. Smoke and/or dust generation visible to surrounding populations. Significant remaining mine infrastructure at many mines. Process of infrastructure removal and liquidation ongoing in many cases. Remaining pump house infrastructure at mines with ongoing water extraction. Dump soils unsuitable for support of vegetation growth until some 30 years of weathering and salt/acidic leaching has taken place {so called Technogenic soils (weathered shales) may be suitable as growth substrate (Kostenko and Opanasenko 2007)}. Steppe soils are suitable and physically available for dump revegetation in many locations but legislative barriers to usage of such soils exists. Most dumps are created at angle of repose, as such very significant erosion potential is inevitable. Evidence of significant water erosion on dump side-slopes. Some proportion of dumps have been reshaped (apparently to a limited extent, with removal of top and moderate decrease in slope). Moisture and harsh winters have contributed to grasses dominating natural vegetation on the steppe. Pine forests and small birch-aspen woods exist in sheltered well watered spots. Flora reestablishment efforts have focused upon hardy nonnative species (some 30 types) with acacias dominating. Birch and aspen are also evident. Abandoned spoil dumps are often self-grassed with some self established trees after the passage of some 30-50 years. Details of revegetation procedures and approaches are available in Appendix C. Revegetation with tree species has apparently been successful on rehabilitated dumps but is labour intensive with planting of individual seedlings (circa 40-80% survival rate) reported. Discussions with expert organisations indicate that mulching, soil amendments, hydroseeding etc. do not appear to have been trialled extensively if at all although they are listed as theoretical possibilities. Hot dumps are reported to constitute a unique winter habitat for macrofauna (e.g. hares). Limited vegetation cover on many dumps indicates limitations for macro-fauna. Biodiversity or fauna counts are not mentioned by revegetation specialists. Aquatic fauna generally not relevant to spoil dumps or shafts however, potential for significant biodiversity gains in flooded subsidence areas is possible. All general access to mines is relevant in the Donbas. Shafts require removal of head frames and then capping. This is normally conducted but sites are not secured. Abundant availability of spoil for backfilling if required. Subsidence leads to extensive infrastructural damage, flooding (where surface levels fall below shallow groundwater levels, enhanced methane gas migration via fissures. Monitoring of explosive gases, groundwater quality, ground subsidence etc. is required in medium to long term.

Flora reestablish ment

Simple Complex Rare/significant

Fauna reestablish ment

Terrestrial Avian Aquatic

Voids

Open Backfill (using waste rock) Exploration Management/ Monitoring

Subsidence

18

Table 2-3
2006)
Broad closure risk Wastes Subissue Dumps

Classification of environmental risks part C (after Laurence

Specific event (options) Reshaping Covers AMD Topograph y Seismicity Climate Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines

Reshaping limited to cone removal where applied. Three types of dumps are built in the region cone shaped, ridge shaped and flat top dumps (see Appendix C). Signicant reshaping likely required if long term erosion is to be controlled. Dump slopes of 25-30 - even in residential areas are common in the region. Slopes of less than 20 are listed as gentle. Low permeability covers likely required if acid generation and AMD/ARD is to be reduced. Dumps highly visible due to flat steppe landscape. Seismicity has not been reported as a problematic issue for dumps. Climatic conditions moderately conducive to AMD. Dry climate reduces options for vegetation covers. Destabilisation of spoil dumps with possible subsidence, landslides and the death of vegetation in the vicinity of the hot spoil. Covers not applied (reported for only one operational site where compacted and covered layers for fire prevention are applied). AMD, salinity and toxicity effects are not assessed, monitored or reported. Stability assessments of dumps are uncommon or not conducted at all (1 university study of dump stability reported that many dumps are physically unstable).5 One formal and legal coal washing/beneficiation plant operates in the Donbas it has processed two waste dumps with a total of 2 million m3 (for details of the Snezhnyanskaya#1 plant, see Appendix C). A second operation (5 spoil heaps, total 12 million m3) is planned. A simple water/gravity separation process for coal is applied. Dense media cyclones or other more advanced coal recovery technologies are not reported. Informal and illegal coal recovery operations operating with simple dry vibrating tables yielding a fuel of 5-10MJ/kg are common on spoil dumps. Notably, in coal rich dumps, coal grades often vary from low values (less than 5%) at the dump bottom (e.g. associated with mine development) to as high as 15% in upper portions of dumps. Typical concentrations are related to be 10-15%. Coal fines dumps and Ash dumps land based. Coal recovery tails are codisposed with aggregate waste in dump recovery operations. These typically have high clay content and may be suitable as revegetation substrate.

Tailings

Hazardou s materials Other

Heritag e

Indigenou s Nonindigenou s

Reshaping Covers AMD Toxicity Stability Landbased Riverine Submarine Chemicals including cyanide Fuels, lubricants Sanitation Tyres, machinery etc. Garbage

Historical contamination not known but highly likely at many sites in localised areas. Chemicals and fuels use now minimal at closed or closing sites. Dumps and their surrounds are commonly utilised by local populations for the disposal of municipal solid waste.

No known indigenous community issues. Limited heritage issues with mines.

Personal communication: Prof. Yurij Gavrillenko, 5 August 2008

19

2.2 Health and Safety Risks

Table 2-4 indicates broad categories of health and safety risk grouped into sub-issues, specific events for mining, and specific examples identified for coal mines in the Donbas. Health and safety risks are relevant for several groups. These include, among others: mine workers, mine closure contractors, neighbours and potential future land-users. Table 2-4
Broad Closure Risk Openings

Classification of health and safety risks

Subissue Shafts, raises, winzes Adits, drifts Specific event Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines Essentially all large scale mines accessed by shafts. Typical seam depths at horizons from 170200m to 600640m). A number of mines reported to be on care and maintenance or closure preparation are reportedly involved in coal production. As such, shafts and lifting equipment operating in such mines represent both an operational and closure risk. A large number of illegal small scale mines are now operational on mine lands. These typically access shallow seams on mine leases and have unsupervised access. Open pits generally not applicable in Donbas. Extensive backfill available if and when required (from mine spoil dumps). Effective fencing, safety barriers or supervision are generally absent from many sites particularly old or closed sites. Degassing and dewatering networks with primary health and safety issues can be related to explosive gas migration.

Open pits

Backfill Fencing Bunding Reducing batters

Wastes

Trenches, costeans, drill holes Dewaterin g Spoil dumps

Toxic emissions Physical stability

Subsidence

Coal or mineral extraction Crown pillar collapse Caving

As deposited dumps may have significant stability issues particularly where combustion has weakened dump structure. Dump slopes of 25-30 - even in residential areas are common in the region indicating a physical hazard. Most dumps are left at the natural angle of repose. Emissions from burning dumps are toxic. Intrusion upon the surface of a burning dump is directly dangerous. Subsidence equivalent to about 90% of the depth of the extracted layer is common. Earth movement and cave-ins remain a prime issue in operational mines of the Donbas. Longwall operations are conducted in the operational seams of the Donbas. For closed or closing mines in the region there are two primary damage pathways that remain: physical infrastructure damage and flooding reported health and safety risks are related to structural integrity of buildings etc. that are in turn affected by subsidence. Details of the risk of flooding of residential or industrial areas pursuant to cessation of mine dewatering are included in Appendix C. Ownership and access for remaining mine buildings needs to be both determined (ownership) and controlled (access). Access to buildings and remaining buildings, equipment and mine lands remains an important issue both prior to and after cessation of operations.

Infrastructu re Security

Buildings, equipmen t

Increased security

Theft Unauthoris ed access

Emergency response preparedne

Mine sites in transition economies and in developing countries are particularly susceptible to unauthorised access, theft of equipment and materials, dismantling of infrastructure and salvage of materials (e.g. copper cables, reinforcing iron, structural metal, etc.). Illegal mining operations on mining leases owned by the state and utilising official mine drawings and geological data as a basis for their planning are common. There are clearly significant health and safety issues for such mining operations. Similarly, unauthorised coal recovery operations from dumps exist. Security interventions for these operations are apparently absent. Emergency response issues post closure are indicated to be related to: a) potential for dump fires, b) gas fire or explosion risk, c) building stability, d) residual infrastructure safety. Modes or

20

ss Radiation source Disposal

delineation of responsibility for such responses at non-operational sites remain unclear. No evidence of formal emergency response plans for closed mines was found. Not raised as a relevant issue for waste dumps by informants. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that the presence of uranium is possible in some dumps and this should be established on a site by site basis..

21

2.3 Community and Social Risks

Table 2-5 indicates categories of risk associated with communities around mine sites and the social structures that have relied upon them. Where mines have already closed in the Donbas, most of the structures and impacts related to community and social risks have already taken their final form here such items are listed for completeness and in recognition of the usefulness of basic documentation ex post. However, even for mines that have been closed, due recognition of community and socially related risks related to the sites is required. Where mines have not yet closed, or are in the process of closing, recognition of some of these items may facilitate modification of closure plans in order to achieve improved site closure and remediation, and reduced residual community and social risks. While, many of the items listed in Table 2-5 lie outside the scope of this report, they are included for completeness. Moreover, they provide the reader with important context regarding the status of coal mining and mine closure with the overall economy and social condition of the region.

22

Table 2-5
Broad risk closure

Classification of community and social risks

Sub-issue Provision for entitlements Retraining, relocation Workers compensation claims Improved communication Safety awareness - increase in injuries as closure approaches Keeping team together particularly key personnel Specific event Specific examples, issues and or potential relevance for Donbas Coal mines Provision for entitlement provisions are the responsibility of the State for the Nationalised operations. Details of private mine arrangements, payments, payouts and pensions were not ascertained during the UNEP missions. Retraining and relocation programmes were not reported by any Mission informants. Requirements for new forms of safety awareness and training associated with new mine closure activities were not reported by any Mission informants. Identification of key personnel and special teams suited for specific closure projects (e.g. infrastructure dismantling, shaft capping, spoil dump remodelling, revegetation, etc.) were not reported by any Mission informants. General safety performance as reported in official statistics is now rising from a peak of deaths and injuries per coal tonnage unit during the 1990s. Accident rates are not as low as they were during the peak time for the industry during the late 1970s. Management of mining in privatised mines is reportedly very poor with incentives (or instruction) to maximise production at the direct cost to mine safety (e.g. reducing roof support intervals well below minimum standards was one anecdote provided). Can be used to reduce the need for, and impacts of retrenching employees. Potential for cost blow outs Contractor arrangements were not reported Significant numbers of residual mine employees are retained on mines slated for closure. Evidence was found of such mines still producing coal but not necessarily preparing for closure. Details of whether coal was being officially traded from such sites were not ascertained.

Employees

Management

Contractors

Unions/employe e representatives Landowners

Details of this issue were not obtained during UNEP missions. Indigenous Non-indigenous Not all mine lands are owned by the State. Many historical sites where mining has ceased or where spoil dumps are very old have been ceded to third parties such as municipal councils (committees). Accountability for risks, ownership in the case of reprocessing and so forth remain extremely unclear. Ukrainian legislative frameworks for transferring site ownership and accountabilities are absent or poorly developed. Some 5000 residents are reported to live in so called sanitary zones (no go zones) around mines and mine dumps. Numerous dwellings located within 10s of metres from dumps were witnessed during the UNEP/ENVSEC mission of 2008. A range of issues in this category are relevant to the Donbas region6 and require exploration on a site by site basis. Most mine waste dumps are in urban or periurban areas some literally in backyards. Local communities are thus affected such dumps especially in the cases where they emit pollutants to air and water. Informants to the UNEP mission reported discomfort from such emissions as undesirable but essentially a fact of life. General issues are included in the category below (regional, national) Specific risk issues relevant to the general decline of coal mining and mine closure in particular (thus regional and national) include: Mining tradition in area maintenance of key skills and capacity during transition periods, heritage value of specific infrastructure, and mine sites normality of spoil heaps in peri-urban environment, etc. Informal organisaed and/or itinerant mining, coal recovery and dump processing activities.

Affected residents New settlers Local government General community impact

Local

As below.

Regional National International

Fly-in, fly-out or mining town One company town Isolation Mining tradition in area High local unemployment Single industry town Residential property value impact Impact on family values Diversification or decline Return to subsistence Health issues alcohol, drugs

High local unemployment doubled 1995 to 1999 (then circa 11%), drop in production for the region during transition has been greater than average for the county with circa 40-45%, a low degree of change in industry branch structure (Rudenko, Gukalova et al. 2005). Coal production fell to less than half of peak figures and employment in the industry fell correspondinly (UNEP 2007 Mission Report). Closure of some 40 mines with a loss of 67 000 jobs expected (Rudenko, Gukalova et al. 2005). The coal industry has been a very significant part of the economy in the sub-region, tracking of trends in this regard and relative growth of alternatives, etc. is important (see diversification) Residential property value impacts are likely affected e.g. downwards by presence of waste, by derelict sites and by industrial activities such as dump material recovery operations, upwards by remediation and rehabilitation works, etc.

Rudenko anddd Gukalova (2005) report that: in 1998 the president signed a law on special economic zones and special regimes of investment activity in the Donetsk region. According to that law, subjects of economic activity in towns and districts in the region receive subsidies and preferences when implementing investment projects directed at social problems. The council on special economic zones and special investment regimes is responsible for implementing the law and for selecting investment projects. It has already approved 85 projects (47 foreign investments) with allocated funds totalling 667 million US$. Within the framework of this programme 2,700 new jobs have been created and 4,100 jobs saved. The strategy of forming special economic zones and regions for priority development has proved to be very productive for the Donetsk region. However some improvements will be required in the future, such as better investigation and selection of projects in relation to strategic tasks. The transformation of economic structures and other strategies also needs to be considered.

23

Impact on family values collapse of the formal economy, significant effects on family structure and function, wage earners commonly enter shadow economy that is some 50% of economy. Organised crime the highest growth in crime levels was seen in 1999, when, for example, 96 criminal gangs were uncovered in the region of Donetsk. The national homicide rate grew by 11 % in 1999, and by 2005 amounted to 112 per 1 ,000 inhabitants. Reportedly, 27 % were carried out by gangs from Donetsk region (Rudenko, Gukalova et al. 2005). Diversification or decline (see coal industry above) The Donetsk region is categorised as Overindustrialised with very high proportion of coal mining, electricity generation and chemical and metallurgical industry, withpredominant development of mid and low-technology branches of machine-building and metal-processing etc. (Rudenko, Gukalova et al. 2005) Growth and entrenchment of the shadow economy. Health issues such as alcohol abuse, drugs assumed to be prevalent among unemployed miners.

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2.4 Final land use risks

Many of the mines in the Donbas are located in peri-urban or even urban areas. In such circumstances it is likely that a wide use of possible final land uses may be slated for the site. These may include: Green areas, park or woodland, Agricultural use, Grazing, Industrial or light industrial applications Residential zones, or a mixed use combination of the above.

During missions, significant interest in the redevelopment of land taken up by dumps was indicated by many informants. Moreover, while there has been a long period of industrial use for many of the mine sites and while many sites have adjacent industrial or residential areas, the possibility that high importance biodiversity areas might constitute heritage sites exist cannot be excluded. In this light, the literature indicates the establishment of rich wetlands in subsidence areas (Loza & Nazarenko, 2006). As the most visible (and dominating) features at closed (or closing) mines, the closure works on spoil dumps and their making safe ( physically, geo-chemically, and visually) will be a very important factor in options, risks and decisions regarding final land use. As such, a good understanding of all mine dumps will be required for both risk assessment and closure activity prioritisation. As indicated in the previous sub-section, it is reported by a number of informants to the UNEP missions that very significant difficulties remain in the legislative frameworks surrounding the transfer of ownership of mine sites from the State to individuals or organisations. As such, issues of unclear liability are very likely to affect final land uses. Table 2-6 seeks to categorise a number of the risk issues associated with final land use.

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Table 2-6
Broad closure risk High value ($/ha or conservati on values)

Classification of final land use risks

Specific event Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines

Sub-issue

Premium agricultural land Industrial commercial/ residential

Residual or ongoing contamination Ongoing long term physical or chemical risks

Affected mine or dump pollution (by air or dump application), or from contaminated waters however, it appears unlikely that many Donbas sites will fall into such categories

National park/heritage Medium value Return to pre-existing ecosystem Forest Grazing Previously disturbed mine site Heavily degraded arid land

As above

e.g. Migration of contaminants from dumps (e.g. salts, heavy metals etc.) Gas migration from voids or land subsidence. Details of the risk of flooding of residential or industrial areas pursuant to cessation of mine dewatering are included in Appendix C. As above however, it appears unlikely that many Donbas sites will fall into such categories, rather they are considered as potential sites for public reserves. As for agricultural land above it appears unlikely that a significant proportion of Donbas mine sites could fall into this category. Moreover, organised agriculture even low intensity grazing activities appear uncommon in the area. Many sites appear likely to fall in this category.

Residual or ongoing contamination Residual or ongoing contamination

Low value

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2.5 Legal and financial risks

The closure process for the mines in the Donbas region is costly. Indications are that while many mines cost in the order of 20 to 30 million Hryvnia (UAH)7 to close according to current Ukrainian requirements, 8 for some, requirements can be in the order of 100 to 120 million UAH.9 Among those operations that are slated for closure and under care and maintenance regimes, costs are indicated to run to the order of 1 million UAH per mine per month. 10 These costs generally do not appear to be allocated to remediation but to operation of pumps, ventilation etc. plus social payments. Anecdotal evidence suggests that corruption accounts for some (perhaps significant) portion of these monies as well. However, the direct closure costs are not the only items that have cost implications. This section documents a category combining direct financial risks and legal risks (with financial implications) for mine closure. Table 2-7 overleaf provides a summary of a number of potential risk areas related to the legal and financial aspects of mine closure.

7 8

In July 2008, 1 Euro = circa 7.4 Ukraine Hryvnia Note that Ukrainian mine closure requirements may NOT satisfy best practice mine closure requirements. See Mining for Closure published by UNEP in 2005 for general discussions of what represents best practice. (Joint stock company Dongiproshaht of the Ukrainian Ministry of the Coal Industry, 2007 UNEP mission) (Organisation dealing with the development of mine closure projects - State Enterprise Ukruglerestrukturizatsia , 2007 UNEP mission)

10

27

Table 2-7
Broad closure risk Governme nt

Classification of legal and financial risks (part A)

Specific event Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines While closure guidelines and requirements exist in Ukraine, it is desirable that they be aligned with standards in the EU and with global mining best practice. Monitoring of compliance of closed mines with standards appears to be non-existent. Monitoring of water, air, groundwater, dust, etc. appears to be entirely absent. Resources and processes for monitoring and sanctioning appear to be essentially absent. The title to many recently operational mine sites remains with the Ukrainian State (albeit, in an unclear fashion). Many old sites have however, been ceded to municipal ownership. There appear to be no mechanisms for liability. These issues pose legal risks for both current owners and/or potential investors in such sites. The details of title exchange regarding privatised sites, and the liability provisions for new owners is not known at this stage there is both a chronic lack of information and clarity regarding this issue. Several informants report that Ukrainian legislation has not yet been developed to address the transfer of liability and/or the ownership of resources. The government was the operator and owner of mines in Ukraine. Bonds or other forms of financial assurance were not required and the Government remains responsible for the historical contamination, which has just been left. Accountability for historical contamination problems at mines that have been privatised is reported to lie with Government but no mechanisms for shared liability or transfer of liability were reported. There is apparently no formal monitoring of status. No forms of bonding of new mines or new extensions to mines were reported during UNEP missions. No awareness of such practice was been reported. It appears that insufficient mine, mine impact, mine survey, full ownership information etc. is available to the institutions tasked with closing mines. In the absence of full documentation of mines sites and their environmental aspects, then a number of potential financial risks exist. These include inter alia: risk of costs being significantly larger than expected for items that are known, risks of new closure items being discovered, future damage costs for unexpected events, and so forth. As one example, while much of this document addresses gaps in information regarding the environmental risks, considerable documentation of mine spoil heaps, their environmental impacts, their potential value, the feasibility of differing remediation and rehabilitation options etc. does exist. However, the 2007 UNEP mission established that such information is in the hands of many different organisations and does not appear to be centrally controlled or available. Moreover, there are significant restrictions upon access to information in some instances. Redundancy payouts and/or for miners in the region involves significant amounts of money. Clarification is required regarding whether this is covered from mine closure budgets or from other State funds. In the new situation of privatised operations, clarification is also required regarding the conditions imposed on the new owners, if any, and how payouts to miners are financed and managed in the case of

Sub-issue

Regulatory compliance

Title

Retain Sell Relinquish

Security/bo nd

Large Small

Documentation

Ownership information Liability for legacies Liability for future impacts Liability documentation for new mines or extended mine operations.

Creditors

Employees

Redundancy entitlements Pensions

28

Contractor s Businesses

Governme nt

Financial obligations for worksconducted/contracts etc Liability for damages to contractors or business during the closure process or pursuant to mine closure. Taxes Royalties

unexpected closure (e.g. in the case of bankruptcy or a physical mine disaster), planned closure and so forth. Such information was not sourced or provided during the UNEP missions conducted to date. Clarification is required regarding whether such items are covered from within mine closure budgets or from other State funds. Such information was not sourced or provided during the UNEP missions conducted to date

It is assumed unlikely that there are outstanding taxes or royalties to the state from the state owned enterprises. However, this category may be a closure issue for privatised operations that are to close. Such information was not sourced or provided during the UNEP missions conducted to date

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Table 2-8
Broad closure risk Provisioning for rehabilitatio n

Classification of legal and financial risks (part B)

Subissue Provisio n made Specific event Infrastructure removal or sale Waste dump remodelling, capping, revegetation etc. Installation of pumping and water treatment equipment Ongoing operation and maintenance of items such as water pumps. Monitoring of environmental quality Etc. As above Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines Detail information regarding the exact items that are included in mine closure in the Donbas were not obtained. However, it is understood that provisions in the closure budgets are made for removal of some underground infrastructure, removal of most or all above ground infrastructure, removal of dump tops and minor remodelling of dump shape, revegetation of dumps and installation of groundwater pumping equipment in situations where the mine is hydraulically connected to adjacent mining operations. No evidence of site by site financial set-asides earmarked for ongoing maintenance etc. was found.

No provisio n

A significant financial or legal risk identifiable at this stage is that in the future new closure activities for which no provision exists arise as both regulatory and external stakeholder requirements become more exacting. It is foreseeable that such costs will fall upon the economic actor owning the site at that time unless exclusion clauses for future liabilities of this type are explicitly addressed in the ownership transfer documents. No efforts to protect or monitor groundwater, surface water, ensure dump stability etc. It is understood that most salvage that is economically feasible at the current time is carried out (e.g. mobile and fixed equipment with residual or scrap value). Future planning for mine closure needs to address such salvage costs explicitly. Adverse publicity is strongly linked to comments regarding greater future stakeholder expectations for environmental, health and safety quality in the future.

Salvage

Potential for adverse publicity and impact on business

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2.6 Technical Risks

This section documents a number of technical risks associated with mine closure. Table 2-9 provides a summary of a number of potential risk areas related to the legal and financial aspects of mine closure. Note that many of the technical risks associated with the operation of a mine are not addressed here.

Table 2-9
Broad closure risk Closure plan

Classification of technical risks

Sub-issue Plan exists and up to date Plan not up to date Specific event
Specific examples and issues for Donbas Coal mines

Absence plans prior mining cessation

of to

Although elements of closure planning are embodied in the specifications for mine closure, specific formal plans for management of technical risks do not exist. Details remain to be obtained in such categories. Data made available to UNEP thus far has not described in detail the process of developing closure plans, the standard items contained within them or the manner in which closure progress is monitored, or the manner in which mine closure plans are updated to account for changing technical or stakeholder requirements.

Generation of plans for mines in closure process or slated for closure Rehabilitation progress against plan Management Community liaison Environmental Planning Electrical/mechan ical/ financial etc. Exhausted As above for mine closure plans

Closure team

No details of the makeup of closure teams and task descriptions has been provided or found by UNEP missions.

Resource/rese rves

Not exhausted

Accessible for future extraction Potential for new reserves Sterilised Permanently

The information provided to UNEP in 2007 meetings indicates that coal seams for some closed mines were exhausted or significantly depleted. However, specific details of such mines involved have not been made available to UNEP. It is known that the resources in a number of the mines that have been closed, or mines slated for closure where not exhausted and for at least some of these, anecdotal evidence of the closure of some mines with both significant remaining reserves and significant further development has taken place. Due to the ongoing mining activities in the region and the broad acceptance of mining it is anticipated that few coal resources are sterilised permanently. Other technical considerations such as subsidence and gas migration combined with the presence of residential or active industrial areas above coal seams can serve to sterilise the resource. As such the spread of surface land use is linked to new reserves and closure as a closure parameter (e.g. to force earlier than otherwise closure)

31

32

3 Emerging trends for best environmental practice mining

This section introduces a number of international developments that are acting to drive the uptake of improved mining practices around the world. In the context of this document, the types of best environmental mining practice items addressed here are inextricably linked with the issues of coal mining, coal mine legacies, and mine closure in Ukraine. The first topic introduced is Financial Surety (or Financial Assurance). Importantly, financial assurance for mine closure and reclamation is a topic also addressed in a number of the other emerging trends introduced here. The second item is The Seveso II Directive enacted by the EU to help prevent and control major accidents involving dangerous substances and now also addressing the mining sector. Among other things, it includes a range of requirements relating to safety management systems, emergency planning and land-use planning. The third item is the so-called extractive industry waste directive or Mine Waste Directive 11 again put in place within the EU system. As its name suggests, it addresses the management of waste from extractive industries and has a primary intent to prevent pollution and accidents related to mine waste. The fourth topic taken up concerns the Equator Principles. These are the result of an initiative started by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank (WB). These principles are intended to ensure that the projects financed by signatories are developed in a manner that are socially responsible and reflect sound environmental management practices. Finally, this section introduces a second set of principles developed by the ENVSEC partner, the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC). Again, these principles have been formulated in order to promote the ideas and mechanisms that may be required if hazardous activities such as mining are to be financed in ways that promote good practice. These principles are explicitly targeted at jurisdictions such as Ukraine.

3.1 Financial Assurance for Mine Closure & Reclamation12

Financial surety instruments can be defined as:
11

The extractive industry waste directive is officially labelled Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament.

12

A significant part of this discussion is derived or based upon position papers produced by Dr. C. George Miller (1998; 2005) on behalf of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and its predecessor, the International Council on Metals and the Environment (ICME). Miller has an extensive and distinguished background working with mining and related environmental policy issues. Among other roles he has served as Director of the Centre for Resource Studies at Queens University, Canada, as Assistant Deputy Minister, Mineral Policy for the Government of Canada, as President of the Mining Association of Canada and as a Director of the Industry Government Relations Group in Ottawa.

33

guarantees issued by a bonding company, an insurance company, a bank, or another financial institution (the issuer is called the surety) which agrees to hold itself liable for the acts or failures of a third party (Miller 1998) At present, the most common use of environmental surety instruments is when arrangements are put in place to guarantee environmental performance after closure through the funding of mine site reclamation or rehabilitation. As such, financial assurance (or surety) is also the amount of money available to a government entity for closure of the mine when the mine owner is not available to perform the work, (e.g. bankruptcy) during operations or any time thereafter. The financial surety can be provided by a variety of financial instruments or cash deposited in a bank. However, it is important to realise that the governmental policy and local financial markets may determine the type of instrument available for a specific location (Miller 1998; Van Zyl 2000; van Zyl, Sassoon et al. 2002; Miller 2005). The specific tailoring to the jurisdictional context in the region or country is a prerequisite for the successful function of such instruments. There are a large number of options available for financial assurance instruments. Each type of instrument may be appropriate in a given situation or set of circumstances but this depends upon a range of different criteria. Examples of factors that need to be taken into account include the financial stability and strength of the mining company; the size of expected or potential environmental liabilities associated with the operation; the time frame over which the liability is to be maintained and so on. There also appears to be promise that insurance packages offer potential for reducing the costs and risks associated with environmental financial assurance. Some forms of financial assurance that have been utilised, (or are available and suitable for use) are listed with working definitions in the table below. Examination of this table should immediately indicate that a number of these options are simply variations on a similar theme. The definitions supplied here are relatively informal again the context and legal frameworks of the country of application are important in this regard the definition and mode of function for these may differ in different legal jurisdictions.

34

Table 3-10 Differing types of Financial Assurance

35

Financial Assurance form Surety bonds

Definition or description Surety bonds are three-party agreements in which the issuer of the bond (the surety) joins with the second party (the principal) in guaranteeing to a third party (the obligee) the fulfillment of an obligation on the part of the principal. An obligee is the party (person, corporation or government agency) to whom a bond is given. The obligee is also the party protected by the bond against loss. Performance bonds guarantee performance of the terms of a contract. This protects the owner from financial loss should the contractor fail to perform the contract in accordance with its terms and conditions. A fund built up over a period of time to provide a given sum of money at the end of that period. Similar to sinking funds but an accounting allowance, and as such not available to creditors as cash. A contractual arrangement between a number of companies and the government that undertakes to cover closure costs should one party default on their accountabilities. An undertaking by a bank to be answerable for payment of a sum of money in the event of non performance by the party on whose behalf the guarantee has been arranged. Certificates of Deposit are securitised bank time deposits. The creditworthiness of a bank is evaluated by impartial rating agencies and this affects the conditions of the arrangement. A Letter of Credit is a conditional promise issued by a bank requiring the bank receiving it to pay a sum of money to a specified party upon fulfillment of the stipulated terms and conditions (or in this case, potentially upon the default of the mining company in site closure). A legal arrangement whereby control over property is transferred to a person or organization (the trustee) for the benefit of someone else (the beneficiary). Funds, property, or other things of value left in trust to a third party. The Escrow may be released upon the fulfilment of certain conditions or by agreement of the parties. A security is a tradable, substitutable, negotiable instrument representing financial value. In this case, the entity issuing the security (issuer) would be the government. An insurance scheme, or insurance tool; in this case set up specifically for the mining industry in which the insurance sector assumes accountability for the costs of closure.

Performance bonds

Sinking funds Financial accruals

Security pool involving several companies

Bank guarantee

Certificates of deposits

Irrevocable13 letters of credit

Irrevocable trusts

Escrow accounts

Government securities

Captive insurance schemes

13

The term irrevocable indicates that the option cannot be changed or cancelled once it is set up without the consent of the beneficiary.

36

According to van Zyl (2000) a clearly established manner in which to achieve financial assurance is via the accumulation of financial accruals by mining companies for closure. It is common to base accruals on a unit production basis (such as $ per ounce of gold produced). The total amount of the accrual is estimated from the environmental closure cost plus other liabilities specific to a mine such as land holdings, personnel costs associated with the end of operations, and so forth. Financial auditors can perform annual reviews to determine the adequacy of these closure funds. A number of additional features also characterize financial assurance and closure cost accruals (c.f. van Zyl et al (2002) and Miller (1998)). Conceptually, financial assurance is in place during the total life of the mine and will only be released (in part or in total) after the regulatory agencies have established that rehabilitation has been completed to their satisfaction. However, the financial surety does not necessarily constitute a fixed amount throughout the life of the mine. Rather, it may vary pursuant to the conduct of mining and rehabilitation (e.g. as one pit is filled by transfer mining) as environmental issues develop at a mine, as regulatory changes occur, as community expectations change and so forth. Closure cost accrual should take place over the life of the mine on the basis of an agreed and continually updated mine plan. As such, accruals are not necessarily a linear function but rather will also vary over the mine life. In the US and some other countries, the financial assurance fund is not available to a mining operation for closure work at the end of the mine life, but rather may be released shortly after the work has been done. As such, the mining company must be a going concern in order to perform, or contract some entity to perform, the required closure activities. As a variation, a number of mining companies have established sinking funds14 to pay for the closure of a mine. Money from a sinking fund will be available in cash to pay for closure in contrast to an accrual that is an accounting allowance and as such is not liquid. However, it must be noted that while sinking funds may be attractive because they are liquid, in the case of a bankruptcy these become part of the assets of the company and will not be available to pay for closure (as they may be taken by the creditors of the operation). Among Financial Assurance instruments that are applied, bonding is the most widely used. Bonding involves the payment into escrow 15 of an amount determined by regulators to be sufficient to ensure an acceptable level of remediation. In an extensive study of bonding and insurance as prime alternatives Poulin and Jacques (2007) contrast the

14

To ensure there is money on hand to redeem a bond, a mining corporation may establish a separate custodial account, called a sinking fund, to which it adds money on a regular basis. Funds, property, or other things of value left in trust to a third party. The Escrow may be released upon the fulfillment of certain conditions or by agreement of the parties.

15

37

advantages and disadvantages of the bonding instrument. Table 3-11 summarises their main observations. Table 3-11 Advantages and disadvantages of Financial Assurance through bonding
ADVANTAGES Protection against unfounded reclamation needs. Relies on individual performance objectives, rather than broadly applied standards. Bond payments into escrow accounts have great symbolic and hence political value. Posting a bond is a form of commitment by mine company managers. DISADVANTAGES Depends on monitoring, including the resources allocated and the expertise available, both to governments negotiating bond size and terms, and to bond issuers. Bond size and thus minimum reclamation is a floor, not an optimum. Bonds are not immune to political pressure. Difficulties in measuring future reclamation costs and setting bond amounts. Insufficient bond amounts due to unforeseen changes. Bonds create liquidity constraints.

Adapted from Poulin and Jacques (2007).

The advantages of bonds are sometimes clear, as in the case of providing protection against unfunded liabilities as in the event of bankruptcy. However, alternative forms of FA are also available. One such pathway proposed by Poulin and Jacques (2007) is a form based on a captive insurance company for the mining sector. This alternative appears to address some of the shortcomings of bonding identified in Table 3-11 and also appears to deliver improved incentive structures at the same time. However, both insurance schemes and other forms of Financial Assurance also have a number of derived effects, both upon the internal financial operational decisions of individual mines, and on the relationships between mines and their stakeholders, most notably governments and local communities. Additional notes on (previously) preferred manners in which to manage closure guarantees and the clear direction of future expectations are included in Box 1 on the next page and in Table 3-12 Overleaf .

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Box 1

Accounting provisions and good practice (Nazari 1999)

International practice requirements in the absence of regulatory

In the absence of other regulatory requirements, accounting provision is preferred by the mining industry to address mine closure liabilities. This practice is an accounting transaction which allows a company to make non-cash provisions for future mine closure costs. However, this does not result in any actual cashflow for the purpose of accumulating closure funds or payment of related expenses. Unless the company has chosen to set aside actual funds for closure, when the project approaches the closure date, closure liabilities are likely to exceed the projects and the companys tangible book values, assuming the typical scenario of a ring-fenced special purpose mining company which is operating one mining project. Any attempts to raise additional funds for closure at this stage by selling the companys assets would be unlikely to raise sufficient funds to meet the closure requirements. A one-project-company may declare bankruptcy at this stage rather than attempting to raise and invest additional funds for the terminal stage of the project with no prospect of a return on such an investment. Declaring bankruptcy would externalise the costs associated with mine closure and result in the financial burden being passed on to the authorities. Government funding may well be inadequate to mitigate potential long term environmental and safety impacts. Good mining industry practices in Australia, Canada, and the USA, for example, are typically guided by industry stewardship, i.e. self-policing as a result of good corporate governance, by following company policies and reflecting shareholder, employee, and NGO pressure, relatively recent regulatory frameworks, and sophisticated financial and insurance markets to integrate and address mine closure activities and their financing. In these countries, accounting accruals alone are typically no longer considered adequate to mitigate the risk of non-performance of mine closure activities. Instead, companies are required to secure the funding by providing guarantees for mine closure funds prior to commencing construction and operation, and prior to generating any cashflow from the operation. The available guarantee options include bonding, corporate surety and guarantees, letters of credit, deposits of cash or gold, insurance and other methods. Key considerations during the selection process by both industry and regulators include the costs associated with each option, the credit-worthiness, and the trackrecord of the owner/operator.

Table 3-12 overleaf provides a summary of policy guidelines developed by Miller (2005) for the ICMM in 2004. A number of proviso statements, justifications for the industry position, and deeper explanations present in the original document from the ICMM have been removed.

39

Table 3-12

Guidelines for framework policies.

40

Owner pays

Legislation should provide that the owner or operator is responsible for execution and completion of successful reclamation activities to an appropriate technical standard. Where long-term care is involved, the operator is responsible to provide it until relieved of liability. Reclamation should return the site to a safe and stable condition, free of safety hazards (such as unsafe buildings, equipment, open holes, etc.); return the mine site to viable and, wherever practicable, self-sustaining ecosystems that are compatible with a healthy environment and with human activities. There should be measures to address and prevent ongoing pollution from the site. There should not be a blanket requirement to return the site to its original condition or to a condition permitting particular land uses. Closely related to the issue of standard of performance is the degree to which the government seeks assurance against all possibility of loss or damage to the environment. If governments insist on being indemnified against all possible events, excessive costs will be imposed and investment incentive will be drastically reduced. Governments should have a general policy of requiring Financial Surety that is prudent in light of all reasonably foreseeable risks, but they should not insist on protection against extremely unlikely events. Any requirement for Financial Surety, or any change in the required standard of reclamation, should be identified as early as possible in discussions between company and government.16 If it is necessary for a government to alter the required standard of reclamation, or to require a financial assurance instrument where none was required previously, the operator should be given a reasonable time to comply with the requirements. In some cases, particularly where the mine is only marginally profitable or is approaching the end of its life, a creative approach to the design of the Financial Surety may be called for. All requirements for Financial Surety impose some costs on the operator. In particular, hard forms of security (such as letter of credit, cash bonds or trust funds) impose two kinds of cost: direct carrying cost and loss of use of the funds for productive investment (or corresponding reduction in borrowing power). It is appropriate that the tax regime of the country recognizes these costs and attempt to minimize their negative effects. It is reasonable to demand that Miners accept the costs and liability for environmental protection of the site during operations and for reclaimed the site upon closure. Where conditions such as acid mine drainage exist, it is reasonable that companies also accept the necessity of funding longterm care and management. However, government legislation should provide explicitly that at a certain moment the company can be relieved of future liabilities for the site. In most cases, this relief would be given as soon as site reclamation has been successfully completed. In the case of acid drainage, it would be given as soon as necessary funding arrangements have been established for long-term care.17 It is known that the insurance industry is now in a position to offer certain vehicles to supplement or replace existing Financial Surety instruments. At the same time, international standards for environmental quality management, such as the ISO 14000 series, are becoming more widely practised and accepted. This raises the possibility that a practical certification or accreditation system may ensue, giving governments additional confidence in accredited companies.

Standard of reclamation

Standard of certainty

Timing of financial assurance requirement Transition arrangements for existing mines

Taxation

The exit ticket

Alternatives to financial assurance

Summarised from Miller (2005).

16

In Ontario for example, a review is normally performed every five years or at the call of the responsible minister in the jurisdiction personal communication: Natural Resources Canada (2005, 2 August). Gilles Tremblay: email.. However, this remains a topic for debate for sites with ongoing pollution challenges such as acidic drainage and true walk-away conditions may not be achievable. One officer of a prominent jurisdiction at least is not sure that we will ever see an exit ticket with acidic drainage present on site Ibid..

17

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It is clear that financial assurance instruments can be effective in promoting or enforcing environmental protection and while not yet popular, they are increasingly accepted by industry as perhaps the most effective manner in which to ensure that protection of the environment is achieved and public expectations are met in the mining sphere.18 To quote Miller (2005, p13) on the topic of (that which he terms) Environmental Financial Assurance (EFA): Mining companies accept that the major function of EFA is to protect the government and public in the event a mining company cannot meet its reclamation obligations. While several large companies felt they were capable of fulfilling their environmental obligations without the additional discipline of a financial assurance mechanism, they agreed that a financial assurance instrument does provide more certainty for the protection of the environment. All companies accept that government needs to demonstrate to the community that it has received sufficient financial protection from the holder of mineral rights to ensure effective reclamation. Miller also provides comprehensive reviews of financial assurance in various regulatory regimes and the common instruments in use in two reports generated six years apart (Miller 1998; Miller 2005). This documents a marked change in mining industry attitudes to financial surety that has taken place over the period 1998 to 2005. To extrapolate from these changes, it appears certain that the application of financial surety mechanisms will become both more prevalent and more accepted in coming years.19 Switching to a more governmental view, the following call from the Government of Ontario also underlines a positive attitude towards strict financial surety approaches: Other jurisdictions have expressed concern that the introduction of provisions similar to those brought in by Ontario would cause premature closure of existing operations and would also deter new investment from
18

These views evolved markedly in the period between different Miller studies. In his 2005 study, Miller indicates that while in 1998 (his first study) industry showed a marked preference for soft assurances such as: financial strength; self-funding of the obligation while retaining control of the funds; a financial test which determines the grade of the company; a corporate guarantee based on that grade; self-funding through financial reserves; parent company guarantees and pledge of assets, by 2004 the majority of industry respondents recognized that harder methods such as letters of credit, bank guarantees, deposit of securities, and cash trust funds, may best serve the industry, as they are required to satisfy public expectations. As to which instruments best serve the interests of the government, the 1998 report noted that they would be those that best serve the mutual interests of the government and the company. In the current study, industry respondents suggested that cash deposits, any liquid instrument, and bank guarantees would best serve governments needs. Readers should be aware however, that these documents were written for the ICMM and are as such industry orientated to some degree. This organisation was a relatively select but important (16 company members as of mid-2005 when that financial assurance document was produced). ICMM membership now includes 18 of the largest mining and metals companies and 30 association members as of 2008.

19

42

coming to the jurisdiction. Ontario is proud that the 2002 Fraser Institute survey of exploration investment decisionmakers rated it as the best jurisdiction in the world for such investment. Clearly our tough rehabilitation requirements have not acted as a deterrent (Gammon 2002, p4). In closing, it appears that financial assurance for mine closure and reclamation has progressed rapidly in recent years and will become more and more accepted in coming years. However, in the context of Ukraine, it is important to note that its success is dependent upon the soundness of the governing bodies that put such mechanisms in place.

3.2 Seveso II20

The EUs Seveso II Directive (Council Directive 96/82/EC) aims to prevent major accidents that involve dangerous substances and to limit their consequences for society and the environment. Seveso II applies to establishments where dangerous substances are present in quantities above certain thresholds many mining sites fall into this category. The Directive requires certain industrial operators to implement a major-accident prevention policy and a safety management system. This includes requirements for safety reports and emergency plans involving a detailed risk assessment using accident scenarios. In the context of this document produced for Ukraine both the content of the directive and the nature of its evolution are important. It is held that Sevesos evolution since the 1980s can be seen as a good example of rising requirements and expectations of performance from industry in the European Union. The Seveso directive 21 was first put in place in 1982 to help prevent and control major accidents involving dangerous substances. The directive was adopted in direct response to, and received its name from the Seveso accident in 1976 at a chemical plant manufacturing pesticides and herbicides.22 The aim of the Seveso II Directive is two-fold. Firstly, the Directive aims at the prevention of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances. Secondly, as accidents do continue to occur, the Directive aims at the limitation of the consequences of such accidents not only for man (safety and health aspects) but also for the environment (environmental aspect). Both aims should be followed with a view to ensuring high levels of protection throughout the Community in a consistent and effective manner.

20

This discussion is summarised from http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/seveso/. Council Directive 82/501/EEC on the major-accident hazards of certain industrial activities (OJ No L 230 of 5 August 1982)
21 22

Although no immediate fatalities were reported, kilogramme quantities of dioxin(s), a substance lethal to man even in microgramme doses were widely dispersed. More than 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes and as many as 2000 were treated for dioxin poisoning.

43

In order to broaden the scope of the Directive, and in particular to include the storage of dangerous substances, amendments were made to the Seveso Directive twice, in 198723 and in 1988.24 It was then replaced in December 1996, by the Seveso II Directive 25 in order to achieve a further widening of its scope and better risk-and-accident management. Important changes and new concepts introduced into the Seveso II Directive included the introduction of new requirements relating to safety management systems, emergency planning and landuse planning and a reinforcement of the provisions on inspections to be carried out by Member States. From 3 February 1999, the obligations of the Directive were mandatory for industry as well as the public authorities of the Member States responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the Directive. At that time, the focus of the Seveso II Directive was solely upon the presence of dangerous substances in establishments. It covered both industrial activities and the storage of dangerous chemicals. The levels of control upon establishments covered by the directive were based upon quantity-related thresholds. There were important areas excluded from the scope of the Seveso II Directive. These included nuclear safety, the transport of dangerous substances and intermediate temporary storage outside establishments and the transport of dangerous substances by pipelines. Further and vital from a mining perspective was that Seveso II did not address important activities and hazards posed by activities of the extractive industries concerned with exploration for, and the exploitation of minerals in mines and quarries mining. In fact, for a number of reasons it specifically excluded mine wastes. However, the accident at Baia Mare in Romania in January 2000 changed stakeholder expectations in that regard. The severe pollution of the Danube demonstrated clearly that certain storage and processing activities in mining, especially tailings disposal facilities, including tailing ponds or dams, have potential to produce very serious consequences. As a result, the European Parliament passed an extension of the scope of that Directive to cover risks arising from storage and processing activities in mining. In short, a significant range of mining activities are now addressed by Seveso II and the obligations of the Directive are now mandatory for industrial actors and for the public authorities of the Member States responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the Directive. These conditions will also be valid for accession countries and should be of great interest to those countries aspiring to accession, or wishing to align industrial practices with European standards. Among other requirements of the Directive, Seveso II demands that industry should:
23 24 25

Directive 87/216/EEC of 19 March 1987 (OJ No L 85 of 28 March 1987) by Directive 88/610/EEC of 24 November 1988 (OJ No L 336 of 7 December 1988) Council Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major-accident hazards (OJ No L 10 of 14 January 1997)

44

communicate in detail (a notification) all the dangerous substances present or used at a facility, and the quantities of such substances); have an Emergency Plan and demonstrate that it is effective; have established a Safety Management System to review and check the effectiveness of safety and work procedures; conduct a Risk Assessment to cover potential problems associated with storage and processing activities in mining; develop a Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP).

For establishments that fall within the scope of Directive 96/82/EC, there are minimum periods for compliance with requirements for notifications and the establishment of major accident prevention policies, safety reports and emergency plans. Moreover, it is required that training in all areas takes place throughout the entire organisation and that plans are regularly reviewed and updated. The content of Seveso II (DIRECTIVE 2003/105/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 December 2003 amending Council Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances) is available at the web site(s) of the European Parliament.26

3.3 The EU mine waste directive27

In recognition of the broad set of environmental problems associated with the mining and minerals processing industries the European Community has developed an extractive industry waste directive. This is known as the Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries and has a primary intent to prevent pollution and accidents related to mine waste. The directive specifically raises the issue of reducing the risks associated with mine wastes that are stored in large heaps or retained by dams particularly, the risks of serious impacts on environment and human health and safety. Examples mentioned in the text include accidents in Aberfan (Coal spoil dump, Wales, 1966)28, Stava (Chromite tailings, Italy, 1985), Aznalcllar (leadzinc tailings, Spain, 1998), Baia Mare and Baia Borsa (gold and copper tails, Romania, 2000). Other likely significant impacts relate to the physical footprints of waste disposal facilities and resulting loss of land productivity, effects on ecosystems, dust and erosion. As such, the European Union has clearly recognised and acted upon the fact that such impacts can have lasting environmental and socioeconomic consequences and may be extremely difficult and costly to
26

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/Notice.do? val=287373:cs&lang=en&list=451838:cs,449793:cs,287373:cs,413912:cs,&pos=3&page=1&n bl=4&pgs=10&hwords=DIRECTIVE%202003/105/EC~&checktexte=checkbox&visu=#texte For a summary of this Directive, see http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/mining/. A coal waste dump similar to those in the Donbas.

27 28

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fix. The EU recognises that wastes from the extractive industries have to be properly managed in order to ensure in particular the long-term stability of disposal facilities and to prevent or minimise any water and soil pollution arising from acid or alkaline drainage and leaching of heavy metals. Moreover, and in the context of countries border to the EU, the Directive directly targets countries such as those in Central and Eastern Europe as this text generated prior to the adoption of the Directive indicates. The [then] proposed Directive will help prevent serious accidents resulting from the mismanagement of mining waste, like the disaster in Baia Mare in 2000, where the whole of the Danube was polluted with cyanide ........ It will also minimise chronic pollution of lakes and rivers by waste facilities that are badly operated and monitored. In short, the proposed Directive will make management of waste from the extractive industries safer. We are currently embarking on a historic enlargement of the EU and must ensure that the best environmental standards are applied across Europe (European Commission 2003). The Directive is intended to regulate the management of waste from the mining and quarrying industries (European Commission 2003). It was held that due to the composition or volumes involved, such waste can constitute a serious threat to the environment and human health if not properly managed. The commission thus proposed to introduce EUwide rules designed to prevent water and soil pollution from long-term storage of waste in tailings ponds, waste heaps, and so forth. The Directive is intended to ensure the stability of these waste storage facilities to minimise possible consequences from accidents. Further, the Directive was intended to work together with the revised Seveso II Directive on the control of major industrial accidents, and a Best Available Techniques (BAT) document on tailings and waste rock (Commission of the European Community: Directorate-General JRC 2004). The final version of the Directive (Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) was established on 15 March 2006. It is generally know as the Directive on the management of waste from extractive industries (or the Mine Waste Directive).29 This formulation of the mine waste directive and the generation of the BAT support document were managed under the auspices of the European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau (http://eippcb.jrc.es/), part of the Institute for Prospective Technological

29

The full text of the Directive is available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/Notice.do? val=424935:cs&lang=en&list=424935:cs,470452:cs,&pos=1&page=1&nbl=2&pgs=10&hwords= Directive%202006/21/EC~&checktexte=checkbox&visu=#texte

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Studies (IPTS) in Sevilla of the Joint Research Centre.30 The Best Available Techniques reference document (BREF) describes the Best Available Techniques of waste management to reduce everyday pollution and to prevent or mitigate accidents in the mining sector and is of special relevance to this discussion. 31 In its more than 500 pages, it addresses activities related to tailings and waste-rock management for ores that have the potential for a significant environmental impact. In particular, the work sought out activities that can be considered as examples of good practice. The intent of the document is to raise awareness of such practices and promote their use across all activities in this sector. It covers waste from all sectors of the extractive industry and specifically focuses on operational issues connected with waste management, prevention of soil and water pollution, and the stability of waste management facilities with a particular focus on tailings ponds. In the Directive, conditions to be attached to operating permits are detailed. These are intended to ensure that sufficient environmental and safety measures are in place in order for waste management facilities to receive authorization. There are requirements that waste be classified before disposal and the method of management be chosen to suit to its particular characteristics and ensure the long-term stability of the heaps and ponds used for permanent storage of large amounts of waste. Another key provision is that operators of waste management facilities should draw up closure plans as an integral component of the overall operating plan. Proper monitoring will also be required during both the operational and the after-care phases. Further, the directive contains an obligation to provide for an appropriate level of financial security to reinforce the polluter-pays principle. The precise wording follows [highlights added]: The operator of a waste facility servicing the extractive industries should be required to lodge a financial guarantee or equivalent in accordance with procedures to be decided by the Member States ensuring that all the obligations flowing from the permit will be fulfilled, including those relating to the closure and afterclosure of the waste facility. The financial guarantee should be sufficient to cover the cost of rehabilitation of the land affected by the waste
30

The IPPC-Directive (96/61/EC) has introduced a framework requiring EU member states to issue operating permits for industrial installations performing activities as described in its Annex 1. These permits must contain conditions that are based on Best Available Techniques (BAT), and aim at achieving a high level of protection of the environment as a whole. Importantly in the context of this document, a key feature of the IPPC-Directive (cf. art. 16) is to stimulate an intensive exchange of information on Best Available Techniques between the European Member States and the industries considered. For Annex 1 activities, the European IPPC-Bureau organises this exchange of information and produces BAT reference documents (BREFs) and Member States are required to take into account when determining permit conditions for so called Annex 1-type installations. The Bureau carries out its work through Technical Working Groups (TWGs) comprising nominated experts from EU Member States, EFTA Countries, industry, and environmental NGOs. The report details of all BREFs are available for download at

31

http://eippcb.jrc.es/pages/FActivities.htm 47

facility, which includes the waste facility itself .. It is also necessary for such a guarantee to be provided prior to the commencement of deposition operations in the waste facility and to be periodically adjusted. In addition, . it is important to clarify that an operator of a waste facility servicing the extractive industries is subject to appropriate liability in respect of environmental damage caused by its operations or the imminent threat of such damage.. It is required that sufficient funds be available to leave waste sites in a satisfactory state after closure. Provisions will be made to cover situations such as those where a company goes into receivership, becomes insolvent or even engages in asset-stripping. As such, European countries are now required to amend any existing requirements for mine reclamation and associated financial assurance to agree with its terms. As has been indicated, the measures in the proposal are to act as a complement to those outlined in the Seveso II Directive 96/82/EEC on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances. As such, they include the establishment of a major-accident prevention policy and a safety management system. Demands regarding public information are also included in accordance with the United Nations Convention of 25 June 1998 on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) to which the EU is a signatory. Importantly, all these measures will apply to those waste management facilities that present a high accident risk but will not fall under the provisions of the revised Seveso II Directive.

3.4 The Equator principles32

Another potentially important development at the supra-national level is encompassed within the Equator Principles, an initiative started by the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank. This initiative aims at the very financing mechanisms of the industry. Project financing plays an important role in financing development throughout the world. Further, the financing of projects, particularly in emerging markets, is central to the rise of environmental and social policy issues. In recognition of the fact that financiers have significant opportunities to promote responsible environmental stewardship and socially responsible development (International Finance Corporation 2003), the Equator Principles seek to ensure that the projects financed by signatories are developed in a manner that are socially responsible and reflect sound environmental management practices. In late 2002, a small number of banks convened in London, together with the World Bank Groups International Finance Corporation (IFC), to
32

See http://www.equator-principles.com/index.shtml .

48

discuss these issues. The Banks present decided to jointly develop a banking industry framework for addressing environmental and social risks in project financing. This led to the drafting of the first set of Equator Principles that were then launched in Washington, DC in mid2003. A subsequent updating process took place in 2006 leading to a newly revised set of Equator Principles that were released in mid-2006.33 As part of adopting the principles, financiers undertake to carefully review proposals and to refuse loans directly to projects where the borrower will not, or are unable to, comply with the required environmental and social policies and processes (International Finance Corporation 2003). A large group of leading banks already support the initiative (some 61 institutions as of September, 2008). Further, and relevant to earlier discussion of financial surety, the signatory international banks undertake not to finance any project over US$ 10 million unless it meets World Bank and International Finance Corporation environmental policies, standards and guidelines,34 which include a requirement for closure funding (Miller 2005 p.6 & p.17). Indeed, the principles include a requirement for fully funding a mines closure plan by appropriate instruments so that the cost of closure can be covered at any stage in the mine life, including premature and unforeseen cessation of activities. While the key focus of the principles was upon developing countries, the guidelines were flagged to eventually also apply to mines in developed countries (International Finance Corporation 2003; Miller 2005). Now under the conditions of the revised Equator Principles, the Principles apply to all new project financings globally with total project capital costs of US$10 million or more, and across all industry sectors. Among the principles there is a detailed explanation of the requirements for projects located in non-OECD countries, and those located in OECD countries not designated as High-Income, as defined by the World Bank Development Indicators Database. The revised principles also outline the requirements for projects located in HighIncome OECD Countries (e.g., US, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, etc). The Assessment process in all cases should address compliance with
33

The new, revised set of Equator Principles incorporate learning from implementation, and comments from a variety of external stakeholders (including clients and NGOs) over the first 3 years since the initiative launch. The final draft of these revised Principles also benefited from an external comment process with clients, NGOs and Official Agencies (e.g., Export Credit Agencies). The revised Equator Principles have now incorporated, and are fully consistent with, IFCs environmental and social Performance Standards ensuring that there is one, consistent standard for private sector project financing. Since 1998, the World Bank has included in its Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook World Bank (1999). Pollution prevention and abatement handbook 1998 : toward cleaner production. Washington D.C, The World Bank Group in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization: 471. provisions to ensure that any project financed by the Bank or the related IFC (International Finance Corporation) anywhere in the world includes appropriate standards of mine closure and reclamation, including the nature and amount of financial assurance. These requirements are currently stated in general terms. If a country does not have corresponding requirements, then the World Bank/IFC measures govern the project.

34

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relevant host country laws, regulations and permits that pertain to social and environmental matters. As of the time of writing (early 2009), the Equator Principles are available at http://www.equator-principles.com/principles.shtml.

3.5 Governance Principles for Foreign Direct Investment in Hazardous Activities

While not of the scale and visibility of the Equator principles presented above, one of the ENVSEC partners, the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe has also worked on a set of principles. Again, these seek to ensure that projects particularly projects in areas such as mining financed in jurisdictions such as those in the Ukraine, are developed in a manner that are socially responsible and reflect sound environmental management practices. The REC submitted Draft Governance Principles on Foreign Direct Investment in Hazardous Activities on the occasion of the fifth Ministerial Conference Environment for Europe in Kiev, Ukraine (21 23 May 2003).35 A revised and updated version of these principles was also made available at the Cluj-Napoca conference where the ENVSEC Initiatives Mining for Closure was launched and was also specifically noted in the Declaration of the High-Level Panel of that Sub-regional Conference. The governance principles are intended to apply primarily to foreign direct investment (FDI) in industrial, mining and other activities with particular focus upon those with significant social and environmental impacts, especially in countries in transition, under-developed regions and developing countries. These principles have been designed to complement voluntary international codes of conduct, compacts and other instruments. Many of the principles are relevant to the content of this work and the reader is encouraged to examine them. 36 The text for the Governance Principles is included as Appendix E.

3.6 Real or perceived financial barriers

In closing this chapter, it is felt necessary to add context to discussion of financially related barriers to the adoption of best practice in mining practices as have been mentioned here. An important message here is that responsible governance is central to good environmental and social performance in mining. It has far-reaching implications for the financing of mining, and to the distribution of economic rents from mining activities.

35

These activities are reported at http://www.rec.org/REC/Introduction/Kiev2003/. The draft document presented is also available at

http://www.unece.org/env/documents/2003/kievconference/inf.18.e.pdf
36

The updated and revised governance principles are also available at: http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/EnvironmentalLaw/PDF/Governance_Principles.pdf

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Within this, a number of discussion points are briefly addressed. The first area is related to the source of mine activity financing. A second area is related to perceptions regarding the potential yields of a development. This second area has three underlying parameters, firstly perceptions of the yield (rents) available to a miner, secondly, perceptions regarding distribution of the economic yield available to a host government and thirdly, economic benefits to individuals in positions of power. Regarding the first point, there is some room for concern that the absence of national requirements for adequate mine closure provisions and/or integrated mine closure planning may actually act against more responsible miners. Moreover, it should be noted that international financial institutions typically require consideration of closure related issues even where nation states may not. Where such conditions exist, investors seeking finance from such sources may be disadvantaged in their endeavours when compared to those potential miners accessing alternative capital markets with more limited requirements relating to closure funding (Nazari 1999). As such, (and particularly relevant for Ukraine) there is a higher likelihood that miners seeking finance outside the realm inhabited by reputable financial institutions are also those that have substandard operational practices. In such a scenario, it appears that an absence of adequate frameworks for mine closure may actually serve to penalise investors seeking financing or political risk insurance through respectable international financial institutions. Turning this around however, raises the important implication that sound regulation can serve to attract the types of investors that Ukraine needs to build a basis for sustainable economic growth. The second area introduced is focused at concerns that environmental requirements such as those detailed within this document will reduce the economic yield of a mining operation to the state and to the operator. Moreover, the concern may be said to be that best practices for mining may be perceived as a barrier to investment. In particular, this is indicative of perceptions regarding reduced profits for miners but it also recognises the possibility of pollution haven scenarios being relevant.37 An implication here is that national environmental requirements representative of best environmental practice in mining may result in potential (and perhaps much needed) miners going elsewhere with their investment resources. While empirical evidence of the validity of this scenario has not been found in the reviews conducted by the ENVSEC partners, there are clearly serious implications for countries eager to attract private sector investment if this is the case.38

37

Pollution havens have been described and debated by a wide range of authors such as Bommer (1999), Brunnermeier and Levinson (2004) and Millemet &List (2004) to name but a few. The concept involves the preferential movement of an industrial activity to nation states or regions where environmental regulations are less stringent, less well developed or where enforcement is weak. There is significant debate whether the hypothesis regarding moves to lax regulation actually holds.

51

However, it is held that this issue should be considered in the light of at least three important points. First, is that mineral resources are immovable. As such, the likelihood that a potential developer can choose between two competing mineral resources based upon laxity of regulation appears small. Second is that Government has at hand fiscal frameworks within which they can create attractive packages for prospective mining activity. As Andrews (2002) of the World Bank Group indicates, the taxation, royalty and/or investment subsidy offering for mine developments made by a host government constitutes a key ingredient for such decision making. Thirdly, and harking back to our earlier point, is that lax frameworks may attract just the kind of industrial actors that can be detrimental to the interests of many national stakeholders that is, miners that do not pursue environmental and social performance seriously. One of the later concerns introduced, requires that the effect upon the rents available to government must be considered. Perceptions may exist that requirements for best environmental practice and/or bonding will reduce the economic benefit that can be obtained from a mineral resource. While this might be a feasible scenario in the short term, it appears reasonable to refute this when consideration of the mine-life is taken into account. While it is quite clear that there are additional costs involved in the conduct of best environmental and social practice, it is the role of government to ensure an optimum yield from mining to the country in the medium to long-term. The accrual of environmental and social externalities (that must be paid for in a much more expensive form later) in order to provide short-term internal gain has been conclusively shown to be a sub-optimal approach. Further, the conduct of mining and rehabilitation according to best practice requirements has been portrayed in many fora as the most erfficient, if not the optimal, economic outcome. That is the investment to preventing external costs ex ante is significantly less than the costs associated with making good environmental and/or social damage ex post. The final point addressed here is related to corruption in particular where individuals or authorities in positions of power or responsibility, seek personal benefit from mining activities or seek to oppose the implementation of the principles of good environmental practice. The latter may be motivated for the reason that the monies available for diversion for personal gain are reduced. In jurisdictions where good governance and the rule of law have not been established, it is feasible that such actors may be able to act in this manner. Indeed, Stephen Stec (personal communication: Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe 2005, 7 July) argues that in certain economies and especially transitional ones such as Ukraine, the problem of underpaid and therefore corruptible officials is endemic and has an influence on decision-making related to mining. According to Stec, the large sums of money in mining, combined with authorities in a

38

Indeed, significant evidence to the contrary was found See in particular the citation from the Government of Ontario in Section 3..

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position to approve or influence mining projects that are not always motivated by the public interest alone, is a serious problem. 39 Such factors however, should be seen as socio-political aberrations and not an argument against the reform of mining practices - this being the case both on the ground, and in financial markets. The rule of law as evidenced in measures such as the control of corruption, respect for property rights, the elimination of bribery, and the transparent distribution of revenues have been clearly linked to the economic success of mining nations (Andrews 2002).

39

As such, unclear legal regimes are recognised to add uncertainty with respect to many aspects of Mining for Closure including in particular financial assurance requirements. Special measures must be taken to ensure that financial assurance on paper is financial assurance in reality especially where institutions and legal frameworks are less secure.

53

4 Mine spoil dumps: a key closure issue in the Donbas

As an underpinning source of information for the next section of this report, a brief overview of the environmental aspects and potential environmental impacts of mine spoil dumps is presented in this section. This text also addresses mine infrastructure or activities co-located with dumps, or relevant to their operation however, this latter category is not comprehensively addressed.

4.1 Environmental Aspects associated with coal mine spoil dumps and adjacent mine activities/facilities
Table 4-1 below seeks to summarise environmental aspects, pollution sources, types of pollution and potential impacts for coal mine spoil dumps. This listing is generated with the situation of the Donbas spoil dumps in mind. Table 4-13 Indicative listing of environmental issues: coal spoil dumps in the Donbas
Media Air Environmental aspect & sources Dust emissions Sources: Spoil dumps Operational facilities or mobile equipment Disturbed land Roadways Smoke emissions: Sources: Spoil dumps and mine voids Mine boilers Types and/or Pathways Soil and rock derived particulates, salts. Potential Impacts Contribution to respiratory disease Contamination of land Public nuisance

Fumes such as CO, NO2, SO2, tarry emission products including PAHs associated with incomplete coal combustion Est. 120kt/yr in the Donetsk Oblast. Types and/or Pathways Waterborne erosion/suspended sediment Chemical/petrochemical contaminants Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Neutral Mine Drainage (NMD) Heavy metals Salinity Dissolved or entrained coal derived tars

Surface waters

Environmental aspect & sources Runoff and release of contaminated waters, leachates, drainage and pumped groundwaters. Sources: Surface runoff from dumps Leachates from dumps Surface run-off from disturbed lands and facilities Drainage from maintenance facilities etc. Release of pumped groundwaters

Contribution to respiratory disease in adjacent populations Acidification and eutrophication of waterways Contamination and acidification of land Increased corrosion of public infrastructure Public nuisance Climate change contribution Potential Impacts Negative health and financial effects on downstream users and potential downstream users. Negative effects on aquatic ecosystems associated with effects such as: turbidity, decreased dissolved oxygen (DO) associated with increased biological and chemical oxygen demand (BOD & COD), increased toxicity, reduced pH, salinity. Reduction in water utility (e.g. degradation from potential human, agricultural or industrial water resource). Loss of waterway utility (e.g. recreation or commercial fishing value etc.). Increased costs for water treatment. Potential Impacts Negative effects on downstream users and potential downstream users and on eventual receiving ecosystems associated with increased biological and chemical oxygen demand (BOD & COD), increased toxicity, reduced pH,

Groundwat ers

Environmental aspect & sources Infiltration of contaminated waters Sources: Surface infiltration from dumps Leachates from dumps Infiltration from disturbed lands and facilities Infiltration

Types and/or Pathways Chemical or petrochemical contaminants Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Neutral Mine Drainage (NMD) Heavy metals

54

from maintenance facilities etc. infiltration of pumped groundwaters from geochemically different aquifers released to surface. Soils Environmental aspect & sources Transfer of materials and contaminations to soils Sources: dumped material, airborne dust from dumps, roadways and coal beneficiation plants etc., waterborne sediments, dissolved contaminants in runoff, leachate or pumped waters

Salinity Dissolved PAHs., coal derived tars etc.

salinity. Reduction in water utility (e.g. degradation from potential human, agricultural or industrial water resource). Increased costs for water treatment. Potential Impacts Pollution effects on soils Suitability of surrounding soils for capping (low permeability materials) Suitability of surrounding soils for revegetation

Types and/or Pathways Soil and rock derived particulates, salts, and metallic elements or compounds. Organic compounds derived from incomplete coal combustion. Ash

4.2 Information requirements for creating risk profiles for spoil dumps
As has been indicated in the preceding sections, spoil dumps (waste heaps) in the Donbas are a prime coal mining related environmental issue. Due the large number of dumps and their relatively high degree of heterogeneity, any rational decision-making process requires significantly more information regarding their makeup, position and disposition than currently exists. Table 4-14 provides an (initial) listing of key dump characteristics for spoil dumps at mines slated for closure (or closed). Such information is deemed necessary to support risk assessment, and of course eventual risk amelioration works. The table also includes details of where or how it is anticipated that data could typically be collected.40 To support the content and information referred to in Table 4-14, a schematic is supplied as Figure 4-1. This figure indicates potential spoil dump morphology (either as one unit, or as a structure built of pockets) where materials with acid generating potential are isolated with neutral waste.

40

Note: A prime objective of the August 2008 UNEP mission was to move forward the process of centralising knowledge regarding the true state of the spoil dumps in the region and the scale of works/investment required to effectively ameliorate the key risks that they pose to the environment and human health. A task required within this work, was the determination and testing of a relatively simple dump screening and mapping exercise. A draft equipment and task protocol is included as Appendix B: Draft field procedures field scanning survey of Donbas coalmine spoil dumps. During the mission it was discovered that an assessment of some 10 dumps in the Makeevka area of the Donbas had been documented by a project partner. Much of the required information was available in these reports and has been transposed in another Russian language report generated by the Uglemash organisation in Donetsk. This material was not made available by Uglemash to facilitate the production and completeness of this report.

55

Revegetated and c ontoured c over material (surface c apping and water storage medium)

Top non-sulphidic was layer te Free dumped non-sulphidic waste Sulphidic waste Basal layer

Free dumped non-sulphidic waste

Original gr ound s urfac e

Figure 4-1 Concept diagram: planned encapsulation of acid generating mine wastes in spoil dumps/tailings dumps Source: Australian EPA (1995) Well-established isolation techniques also exist for mine wastes rich in carbonaceous material that have a high risk of combustion. Case Study 1 and Case Study 2 in Chapter 6 provide details.

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Table 4-14 Indicative listing of information requirements and potential collection modes for spoil dump risk assessment
Category Dump physical parameters Footprint (circa m2) Detail mine site maps and operational drawings. GPS readings at a number of points around perimeter. Estimation from examination of aerial photographs or webbased satellite/aerial photograph sites. Detail survey (traditional theodolite based). Detail survey GPS equipment. Satellite imagery Aerial surveys (including utilisation of stereographic pairs, generation of digital terrain models (DTM) and orthophotos, LIDAR survey, etc) As above As above As above As above Item Historical data collection mode Rough field data collection mode Detail field collection mode

Shape (conical, pyramid, etc.) Side slope/natural angle of repose Height (m) Volume (circa m3)

Detail mine site maps etc. As above As above As above + mine records of total production and % waste material, volume of development drives in rock etc. Mine records and interview of present/former employees. As above As above n/a n/a Mine records and interview of present/former employees. Mine revegetation records n/a Mine dust monitoring records.

Visual inspection/photography Inclinometer measurement Hand held GPS Shadow measurement Hand held GPS Calculation from above

Physical stability (evidence of slumping, slides, etc.) Nature of reshaping works Nature of encapsulation layers Erosion status Scalloping/terracing etc. Topsoil/covering /water storage medium Vegetation types Proportion of vegetation cover Propensity for dust generation Dump thermal characteristics Burning/not burning

Visual inspection and interview of present/former employees. As above. Hand augering, backhoe excavation, etc. Visual inspection and interview of present/former employees. As above As above

Geotechnical investigation

n/a Geotechnical investigation n/a n/a Geotechnical investigation

Visual inspection and interview of present/former employees. Visual inspection Visual inspection and interview of present/former employees. Visual inspection and interview of present/former employees. Hand held infrared camera during winter season n/a

Detail botanical survey Detail botanical survey Dust monitoring and speciation, wind rose measurements etc.

Evidence of hotspots (e.g. lack of vegetation, thermal footprints, etc.) Temperature gradient into dump Chemical/composi tion etc. Coal content

Mine records and interview of present/former employees. Mine records and interview of present/former employees. Mine records and research institute studies

Detail infrared camera investigation Remote sensing Geotechnical and thermal survey

Sulphur content of coals Salinity of coals Prevalence of acid generating minerals (e.g. pyrite) Acid generation potential of rocks (according to test procedures such ABA)41 Acidity profile with depth (e.g. 0-1500mm) Prevalence of neutral (non acid/non saline) waste rock suitable for capping/encapsulation
41

Mine records and interview of present/former employees. Mine coal specifications Mine coal specifications Mine records and interview of present/former employees. Mine records or scientific studies of mine wastes Mine records or scientific institutes studying mine wastes Mine records or scientific institutes studying mine wastes

n/a

Geotechnical investigation and dump assay Geotechnical investigation and dump assay Geotechnical investigation and dump assay Geotechnical investigation and dump assay Geotechnical investigation, dump assay and detail laboratory studies Surface layer sampling programme and laboratory tests Geotechnical investigation, dump assay and detail laboratory studies

n/a n/a n/a

n/a n/a n/a

See Appendix A.
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Prevalence of non acid/non saline rocks suitable for crushed aggregates production Time passed since deposition of surface materials/exposure of surface layers. Potential for economic value Recoverable coal (% & distribution) Availability of building aggregate/road base, etc. (% & distribution) Presence of economic minerals Other materials with market values (e.g. ceramic clays)

Scientific studies of mine wastes Mine records and interview of present/former employees.

n/a

Geotechnical investigation, dump assay and detail laboratory studies n/a

n/a

Scientific studies of mine wastes As above As above As above

n/a n/a n/a n/a

As part of geotech above. As above. As above. As above.

n/a = not applicable.

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5 Prioritising risks
5.1 Workplace risk and control
An important tool utilised for quantifying risk in the mining industry is the so-called Workplace Risk and Control or WRAC method. This technique requires a team of key personnel that can work through the operations of a mine process, the use of a piece of equipment, or a mining activity, in order to generate a number of possible hazards or events associated with it. Using the WRAC approach then allows a quantification of the relative likelihood (or probability) of an event occurring and the potential consequences of such an event. Teams working with such techniques usually consist of mine site personnel familiar with the process/equipment, as well as external participants, including a facilitator (Laurence 2006). A prime reason for quantification of risk is to facilitate the process of prioritising risks. This in turn provides decision-makers with information that can support their decisions to eliminate control or tolerate the risks. Risks are typically calculated in a risk matrix such as that shown in Figure 5-2.

Figure 5-2 Calculation of risk using the risk matrix (after Thompson, 1999) Laurence (2006) shows how this approach can also be followed when dealing with the issues surrounding mine closure. The risks identified within the various broad closure issues to be compared and combined to enable an overall (relative) Closure Risk Factor (CRF) for a particular mine site to be estimated. This can be achieved by quantifying the probability and consequence of each potential event identified for each category at each site. It is held here, that these approaches (or other
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equivalent applications) have great relevance for the future work that is required for mine closure in the Donbas. As can be seen from the table produced in the previous report section, such analysis can be performed at any mine operation level. At one extreme it can be sought to prioritise between mines slated for closure, at another level such an approach can be applied to a specific issue with the prioritisation of activities on mine spoil dumps being a prime example. Unlike the typical WRAC matrix, in which the highest probability and consequences are usually allocated the smallest numbers, in the model presented here, the higher the probability or consequence, the higher the number. Here the following scoring system would be applied for each potential event identified for the issue under analysis ((Laurence 2006)): if an event has a probability of 10, then, the event would certainly occur unless timely interventions are applied; if an event is judged to have a probability of 1, it is unlikely to occur; if the consequence of an event is 10, then the outcome could be catastrophic in the form of a multiple fatality, a major environmental incident, major equipment damage, a major loss to the business, or a ruined community standing; If a consequence of 1 is awarded, there it is considered that there is an insignificant chance of injury, or a health implication, environmental damage or ongoing liability to the business.

In the Laurence model shown here, a Risk Matrix following Thompson (1999) 42 is applied.

Figure 5-3 Mine Closure Risk Assessment Matrix (Laurence 2006)

42

Thompson SD. Risk assessment for mines. In: Proceedings of the Queensland mining industry health and safety conference; 1999.

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5.2 A closure risk example Uranium Mine

An example of the use of the model as applied to a Uranium mine by Laurence (2006) is supplied in . Here both the applicability but the significant difference in context from the Donbas can be seen. For each event, the analyst has assigned a risk for each event in the manner that a team of key personnel would when analysing potential events (at say a mine spoil dump that is considered for remediation). The marked difference here however, is that the example shown is essentially ex ante that is, closure risks are being assessed prior to mining. The application of closure risk analysis in the Donbas is different there, a large number of sites require some form of closure activity, the analysis must be used to help decide which of the many sites should be made safe first and why. Returning to the Uranium mine example, it can be seen that Laurence has shown that in a similar manner to environmental and occupational health and safety risk management, individual closure risks can also be classified or prioritised. In the case study provided, the highest risks and their scores are commented in addition, a hypothetical parallel that could be relevant in the Donbas is provided in order to provide some concrete relevance to the challenges addressed by this report: environment aesthetics due to the mine being surrounded by a world heritage national park (100) [a hypothetical parallel in the Donbas
might be a site that significantly degrades the appearance of a large park and wetlands near an urban centre];

land use need to rehabilitate to the standards of the surrounding environmentally sensitive wetlands (100) [a hypothetical parallel in the
Donbas could involve location immediately adjacent to both a wetlands and a valuable source of drinking water for an urban population];

community hostility to both operation and closure of mine by indigenous landowners (100) [a hypothetical parallel in the Donbas could
be a site where mine gas explosions have damaged buildings including schools and killed a number of local residents resulting in a situation where the community acceptance of residual risks from that particular site has been greatly reduced];

financial adequate provisioning for the cost of rehabilitating to these standards (90) [a hypothetical parallel in the Donbas would be where
much higher provisions would be required for this particular site than for other technically equivalent sites due to the issues above].

The uranium mine example provided is held by the analyst (Laurence 2006) to fall in the category of a very high to extreme risk because of the numerous environmental, community and legal issues identified. A world heritage listed national park surrounds the mine, there is considerable indigenous and general community opposition to operations, and the commodity being mined is uranium. While the context of this hypothetical example is markedly different in the Donbas, it is considered that this approach is directly applicable for commencing the process of prioritising among the many different mine
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closure challenges AND for determining those actions that may need to be conducted over and above the existing requirements.

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Figure 5-4 Example of an application of the Closure Risk Model in an Australian mine (Laurence 2006)

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6 Good practice case studies

This section provides seven case studies in order to place the terms best practice or good practice used in this document in a clearer context. Despite the fact that the works outlined have taken place in a different set of climates to that found in the Donbas. Each of them has a number of learning points that are valid in some way for the context of the coal mining areas of Ukraine. These cases were generated by the Australian Government within the auspices of a programme involving extensive collaboration with UNEP. An excellent starting point with such material is the introductory booklet produced collaboratively between UNEP and the Commonwealth of Australia in 2002: Overview of Best Practice Environmental Management in Mining.43 This introduction is currently available at the UNEP managed web site http://www.naturalresources.org/minerals/cd/ea_overv.htm. The purpose of the series of booklets, a training kit and checklists is to build the environmental management capacity of industry and regulators. In their own words, the publishers of these works describe the initiative as follows: The Sustainable Minerals programme (previously known as the Best Practice Environmental Management in Mining programme) is a world-renowned partnership between the mining industry, stakeholder organisations and the Australian Government. It aims to help all sectors of the minerals industry (minerals, coal, oil and gas) to protect the environment and to reduce the impact of minerals production. Since the programme began in 1994, Environment Australia has worked with industry partners to produce 23 booklets on a range of topics, from community consultation to water management and cleaner production. The booklets present concise, practical information on how to achieve environmental management best practice in the minerals industry anywhere in the world. The seven (7) case studies in this chapter come from the booklet: Landform Design for Rehabilitation, published by Environment Australia in 1998. The aforementioned series is currently available via the UNEP managed web site:
http://www.natural-resources.org/minerals/cd/ea.htm

where one links forward to the web page: http://www.natural-resources.org/minerals/cd/ea.htm#Booklets

The chapter of the booklet from which these cases are taken is found at http://www.naturalresources.org/minerals/cd/docs/ea/booklets/landform/Case_Studies.pdf

43

Publication number 9 in the series: Best Practice Environmental Management in Mining series, Commonwealth of Australia and UNEP, August 2002, ISBN 0 642 48797.

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6.1 Case Study 1: Recognition, prevention and management of self heating in coal mine spoil
Mine: Drayton Coal Mine, New South Wales, Shell Coal Pty Ltd The Drayton Coal Mine operated by Shell Coal Pty Ltd is located southeast of Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. In open cut coal mining, large volumes of coal and carbonaceous material are exposed to oxygen in air. Once exposed, the materials oxidise and liberate heat. If the heat is not dissipated sufficiently rapidly, the temperature rises. This drives the oxidation and heat generation process at a faster rate and if unchecked, spontaneous combustion may result. The consequences of spontaneous combustion in spoil piles may be significant. For example, open fires and smouldering combustion can give rise to emissions (including considerable quantities of toxic fumes) such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, as well as the tarry emission products associated with incomplete coal combustion. Further consequences arise from the danger of fire spreading to surrounding land, the destabilisation of the landform with possible subsidence, landslides and the death of vegetation in the vicinity of the hot spoil. Final landform design provides the fundamental solution in preventing self heating in coal mine spoil. Planning spoil dumps and the ongoing management of spoil prevents outbreaks of spontaneous combustion.

Figure 6-5 Final rehabilitation cover coalmine spoil dump PHOTO SHELL COAL Pty Ltd Final rehabilitation showing effective grass cover to stabilise slope and minimise erosion. A series of diversion banks assist runoff control. Best Practice Principles Define all fuel sources, ensuring the correct placement of carbonaceous materials.

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Minimise the quantity of fuel (carbonaceous materials) going to spoil. Reduce oxygen pathways in spoil piles. Avoid dumping carbonaceous or hot materials over dump batters. Prevention is better than cure

6.1.1 Best Methods for Control

Self-heating management practices for dragline and truck-shovel operations follow. Truck dumping practices which can be effective in prevention of self-heating include: controlled placement of carbonaceous overburden and partings within inert pockets; limiting lift height to 15 m maximum; covering all final surfaces with a 5 m layer of inert material; compacting final surfaces, as well as intermediate surfaces wherever possible; spreading out and track rolling carbonaceous material to prevent heat build-up and oxygen ingress; sealing hot spoil with a cover of clay is an effective technique to control heating, however long term seal integrity then becomes an important issue; measures that reduce the development of gully erosion such as drainage backs, drop structures and prompt revegetation may be required.

For this to succeed, careful planning, execution and commitment to seal maintenance over many years are keys to successfully reducing soil temperatures below acceptable levels (below 70C). Grouting with inert material such as flyash may be an alternate technique for fire control. The object is to exclude air from the fire by filling the voids between the spoil particles. The advantage of this over sealing is that it creates an insitu barrier to air transport rather than a potentially unstable surface barrier. This has been trialled and although successful to date, the final outcome was not yet conclusive at the time of case study generation.

6.1.2 Guiding management and fire control principles

Close oxygen pathways into spoil piles by surface capping or bulk void reduction. Maintenance of surface seals. If it is not possible or practical to seal an area, spreading out the material will prevent heat build-up. Promote cooling by encouraging rainwater ponding.

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Early intervention is the key to preventing longer-term problems.

Figure 6-6 Reshaping dumps coalmine spoil PHOTO SHELL COAL Pty Ltd: Drayton Coal Mine, SE of Muswellbrook NSW. Reshaping dump levels using dozers. Slopes are restricted to 10 but not exceeding 14.

6.2 Case Study 2: Top Soil Grafting Averts Self Heating

Mine: Leigh Creek, South Australia, Operated by Optima Energy The Leigh Creek Coalfield has been one of the largest open-cut operations in Australia. Located 550 km north of Adelaide in the Northern Flinders Ranges, the site covers a total area of 70 sq km. Owned and operated by SA Generation Corporation, trading as Optima Energy, it has produced 2.6 to 2.8 million tonnes per annum of subbituminous hard brown coal to fuel the Northern Power Station (NPS), supplying 40% of the States electricity. In April 1998, the South Australian Government announced its intention to sell the site. Lobe B was the largest of five basins in the site, with up to 1500 m of predominantly fine grained mudstones and siltstones. The coal reserve occurred in three isolated coal horizons referred to stratigraphically as the lower, main and upper series. Initial estimates indicated a resource of more 520 million tonnes. Leigh Creek coals are low rank (Lionite A to Sub bituminous C). Site operators sought to control self heating in spoil at Leigh Creek, by compacting the final surface and the placing freshly stripped topsoil over the compacted material. Observations indicate this has prevented self-heating. Topsoil was stripped from areas to be mined and placed immediately over the compacted overburden material. This top soil grafting method has also led to very early natural regeneration of suitable native plants. Providing the surface runoff water is prevented from causing fresh erosion, a thin layer ofonly about 50 cmhas provided good results. Operators believe the key to successfully preventing self heating has

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been the integrated planning of spoil placement, water management and revegetation. Unlike other areas of Australia, where 5 m layers of inert material might be available in dealing with self heating problems, arid inland areas of Australia often do not have such quantities of inert materials. In this instance, it has been shown that a well established vegetation of suitable native plants can use up most of the moisture in the soil and can prevent self heating of the sub-strata.

Figure 6-7 Spoil heaps prior to rehabilitation PHOTO: OPTIMA ENERGY. It is essential that every fire is reported early and that fires are controlled as soon as possible, preferably that day. Good fire reporting procedures needed to be explained and understood by all employees. Every case of self heating on site was recorded. The use of infra red cameras can also provide early discovery of potential hot spots and can help prioritise works designed to prevent self heating. Well-planned, progressively implemented revegetation of overburden dumps during landform design will prevent most spontaneous combustion of those dumps. In most cases, progressive reshaping of slopes and revegetation also helps. A primary consideration is that this work is more economic, as it prevents costly and highly disruptive fire fighting. The principal advantages of the methods used were:
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a major reduction in overburden removal costs due to significantly reduced haul cycle times; the ability to optimise the mining envelope based on average as opposed to incremental stripping ratios; a more consistent level of output over the sites economic life, and

a more efficient and environmentally sensitive rehabilitation program.

The key to successful post-mining land use was sustainability. Several end land uses were proposed for Lobe B, the main one being a native flora and fauna reserve. Key components of this initiative were:

Figure 6-8 Dragline adjusting dump slopes and cover with topsoil PHOTO: OPTIMA ENERGY. Creating sustainable water bodies and wildlife habitats; controlling feral predators and competitors, including grazing animals; introducing native and endangered flora and flora; minimising visual impact by blending the overburden dumps with the surrounding landscape; limiting surface dumps by maximising in-pit dumping; controlling off site impacts, such as surface water run-off and dust and sustainability through an alternatively generated revenue. Using old dragline to adjust slope and cover with topsoil.

Figure 6-9 Vegetation establishment on spoil dump PHOTO: OPTIMA ENERGY - Vegetation becomes established on reshaped slopes (topsoil cover with dragline).
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6.3 Case Study 3: Progressive revegetation and water body protection

Mine: Bow River, Western Australia operated by Normandy Mining Ltd The Bow River diamond mine is located 90 km south of Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The operation - mining of alluvial diamonds - commenced in 1988 and is currently under care and maintenance. The mine is situated on the floodplain of Limestone Creek, a tributary of the Bow River, which joins the Ord River and flows into Lake Argyle, the largest man-made water body in Australia. Mining of alluvial diamonds involved the extraction of diamond bearing gravels from ancient creek beds that had become covered by new deposits. Prior to mining, the land use for the area was pastoral cattle grazing and the aim of rehabilitation was to return the land to the former land use. The mining method used involved the removal of overburden, (the overlying soils and gravels) to extract the diamond bearing gravels. As the mining was conducted in a series of pits, overburden was used to progressively back-fill and shape the mined out pits. Topsoil that was removed in front of the advancing pit, was then placed directly on the reshaped overburden, eliminating the need to stockpile and store topsoil. Seeding of rehabilitated areas was undertaken using a combination of grasses, shrubs and tree species. The main environmental concern at Bow River was to ensure that the water quality in Lake Argyle was not affected by the mining operations. Water management was therefore, an important consideration to prevent sediment entering the Lake. To ensure that the mining operation was not a source of sediment, rehabilitation of mined areas involved the shaping of pits to enable all storm water to be collected internally in the pits. As a result of this strategy, the final landform consists of a number of depressions that fill with water during the wet season. In addition to the rehabilitation of completed pits, mining was also undertaken through a section of Beefwood Creek, an ephemeral creek. About 530m of the creek was disturbed to enable mining. Following the completion of mining, the creek was rehabilitated to similar dimensions and levels prior to mining. In areas where the original sides of the creek bank were steep, rehabilitation involved reducing the angle of the slope and increasing the width of the creek to reduce the flow velocities of the water. Armouring of the slopes with sorted gravels was also undertaken to prevent erosion. The area was revegetated with trees similar to those that originally occurred in the area, such as the Boab (Adansonia gregorii), Bauhinia (Lysiphylum cunninghamii), and Wild Plum (Terminalia platyphylla).

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The diamondiferous gravel was transported by haul truck to the treatment plant where the diamonds were separated by scrubbing and screening. The finer material was discharged to a tailings storage facility and the coarser materials conveyed to the oversize stockpile. The tailings did not contain any reagents and vegetation has naturally colonised the surface. The tailings storage facility was constructed from the oversize material and built in a series of lifts. Placing topsoil and seeding with grass, shrub and tree species has revegetated the berm of each of these lifts. The oversize stockpile is approximately 30 m high, with the upper 15 m battered to an angle of 20 (32%). A 5 m wide berm has been constructed at the base of the battered upper slope and the remaining (lower) 15 m remains at the angle of repose. The highly porous nature of this material has made revegetation difficult. Soil was placed on the surface of the dump and the area has revegetated with grasses and shrubs while the outer slopes have been left to vegetate naturally. Monitoring of revegetated areas has been undertaken over the last seven years to determine the success of rehabilitation. Permanent monitoring points have been established and each year data are collected on ground cover, plant height, and species richness. This information has indicated that the rehabilitated areas compare favourably with areas that were not mined. The creation of the undulating landform has also provided a habitat for many species of wildlife, especially birds that frequent the water holes. During the period of operation of the mine, from 1988 until 1996, approximately 1120 hectares were mined, with all areas now being rehabilitated. The final landform has achieved its objective of preventing sediment entering Lake Argyle, while also providing suitable grazing for cattle as well as habitat for wildlife. Low intensity grazing of the rehabilitated areas has been undertaken, however it is not planned to allow grazing on mined areas until vegetation is well established.

Figure 6-10 Mine pits reshaped to capture site run-off PHOTO NORMANDY MINING LIMITED - Bow River, 90 km south of Kunanurra, Western Australia.
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6.4 Case Study 4: Basin ListingAn Alternative To Contour Ripping

Mine: Gregory Coal Mine, Central Queensland, BHP Australia Coal In the Bowen Basin coalfields north-west of Rockhampton, Central Queensland, the regraded mine spoil has traditionally been ripped on the contour to create a suitable microtopography and seed bed for vegetation. The usual practice is to deep rip the spoil (at least 0.3 m to 1.0 m or more) on the contour. This creates a microtopography which limits erosion of the spoil and creates a rough seed bed to help germination and vegetation growth. To ensure erosion is minimised, it is critical to maintain the ripping strictly on the contour. Any deviation off the contour tends to initiate erosion. Where topsoil is returned to the regraded spoil, the deep contour ripping also ensures the topsoil is keyed into the spoil. This means topsoil is less likely to erode or slip en masse off the surface of the regraded spoil. Gregory Mine near Emerald has developed an innovative system called basin listing. It creates a microtopography similar to an agricultural basin listing used to break up hard setting clay soil surfaces. This innovation uses reciprocating tynes rather than offset discs to create the scalloped surface. A set of three hydraulically controlled tynes was constructed to lift and rip alternately. As one tyne rips, the other two are lifted, then as the two rip the third lifts with the hydraulic system controlling the alternation of rip and lift.

Figure 6-11 View over rehabilitated mine land PHOTO BHP AUSTRALIA COAL: BHP Australia Coal, Gregory Mine, 60 km north east of Emerald, Queensland. Rehabilitation of mine spoil in foreground with strip mining in background. The tynes in the final machine are flat-faced, rather than the traditional narrow-face. This emphasises the scalloping action and creates a patterned microtopography.
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Basin listing achieves the same outcomes as deep ripping, creating an erosion-limiting spoil or soil surface and a seed bed. However, as the ripping is not continuous, it is not essential that ripping is strictly on the contour. Further, as the basins tend to overlap across the slope, the potential for causing erosion is limited should a basin overflow. Basin listing achieves the same result in terms of keying topsoil into regraded spoil. Consequently, mass erosion or slipping of topsoil is minimised. The basins or scallops tend to retain water after rainfall much better than rip lines. Therefore, the basin listed reclamation creates a microenvironment which aids seedling germination and establishment better than traditional ripping. Basin listing has proved very successful in finishing mined area rehabilitation. It minimises erosion initiation compared to traditional ripping.

6.5 Case Study 5:

Innovative revegetation methods

Mine: Nabarlek Mine, Northern Territory Supervising Scientist Group, Environment Australia The Nabarlek uranium mine operated from 1970 until 1989 by Queensland Mines Pty Ltd. Rehabilitation was carried out in the dry season of 1995. Several features of the Nabarlek story are unique and offer interesting approaches for possible consideration in other mine rehabilitation programs. The Nabarlek ore body was mined in a single 143-day campaign during the dry season of 1979. Ore was stockpiled on a specially prepared site while the mill was constructed. The ore was processed over the subsequent 10 year period. Topsoil from the mine and mill construction was placed in a stockpile and allowed to stand until required in the final rehabilitation. Tailings from the milling operation were returned directly to the mined out pit. The waste rock was placed to the south of the site and planted with an exotic grass species to provide erosion control. During the mine planning process, the final decommissioning and rehabilitation program was developed as a series of specific component plans including an earthmoving and revegetation document. Throughout the life of the mine, these components were reviewed at intervals and updated to take account of changes in mine development as well as incorporating the results of site-specific research and new technology.

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During preparation for final decommissioning, the site topsoil dump was investigated. It was found that due to its 14 years in store, the material was of little value to the rehabilitation process. The soil had lost much of its micro flora and faunal populations; it had been leached of nutrients and had become a source of weed seeds. Few viable propagules of potentially useful plants had survived. The topsoil was used in the rehabilitation work but not as a final cover as this would have spread undesirable weeds across the site. The had and and waste rock dump had been untended during the life of the mine and become well vegetated with a wide range of native species of trees shrubs. This material was selected for the final cover for reshaped rehabilitated landforms.

The rehabilitation objective, as agreed with the traditional owners and the supervising authorities, was to establish a landscape that matched the surrounding areas as closely as possible and would permit traditional hunting and gathering activities to be pursued. The earthmoving plan placed all mine wastes in the mined out pit together with scrap metal etc. This was then covered with a layer of waste rock up to 15 metres thick and the final landform left as a mound over the pit to allow for subsidence and to still provide a water shedding cover. The original cover design was of great importance as it was required to act as a barrier to radon gas and to contain the tailings and radioactive waste for thousands of years. A contractor carried out earthmoving for the final landform shaping during the dry season of 1995. Apart from demolishing earthworks, including substantial pond walls, the work also required the land surface over most of the site to be returned to approximately its original contours. The ponds were filled in and the waste rock was spread and incorporated the degraded topsoil lower down the soil profile. One concern while completing the rehabilitation earthworks was the amount of compaction caused over the site as a result of the constant passage of trucks and other mobile plant. At the end of earthmoving, a large bulldozer fitted with a winged deep ripping tyne was used to rip the whole site to loosen the surface and provide improved conditions for seed germination. During this operation some oversize rocks were brought to the surface. These were collected into piles and spread randomly across the site to provide refuges for small animals and reptiles that were anticipated would re-colonise the site. The final domed cover over the pit was designed following research and shaped to provide shorter runoff paths and so reduce runoff water velocities. A single, low, central ridge was established to facilitate these shorter flow paths (Riley 1994; Riley 1995).

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Seeding was carried out at the end of earthmoving, immediately before the onset of the monsoonal rains of the 199596 wet season. Previous work on site had shown that this was likely to be the most successful revegetation approach. Trials involving tubed tree stock were shown to be generally less successful. The rehabilitation of the site is progressing well and continued monitoring is in place to establish when the site can be returned to the traditional owners. PHOTOS: from ENVIRONMENT AUSTRALIA

Figure 6-12 Site prior to rehabilitation Progress with rehabilitating Nabarlek mine site: Aerial view (top) of the mine site in February 1992 before work started and in February 1996 (centre) following decommissioning earthworks, including the waste rock dump (mid picture) then the mine pit and beyond it the evaporation ponds. Refer to diagram. Bottom photo shows ground view of vegetation growth on former pit in July 1996.

Figure 6-13 Site 3-4 years after rehabilitation works commenced

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Figure 6-14 Vegetation growth on former pit

Figure 6-15 General layout of operation at Nabarlek

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Figure 6-16 Nabarlek: as designed (after Riley 1994)

Figure 6-17 Nabarlek: constructed showing landform (after Riley 1994)

as final

6.6 Case Study 6: Mine scheduling and Computer aided techniques for mine rehabilitation
Mine: Ravensworth Mine, New South Wales operated by Peabody Resources Pty Ltd Large scale open cut coal mining began at Ravensworth in 1972. Located 20 km northwest of Singleton in the Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales, the coal produced is transferred via conveyor to the adjacent Bayswater and Liddell power stations. Ravensworth Mines produces 6 Mtpa of product coal, equal to almost 30% of the coal required for power generation in NSW. The mining method involves a combination of prestrip and dragline operations to remove overburden which uncovers coal and partings for extraction. Eight coal seams are mined which range in thickness from 0.3m to 8m, and up to 120m below the natural surface. The overburden removed by the draglines is deposited into the void of the previous cut. The coal is removed progressively as the seams are exposed with 13m electric shovels, 15m front end loaders and a fleet of 109 tonne capacity rear dump trucks. At Ravensworth, Peabody Resources has recognised that mining is an interim land use and mine rehabilitation is therefore an integral component of the mining process.
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Computer aided design provides an opportunity for substantial savings, quicker site planning and redesign.

Figure 6-18 CAD mine design operator PHOTO: Peabody Resources Rehabilitation of disturbed land is carefully planned and implemented. This process starts well in advance of active mining, with pre-mining land capability and suitability assessment, and soil and drainage density surveys. Also prior to mining, a geological model is produced using computer software after an exploration drilling program is completed. This model enables engineering staff to determine the coal resource in any one mining area. Mine resources and strip layouts are determined based on the geological model and block data is transferred into XPAC, a mine scheduling software package. Among other things, for each mining block, XPAC calculates strip quantities to move to uncover predetermined coal reserves. Ravensworth is overflown and photographed annually to generate a digital terrain model (DTM) and orthophotos. Orthophotos create maps using aerial photos. These are used to compare actual rehabilitation profiles to those planned and allow for further overburden dump planning to conform with final rehabilitation profiles. The DTM is used with a third software package, CivilCad, to generate working plans. CivilCAD computes the quantities of cut and fill required to meet final rehabilitation landform design criteria. The preferred final landform design is then adjusted to suit available prestrip and to optimise the amount of reshaping required by bulldozer. The CivilCAD model is then transferred to AutoCAD, 1:2000 scale working plans. The plans guide appropriate survey control and earthworks.

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Supervisory staff use these plans when they oversee the strategic placement of prestrip material and any required dozer reshaping operation. All landform design parameters have to meet specified slope gradients and slope length and drainage density criteria, and typically are consistent with adjacent natural landforms. This landform design technique is a semi-automated system, purpose developed at Ravensworth using commercially available software packages. The system has enabled the company to reduce its rehabilitation costs by maintaining a constant awareness of the required post mining landform. Placement of pre-strip material has been optimised, which has reduced the need to re-handle spoil materials and has also cut down on dozer time required for final reshaping.

6.7 Case study 7: Rehabilitation

Computer Assisted Design for Mine

Mine: Kambalda, Western Australia, operated by WMC Resources Ltd This case study outlines the assistance provided by computer aided design for waste rock and overburden handling and rehabilitation at WMCs gold and nickel operations at Kambalda, 50 km south of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields. Historically, waste rock dumps at Kambaldas underground nickel mines were flat topped, composed of fresh rock, rarely exceeded 10 ha in area and generally did not extend above the surrounding tree tops. Topsoil recovery was not practiced. In contrast, the later waste rock and overburden dumps from the gold operations covered six times the area, were substantially higher and contained a greater percentage of oxidized material. In total, waste rock dumps at Kambalda cover an area of more than 800 ha of which more than 70% are in advanced stages of rehabilitation. The objectives for rehabilitation at Kambalda require that post mining landforms are: safe, stable, non-polluting, suitable for the proposed end land use, compatible in appearance with surrounding landforms, revegetated with a mix of local species representative of similar habitats and are self sustaining. Waste dumps in the Goldfields were typically left as flat-topped mesas with the side slopes usually around the angle of repose (37 to 38). Many mines still practice top dumping of waste rock followed by slope reprofiling at the completion of mining. WMC investigated the use of the SURPAC, or other mine survey packages, to aid waste dump design by
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treating the dump as an inverted open pit. Improved computer aided planning capability supported realistic opportunities to trial progressive rehabilitation of waste rock dumps. Further investigations resulted in the following steps to produce the required waste dump profiles for pre-mining waste dump planning: Feasibility Phaseobtain aerial photography, digitize available contour information and map the vegetation, drainage and terrain types/units within the proposed dump area onto the topographic base and generate original surface cross-sections and contour overlays Volume Measurement Phasecalculate the total waste volume from the mine planning data ensuring to account for the swell factor. Undertake a site visit to select visual and geotechnically sound crest and toe contour positions and drainage requirements. Final Design Phasegenerate dump contours with the available waste to fill in the existing landform profile, noting the optimal locations for special features such as slope drains, silt traps, haul roads and placement sites for rock wastes containing deleterious materials. Produce 3D mine schematics to display pre and planned post mining landforms for mine personnel use.

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Figure 6-19 An example of computer aided design used to give a three dimensional model of a proposed mine site Further advances of computer software have resulted in an in-house package called SURDUMP. This program is used to assist with designing existing waste dumps that require re-profiling. This package, a two directional block stacking routine, reshapes existing dumps to nominated slope gradients and toe positions. Several commercially available mine design packages now offer similar modelling tools. The final step in the process is for a surveyor to peg the modelled dump contour positions in advance of the waste rock dumping. Properly coordinated topsoil panel stripping can take place in front of the waste dumping and be progressively placed on completed sections of the dump. In addition to avoiding double handling of topsoil, stored seed and topsoil viability is little affected, resulting in reduced seeding costs and enhanced rehabilitation success. This approach was applied to the modelling of the 132 North nickel deposit. In addition to the traditional mine planning activities (i.e. pit optimization, volume calculations) pre-mine modelling of biophysical inputs including catchment, infiltration and erosion potential assessment, soil quality and availability and visual amenity. The dumping strategy employed was to: Maintain upslope remnant vegetation stands where possible to enhance natural recolonisation and seed dispersal. drape the waste rock over a shallow valley and reconstruct drainage lines strip vegetation and topsoil along the contour in panels and dump waste rock to nominated final crest and toe positions progressively uplift topsoil/vegetation from strips in front of the advancing dump and complete upslope rehabilitation to final grade with fresh soil. identify the larger drainage lines and leave these intact with a 20 meter greenbelt buffer zone to the final dump toe. Achieve drainage and downstream siltation control using a single long slope rock drain that: was linked to contour rip lines; was constructed with a dozer such that it formed a series of small siltation ponds before entering existing drainage. Rehabilitation of the 132 North site was completed in September 1992. An assessment of the rehabilitation success was undertaken in December 1997 as part of the CSIRO44 Minesite Rehabilitation Research ProgramIndicators of Ecosystem Rehabilitation Success. This program utilized Land Form Analysis and a series of indicators to provide an overall assessment of ecosystem rehabilitation success. While
44

o o

Commonwealth Science and Idustrial Research Organisation

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monitoring is ongoing, the results to date suggest the rehabilitated site is approaching values similar to those observed in the control site. The 132 North results show an integrated mine planning approach is capable of removing much of the guesswork associated with dump planning, selective placement of materials, reprofiling costs and area of disturbance calculations. Modelling techniques which pay close attention to reconstructing natural features can help achieve improved rehabilitation. A waste dump that eventually blends in with the surrounding landform is consistent with the view that mining is only an interim use of the land, not an end use. By cutting out guesswork, better end uses and efficiencies (during mining) are achievable.

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7 Concluding discussion and recommendations

This report provides a mapping of a number of issues relevant for mine closure in the coal mining regions of Ukraine. It addresses mine spoil dumps in the Donbas as a particular example and as a pressing issue for that part of the country. Moreover, a structured approach has been presented in which risks related to mining, and risks related to the closure of mines, can be evaluated and prioritised. This final chapter provides the chief findings from this study. They are derived from a combination of the theoretical considerations presented in text, items of best practice introduced from the international mining sphere, and from field observations from the ENVSEC work in the Donbas. Most of the issues taken up in this closing section present themselves as notable risk factors within the content of Chapter 2, Classification of risks where many field observations are tabulated. Moreover, the discussion here will provide some recommendations regarding ongoing work required in the region. In this regard, it was indicated at the outset of this report that the study would provide guidance for ongoing work that could be carried out by National partners in areas such as: a) adaptation and application of relevant concepts of mining best practice to the Ukrainian context; b) adaptation and application of best practice mine closure planning processes to the Ukrainian context; c) examination of the completeness and reflection of best practice in Ukrainian closure legislation; d) examining the effectiveness of how the existing legislation has been implemented; e) generating proposals for improvement of the some policy measures (e.g. to the Ministry of coal and eventually to the Ukrainian parliament).

7.1 Recapitulation
This report has established that the coal mining industry in Ukraine remains in a challenged status if not crisis. Moreover, many important environmental and social problems in the Donetsk region are due to the effects of mining or the cessation of mining. This text has also presented a number of examples of best environmental and social practice in mine planning and closure and it is clear that there is a very large discrepancy between Ukrainian practice and such examples. The report has also highlighted that better management of closure related risks is clearly feasible. Examples have also been provided of the growth of public and institutional expectations of mining organisations all around the world, and the role of planning for mine closure in meeting such expectations.
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The items presented here however, are only a part of the solution. No panacea is immediately available that can solve the accumulated problems of over 100 years of large-scale mining activity. Not least due to this reality, much of this study has been focused on only mine spoil dumps. While these are but a portion of the challenge of mine closure in the area, they are very visible and significant items. Prior to presenting those issues that the ENVSEC project has found most pressing in the region, a short recap of the reports content and its relevance is provided.

7.1.1 A structured classification of closure risks

The central part of this report has focused upon six different categories of risk that are relevant to mining and mine closure. The items addressed include environmental risks, health and safety risks, community and social risks, final land use risks, legal and financial risks and technical risks. Due to factors such as the nature of the ENVSEC initiative itself (where environment is a key parameter), and due to the high environmental profile of spoil heaps in the Ukraine, the major focus of field visits and data collection has also been upon matters of environment. Examples have been provided for each of the six categories of risk as they apply for the coal mines in the Donbas. Such analysis provides a foundation for the identification of pressing issues surrounding mine closure and the manner in which they relate back to risk. It is held here that such tools have great relevance. An abundance of risk concerns has been drawn from the research work that underpins this report. This indicates that a) there are many matters of concern, and b) that the structured approach followed is effective in the manner in which it can direct the search for information, and the prioritization of data and issues. Examination was also made here of the environmental aspects and potential environmental impacts of mine dumps and infrastructure. This also encompasses activities co-located with dumps or relevant to their operation. As part of this work, the report presents an indicative listing of information requirements and potential information collection modes for spoil dump risk assessment (Chapter 4) and simple methods for the process of prioritising risks (Chapter 5). Pursuant to the observations during the ENVSEC missions to the Donbas, it is considered that the categories recommended are indeed valid for application in the region. Moreover, it was found that much important data, or many of the parameters listed within such categories are difficult to obtain or missing. Moreover, in the light of the large number of activities involved in assessing the risk profiles of mines and the broad nature of some issues, it is considered that such risk prioritisation methods are vital. Attention must be focused on those issues most critical for risk amelioration associated with closure activities.
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7.1.2 Good practice case studies

All around the mining world there are examples of good and bad mine closure. This report showcases only a very small sample of these. However, the reports suite of seven case studies captures clearly many of the issues that need to be dealt with in improved ways. They also point to the fact that there is a wealth of new practice and thinking out in the broader mining world that can be drawn upon by mining organisations in the Donbas. In the area of mine closure and spoil dumps these cases address a number of areas where practice in the Donbas is markedly different. Among other things, these include: Scheduled landform placement and revegetation during mining operations; Dump structuring and spoil management to prevent dump fires; The formation of safe post-operational landform structures, and Cost-effective strategies. micro-topography creation and revegetation

One key item vital for Ukrainian practice not included in the cases provided is that of dump beneficiation. While a case of coal recovery is documented in Appendix C, there remains scope for extension of this material in a number of areas. These could include the areas of coal, minerals and aggregate recovery and examples of land recovery and sale.

7.2 Key items for closure and closure risk consideration

The items listed in this section take the form of general comments with some limited recommendations. This, as much of the work involved in this ENVSEC project has been exploratory in nature. As such, the project has not involved detail site investigations; or assessment of technologies, legislative texts, funding mechanisms, care-andmaintenance costs, rehabilitation costs and so forth. Moreover, the work has generally been limited to coal spoil dumps. Therefore, it is a challenge to maintain a holistic view of coal mining and mine closure risks. It is recognized that many more issues than just spoil dumps affect such risks. It is logical however, that Ukrainian mining stakeholders perform such work in the future and that such works be considered and included within broader schemes of action. One example of such broader schemes is the upcoming European Union Coal Sector Policy Support Programme. This 10 million scheme is to commence soon in Ukraine. As a result, this section generally avoids pointed recommendations directed towards specific sites, specific pieces of legislation or specific actors. While items listed here may certainly require further examination and verification, the majority of these issues were raised by multiple sources. That is to say, highlighted and discussed by several
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mission informants from different organizations (thus triangulated) during the conduct of data collection for this report.

7.2.1

Liability and ownership issues

A clear signal and theme taken from this study is that a lack of adequate legislative structures for the sale of mine lands, mine spoil dumps etc. is a significant barrier to progress regarding the rehabilitation of mine lands. It is also a barrier to the extraction of value from mine wastes. This barrier relates to both the potential for extraction of value from the materials and the potential value of the land itself for alternative uses once a dump is removed, or made safe. Informants indicated that while the Ukraine does have a law on environmental audit45 that to some extent addresses accountability for risks associated with changes in industrial land use, the transfer or sale of mine lands is difficult. Pointedly, there is no legal framework for a trade in dumps. From the viewpoints of land sellers, buyers and the public, clear delineation of liability for risks is clearly important. Moreover, examples were provided of dumps that apparently have no specified legal owner, and of (generally old) dumps where land ownership has been passed to local authorities pursuant to cessation of mining activities. As a notable example in this regard, the local municipality reportedly owns a burning dump adjacent to the Snezhnyanskaya #1 coal recovery operation in Snezhnoye. At the time of the visit, it remained unclear as to whether the rights to extract the coal from this dump could be obtained by the operation. It was indicated that it was possible that coal recovery operations would cease and the plant be removed without removal of this dump unless transfer could be negotiated. As such, while this challenge has not been researched in detail, it appears that improvement of legal frameworks for liability and site ownership are vital to the process of reducing mine related risks in the region.

7.2.2

Extracting value from spoil dumps

It is universally held that opportunities to extract value from mine legacies (in this instance spoil heaps) is generally a desirable and sensible strategy. Informants discuss four dominant approaches or combined approaches in this regard: recovery of coal for sale to power stations or for value adding into coal briquettes for private sale; extraction of aggregates for the building industry, for road building, or for fill;

45

One informant in this regard being Victor Yermakov (former representative of the Ministry of Coal), interviewed 4 August 2008 in Kiev.

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processing for the recovery of rare earth elements, germanium, aluminium rich minerals, and iron ore; dump removal or reshaping so that land is suitable for alternative uses and/or can be sold.

While the above items are held to be of great interest and promise by many informants, limited progress appears to have been achieved on the ground in any of these areas. As has been indicated, only one formal large scale coal recovery operation exists in the region. The abundance of low tech informal operations for coal recovery however, indicates that there is potential for more dumps to be rehabilitated in this manner. Similarly, the recovery of aggregates does appear feasible. It is reported that the ring-road around Donetsk was built with dump materials recovered from peri-urban areas (albeit, problems with road durability, presumably due to poor aggregate quality, were also referred to). Challenges to progress in the above areas are generally indicated to relate to lack of finance; lack of examples to follow; inexperience with technologies and markets, and problems with legislative structures as discussed in Section 7.2.1. To this can be added that no informants to the ENVSEC work mentioned incentive schemes from the side of government put in place to stimulate or support such activities. Pursuit of such opportunities as pathways to risk amerlioration perhaps in the form of demonstration projects appears to be desirable for the region. This may be an item that can be included in demonstration works within the aforementioned European Union Coal Sector Policy Support Programme.

7.2.3 Site security and informal coal-related activities

Site security and informal mining activities carried out on mining leases are undoubtedly a problem in the region especially when viewed from a risk perspective. Presently, it appears that mine leases are treated more like open access public resource by the public. However, it is possible that there are opportunities that can be leveraged if informal activities could be regulated in such a way that they can enter the formal economy and meet acceptable environmental health and safety requirements. Informal activities witnessed or mentioned during the ENVSEC missions include: small scale mining a large number of illegal mines are operated in the region. However, the authorities apparently tolerate these as conduct of operations is open; 46

46

Discussions with mining sector informants, and an interview with a former informal mine foreman indicate that such operations usually produce 1 or more 100s of tonnes/week, are adit operations exploiting near surface seams, employ circa 5-15 men, utilise compressed air hand hammers, and are conducted in breathing equipment without forced ventilation systems.

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informal coal recovery operations a significant number of coal recovery operations applying simple mobile recovery plants on coal rich spoil dumps. In the risk assessment and prioritisation context of this document a number of issues are considered relevant. Unlicensed and informal mining activities these small scale mining operations are apparently conducted with a minimum or primitive consideration of health and safety standards. As such they pose a risk to the miners that engage in them. Moreover, worked out areas are highly likely to constitute risks (gas leakage, subsidence, void hazard etc.) for future (or present) land users or owners. It is also presumably very unclear how liability for accidents or damage, or environmental problems associated with these operations, would be managed. As formal records are not kept of operations, these difficulties will compound as time passes. Unlicensed and informal coal recovery operations again, these operations are apparently conducted with limited consideration of health and safety standards. In this case however, inspection of operations during the ENVSEC mission of 2008, indicate that these are unlikely to be particularly hazardous. Nuisance in the form of dust, noise and heavy goods traffic is evident however. As with informal mining, liability concerns also clearly exist albeit of an apparently lesser degree. On the other side of this issue is the value that these activities yield. They provide employment and economic benefit to those that engage in them. It is also logical that these benefits pass on to the communities where earnings from the operations are spent. Indeed, anecdotal evidence indicates that unlicensed mining operations pay considerably higher wages than are awarded by state operations. Moreover, they contribute to National coal production thus reducing the net production/import deficit. Dump reprocessing is also contributing to the removal of dumps that take up land and have potential to burn in itself a form of rehabilitation. In this light, it appears that examination of possibilities to bring such activities into the formal economy is worthy of attention. At the very least, such efforts would need to encompass guidelines or regulation for site access and licensing, safety and environmental considerations, taxation or royalties, and requirements for some forms of site restitution.

7.2.4 Revegetation and dump rehabilitation

The missions to the Donbas region have observed that the existing planning and goals for site (environmental) rehabilitation and risk reduction are inadequate. Moreover, the methods designs and methods

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utilised appear to differ markedly from those applied in leading mining nations and also appear to yield markedly inferior results. In this regard it is considered that new approaches have an important role to play in Ukraine. A logical starting point for such work is to find areas where current practices can be strengthened by tried and proven techniques from elsewhere. It is deemed that initial topics to be addressed should include, but not be limited to: landform management, dump reshaping, dump fire prevention techniques, fire management techniques, management of acidic and saline wastes, topsoil management, soil amendment, water management, revegetation techniques and final land use considerations.

7.2.5 Information on mining objects

Critical to achievement of improvement in all of the areas mentioned above, is access to up-to-date knowledge on mining objects. Such information is relevant to mine closure, mine risk and mining operations. In this light, discussions regarding the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) tools have been undertaken with project partners in the Donbas and are considered to be very important by the ENVSEC team. As such discussion is ongoing, information is only addressed in general terms here. Effective application of GIS will be invaluable in the management of such information. At present very considerable data does exist however, it is widely spread and only limited quantities are available in digital form. Moreover, as this study has revealed, there are many types of information that simply have not been collected or where even the capacity to collect them is limited. The issue of collecting and centralising information will doubtless be a huge task, but this research indicates that it must be started and given priority if progress is to be made effectively on risk amelioration. Not only are there hundreds of mines each with their own records (as well as centrally held versions), there are dozens of institutions that have supported the mining industry over the past half century or even longer. Such institutions have conducted significant amounts of work relevant to the topic taken up by this report. Some have studied dump beneficiation, others fire management, others ground deformation, and others water recovery and reuse and so on. It was clearly observed in the missions however, that knowledge of such work and access to results is quite limited. Due to the large number of sites and objects that have significant environmental aspects a key task for data managers will be the prioritisation of risks. The content of Chapters 4 and 5 in this report seek to provide details of how such processes may be started.

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Moreover, and very strongly linked to previous items mentioned in this summary, is the issue of ownership and liability. Such information is vital for the support of all mine closure and risk reduction work, and as such it must be a key component of any data management system.

7.3 Closing remarks and general recommendations

These closing comments address the points delineated at the start of Chapter 7. These comments are general recommendations it has not been sought to provide detail content within these items. 1. Adaptation and application of relevant concepts of mining best practice and best practice mine closureplanning processes to the Ukrainian context This report has clearly established a large gap between practices applied in Ukraine and those applied in countries deemed to have best practice. However, it is doubtful that practice can simply be transposed. Many of the technical conditions and most of the socio-economic conditions in Ukraine do not have direct parallels elsewhere. This study concludes that there is a clear need to conduct work to both adapt and apply best practices for the Ukraine. Further, it seems logical that external parties with extensive experience of such practices abroad should participate with Ukrainian actors in the pursuit of better practice for mining and mine closure. 2. Examination of the completeness and reflection of best practice in Ukrainian closure legislation AND the effectiveness of how the existing legislation has been implemented This work has found very strong indications that Ukrainian practice and legal frameworks do not support best practice. It appears that work is required to analyse national regulations in the light of practices elsewhere and delineate those items that are addressed and those that are not and where principal weaknesses lie. Legislation surrounding transfer of site ownership and liability appears to be one critical area for initial examination. Moreover, the work conducted within this project has indicated that implementation of existing rules and a regulation is not taking place as prescribed. Examination of enforcement in areas where health, safety or environmental risks are high, also appears worthy of immediate attention. 3. Generating proposals for improvement of the some policy measures

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A number of areas where proposals for policy improvement appear relevant have been identified within this study (e.g. clear delineation of ownership of sites, clarification of transfer and/or sharing of liability, examination of financial assurance/bonding schemes for new mining operations, examination of liability for hazardous historical sites, etc.). However, it is considered premature to pursue such work at this juncture. Work on the two items listed above will need to precede such action or at least be advanced to some degree before sufficient delineation of policy weaknesses is achieved. In closing this report, it is reiterated that many important risk concerns were found in this work. However, it was also found that the structured approaches to risk documentation and analysis can help prioritize work on reduction of such risks.

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Glossary of mining terms

For the context of this report, the following definitions are provided for general mining and minerals sector related terminology: Acid Deposition The falling of acids and acid-forming compounds from the atmosphere to the Earths surface. Acid deposition is commonly known as acid rain, a term that refers only to wet deposition of droplets of acids and acid-forming compounds. Acid deposition includes the fallout of dry acid-forming compounds. Acid Drainage Also referred to as Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) or Acid Rock Drainage (ARD). Acid drainage arises from the rapid oxidation of sulphide minerals and often occurs when such minerals are exposed to the atmosphere by excavation from the earths crust. Incident rainfall or surface water is acidified when acid-forming compounds dissolve. Effects include acid drainage from waste rock stockpiles and tailings, development of acid conditions in exposed surface materials, increased solubility and or release of metals, and increased salinity or solute loads in waters. Acidic Water Referring to water with a pH below 7 but generally referring to pH values of 4 and below. As such, any water solution where the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) is greater than the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH-). Aquifer Porous, water-saturated layers of sand, gravel, or bed rock that can yield an economically significant amount of water. Backfill Material used to fill areas in underground mines made void by the extraction of ore. This material generally comprises coarse sand, rock and cement. Beneficiation The process of separation of an ore mineral from the waste mineral material. Bioavailability A measure of the availability (number of available pathways for exposure) for toxic substances (such as certain metallic compounds) to contact and affect humans, fauna or flora.

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Biodiversity Variety of different species (species diversity), genetic variability among individuals within each species (genetic diversity), and variety of ecosystems (ecological diversity). BOD Biological Oxygen Demand Amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposers to break down the organic material in a given volume of water at a certain temperature over a specified time period. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) A colourless, odourless, tasteless gas, approximately 1.5 times the density of air. The basis for plant respiration. Liberated when vegetable matter rots, burns and when oil and gas are burnt. Bound when plants grow. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Abbreviation for various chemical compounds containing chlorine, fluorine and carbon. CFCs are produced in industrial processes, contribute to ozone layer depletion and are green house gases in the lower levels of the atmosphere. COD, Chemical Oxygen Demand An indicator of the potential environmental impact of effluents to water. The COD is a laboratory measure of the quantity of oxygen required to oxidise the constituents of a liquid effluent. The lower the COD, the lower the potential for reduction in the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the receiving water. Concentrate - Concentrate is the product of ore treatment and contains metal at a higher concentration than the source ore. In metallurgical processes for the production of nickel and copper, concentrate is smelted to produce a metallic compound suitable for further refining. Cuttings Earth and rock removed during a drilling operation to make an exploration hole. Cuttings are invariably contaminated with oil from drilling fluids (oil based and other muds). Discharge This is used as a general term for all releases of contaminants into the environment, be they gas, liquid, or solid, or a combination thereof. The term emission is used exclusively for releases in the atmosphere, effluent is restricted to releases into surface waters and waste is used for remaining releases, such as disposal to landfill or treatment by incineration. A contaminant is a compound which is present in the environment in concentrations higher than the background level, but not necessarily causing a negative impact.

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Environmental Audit A programme to evaluate regulations, systems, programs and policies

compliance

with

Environmental Compliance When an organization is in strict compliance with an environmental law(s), regulation, or other regulatory condition imposed on an operation via a licence, approval, consent, environmental impact assessment or other regulatory process. Fauna Animal environment. life characteristic of a particular region or

Flora Plant life characteristic of a specific geographic region or environment. Greenhouse Effect Warming of the lower level of the atmosphere (troposphere) as a result of heat radiating from the ground being absorbed by global warming gases. Greenhouse Gases Or climate change gases, contributing to the global warming effect (carbon dioxide, methane, CFCs, ozone, dinitrogen oxide). Groundwater All water present below the ground surface. Groundwater fills the voids between soil or rock particles. Groundwater is replenished by surface water infiltration. Hazardous Material A material, which as a result of its physical, chemical or other properties, poses a hazard to human health or the environment when it is improperly handled, used treated, stored, disposed of, or otherwise managed. Hazardous Waste Any solid, liquid, or containerised gas that can catch fire easily, is corrosive to skin tissue of metals, is unstable and can explode or release toxic fumes, or has harmful concentrations of one or more toxic material that can leach out. Incident An unplanned event of chain of events which has, or could have caused injury or illness and/or damage to the environment, third parties or company assets.

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Matte Such as nickel matte, a metallic nickel sulphide, containing approximately 75% metal. The material produced by smelting a metal concentrate. Methane (CH4) A global warming gas produced by anaerobic decay of organic material. The main component in natural gas. Is often held within coal seams. Conventionally not included in the category of gases called volatile organic compounds. Mineral (Mineral resource) Concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous material, in or on Earths crust, in such form and amount that its extraction and conversion into useful materials or items is currently or potentially profitable. Mineral resources are classified as metallic, or non-metallic. Neutral drainage A term generally referring to neutral Fe-rich water and subsequent precipitates. Acidic drainage is a common result from the exposure of sulphur containing coal and sulphide-bearing rocks. Acidic drainage is (generally) characterized by yellow, ferric hydroxide precipitates that drop out downstream from discharge points. However, similar precipitates also form naturally in places where Fe-bearing, anoxic (ground) waters discharge into streams. In these circum-neutral settings, the precipitates have red and red-orange hues. Nitrous Oxides (NOx ) - A general term for nitrogen oxide gases. These are generally produced by combustion processes and can contribute to the formation of smog and acidification effects. Non-compliance Environmental non-compliance means to be out of strict compliance with an environmental law, regulation, or other regulatory condition imposed on an operation via a licence, approval, consent, environmental impact assessment or other regulatory process. Ore Part of a metal yielding material that can be economically and legally extracted. An ore typically contains two parts: the ore mineral, which contains the desired metal, and the waste mineral material (gangue). Overburden Soil and weathered rock which is excavated and removed to reach underlying ore. Ozone A reactive form of oxygen. Ozone plays an important role both at ground level and in the upper atmosphere. In the upper atmosphere it acts as a filter for ultraviolet radiation but is destroyed by
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halogenated hydrocarbons (halons and CFCs). At ground level it is produced by reactions with VOCs and NOx and is a constituent of photochemical smog, it is an irritant, can cause breathing difficulties, and can retard the growth of plants. Ozone Layer Ozone formed in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere) under the effects of solar radiation. This layer absorbs much of the harmful ultraviolet radiation and prevents it from reaching the earths surface. Particulates dispersed in air. Fine solid particles which remain individually

Paste Paste refers to dewatered tailings with little or no water bleed that are non-segregating in nature.The advantages of paste backfill over hydraulic fill include reductions in binder consumption, slimes handling, stope preparation and surface disposal together with productivity improvements associated with an increased mining cycle. Perfluorinated Carbon Compounds (PFCs) Also known as perfluorocarbons. Global warming gases contributed (principally) by aluminium smelting. The principal PFCs are CF4 and C2F6 , their global warming potential is 6300 and 12500 CO2 equivalents respectively. While relatively small volumes are produced, a very significant environmental effect ensues. PFCs are produced during anode effects (AEs), perturbations of current flow at the anode in reduction cells. Petrochemicals Chemicals obtained by refining crude oil. Used as raw materials in the manufcture of most industrial chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibres, paints medicine and many other products. Recycling Extraction and recovery of valuable materials from scrap or used products. Rehabilitation Treatment of disturbed areas ultimately leading to stable, vegetated land forms consistent with the previous landforms or an acceptable alternative use.

Risk and related terms.

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Risk A description of the likelihood of the harm becoming actual. Importantly, risk is (at least) two-dimensional and consideration of risks must encompass items such as the consequences of an event or set of circumstances and the likelihood of particular consequences being realised. Exposure pathways that is, the manner in which people, property, or the biophysical, social, or cultural environment are exposed to a source of potential harm or a situation with a potential for harm are important is important when considering the likelihood of harm.

Harm Any damage to people, property, or the biophysical, social, or cultural environment.

Likelihood A qualitative term covering both probability and frequency. The use of this term can avoid problems caused by using frequency of defined events and probability of specific outcomes interchangeably. Exposure pathways that is, the manner in which people, property, or the biophysical, social, or cultural environment are exposed to a source of potential harm or a situation with a potential for harm are important is important when considering the likelihood of harm.

Hazard A source of potential harm or a situation with a potential for harm, thus a potential cause of harm.

Consequence(s) The intermediate or final outcome(s) of an event or situation. Consequence is a term that contains elements of the social as well as biophysical world thus system response factors such as stakeholder reactions (e.g. outrage) to an event or situations are highly relevant here. Spoil dump An accumulation of mine waste, often located adjacent to a mine shaft or adit, where waste rock or poor quality ore is discarded after excavation. Spontaneous combustion Particularly relevant to coal mining waste where coal and carbonaceous material are exposed to oxygen in air the materials oxidise and liberate heat. If the heat is not dissipated rapidly enough, the temperature rises. This drives oxidation and the heat

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generation process at a faster rate and if not controlled, spontaneous combustion can result. Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4) Acid commonly used in industry for the refining of metals, solvent extraction of uranium and in the manufacture of chemicals and fertiliser. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) A gas that contributes to climate effects, acidification and other air quality problems. Salinization The accumulation of salts in soil that can eventually make the soil unable to support plant growth. Salinity water. Amount of various salts dissolved in a given volume of

Surplus Rock or Waste Rock Rock that must be extracted to reach economic ore but does not contain significant commercial mineralization. Tailings Residue from metallurgical processing, mainly comprising finely ground rock. Tailings may contain process chemical residues. Tailings Retention System Holding areas for process wastes (tailings), also referred to as Tailings Storage Facilities, Tailings Dams, and Process Waste Storage Facilities. Topsoil The upper layer of soil which supports plant growth. Generally the layer containing nutrients, organic matter and seeds. Toxic Chemical A chemical compound that is fatal to humans in low doses, or fatal to over 50% of test animals at stated concentrations. Toxicity Measure of how harmful a substance is.

Unitsk = kilo (thousands - 103) as in kilogram (kg); G = giga (billions 109) as in gigajoule (GJ); M = mega (millions - 10 6) as in megajoule (MJ); T = tera (one million million or 1012) as in terajoule (TJ); ppm = parts per million; ppb = parts per billion.

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VOCsVolatile Organic Compounds. Organic compounds (i.e. compounds of carbon) which evaporate at normal ambient temperatures. In addition to hydrocarbons (i.e. compounds of carbon and hydrogen) VOCs include oxygenated compounds and compounds containing sulphur and halogens. Methane (CH4) is treated separately by convention. VOCs contribute to the formation of ground level ozone through reaction with NOx and sunlight. VOCs can include toxics such as benzene and 1,3butadiene. Waste Rock see Surplus Rock Water Table Upper surface of the zone of saturation, in which all available pores in the soil ands rock in the sub-surface are filled with water. Also called the phreatic surface.

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Appendix A Acid Base Accounting references

Chris Mills (http://technology.infomine.com/enviromine/ard/Acid-Base %20Accounting/ABAdiscussion.htm ) indicates that: Acid-Base accounting (ABA) is a screening procedure whereby the acid-neutralizing potential (assets) and acid-generating potential (liabilities) of rock samples are determined, and the difference, net neutralizing potential (equity), is calculated. The net neutralizing potential, and/or the ratio of neutralizing potential to acidgeneration potential, is compared with a predetermined value, or set of values, to divide samples into categories that either require, or do not require, further determinative acid potential generation testwork. Just as different methods of accounting (e.g. cash or accrual basis) will present different sets of books to an auditor, so different methods of conducting ABA testwork will generate different sets of sample data for evaluation. Rules and guidelines have been developed by mine regulatory and permitting agencies for ABA procedures that may be likened to the rules and guidelines of financial accounting. See: Price, W.A. and Errington, J.C. (1995), ARD Guidelines for Mine Sites in British Columbia, BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Victoria, 29p.; Steffen, Robertson and Kirsten (B.C.) Inc. and B.C. Research and Development (1992), Guidelines for ARD Prediction in the North, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa; Miller, R.A. (1995), Mine Rock Characterization Guideline, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Helena, MT; Brady, K.B., Perry, E.F., Beam, R.L., Bisko, D.C., Gardner, M.D. and Tarantino, J.M. (1994), Evaluation of Acid-Base Accounting to Predict the Quality of Drainage at Surface Coal Mines in Pennsylvania, USA, Proc. International Land Reclamation and Mine Drainage Conference and 3rd International Conference on the Abatement of Acidic Drainage, Pittsburgh, PA; USBM SP 06A-94, v1, p138-146.

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Appendix B: Draft field procedures field scanning survey of Donbas coalmine spoil dumps
This site appraisal support document is simply intended to provide a input for a first pass on the ground initial delineation of the general form, appearance and make-up of dumps. This document is intended to follow and cross-reference with the content provided for rough field data collection mode in Table 4-14 Indicative listing of information requirements and potential collection modes for spoil dump risk assessment on page 57 of this report. The documentation of such information can support planning for detail investigations when site owners decide that these are required. Such decisions can only be made pursuant to an initial prioritisation of dumps (i.e. potentially high risk dumps) for further assessment, and prioritisation of closure related activities in general). Note 1: As is indicated in Table 4-14, access to mine records or the possibility of obtaining anecdotal information from (former) site personnel should be considered as an important and prioritised form of data collection for a number of the issues listed in this brief protocol. Note 2: for the scope of works and equipment list provided here, it has been assumed that no soil or water samples will be taken for laboratory analysis. Similarly, no samples will be taken for more detail assessment of factors such as Acid/Base accounting (as described in Appendix A). Inspection equipment checklist Existing drawings or detail maps of mine site and spoil dump; Available aerial photographs of site; Hand-held GPS device (accuracy +/- 5 to 15metres); Compass; Weather resistant PDA or small laptops, notepads etc., for field note taking; Water salinity/turbidity measurement device and/or dissolved oxygen, pH etc. meter and/or, litmus paper for pH testing [where possibilities exist for the sampling of surface water or water from groundwater wells or mine pumping stations]; Digital camera; Inclinometer or other simple tool for measuring slope angles; Hand-auger or screw post-hole digger (optional);47 Geological hammer; Depth probe for groundwater monitoring wells [where access to groundwater wells or flooded shafts is possible], Small water extraction pump for sampling from groundwater wells (optional) Infra-red camera (for cold season heat profiling of dumps)
47

in hard ground it may be necessary to source an industrial size battery driven hammer drill with a 1 meter long screw drill

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In a preliminary investigation, investigators should visit a site and perform tasks such as:

1. Photograph surroundings and dump from major compass points N, S,

E, West. 2. Record location and altitude with GPS on (say) 4-6 corners of the dump at the bottom and 4-6 corners at the top. 3. Measure typical slope angles at each bottom corner (most likely dumps will be formed at the natural angle of repose for the materials dumped there). 4. Record positions of waterways, surrounding residences, roads, buildings, factories etc. 5. Record positions of shaft headgear, capped shafts etc. 6. Record evidence of power locations, underground pipes etc. that may be known. 7. Record 10 to 20 observations of material type, consistency and condition on the dumps (say at each GPS location). 8. Measure turbidity, salinity and pH of waters lying on or around the dumps 9. If monitoring wells exist, take readings from sample of water at site and record water level. 10.Take GPS locations of any boreholes or monitoring wells at the site. 11.Gather any mine data on the quality of the waters being pumped from the site or from any boreholes at the site. 12.Make observations of erosion evidence, signs of dump instability, evidence of dust on trees, surrounding buildings etc. etc. 13.Question any nearby neighbours regarding blown dust problems or fires (smoke) from the dump. 14. On any smoking dumps measure dump temperature at a depth of circa 1 metre in 5-10 positions adjacent to eventual hot spots (auger or drill to 1 metre). 15.Record observations of the type and quality of vegetation on the dump. 16.Record observations of dump surface modification for rainwater capture etc. (scalloping, terracing, etc.). 17.Sketch the form of the dump or rank according to a range of standard dump morphologies. 18.Record details of major slope changes or dump remodelling. 19.Record evidence of whether dump has been stabilised (e.g. by removing the top). 20.Record general cross section of any deep trenches that have been dug in the dump. 21.Record evidence of contour ripping or other dump modification to create microtopography for revegetation. 22.Perform standard estimate calculations regarding dump volume. 23.Obtain production figures from the mine operation to cross check likely dump volumes. 24.etc.

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Note: the list above should be developed and modified according to the onsite realities in order to yield a standard dump checklist that suits the context of the Donbas spoil dumps.

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Appendix C: Draft Report from Ukrainian partner organisation: UGLEMASH

DRAFT REPORT 2008

GENERATED BY UGLEMASH TECHNICAL STOCK, JULY

Spoil Dumps Risk Assessment at the Closing Mines of the Donetsk Oblast Development for GRID-Arendal Mission
Donetsk 2008

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 2.1 2.2 3 INTRODUCTION CURRENT SITUATION NATURE PROTECTION MEASURES (REHABILITATION) MINING STAGE BIOLOGICAL STAGE USAGE OF ADJACENT STRATA OF THE SPOIL DUMPS

3.1 RECOVERY OF ALUMINUM, ALUMINUM CONTAINING COMPOUNDS AND RARE EARTH ELEMENTS. 3.2 COAL RECOVERY RAW MATERIALS FOR 3.3 CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL OR CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL PRODUCTION 4. CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION
At the moment, in Ukraine about 150 thousand hectares of fertile land are occupied by the spoil dumps. Moreover, this figure increases every year. According to the technology used about 1500 m3 of adjacent stratum is dumped at the surface per every 1000 tons of coal mined. Apart from land amortization, waste dumps drastically change the natural landscape and pollute air, water, soil and water sources as the result of water and wind erosion, self-ignition processes.. There are several types of dumps according to the technology of waste rock dump formation: conic (terricone), ridge shaped and flat-topped dumps. The dumps receive the waste rock from a single mine, washhouse or a group of coal mine companies. The most adverse environmental effect is caused by the conic and ridge shaped dumps, which can reach 110-120 meters in height. According to the temperature gradient the dumps are divided into burning and non-burning. The burning dump is the dump with at least one burning spot (regardless of its territory) with the temperature of waste rock more than 80 degrees Centigrade of waste rock at the depth up to 2,5 and meters. The gases emitted by the burning spoil dumps significantly change the topsoil and vegetation cover, flora and fauna, productivity of forests and agricultural lands of the adjacent areas. The experience proves, that 7-12 years after the operation has ceased, the burning spoil dumps become non-burning. However, the factual state of each dump can be determined and stated on the basis of necessary survey carried out by the specialized organizations. Heavy metals concentration in the air around the spoil dumps is different for various coalmining regions and depends on the concentration of such compounds in coal seams, physical and chemical properties of waste rock stockpiled on the surface. Technology of mining works and spoil dumps shaping combined with the natural and climatic conditions have a very strong impact on the formation of rocky soil substrate of dumps, which according to their physical and chemical properties can differ significantly from the adjacent stratum. Air quality criteria under the waste dump plume is the correlation between the factual concentration of pollutants to the maximum permissible concentration (MPC), determined by the statutory documents in force. Spoil dump run-off causes migration of chemical compounds, therefore the residual composition of trace substances in the upper layer of the dump is generally homogeneous and include the

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following constituents: copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, manganese and lead. Quantitative concentration of the abovementioned substances may vary significantly depending on the mining areas. High concentration of manganese and beryllium compounds in the upper layers of the spoils dumps of Eastern Donbass should be specially mentioned. The run-off gets into the ground waters, infiltrating through the soil, thus changing their chemical composition. At that, concentration of chemical compounds increase against the background levels, specific for the natural composition of ground waters. In such a way, the main negative factors of spoil dumps impact on the environment are as follows: distortion of the natural landscape; air pollution by dust and fumes; violation of the hydro geological regime of the adjacent territories; chemical and radiological pollution of soils and waters;

CURRENT SITUATION
On the territory of the Donetsk Oblast there are 582 spoil dumps of oal mines and washing plats; out of them 132 dumps are burning dumps. At the moment, 125 spoil dumps are in operation, 60 out of them are burning. Directorates of closing mines are in charge of 178 spoil dumps. At least 42 out of them are burning dumps, which havent been extinguished during 2006-2007. Most of the burning spoil dumps are located in Donetsk (20), Yenakievo (20), Makeevka (21). The total territory covered by the spoil dumps makes 5 000 hectares, which makes 0,2% of the total Obalst territory. About 4% of all air emissions in the Oblast are produced by the coal spoil dumps. For example, Makeevka has got 147 spoil dumps which belong to coal mines, washhouses and other enterprises; out of this number - 39 spoil dumps are owned by the closing mines. Burning spoil dumps are a source of emissions for CO2, NOx, sulfur dioxide gas and particles (coal spoil dust), heavy metals. The volume of coal spoil dumps emissions amounts to 70 000 tons of pollutants, including 38 000 tons of CO2, more than 14 thousand tons of particles (including the coal spoil dust), over 5 000 tons of Nox. In the majority of cases, concentration of dust, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide under the waste dump plume is 1,8- 2,5 times higher than the norm. According to the laboratory tests air pollution levels registered under waste dump plumes in operation exceed the MPC norms: 1,5 2,3 for dust, 1,3 2,4 for sulfur dioxide, 1,2 1,5 times for CO2, hydrodgen sulfide 1,3 to 2,4 times, NO2 1,3-2 times. 4 862 people reside in the sanitary protection zones of the coal spoil dumps. Coal mine enterprises are significant sources of the environment pollution. The share of air pollution produced by the coal mine industry makes 35-38% (540 580 thousand tons) of the total emissions volume in the Donetsk Oblast. Coal mine effluents make about 20% of the total volume of waste waters discharged into the surface water objects in the Donetsk Oblast. Coal mines drainage systems discharge highly mineralized waste waters into the hydrographic system of the region (3,0 4,0 g/dm3, in some cases 7-10 g/dm3, while the norm is 1,0 g/dm3), which leads to further salinization of drinking water sources. At the moment, the mineralization level at the Olkhovskoy water reservoir is 1,3 1,6 times higher than the norm. In the central region of the Donetsk Oblast increased level of drinking water sources mineralization can lead to the growth of sickness rate in renal lithiathis and cholelithiasis. It

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should be mentioned that in general Volynzevskoye and Olkhovskoye water reservoirs are filled up by mine waste waters. The law of Ukraine On Provision of Sanitary and Epidemiological Well Being of the Population and resolution of the Cabinet #31 On Events Aimed at the Solution of Environmental and Hydrogeological Problems, which Result from Mining Enterprises, Coal Mines and Pits Closure dated 12.01.1999 are being violated. According to the abovementioned resolution the Ministry of Coal Industry, Ministry of Science and Technology at the support of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, National Academy of Science of Ukraine should have submitted to the Cabinet their suggestions on the development and integration of effective technologies and technical means to ensure demineralization of mine waters. However, no demineralization technologies, which can be applied to mines, have been presented so far. At the moment, there are only some developments of the Dongiproshakht on the group installation to demineralize water at the Olkhovskoye water reservoir. However, the issues of financing and implementation of this work have not been solved. At the beginning of 2008 the state enterprise Donuglerestrukturizatziya (in spring 2008 reorganized into Donetsk, Torez and Gorlovka directorate of closed mines) has had 53 objects of coal industry at different stages of the closure process (physical liquidation has been finished at 17 coal mines) on its balance. Unfortunately, the main focus of the mine closure process is at the physical liquidation (dismantling of surface infrastructure and buildings). At that, environmental protection events are not carried out to the full extent, and the designed closure schedule is not observed. Donetsk Oblast Sanitary and Epidemiological Station has forwarded numerous letters (in 2001, 2002, 2007) to the Ministry of Coal Industry on the acute necessity to demineralize runoff waters of mines stated for closure. No feedback has been received. Ukruglerestrukturizatziya, Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine, State Agency of Environmental Protection in the Donetsk Oblast, Oblast Prosecutor Office, the Agency of Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Donetsk Oblast have been continually updated on the existing situation regarding the discharge of highly mineralized waters into the hydrographic network of the Oblast. This issue is still unsolved, moreover the former Cabinet (letter KM/19-217, dated 04.02. 2002) informed that it is not possible to allocate funds for mine waters demineralization due to the high cost of required actions. Ongoing and regular microbiological laboratory control of mine waters is not conducted as there is no financial provision to carry out such works. Besides, the engineering communication network and social infrastructure of coal mine villages, is destroyed where the coal mine is being closed. Water supply, sewage networks and their infrastructure, electric mains, social sphere objects wear out (Shakhtersk, Selidovo, Yenakievo, Snezhnoye). Another very important problem associated with coal mines closure is flooding of residential areas in cases when mines were flooded as part of wet conservation. This happened to be possible as the hydro geological prognosis mismatched the factual movement of ground waters in mine openings. Several mining settlements have been flooded in Snezhnoye (Removskaya and Snezhnyanskaya coal mines) and Donetsk (coal mine #9 Kapitalnaya). Very often prevention and liquidation of flooding consequences is not provisioned for by the mine closure plans. Solution of this problem is imposed on the local self-governance bodies, which in their turn dont have money in local budgets to finance the adequate measures. Therefore, the problem remains unsolved and the living conditions in such villages worsen. Another problem of mine closure is the problem of burning spoil dumps: extinguishing and reshaping. About 70% of all 178 spoil dumps, which are owned by the closing mines dont have the required sanitary and protection zone. Project decisions related to spoil dumps are not financed

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by the Ministry of Coal Industry regardless of the applications made by the directorates of the closing mines. Implementation of the required measures is postponed sine die.

NATURE PROTECTION MEASURES (REHABILITATION)

Mining Stage
In terms of spoil dumps, which used to be in operation mine closure project envisages extinguishment (if necessary) and reshaping (mining stage of work), re-vegetation and rehabilitation (biological stage of work). Rehabilitation is carried out as a remediation event and is seen as the main area of work to restore the economic value of disturbed lands and improve environmental conditions. Extinguishment of burning dumps should start with water sprinkling to cool down the waste rock of the upper layer (at the depth of 0,1 0,2 meters) below 80 degrees. At that the water consumption is not less than 50liters/m2 for the burning surface of the waste dump. The waste dump is considered to be extinguished if at the depth of 2,5 meters the temperature of the waste rock is below than 80 . Extinguishment of burning conic and ridge shaped dumps is done in the course of reshaping into flat topped dumps by bulldozers, excavators or hydro monitors. The foreseen extinguishment technology of silting the upper layer with antipyrogens or injecting with silting pulp failed to be used in practice. The main reason is absence of necessary equipment, special complexes and specialists among the contracting companies, mine construction companies. The technology for small burning spots (all types of spoil dumps) extinguishment foresees placement of clay, loamy clay, inert dust, waste of the stone chipping production, sand and other non-combustible materials. Recently, a few other technologies have been suggested to reduce the negative impact of spoil dumps. Having studied the burning processes of waste from coal deposits it has been suggested to create a protection layer made out of calciferous materials. In order to prevent self-combustion it is suggested to use hydroxides and Na, , Ca carbonates, which are most effective to neutralize new compounds emission which is initiated by oxidation leaching of pyrites. This stops heat generating reactions, but also leads to environment protection due to neutralization of harmful solid, dissolved and gaseous pollutants.

BIOLOGICAL STAGE
Prior to rehabilitation it is necessary to survey the spoil dump. The survey is conducted to develop dump characteristics and define the need of biological restoration. The survey is conducted by the Donetsk Botanical Garden of the Ukraine National Academy of Science or a specialized company, which is licensed to conduct the corresponding types of survey (ecological, administrative and sanitary-hygiene). Based on the results of the survey characteristics of the dump and peculiarities of its interaction with the adjacent media are developed. Characteristics of the dump include the following indicators: shape of the dump; slope angles; height and occupied territory at the basis; upper waste layer texture;

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actual/active soil acidity according to GOST(All-Union State Standard) 27753.2 salt concentration of aqueous extract according to GOST 27753.3 and 27753.4 economic value of lands covered by the waste dump; share of spontaneous vegetation cover;

Based on the survey results the report according to DSTU (National standards of Ukraine) 3008 is produced and passed over to the customer (spoil dump owner) to be used under the development of the rehabilitation project. Biological rehabilitation should be conducted if the spoil dump has not got vegetation cover at all, or its share is less than 80% of the whole territory of the dump. Firstly, efficiency of re-vegetation of the spoil dumps depends on the correct selection of plant species. Selection of species is determined by the final goal of re-vegetation and the sate of the upper layer of the spoil dump (agrochemical and water chemical properties). As ecological conditions of coal spoil dumps vary significantly, the enduring vegetation cover should be made by various plant species. Shrubs and trees are most effective at steep slopes as due to the well-developed root system they provide stability of waste rock at the batters and prevent mechanical deformations. At the flat tops, terraces and flat areas, where the effect of wind is at its most, the good results are provided by permanent grasses. For acid rock, pH = 3-4, the suitable trees are: silver chain, tamarisk, Chinese elm and field elm. For acid rock, pH = 4-5 all trees mentioned above plus ash and Tatarian maple, warty birch, wild apple tree, apricot tree, green ash, staff tree, acacia, oleaster. For not very acid, neutral pH = 5-7 all trees mentioned above and wild pear, common oak, sweet cherry, green and ordinary ash, chestnut, walnut, white mulberry, elderberry, wafer ash, desert thorn, hazel, lilac, bladder nut, dogrose, buckthorn, golden currant and spiraea. Spoil dumps without potentially fertile soil (PFS) should be planted with acacia, elm or field elm, maple and poplar tree. Mixing of tree species can be done in between the lines or within the line. For spoil dumps with PFS you can enlarge the number of species by introducing those which are more demanding to the growing conditions: wild pear tree, wild apple tree, apricot and green ash. The suitable shrubs include: black thorn, acacia, dogrose, staff tree, Tartarian honeysuckle and oleaster. Blackthorn, acacia, oleaster, grasses such as fairway crested grass, smooth brome and honey clover can be used to revegetate the slopes in between the terraces. Re-vegetation (fixing) of dumps slopes should be done by sowing permanent grasses. Sowing of grasses at the slopes should be done by hand planting or with the hydro planting method. If it is necessary to re-vegetate the dump quickly, fix the slopes peat and greensward cover should be used. If the dump comprises sulfide rock, then sowing of grass should happen only after the PFS or potential soil (PS) placement. If PFS or PS are not available, then the waste rock of the dump should be lime treated first. The grass mixture for hydro planting should consist of fabaceous (3040%) and cereal (60-70%). For hydro planting the sowing norm makes 70kg/hectar assuming 100% germinating capacity. If annual precipitation is less than 400 mm, than for rocky and sandy dumps characterized by high level of water penetration capacity, the above norm should be increased 1,5 2 times. Mineral fertilizers are introduced with consideration of agrochemical properties of soil. Permanent grasses crop tending includes mowing at the florification stage and mineral fertilization. The specific area of biological rehabilitation depends on the intended use of rehabilitated land and morphometric parameters of the technogenic landform after mining rehabilitation. On the basis of the spoil dumps survey it is possible to identify the following areas of biological rehabilitation: sanitary and hygiene, which is conducted to improve sanitary and hygiene conditions of the residential area; agricultural, forest: is conducted to rehab the disturbed land up to the state suitable for economic use;

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recreation, i.e. conducted to create favourable recreation conditions for people;

Planting of trees at the dump spoils happens in 2 schemes of biological rehabilitation: complete or in rows. Complete scheme: formation of the complete re-vegetation cover consisting of trees and bushes (slopes, flat tops) or grasses (flat tops). At that, the seedlings of shrubs and trees are planted in horizontal lines, which are parallel to the basement of the dump. The distance between the lines is 2 meters, the distance between the seedlings in the line 1 meter. Alternation of shrubs and trees is possible in a line. The complete scheme is used for steep slope dumps (250 to 300 ) in residential areas.

Figure 1 formation of the vegetation cover in lines at the slopes of the dump.
Row scheme (figure 1): formation of the vegetation cover in the form of horizontal alternating lines of trees/shrubs and grasses at the slopes of the dump. At that, the trees and shrubs row is formed of 2 lines of seedlings arranged chess board fashion, (figure 2). The distance between the rows 2 meters, between the seedlings in the row 1 meter. The width of the grass cover row 8 to 10 meters.

Figure 2 allocation of trees in the 2 line row. .

Where the slope angles makes 200 - 300, the grasses are sown in shallow horizontal furrows at a distance 0,2 0,3m. At gentle slopes, angle less than 20 0 the grasses are sown densely and evenly over the whole surface.

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Figure 3 location of the protection belt around the spoil dump.

The row scheme can be accepted for dumps located outside residential areas. The protection belt should be established around the dump to prevent waste rock outwash by the runoff waters. The protection belt consists of 2 lines of staff tree and one line of Bolles poplar. The distance between the trees in the line doesnt exceed 5 meters. Then follows the shrubs line.

USAGE OF ADJACENT STRATA OF THE SPOIL DUMPS

Apart from rehabilitation, the negative environmental impact of spoil dumps can be reduced through recycling/reprocessing of dumps and recovery of the resource valuable components. The wide range of various chemical compounds and elements inclusive of rare earth elements and Germanium, as well as aluminum oxide for bauxite production, iron ore and coal make this technical area of development quite promising, as raw material (i.e. waste rock) is easily available, low cost and unlimited in volume.

Recovery of aluminum, aluminum containing compounds and rare earth elements.

One of the constituent parts of the extracted waste rock is clay minerals with high concentration of aluminum oxide, which varies within 20-27% for the mines of the Donetsk and Makeevka region. This proves that waste rocks of the spoil dumps can be used to recover aluminum compounds, in particular aluminum sulphate and aluminum oxide, as well as aluminium metal. However, lack of universal technology for waste re-processing stops the solution of aluminum raw material and ecology issues in the coal mining areas. The Bayer technology accepted for reprocessing of bauxites turned out to be ineffective in this particular case it doesnt allow the management of a huge quantity of admixtures of the coal mine production. The main difficulty lies in the interaction of silicone dioxide and alkali used in the production process, thus leading to increased use of chemical reagents and production costs accordingly. Therefore, it is recommended to accept the agglomeration technique/acid method as the basic one. It requires significant energy inputs, but covers the energy costs by insignificant requirements applied to raw materials and possibility to obtain by-products (sodium carbonate, cement, potassium and gallium). The main principle of agglomeration technique is treatment of raw material by 2 types of acids (sulphuric, sulfurous hydrochloric acid or nitric acid) and high temperature agglomeration of the

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mixture. Algorithm of aluminum sulphate production can be conventionally divided into several stages: raw material preparation, initial treatment, agglomeration, decontamination and calcination. Initial treatment of coal production and washing waste includes waste rock shredding: the mixture is crushed and ground (on average the grinding particle size varies 200 to 250 microns), some components of raw materials are dosed. After that the raw material reacts with concentrated acid (85-90%); then the mixture is agglomerated (420 for 1,5 hours); then the cake is scrubbed with hot water (80-90 ) at this stage aluminum sulphate sediment falls out. The next stage decontamination of the product. In order to do that some researches suggest using the aluminum sulphate solubilization method in concentrated HCl with the simultaneous saturation with gaseous hydrogen chloride. Another decontamination method is treating aluminum sulphate with stearic acid followed by filtration. Decontaminated aluminum sulphate is calcinated at the temperature 900-1000 and the aluminum oxide, which can be used in metallurgical processes is produced. There are several significant disadvantages to the practical usage of this method. First of all, complications and specific requirements imposed by the work with acids: expensive acid resisting equipment is required to process the material successfully. Acids themselves are quite and expensive and the volume of acids used in the production is quite high. A combined acid based method of aluminosilicates treatment is a good alternative to traditional agglomeration. According to this method the mixture is treated with acids before aluminum oxide is produced and its decontamination is done according to the Bayer technology. This technology is quite complex, however it reduces and simplifies the production process as no additional decontamination of aluminuium salts from iron impurities is needed. Apart from high concentration of Al 2O3 coal mine waste contains germanium, gallium and other rare earth elements, such as yttrium, zirconium and scandium, which can be commercially byrecovered Germanium recovery can happen in a number of ways. The first and easiest way is solubilization of the material followed by oak concentrate (tannin). The second way, which enables recovery of other rare earth elements as well as germanium is electrostatic separation.

Coal recovery
This area is one of the rare ones, which have reached the stage of practical implementation. Even still the available examples of factual development spoils dumps for coal products recovery very often are informal and are carried out at the semi-legal conditions. A completely legal initiative in this sphere is the experience of the JSC Anthracite established to implement advanced complex land rehabilitation and remediation methods .

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Cleaning plant Snezhnyanskaya #1

The abovementioned company started implementation of its programme aimed at the improvement of the environmental situation in the Donetsk Oblast in 2005 in Snezhnoye. First time in Ukraine the modern technology of coal recovery from spoil dumps has been introduced on the basis of cleaning plant Snezhnyanskaya #1. Application of this technology ensures recovery of the coal concentrate as well as liquidation of coal spoil dumps as the source of pollution.

Snezhnoye, spoil dump 14 at the time of the cleaning plant construction

Conducting works to rehab land at the place of spoil dump 14

Two spoil dumps (total volume around 2 mln m3) have been processed since the cleaning plant was put into operation. The waste rock of those spoil dumps was used to fill up the mined quarry.

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As the result the city has got the lands suitable for construction purposes as well as additional territories where the spoil dumps used to be. In the nearest future the company plans construction of the second cleaning plant Snezhnyanskaya 2 for rehabilitation of lands occupied by 5 spoil dumps with the total volume of 12 mln m3. This will lead to rehabilitation of 45 hectares of useful land.

Construction material or raw materials for construction material production

Waste rock of spoil dumps in Eastern Donbass can be reprocessed into crushed aggregate. Such experience is already available from the Russian spoil dump in Shakhty. The main product of the spoil dump reprocessing is aggregate: macadam 10-40mm, initial screenings and crush screenings. The aggregate material produced of spoil dump waste rock is suitable for road construction. The aggregate materials can be used for basic and additional layers and covers for road categories III, IV, V. Usage of such crushed aggregates for the construction of higher road categories will be possible when sufficient positive experience has been accumulated. Road construction is one of the most capacious consumer for crushed aggregates, sand and macadam and sand mixtures. Another possible usage of crushed aggregates made out of waste rock is production of cell concrete (foamed concrete) and heat insulating products made out of it. Production of such materials is being developed very intensely at the moment and the need of available mineral materials for cell concrete will grow. Crush screenings are the basis for the production of economic activated blended powder binders and low water demand binders. Crush screenings can be used instead of soil at the construction of mounds, dams, landform works, etc. Screenings after the second crush can be used as fine-grained aggregate to produce high density bituminous concrete, wall elements, various tiles. Materials produced out of waste rock can be used in coal mine construction, for example to suppress the water flows (grouting activated binding mortars), building of monolithic concrete lining, production of barring. Development of other waste rock utilization possibilities would be determined by the market need in the new production.

CONCLUSION
All materials presented in this report justify the conclusion that the issue of coal mine waste dumps is very acute for the Donetsk Oblast. Necessary measures required to prevent negative impact of spoil dumps on the environment are not coordinated efficiently. Few positive results in this field are leveled by the lack of single systematic approach to the spoil dumps treatment issue and absence of regular financial support. The following measures should be carried as the priority taking into account the longstanding accumulation of problems in this sphere: The Cabinet to develop the Draft State Programme on urgent measures to prevent deterioration of sanitary, epidemiological, environmental, social and economic state of industrial and residential agglomerations of Donbass and Ukraine in general caused by increased mineralization of mine waters.

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The Ministry of coal industry and other related ministries should take obligations to solve the problems in the nearest future; To carry out extinguishment and rehabilitation works for spoil dumps located in residential areas and those without required sanitary and protection zones. Priority provisioning for environmental events in the mine closure process.

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Appendix D: MINE DUMP INVENTORY ( Donuglerestrukturizatsia)

Information regarding
Waste dumps of the mines under the jurisdiction of Donuglerestrukturizatsia. As of 1 January 08. Name of mine Tota l # at site 3 1 Details of waste dumps Non burnin g 5 1 + 13 13 + 40 65 Height (m) 6 Total surface area (ha) 7 16,80 16,80 50,74 11,90 Volume of rock (000 m3) 8 5170 5170 9186 3474 +
"-95" S=3,145

Project data Extinguishin g works 9 10 Revegetation and recultivation 11 Notes

Dumps

burnin g

Reshapin g works

1 1. .

12

() 2 - ..."" 16 (.)

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953/04/03-02 24.10.06.

. ()

.34

15

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136

Appendix E Governance Principles for Foreign Direct Investment in Hazardous Activities

The following governance principles are intended to apply primarily to foreign direct investment (FDI) in industrial, mining and other activities with particularly significant social and environmental impacts, especially in countries in transition, under-developed regions and developing countries. These principles have been designed to complement voluntary international codes of conduct, compacts and other instruments.

Corporate Good Citizenship

Principle 1 Investors should apply international standards and best practises for corporate "good citizenship" to their investment projects.

Responsibilities to and Relations with Recipient Countries

Principle 2 Investors should take all legal and regulatory steps required under the laws, regulations, and administrative practices of the countries in which they invest (recipient countries) to protect the environment, sustainably use natural resources, and avoid accidents that would result in environmental harm or harm to human health. Principle 3 Investors should take a pro-active stance towards regulatory agencies to guarantee the proper environmental and social oversight of their activities, recognising that the transitional status of recipient countries may create administrative and regulatory conditions that differ significantly from the conditions prevalent in the home country, to which end: Investors should gain a thorough knowledge of the legal and regulatory framework and requirements for environmental and social protection in recipient countries. Investors should, when appropriate, prompt relevant authorities in recipient countries to enforce all legal and regulatory requirements.

Principle 4 An investor which invests in a country that does not provide an adequate legal framework for regulating relevant activities, or properly resourced authorities with powers of approval, inspection and enforcement, must provide continuous independent and external verification that its activities comply with domestic

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legal and regulatory requirements and meet relevant international standards and norms. Principle 5 Investors should support and promote the transfer of best available technology to the recipient country. The transfer of obsolete technology to the recipient country should in general be avoided. Principle 6 Investors should abstain from creating competition between countries or regions within a country to attract a proposed investment on the basis of the level of environmental standards. Principle 7 Investors should give due consideration to the role that their projects would play in the environmental and social/sustainable development aims and objectives of the recipient country. To this end, investors should provide national and local authorities with analyses of how proposed investments will help meet the longterm goals set in national environmental action plans, national development or sustainable development plans or policies, or other relevant plans or policies. Such analyses should take into account internationally accepted criteria and principles, such as those expressed in relevant declarations such as the Rio Declaration and the Johannesburg Declaration. Principle 8 When Investors are involved in development of environmental and social policies of the recipient country or regions, they should seek to raise standards to international levels. Principle 9 Investors should abstain from influencing (through financial or other means) recipient country officials or community leaders in development projects or enforcement settings where a conflict of interest may arise. Investments with ownership structures involving shares owned by governmental bodies or authorities that may be involved in regulation or oversight are of particular concern. Principle 10 The operations of investors in hazardous activities should be marked by transparency, in particular in their relations with localities. Investors should share the results of their environmental and social performance evaluations with

138

authorities, countries.

non-governmental

organizations,

and

the

public

in

recipient

Investor Environmental and Related Social Policies

Principle 11 Investors should strive to continually improve their environmental and social performance and regularly review and update environmental policies, priorities, and procedures in the light of new information. Investors should establish environmental and social performance objectives and strategies in order to regularly monitor their environmental and social performance. Principle 12 Investors should establish environmental management systems that meet or exceed the ISO 14000 series of standards and/or EMAS. Principle 13 Investors should take steps to require that all suppliers and subcontractors meet national standards of environmental and relevant social performance, and should support and encourage suppliers and subcontractors in their efforts to meet international standards and to achieve relevant certification(s). Principle 14 Investors should assume cradle-to-grave responsibility for all hazardous substances produced in and through their operations, even where such responsibility is not imposed on them as a matter of law. Investors should, in addition, take the necessary measures to ensure proper handling, storage and disposal of all hazardous substances obtained from others and used in their operations. Investors should employ product life cycle assessment where appropriate. Principle 15 Investors should apply the polluter pays principle in their own operations and promote its application in the business community to which they belong. Principle 16 Investors should adopt a precautionary approach to environmental challenges and environment related decisions. In accordance with Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing or not implementing measures to protect the environment. The precautionary principle can be applied by:

139

performing risk analyses for new products, processes, technologies, and actions that might have an environmental impact; demonstrating that new products, processes, technologies, and actions that might have an environmental impact are safe for the environment rather than waiting for evidence that they might be unsafe (applying a conservative burden of proof standard); building in safety margins when setting safety and environmental standards; and using the best available technology.

Principle 17 Investors engaged in hazardous activities should ensure the full life cycle operation of facilities, up to and including closure and remediation to the original state. Principle 18 Investors should recognize that all investments should aid in the process of transition to sustainability. Proposed operations therefore should work within the sustainability limits of the ecosystems within which they will be built, thus: Investors should develop or adopt sustainability indicators that meet international standards. Investors are encouraged to join the Global Reporting Initiative and regularly produce independently assured sustainability reports. Investors should ensure that environmental impact assessments conducted on their proposed operations take into account impacts on ecosystem structure, function, and composition. The utilisation of natural resources by investors should fall within limits of sustainable use for those resources. Sustainability limits for natural resource use should be set using a precautionary approach.

Principle 19 Investors should establish environmental monitoring programs. These should include monitoring of the effects of their operations on the surrounding ecosystem and environment, including fish and wildlife, and surface and groundwater, where applicable. Principle 20 Home offices should promote environmental awareness and responsibility in all company locations. Such support may be rendered operational by making environmental specialists available from the home office, providing home office oversight of environmental performance, and rewarding positive environmental performance.

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Principle 21 The incentive structure of each company and facility should be reviewed to ensure that environmentally responsible behaviour is rewarded while environmentally irresponsible behaviour is punished, i.e.:

Employees should be supported and rewarded for taking environmental initiatives. Investors should establish procedures and safe forums for employee grievances and whistleblower cases. Whistleblowers must be protected against retaliation.

Principle 22 Workers should be trained and educated in all relevant areas of environmental and related social responsibility.

Information, Participation and Stakeholder Relations

Principle 23 Investors should designate specific senior company officers to be responsible for environmental and related social matters including relevant communication with the public. Company environmental focal points should hold regular open meetings with the public and stakeholders to discuss issues of concern to any party, and be accessible to the public at reasonable times and places. Investors should build partnerships with the public, take advantage of local knowledge, and ensure that the public has a voice in environmental decision-making. Open meetings should be well advertised in local communities and among stakeholders, and be held in a spirit of collaboration. Senior company officers are encouraged to attend these meetings. Principle 24 Investors shall promptly disclose to the potentially affected communities information in their possession or that comes to their attention with regard to the environmental and relevant social impacts of their operations. Claims of commercial confidentiality should not be used to avoid disclosing information that could potentially be used by members of the public to take action to reduce the extent of environmental and related social impacts of an investors operations. Principle 25 Where potential impacts of an investors operations may be transboundary in scope, the investor should involve the public, authorities, and other stakeholders of the potentially affected country to the same extent as it would involve those of the country of location.

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Principle 26 Investors should seek to achieve the broad support of affected communities (prior informed consent) and should respect and protect the rights of those affected by projects, in particular the rights of indigenous communities, minorities and the economically disadvantaged. Investors should grant opportunities and develop capacities of the public to participate in monitoring and enforcement.

Accident Prevention and Management

Principle 27 Investors should take every reasonable and prudent step necessary to prevent industrial accidents, including: Operations should apply safety management systems that include detailed risk assessments; strategies for reducing risks; emergency plans, and monitoring, auditing, and review of safety systems. Operations should employ the best available technology relevant to safety and accident prevention. Investors should dedicate substantial resources to training of personnel in accident prevention and response. The above-mentioned measures should include automated shutdown procedures for discreet units and entire operations. Local communities and other stakeholders should be involved in the development of emergency response plans and in periodic evaluation and revision of response plans and procedures.

Principle 28 Investors should be able to demonstrate sufficient financial assurance for the full and fair costs of compensation and remediation in the event of an accident or other damage, applying the worst case scenario approach, and should ensure the material and technical means for applying necessary emergency measures. Principle 29 Planning for event horizons (such as thousand-year floods) should take into account an additional buffer due to the potential effects of climate change, employing a precautionary approach. The historical record of weather events cannot be considered indicative of future extreme weather events. Principle 30 Investors should develop the following policies and regulations that protect the health and safety of workers: Investors should identify scenarios that might endanger workers and take measures to eliminate, reduce, and control them.

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Investors should periodically evaluate the effectiveness of health and safety measures and revise such measures accordingly. Investors should develop and implement emergency response plans and procedures in the event of workers sustaining injuries or being exposed to hazardous substances.

143

144

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