© by PSP Volume 26 – No. 10/2017 pages 6149-6158 Fresenius Environmental Bulletin EVALUATION OF TURKISH MINE WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY WITH RESPECT TO MARINE POLLUTION Esin Esen* SRK Consulting Turan Gunes Bulvari No: 86/3, 06550 Yildiz, Ankara Turkey ABSTRACT Large volumes of wastes are produced by the mining activities and mine waste management is one of the most important environmental issues which di- rectly affect the feasibility of the mine related to per- mitting. The slurries or waste materials left over after mineral is extracted from ore via physico-chemical processing are called tailings which must be safely disposed to prevent the release of contaminates into the environment. Tailings are generally stored on- land surface impoundments; can be used in backfill- ing the voids in exhausted underground mines and/or transferred through pipes and disposed to a water- course under the water level subaqueously. In deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) method, the tailings FIGURE 1 are disposed to deep sea zones far from the shore. General Flow Scheme for Mining [8] The environmental legislations are improving, forc- ing the mining industry to take strict measures re- Tailings may contain suspended solid particles garding tailings management. The Turkish Regula- consisting of economically worthless minerals and a tion on Mining Wastes have been published in 2015 small amount of valuable minerals, dissolved solids, and is going to be in force by July 15, 2017 where metal ions, chemical reactives and reaction products DSTP is adressed as a possibility for non-hazardous [9]. The heavy metals, which are important in terms wastes disposed to anoxic layer of Black Sea. This of environmental pollution, contained in tailings are manuscript aims to provide guidance on the environ- listed as: Boron (B), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium mental permitting of DSTP practices as an option in (Cr), Berilium (Be), Antimony (Sb), Silver (Ag), Ar- Turkey’s Legislation. senic (As), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Selenium (Se), Titanium (T), Ura- nium (U), Vanadium (V), Zinc (Zn) and Aluminum KEYWORDS: Tailings, Deep Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP), Mine (AI) and other environmental problems encountered Waste Management, Marine Pollution. are the Metal Leach (ML) and Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) [9, 10, 11]. The disposal methods of tailings vary on the ba- INTRODUCTION sis of cost, environmental factors and structural risks i.e. failure [1, 3]: • On-Land disposal: Storage of tailings in The extraction of metals and minerals through dams and ponds (Tailings Storage Facility - TSF). mining of geological resources aims to improve the • Backfilling in underground mines: Filling quality of civilization however, the management of the spaces left after ore extraction in underground the residues generated at mining operations, mainly mines with paste fill (dehydrated cement added dry the tailings and waste-rock remains as the most im- sludge) ensures both reinforcement and waste dis- portant environmental issues on permitting [1, 2, 3, posal simultaneously. 4]. Potential environmental issues associated to min- • Discharge to Surface waters: Tailings dis- ing activities other than wastes are air quality includ- posal to the river courses is abandoned due to its en- ing dustfall [5], water use and quality, hazardous ma- vironmental impacts on surface water resources [3, terials, land use and biodiversity, noise and vibra- 12]. In USA and Canada, the disposals to lakes are tions energy use and visual impacts [6, 7]. Figure 1 being ceased due to low assimilation capacity in shows the typical operations in mining. closed systems. In deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) method, the tailings are disposed to deep sea 6149 © by PSP Volume 26 – No. 10/2017 pages 6149-6158 Fresenius Environmental Bulletin zones far from the shore. It is applied in regions, postprocessing tailings slurry of the Lihr Mine on where the sea is deep and close to the facility, the Niolam Island in Papua New Guinea is deposited an- precipitation is high and evaporation is low, and nually at depth from a sub-surface pipeline (DSTP) where the land disposal methods of tailings are risky [14]. The DSTPs are in operation in Norway with due to the stability and seismicity problems. discharges from 300 000 to 4 million tons/year, As of 2012, there have been approximately where mining tailings have been deposited at 17 3,500 TSFs in the world and until that date, signifi- fjord- or near-coastal sites in Norway [2]. cant failures have been encountered in 138 storage According to Eurostat statistics, the mining and facilities [12]. The examples are: In 2010, due to the quarrying industry produced 671,810,000 tonnes of failure of the embankment in Hungary, 600,000- waste in 2010, in EU (27 Member States-MS) which 700,000 m3 tailings have spread to the region and is equivalent to around 30% of the total waste gener- caused the death of 10 people. In 1998, the failure in ated in the same countries [15]. The EU (28 MS) pro- the TSF of Los Frailes Mine, Aznalcollar region of duced over 730 million tonnes of mining waste in Spain, caused 5-7 Mm3 tailings have flown to Rio 2012, where 13.7 million tonnes of it is hazardous Agrio River and raised the river bed with 3 m and waste contribution [15]. covered 3,500 ha of agricultural area. In 1985, TSF Since tailings generally contain compounds failure in Stava, Italy, caused the death of 268 people with sulfide, they must be covered with water or an [1, 12]. appropriate impermeable material in order to prevent Over the last century the volumes of tailings be- their contact with air and occurrence of ARD and ing generated has grown dramatically as the demand ML at the stage of mine closure [1, 3]. Among the for minerals and metals has increased and lower important impacts related with the TSF, loss of land grades of ore are being mined through advances in and habitat due to their large footprint areas, impacts extraction and processing technology [13]. Being on surface and underground waters and visual im- different from other industrial wastes, the tailings are pacts can be mentioned. The engineering studies per- produced in very big amounts. There are individual formed in order to ensure the short and long period mines producing in excess of 200,000 tonnes of tail- stability of civil structures are among the most im- ings per day [13]. Approximately 100,000 ML of portant issues in TSF planning. TABLE 1 Applications of DSTP in the World as of 2012 [18] Water environment of discharge Mine area Mine production Firm Basamuk (Astrolabe) Gulf, Bismarck Ramu Nickel and nickel-cobalt; Metallurgical Construction Corp., High- Sea Yandera mines, copper- gold lands Pacific (Ramu); Marengo Mining Papua New Guinea (Yandera) Norway fiords Kirkenes, Kvannevann, Iron, industrial Northern Iron Ltd., LNS AS, Sibelco Nor- Stjernøya, Hustadmar- minerals, titanium, dic, Omya Group, Nordic Mining, Nussir mor Skaland, copper Engebøfjellet, Reppar- fjorden Senunu gulf Batu Hijau mine, Copper – gold Newmont Mining, Sumitomo Mining Indonesia Luise port Lihir mine, Gold Newcrest Mining Papua New Guinea Pigiput gulf Simberi mine, Gold Allied Gold Papua New Guinea Black Sea Çayeli Bakır, Türkiye Copper – zinc Cayeli Bakir Isletmeleri A.S. FIGURE 2 Typical DSTP Structure 6150 © by PSP Volume 26 – No. 10/2017 pages 6149-6158 Fresenius Environmental Bulletin The DSTP targets the trapping of tailings at the [19]: bottom of deep sea. The tailings are transported from 2009/360/EC completing the technical re- the facility to the deep-sea environment through quirements for waste characterization; pipes, and discharged in the deep layer, below pic- 2009/359/EC on the Definition of inert nocline [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17]. Typical DSTP waste in implementation of Article 22 (1)(f),009; structure is given in Figure 2. 2009/337/EC on the Criteria for the classi- The most important environmental impacts of fication of waste facilities in accordance with Annex DSTP are (i) the loss of benthic habitat on the foot- III; print, where the tailings are stored at the sea bottom, 2009/335/EC on the Technical guidelines (ii) the impacts on abundance and diversity of spe- for the establishment of the financial guarantee; cies, and (iii) the risk of bio-accumulation of heavy 2009/358/EC on the Harmonization, the metals in the food chain. regular transmission of the information and the ques- As of 2012, there are 11 mines using the DSTP tionnaire referred to in Articles 22(1) (a) and 18. method in the world (Table 1) and all of them have Other relevant EU directives are listed as: obtained the legal permissions from the competent 2012/18/EU On the control of major-acci- authorities in host countries. [12, 18]: dent hazards involving dangerous substances (Se- • 5 mines in Norway, veso III), • 1 mine in England, 2010/75/EU On industrial emissions (inte- • 1 mine in Turkey, grated pollution prevention and control-IPPC), • 1 Mine in Indonesia, 2008/98/ EC on waste and repealing certain • 3 mines in Papua New Ginea. Directives on waste (Waste Framework Directive). The historical development of DSTP method, Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liabil- which has been commenced approximately 40 years ity with regard to the prevention and remedying of ago in Philippines and Canada shows that the appli- environmental damage (ELD) came into force in cations performed without mineralogical, geo-chem- 2007 introducing the “polluter pays” principle [4]. A ical and oceanographic characterization, can cause holder of an IPPC or waste licence for mining and damage to the environment [11, 12]. Environmental related waste activities in the EU is subject to the impact from sea tailings disposal appears the lack of ELD because many mining related activities are baseline information on the habitat, environmental listed in Annex III of it [4].