Environmental data management for gold mines

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Environmental data management for gold

.

mines

M van Heerden

24886998

Thesis submitted for the degree Doctor Philosophiae in

Industrial Engineering at the Potchefstroom Campus of the

North-West University

Supervisor:

November 2017

It all starts here TN

Prof M Kleingeld

• NORTtt-WEST UNIVERSITY ® YUNIBESITI YA BOKONE-BOPHIRIMA NOORDWES-UNIVERSITEIT

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Abstract

Title: Environmental data management for gold mines

Author: M van Heerden

Supervisor: Prof M Kleingeld

Degree: Philosophiae Doctor in Industrial Engineering

Keywords: Data integration, Global Reporting Index (GRI), reporting, environmental management, data management, automation, source documentation, audit, standardise

South Africa has various environmental concerns that escalate every year. For this reason, mines need to operate as effectively as possible. Millions of people can die due to water pollution, dangerous mining activities and nuclear waste disposal. Industries also require environmental resources in order to deliver their services or to produce their products. Effective environmental management strategies are therefore a necessity for being competitive in the market.

Mining companies in South Africa dominate various business sectors and produce around 10% of the gold internationally. The problem however, is the lack of accurate environmental reporting in this industry. Without accurate reporting, companies cannot quantify the impact of their operations. This prevents them from prioritising and focusing on crucial areas when making operational changes for environmental improvement.

Every gold mining company has a unique management system to report and audit their environmental data. Some use the guidelines from the ISO 14 001 standard, others the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (SRG) from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and some even use in-house guidelines. These guidelines specify the categories that organisations need to report on. The accuracy and effectiveness of these reporting systems are however, the organisation's own responsibility.

An effective environmental management system should analyse, manage and continually improve the environmental impact on themselves and others. Verified data should be obtained and analysed to determine the true impact. Top level decisions can be made on accurate information.

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Environmental data management for gold mines

process for explaining their environmental reporting procedures. Each individual environmental data management process was investigated and documented. The data tracking of nine shafts and eight gold processing plants were complex and inaccurate.

After comparing the different data tracking diagrams, it was discovered that each operation followed their own unique process for reporting on the same GRI data categories. Various sheets were collected and used to compile the group board report. The reporting times were also irregular and supporting documents were limited and unverified. Finally, most of the environmental representatives were unaware of where their data originated from.

A new improved standardised environmental data management system for gold mines was therefore developed in this study. The new system considered the requirements for both the shafts and plants. Clear definitions for each reporting category were provided to ensure uniformity. After implementing the system, the time spent on data collection was reduced and more time was utilised for informed decision-making strategies.

Data integration plays a leading role in the development of this improved system. Various technical and business techniques were implemented in order to effectively capture the most accurate data. A centralised online data management system was developed to capture,

display and manage the data for the entire gold mining group. Delivering verified source documents for all reporting categories in the GRI specifications is the main priority for an environmental management system improvement.

This new improved system was implemented at a gold mining company. The developed process is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA ,cycle). Continuous improvements on the system were done as the investigations progressed. An audit was conducted on the data to determine the accuracy of the new system.

One of the main benefits of this new system is the improvement in accuracy of the reported data. The error in the reported values for energy from electricity purchased improved from 7.97% to 0.02%. Potable water had a 19.35% error value when compared to verified data, but was improved to 0.61 %. The total data improvement went from 20% data error to only 4% data error.

This proves that reliable reporting standards and accurate decision-making strategies can improve the environmental data management process and reduce the time required to audit the source documents.

The standardised GRI process layout for every operation can be used for auditing purposes.

It can be represented as a single soft copy document obtained on the centralised online data

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management system. Each reporting category on the document is linked to its relevant source document on the online data management system. This new process successfully enhances effective and accurate auditing results.

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Acknowledgements

First and foremost I would like to thank Prof Eddie Mathews and Prof M Kleingeld for providing me with the opportunity and funding to successfully endeavour this study.

Thank you to Enermanage (Pty) Ltd and its sister companies for the financial support to complete this study.

Thank you to all my mentors, Marc Mathews, Hendrik Brand, Johann van Rensburg and Jan Vosloo. I would not have successfully completed this study without your ongoing motivation, assistance, guidance and knowledge.

Then of course, one of the key aspects in this study is the employees at the relevant gold mining company. Thank you for all your time and assistance in understanding all the processes and providing me with the required data and documents. This study would not have been possible without your input.

To my mom, Marie van Heerden, my sister, Tarien van Heerden and my dad, Eben van Heerden, thank you for always believing in me and motivating me to push through to complete this milestone in my life.

A special thanks to Jenna Hambrook. Thank you for your continuous motivation and being patient throughout this tough time. I know it was almost impossible to keep rational at times, but now the hard work will pay off. I would not have survived this without your continuous support.

Lastly but definitely not least, I would like to thank Jesus Christ. Thank you for a healthy mind and body and giving me the knowledge and ability to study further. Your eternal love and care will always be gratefully appreciated.

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List of figures

Figure 1.1-1: Environmental management model for ISO 14001 :2014 [4] ... 3

Figure 3.1-1: A breakdown of the new environmental auditing process for gold mining companies ... 39

Figure 3.2-1: Flowchart legend for the existing environmental GRI process layouts ... 44

Figure 3.2-2: New improved flowchart legend for the standardised process layouts ... 50

Figure 3.2-3: Document control table for introduction and glossary pages ... 51

Figure 3.2-4: Document control table for GRI process tracking pages ... 51

Figure 4.2-1: Standardised process at Mine 7 for the consumables ... 61

Figure 4.2-2: Standardised process for Mine 7 for the explosives ... 62

Figure 4.2-3: Standardised process for Mine 7 for the purchased electricity ... 64

Figure 4.2-4: Standardised process for Mine 7 for the potable water ... 65

Figure: 4.2-5: Specific process for Mine 7 for water recycled ... 66

Figure 4.2-6: Specific process for effluent to disposal facility for Mine 7 ... 66

Figure 4.2-7: The standardised processes for scrap steel (waste management) for Mine 7. 67 Figure 4.3-1: Basic process flow for the data integration into the online environmental data management system ... 68

Figure 4.3-2: Example of an original electricity bill from the municipality used as a source document to validate data ... 70

Figure 4.3-3: Example of additional electricity bill from the municipality used as a source document to validate data ... 70

Figure 4.3-4: The document manager screen where the electricity bills can be accessed on the on line system ... 71

Figure 4.3-5: The auditable energy data on the online environmental data management system indicating the validated data as per source documents ... 71

Figure 4.3-6: An example of the data from the external database that integrates with the online environmental management system ... 72

Figure 4.3-7: The document manager screen where the excel sheets from the external database can be accessed on the on line system ... 73

Figure 4.3-8: The simplified display of data per operation on the online environmental data management system ... 73

Figure 4.3-9: A screenshot of the mobile application when meter reading data is captured on site ... 74

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Figure 4.3-11: The details of a data entry from the mobile application on the online

environmental data management system that can be used as a source document. ... 75

Figure 4.4-1: Login page for centralised online data management system ... 76

Figure 4.4-2: Breakdown of the functions on the centralised online data management system ··· 76

Figure 4.4-3: Breakdown of the overview function on the centralised online data management system ... 77 Figure 4.4-4: The specification tabs for the specified GRI category ... 77

Figure 4.4-5: A quarterly comparison of the total electricity consumption between the current and previous financial years ... 78

Figure 4.4-6: A quarterly comparison of the total diesel consumption between the current and previous financial years ... 79

Figure 4.4-7: A quarterly comparison of the total petrol consumption between the current and previous financial years ... 79

Figure 4.4-8: Breakdown of the contributors to the total petrol consumption for the current financial year ... 80

Figure 4.4-9: Breakdown of total water used for primary activities ... 80

Figure 4.4-10: Breakdown of the contributors for the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions ... 81

Figure 4.4-11: Indication of the quarterly tonnes treated in comparison to the baseline ... 81

Figure 4.4-12: Site intensities for the total electricity consumption between the current and previous financial year ... 82

Figure 4.4-13: A comparison of the specific site intensities for electricity against their performance from the previous financial year ... 82

Figure 4.4-14: A legend for the GRI audit status for each operation ... 83

Figure 4.4-15: An overview of the status for the data for all the operations under investigation ... 83

Figure 4.4-16: An example of the captured GRI data for a Mine 1 ... 84

Figure 4.4-17: An example of outliers on the system, with reasoning provided ... 84

Figure 4.4-18: The specifications tab for environmental reports ... 85

Figure 4.4-19: The filters for the environmental categories in the document manager ... 86

Figure 4.4-20: The calculation and source documents according to the filters used ... 86

Figure 4.6-1: Graph indicating the data errors for the specified reporting categories ... 91

Figure 4.6-2: A display of the verified locked data in the simplified display screen for data for an operation ... 93

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List of tables

Table 1.4-1: A summary of the environmental criteria within the existing environmental data

management systems ... 15 Table 3.2-1: Classification of the relevant operations under investigation ... 41 Table 3.2-2: Applicable GRI reporting categories per operation type ... 46 Table 3.2-3: Summary of the standardised sources and departments for GRI categories ... 48 Table 4.6-1: The revised summary table of shortcomings from existing environmental data management systems compared to the outcome of the new improved environmental data management system ... 88 Table 4.6-2: An example of the data error calculations for energy from electricity purchased before implementation ... 90 Table 4.6-3: An example of the data error calculations for energy from electricity purchased after implementation ... 90 Table 4.6-4: Data errors for GRI categories before and after standardisation have been implemented ... 91

List of equations

Equation 4.3-1: Calculating the total energy consumed according to the electricity bills ... 71 Equation 4.6-1: % error between system values and verified sources ... 89

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AMO DMUs EIA EPI FDMS GDP GRI HIV ISO LCT LPG MICAVS POCA SRG UK WEEE WRT

Abbreviations

Acid mine drainage

Decision making units

Environmental impact assessment

Environmental performance index

Flood disaster management system

Gross domestic product

Global Reporting Initiative

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

International Organisation of Standards

Life cycle thinking

Liquid petroleum gas

Mobile Information Collection and Verification System

Plan-Do-Check-Act

Sustainability Reporting Guidelines

United Kingdom

Waste electrical and electronical equipment

World resource table

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m3 _{cubic meters} µm micro meter t tonnes kWh Kilowatt hour MWh Megawatt hour litres kl kilo litre % percentage

CO2 carbon dioxide

0

c

Degrees Celsius

R South African Rand

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Terminology

• Ore mined:

All the rock extracted from the shaft. This includes reef and waste. (tonnes)

• Reef mined:

Rock mined from the reef and sent to the plant to be processed. (tonnes) • Waste rock recycled:

Waste rock from the waste dumps sent to the plant to be processed. (tonnes)

• Slimes re-processed:

Slime from the slime dams pumped to the plant to be re-processed. (tonnes)

• Tonnes treated:

Total amount of rock (reef and waste) milled and processed at the plant. (tonnes)

• LPG:

Liquid petroleum gas used at the operation. (tonnes)

• Grease:

Thick oily substance used as a lubricant. (tonnes)

• Petrol:

Fuel used for machinery and transport at the operation. (litre)

• Diesel:

Fuel used for machinery and transport at the operation. (litre)

• Polyfuel:

Fuel used as a burning material for the boilers. (litre)

• Lubricating oil:

Thick fatty oil, used to lubricate machinery. (litre)

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• Hydraulic oil:

Oils used to convey power and to lubricate hydraulic machinery. (litre) • Explosives:

Materials used to blast rock underground. (tonnes) • Liquid cyanide:

Total amount of cyanide (at 100% strength) used to extract the gold from the rock. (tonnes) • Timber*:

Wood used as support structures underground. (tonnes) • Total energy consumed:

The sum of energy from electricity, fossil fuels and renewables. Currently at Harmony, the energy only comes from electricity purchased. (kWh)

• Energy from electricity purchased:

Total amount of electricity purchased from the supplier. This excludes the electricity supplied to the third party users. (kWh)

• Energy from fossil fuels:

Total amount of energy generated from fossil fuels - if relevant. (kWh) • Renewable energy:

Total amount of energy generated from natural sources - if relevant. (kWh} • Water used for primary activity:

Total volume of water that is drawn into the boundaries of the operation from all sources (including surface water, groundwater, rainwater and municipal water supply). This excludes internally recycled water, water discharged to environment and supply to third party users such as communities and businesses. (m3₎

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• Non-potable water from external source:

Total volume of water retrieved from natural sources at the operation. (m3₎

• Surface water:

Water retrieved from natural above ground sources at the operation. (m3₎

• Groundwater:

Water retrieved from underground natural sources at the operation, e.g. boreholes. (m3₎

• Water recycled in process:

Reused and recycled water within the boundaries of the operation. (m3)

• Land under mine charge:

Total area within the boundaries of the operation. (hectare)

• Total land disturbed for mining activities:

Total area used for mining related activities. (hectare)

• Total land area rehabilitated:

Total area previously used for mining related activities that was restored to its original state/condition. (hectare)

• Total land area available for rehabilitation:

Total area available to be rehabilitated and restored to its original state/condition. The difference between the total land area disturbed and the total land area rehabilitated. (hectare)

• Effluent to disposal facility:

Total amount of wastewater, treated or untreated, that flows out of a treatment plant, sewer,

or industrial outfall (leaving the boundaries of the operation). Generally refers to wastes discharged into surface waters. (m3₎

• Accumulated tailings in tailings dams:

Total amount of slimes produced by the plant and pumped into the slimes dams. (tonnes)

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• Accumulated waste in rock dumps:

Amount of waste rock produced and hoisted from the shaft to be added to the waste rock disposal sites. (tonnes)

• Hazardous to landfill:

Hazardous materials (non-mineral) disposed to the landfill. (tonnes) • Hazardous to incineration:

Hazardous materials (non-mineral) being disposed of by thermal treatment. (tonnes) • Non-hazardous to incineration:

Non-hazardous materials (non-mineral) being disposed of by thermal treatment. (tonnes) • Scrap steel:

Off cut materials consisting of steel, sub-grade steel and wire rope. (tonnes) • Scrap timber:

Off cut wood from building support structures. (tonnes) • Scrap plastic:

Off cut plastic, e.g. PVC pipes. (tonnes) • Earth waste/Rubble:

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Chapter 1:

Environmental

impact

on gold mines

The gold mining industry in South Africa is challenged by multiple operational constraints

that need to be investigated and studied properly. One of the main constraints that has not yet been a priority in past studies is the environmental impact of said gold mines.

On an individual basis, energy and water management have been investigated in detail and various projects have been implemented to improve these aspects of environmental efficiency. However, the environmental impact can be defined by more than just energy and water management.

The need for the efficient management of environmental impact in gold mining companies in

South Africa has also increased remarkably. As pollution increases due to human neglect, the overall health in the country is decreasing. Therefore, by controlling their negative influences on the environment, gold mining companies can save the lives of people.

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1.1. Introduction

South Africa is known to be rich in several minerals, hence the big market for mining in the

country. This mineral richness contributes to a large part of the world's production of these minerals, and therefore the mining industry in South Africa is one of the leading providers for gold internationally. In 2013, the contribution to the South African gross domestic product

(GDP) from quarrying and mining was 4.9%. [1]

The minerals mentioned above mainly include gold, platinum and coal. After these top three minerals, the diamond industry also deserves to be mentioned. South Africa is responsible

for 10% of the gold produced internationally. The country also contains up to 40% of the minerals known worldwide. [1] Further, only three other countries produce more diamonds than South Africa, where the neighbouring country Botswana is one of them. [1]

Due to the fact that South Africa is so rich in these natural minerals, efficient environmental management is a necessity. The country needs to protect the minerals and minimise the

disposal of waste. Various environmental standards and guidelines have therefore been

developed and implemented in order to assist companies in controlling their environmental usages.

One of the most familiar environmental management standards is the ISO 14001 standard.

The ISO 14001 standard defines the requirements for an environmental management

system and has been internationally developed by various parties. [2]

By using the ISO 14001 standard, companies can gain competitiveness in the industry by managing their environmental impact more efficiently within the provided guidelines. Other benefits include building trust with stakeholders by looking after the environment and the utilisation of natural resources is optimised after implementing the standard. Finally waste disposal is also reduced with the assistance of the guidelines in the ISO 14001 standard. [2]

The standard was recently revised to create an updated standard which came into effect in

2015. References to life cycle thinking (LCT) were introduced to the standard. The thought behind this revision was to focus on the environmental impact on the entire supply chain network of a company. [3]

The ISO 14001 standard follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act (POCA) cycle to ensure continuous

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Environmental data management for gold mines Checking Planning Implementation and operation

Figure 1.1-1: Environmental management model for ISO 14001 :2014 [4]

The cycle works by a company creating a unique environmental policy followed by a plan to satisfy said policy. Implementing the action plan should then form part of the company's normal operations. After a given time (depending on the size of the company) the

implementation can be monitored according to the original policy. [4]

Any improvements or suggestions are then discussed by management and improvements to

the original policy are made. A new plan is then created to implement the improved policy. This process is used continuously in order to assist in the efficient management of

environmental aspects. [4]

Implementation of an environmental management system however does not mean that a

company will not have a negative influence on the environment. It only helps to control the pollution and improve the management of potentially dangerous environmental issues.

Companies that implement an environmental management system take responsibility for

their actions and assure that they minimise the negative environmental impact of their

operations. [5]

Environmental management checklists are available for companies to measure their current systems against the requirements in the ISO 14001 standard. These checklists are designed to be a version of the standard that has been converted into a questionnaire. Most checklists

will also have a scoring system in order to measure the progress of an environmental management system. [6]

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1.2. Gold mining process

1.2.1. Preamble

The need for effective environmental management strategies is necessary at gold mines due to their environmental impacts, which are becoming more of a concern these days.

The handling of mining waste is self-explanatory when environmental management is under discussion. However, the corrosion that mining waste causes has a negative impact on the environment and the processes for releasing mining waste should therefore be managed with great caution.

The disposal of acid mine drainage (AMO) should be managed in order to reduce the permanent environmental consequences. The chemicals involved when the slimes are released should be neutralised however processes to do this can be complex. The deposited slimes can also cause a buffer which releases these chemicals into the atmosphere. A variety of AMO treatment processes have therefore been developed over the past 20 years.

[7]

Metal production industries, such as the gold mining industry, need to be sustainable. The final product also has its environmental impact. Careful consideration should thus be put into the process of dematerialisation, disassembly and recycling. [8]

Due to all the environmental impacts and challenges faced in the gold mining industry, the need for effective environmental management gets more crucial. Certain existing guidelines and systems have therefore already been put in place to assist with these processes. The ISO 14 001 standard is one of the most popular methods to use when developing an environmental management system and will therefore be briefly discussed later in this chapter.

1.3. Environmental impact of mining

The mining industry uses a lot of energy to operate. The consumption of energy and fuels are also major influences on the economic stability of a country. [9] Mining activities that use any source of energy (excluding wind and solar power) contributes to the CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and the more energy consumed, the higher the CO2 emissions. Mining companies should therefore strive to improve their environmental performance by reducing

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Gold mining also plays a big role in the environment and health of the population in South Africa. For instance, in the last quarter of 2015, certain parts of South Africa suffered a drought. The water levels of the dam (Vaal Dam) providing potable water to 12 million South Africans dropped significantly. [11]

The level of the Vaal Dam was dropping by 1 % every 10 days. By mid-September 2015, the dam was at 31.5% and decreased significantly to a minimum of 28% by mid-October 2015. Therefore alternative methods had to be put in place to save water and provide the primary dam with more water. [11]

One concern for human survival is water restrictions. However, contaminated water carries

the same risks for survival. Health issues can spread over countries and cause a plague without clean water. The management of water resources in the gold mining industry,

therefore becomes more crucial every year. The water and air being pumped out of mining systems need to be acceptable for human consumption.

One of the most common reasons for contaminated mining water is the generation of AMO and this corrosive process has been active for centuries. Although literature studies focus on

the reduction of sulphates in the water, the reduction of thermodynamic iron is just as crucial since that limits the oxidation of iron in water. [7]

People living in the informal settlements dominated by mining workers in South Africa, are

exposed to mining waste elements. Affordable logistical and survival costs necessitate that these areas are often built close to active mining shafts, although certain mining companies

do assist with providing these informal settlements with the necessary electricity and potable water. [12]

The running water in the natural streams, in and around these informal settlements, is also contaminated due to contaminated ground water in the soil. These metal and metalloids in

the water can cause serious health issues for the miners and their families. [12]

Contaminated soil and water has been shown to lead to increased cancer rates. It was also shown that children were at higher risk from these exposures than adults. Many of the mining families that live in these informal settlements have also been exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which means that their immune systems are not strong enough to fight the associated health risks. [12]

In order to combat these health risks, tests were done on the utilisation of tailings for gold mines since inactive gold mining shafts have to be restored to their original state. This means that once operations at a gold mining shaft stop, the ground and atmosphere on the

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surface of the earth should be restored to what it was before operations started years ago.

[13]

Tailings in mines are most beneficial when they are grinded to a fineness of about 22.03 µm in diameter. These ultra-fine tailings are then mixed with a cement mixture to strengthen the slurry. For backfilling purposes, the mixed slurry is pumped back into the mining shaft. [13]

Further, cyanide is used in the extraction process of gold, and is hard to destroy without any negative effects to the environment. Milling machines and cyanide are included in some of the main methods to assist in the gold extraction process. Often, small quantities of gold are still embedded in the remaining ore and by melting the ore, the liquid gold can be extracted from the rocks. On average, a mine will have to mine two tonnes of ore to produce about 21 grams of gold. [14]

A study has been done to determine the health implications on communities of people that are exposed to cyanide. The study, done on a cyanide exposed community in Malaysia, has clear results. [15] The symptoms found in the study were more visible in the 255 people in the exposed community, than in 117 people in cities further away from gold processing plants. Some of the symptoms suffered by those exposed included headaches, dizziness,

irritation of the skin and eyes, and dietary issues. [15]

Alternative chemicals are however available to extract gold from rock, but these chemicals are more expensive. The alternative chemicals also hold the same or even higher health risks than cyanide. The gold mining industry is therefore still searching for a discounted and more environmentally friendly alternative chemical to extract gold. [16]

1.3.1. Environmental issues

It can clearly be seen that while the environment in South Africa should be taken care of,

there are several challenges for mining groups when doing this. An increase in

environmental issues is also being recorded more often and these issues should therefore be identified and managed accordingly.

Protecting natural resources

Mining is a limited operation in terms of natural resources. Once all the minerals have been mined in a certain area, the natural resources will be exhausted. For this reason, a balance between a company's environmental and economical operations should be maintained. [7]

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the main fresh water suppliers in South Africa is the Vaal Dam which has had pollution issues. Investigations on the amount of salt deposits from mining activities into the Vaal Barrage started in 197 4 and certain control methods were also investigated to control pollution. [17] Since the mining industry contributes to a large part of the GDP, the water usage should be controlled more effectively.

Another rising concern for pollution is the well-known impact of CO2 emissions. After investigation and certain estimates, it was concluded that at least 70% of the CO2 emissions

should be reduced by 2050. In order to start seeing a change in these reductions, an estimated time of around ten years will be needed in order to put initiatives in place. [18]

South Africa has thus been implementing certain initiatives aimed at combating greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce their carbon footprint. In many large industries it has become more of a priority to report and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these initiatives will be explained in more detail later in this study.

A basic definition of global warming is the increase in the air temperature on the earth. This increase in temperature is due to heat being trapped by certain gasses in the atmosphere of the earth. The emission of greenhouse gasses by human activities, should be limited to curtail climate change. [19]

Power generation industries are one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emission due to the burning of coal. Coal burning releases toxic gasses into the atmosphere that increases the concentration of CO2 into the atmosphere, which aggravates global warming.

[19]

The most significant environmental impacts created by mining activities can thus be classified as the pollution of water, the power generation industry and the overall emissions of CO2 . Careful investigation and preventative actions should be implemented to reduce this phenomenon.

1.3.2. Water usage

in

mines

Some of the deepest gold mines found globally are in South Africa varying in depths from 1.2km to 3.7km below the earth's surface. Temperatures of up to 60°C can be attained at these depths, making the lives of miners dangerous and very strenuous. [20] These unnatural circumstances as well as rock falls pose a health and safety risk to miners. The sufficient oxygen and potable water supply is crucial for the survival of miners who work long underground shifts of up to 12 hours.

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In order to provide the necessary water on a gold mine, an extremely complex reticulation

system is necessitated. This water system consists of the basic refrigeration plants and

various pumps needed to distribute cold water underground. The refrigeration plants cool the

water and the pumps are used to pump the water up and down the shaft. Cold water is sent

down the shaft for cooling purposes and the hot water is sent back up to the refrigeration plants. [20]

Another important aspect of the water usage in the mines is the power consumption of these pumps and refrigeration plants. The power consumption of the water reticulation system can

be as high as 35% of the total electricity used on a mine. The management of the power

consumption should therefore also be taken into consideration since this also directly

influences the environment. [20]

A good balance should thus be obtained between the water and electricity usage in order to

operate as effectively possible. Investigations of these processes should be handled in more

detail and a comparison between the power consumption of the pumps and the refrigeration

system should be studied.

The water usage at a mine differs between 1.25 kl and 4.15 kl per tonne of rock mined. [20]

The mined rock however does not necessarily contain a high grade of gold, and therefore

the use of water should be managed carefully. The water being used can be recycled and sent to the refrigeration plant to be cooled again.

In deep level mines fissure water needs to be pumped to the surface to prevent flooding and to allow safe mining activities. This water can however also be utilised for mine cooling systems. [21]

Automated dewatering pumping systems should be implemented to improve load management. By reducing the maximum electrical demand during peak periods, additional energy cost savings can be attained. [21]

Vaal Dam as water source

As mentioned earlier, the Vaal Dam is one of South Africa's main fresh water supplies. The water of the Vaal Dam is currently being distributed to most areas in South Africa for commercial and industrial use.

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In total effluent water contains almost 400 000 tonnes of salts that is pumped into the Vaal River annually. [22)

By the installation of filters into the water network, pollution from the mining industry can be reduced or curtailed. Uranium is one of many substances released into the water systems from mining activities and should be reduced as far as possible. U Fluxes is a system that has been put in place to manage the release of uranium into water. [23]

Since 1886 Johannesburg, situated in South Africa, has been part of the mining industry. A quarter of the total population of South Africa resides in and around the city and contributes to almost 10% of the economy in Africa. Rand Water provides water to the city which is fed from a number of rivers and tributaries. The majority of water is derived from the Vaal Dam and distributed accordingly. [24]

Around Johannesburg there is an area known as the Witwatersrand which is also provided with water from the Vaal Dam. Similar to Johannesburg this area also consists of large scale mining activities and due to AMO being present in the area which is a serious consequence of mining activities. This affects most of the population of South Africa with the related health risks. [25]

Preventing flooding in mines

Flood water in mines should be pumped out of the system before commencing with operational activities. Pollution in the mines is limited by pumping this excess water out of the system in order to be recycled and cleaned for future use. Various techniques are currently being used to pump out the water. [26]

1.3.3. Pollution

As mentioned, the acid in the mining water causes pollution. These chemical levels increase during mining activities in Johannesburg. [27] Operational profits have however been increased by reducing pollution caused by mining activities. Mining pollution should thus be carefully controlled as mining waste causes critical environmental problems and human health and soil quality are influenced by the toxic metals. [28]

Another big environmental impact is the uncontrolled discharge of iron-rich mine water. The contaminated water is discharged from deserted non-operational mines. [29] AMO has an impact on the environment as well as the economy. [28]

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South Africa has improved mining operations to comply with legal requirements relating to the environment. Mining companies have also improved the process of closing a shaft and managing active water activities. However, despite these improvements, South African mines are still producing AMO. (28]

Areas for additional improvements on environmental management will become clear after investigating the gold mining process in general. (30] Effective environmental management strategies will also be defined after identifying the necessary resources used in the gold mining industry.

1.4. Environmental management

1.4.1. Preamble

The implementation of environmental management systems in mining companies not only improve the environmental aspects of the company but also benefit the population by ensuring cleaner production due to limited waste disposal. (31]

One of the first steps in managing the environmental impact of gold mines is to look at the environmental data. However, without accurate data, informed conclusions and decisions cannot be made. Further, data that is being compared to the same criteria can be easily compared among different mines.

In the past, no internal effort was put into the environmental data management as it was never a priority to investigate the environmental impact. Companies had to spend a lot of money to buy software to manage their environmental impact. However, the South African environment has been highlighted with increasing issues in recent years, which prioritises environmental management. These issues will be explained in detail in the following two chapters.

1.4.2. Environmental requirements and responsibilities of large

industry companies

For proper environmental management on mines, dedicated teams should be appointed. Most mining companies do not want to spend the money investing in additional staff to manage the environmental data. This is a concern since, without dedicated management staff, the environmental management system will be inaccurate and invalid.

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Environmental representatives:

Each mining operation within a gold mining company should have a dedicated environmental representative appointed. These representatives can be an environmental intern or an environmental clerk.

The responsibilities of the environmental representative are to collect, capture and verify the correct data for the operation. In order to do this, an effective environmental management system should be put in place. Thus, calibrated equipment should be used, verified sources should be submitted and reports should be signed off by independent parties.

Environmental manager:

In addition to the environmental representative, the operation requires an environmental manager. The environmental manager is dedicated to a specific operation or a group of operations. A dedicated environmental manager should also be appointed to a mining group to consolidate all the data of the operations.

The main responsibilities of the environmental managers are to verify environmental results and to react to the potential risks and responsibilities of the mine. The environmental managers should find suitable solutions to any potential risk that might be seen in the environmental data captured by the environmental representatives.

1.4.3. Existing environmental data management software

Studies and development have been done on general environmental data management requirements. Organisations around the world have investigated environmental needs for different industries and have thus developed systems whereby companies can manage their environmental needs and risks.

The basic idea of an environmental management system is to capture, investigate, report and manage environmental data. Various software systems have therefore been developed in order to assist companies to do this entire process as accurately and efficiently possible.

A company called Capterra has included the most familiar environmental software on their online database. This assists companies to identify and then choose the most suitable software for their business and operations. The website provides the user with all the different criteria from the software. [32]

Three of the most relevant software systems discussed in this study includes lsoMetrix,

Enablon and Hydro GeoAnalyst. Each of these software systems assists the end user to

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manage their environmental data for effective decision making. These three systems are discussed below. [32]

lsoMetrix

lsometrix is an integrated software system that focuses mainly on the management of risks and compliance. Companies that use this software improve their sustainability in operational efficiencies. In 2017, lsoMetrix had 100 000 active users. [33]

In order for environmental management systems to survive in the competitiveness of the market, like lsometrix, it needs to be flexible. Companies have different needs and requirements for environmental management. The main drive for this software is to implement tailored software that converts various sources into one integrated database. [33]

More environmental specific, the system will focus on the environmental goals, impacts, requirements, processes for decision making improvements, and measuring and reviewing the efficiency. [34]

lsometrix comply with ISO 14 001 standard as well as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Visual dashboards are available on the database and data capturing can be monitored there. The dashboard also displays the environmental goals and objectives as well as the compliance in reaching these targets. [34]

The mining industry is a risky operation and has very specific needs and risks. The effectiveness and understanding of mining companies makes it challenging to manage their environmental needs. lsometrix focuses more on the critical impacts than on the impacts under control. [35]

Shortcomings

This software system is used by one gold mine but still experiences the industry as risky with a lot of environmental requirements. The mine will have a unique dashboard that reports on the mining activity. The mining companies are not investigated and a reflection on one mine might be a wrong reflection on the company as a unit.

The access and security of this system is moderate. General login details are handed to the company and all users see the same dashboard. No levels of security or privacy have been indicated on lsometrix. Top management and technicians need different information and details to make their decisions.

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The world of data capturing, when it comes to environmental management, is still very basic and unreliable. This software system captures the data if it is available. Data sources need to be captured irrespective of the method of capturing. Applications should be used to collect data from any source of document.

Enablon

The second system that was studied to assist users to manage their environmental impact is Enablon. This software motivates companies to minimise manual data capturing. This leads to more accurate data that reduces risks. [36]

Enablon includes water, waste, data and air management. Data analysis is done and knowledgeable information is published for future decisions. Document control is a function where all the documents are stored together with the raw data. [36]

Shortcomings

This software system is very basic and complies with all the general environmental management categories. Production figures are not a focus point in the system and the reason for that is that production data is risky to obtain due to accuracy. [37]

Dashboards for quick access and flagging of critical areas are not developed. Awareness for critical issues or process changes is not picked up immediately. Water and air leaks will only be discovered when data is investigated.

Hydro GeoAnalyst

Another environmental data management software that user use is Hydro GeoAnalyst. As the name indicates, this software model focuses mainly on water management. The sustainability and compliance of water requirements are the main focus for this system. [38]

Waste management is one of the additional features of the system. Effluent water from the gold processing plants needs to be managed to provide potable water to surrounding mine neighbours. [38]

Shortcomings

This third software system seems like a new developing system that covers the basics of environmental data management. End-to-end efficiencies in the environmental data management process are lacking. Crucial steps between data capturing and the final auditing phases (where every step can be accessed from one integrated online data management system) are absent.

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For the purpose of this study, the auditing capability of an environmental management system is crucial. Source documents and responsible parties play the biggest role in

verification techniques. Therefore, the Hydro GeoAnalyst system is not yet verified for auditing requirements as required by certain laws.

Emission impacts are also excluded in this software and will potentially cause the negligence

of critical environmental issues. Currently, with the new tax rebates on emission factors and performance, companies can miss out on major cost savings.

For a study field so important and natural to human behaviour, it is understandable that existing assisting software will be available. The detail and effectiveness of these systems will determine the successful implementation and sustainability.

Summary

With a diverse series of specifications for each environmental management system, companies find it hard to choose the appropriate system for their operations. Gold mining

companies will have to make use of a system that focuses on all the different environmental

categories. This system needs to balance the environmental impacts with their production outputs since it is also an environmental element.

Table 1.4-1 summarises the different criteria that each of the existing environmental data management systems meet. From this table the shortcomings for each system can be

identified. The proposed new and improved standardised environmental data management system for gold mines will address and combine these shortcomings among all three existing systems.

The most important, yet non-technical, criteria for an effective environmental data management is human behaviour. Without the necessary motivation and determination from the environmental representatives, even the best possible system will be unsuccessful. Human behaviour needs personal motivation to improve efficiencies. Therefore, the ideal environmental data management system for gold mines has to include human interaction

together with an integrated online management system. This operation-specific end-to-end

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Table 1.4-1: A summary of the environmental criteria within the existing environmental data management systems.

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1 Manual data capturing ✓ ✓

2 Automatic data capturing ✓ 3 Notification for offline data (real time)

4 Mobile application for data capturing 5 Data error detection

6 Standardise units of measurement

7 Investigate data ✓ ✓ ✓ 8 Data validation ✓ 9 Land management 10 Water management ✓ ✓ 11 Air management ✓ 12 Effluent management ✓ 13 Energy management 14 Waste management ✓ ✓ ✓ 15 Production analysis 16 Centralised dashboard ✓ 17 Environmental goals ✓ 18 Environmental targets ✓ 19 Goals vs targets ✓ 20 Measuring efficiency ✓

21 Corrective/Preventative actions ✓ ✓

22 Suggest targets due to historical data

23 Environmental impacts ✓

24 Prioritise critical impacts ✓ 25 Environmental requirements ✓

26 Online data management system ✓ ✓ ✓

27 Integrated database ✓ ✓

28 Manage environmental data ✓ ✓ 29 Hierarcy management

30 Manage risks ✓ ✓

31 Manage compliance ✓ ✓

32 Comply with ISO 14 001 ✓ ✓

33 Comply with ISO SO 001

34 Comply with GRI requirements ✓

35 Standardise reporting procedure

36 Environmental process layout

37 Flexible design ✓ ✓

38 User specific access to system (secure)

39 Reporting ✓ ✓

40 Document control (archives) ✓ 41 Auditing compatible ✓ ✓

42 Sustainability management ✓ ✓ 43 Incident management ✓ ✓

1.4.4. The need for environmental management

Environmental management is a very sensitive topic when it comes to the larger industries. This type of industry is production driven and focuses on being as productive as possible in operations and cost budgets. Environmental management is not one of their main priorities.

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Ironically enough, the large industries such as manufacturing, mining and textile industries influences the environment the most. Gold mining companies in South Africa have started to look into the opportunity to improve their environmental performance and status due to incentives on the horizon. What these companies do not realise is that they often manage the environment without their knowledge.

A survey was done on 214 manufacturing businesses in China in order to determine the need for an environmental management system. The results of this survey indicated that the combination of operations and an environmental management system improved the operational performances. It was discovered that commitment levels, knowledgeable teams, communication, creativity and teamwork improved after the implementation of an efficient environmental management system. [39]

Changes in the environmental performances of Swedish manufacturing companies were monitored over a 12-year period. The performances were compared among 66 companies with an active environmental management system and 50 companies without any environmental management system. The companies with management systems showed improved energy and waste management performances, whereas the companies without showed an increase in emissions. [40]

Energy efficiency projects are one of the most well-known initiatives to manage the environment. By reducing the amount of energy used to produce their product, companies save on greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the high electricity tariffs in South Africa, mining companies implemented these initiatives for cost saving purposes. [19]

South Africa has plans for controlling the greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon tax is one of the future taxes that the country and large industry companies should be aware of. The proposed carbon tax per tonne of CO2 is R120. [41]

The two most aggressive contributors to environmental issues in the gold mining industry are waste water and emissions. There is a curiosity in recent studies for companies to reach a zero emission rates in gold processing plants. In order to strive towards zero waste in the water program, the process of ensuring reusable and recycled water has been motivated.

[42]

One of the biggest constraints and challenges in the management of waste water is the determination of the legal limitation per category. The problem occurs because of the

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constraint makes it difficult to compare and manage the amount of waste water a company

or operation can dispose of. [22]

Energy policies are often incorporated into systems to compare the environmental

performance with their future performance. The environmental policy motivates a company

to strive for better results and to keep the focus on the correct areas. The policy will include

economic and environmental benefits. [43]

It has been proven that companies should focus their attention on the implementation and

operations of an environmental management system. Other important aspects are the

planning, monitoring and the definition of valuable objectives. The need for staff members to

understand and manage the environmental management system and to identify critical

conditions is crucial in the success of the implementation. [44]

1.5. Need for the study

After the discussions earlier in this chapter, it can be clearly identified that there is a need for

effective data management in environmental management. More so in the gold mining

industry as it is one of South Africa's biggest industries in terms of environmental impact.

Ineffective environmental management systems exist in most of the large industries. These

systems are not only found in South African companies but all over the world. The

environment is just as important in America, Europa, Asia and in the small islands as it is in

South Africa. However, the motivation for environmental systems is larger in most countries.

With ineffective management systems comes unreliable reporting. Thus, once an effective

management system is put in place, data will be verified by calibrated equipment and valid

source documents. If all documents used are of the same format and from the same origin,

then data can be confirmed to be accurate. These actions prevent unreliable and inaccurate

reporting.

Most companies in South Africa aim to implement drastic reduction initiatives. The most

effective and quickest solutions are also found on the basic processes. Gold mines can

therefore follow a standardised environmental management system to report and capture

their data. Once all the gold mines are standardised, the reports can be accurately compared.

One of the constraints on environmental management systems, other than inaccurate data,

was the inconsistencies in reporting times. The inconsistent time frame manipulates the data

and contributes to inaccurate data. Even though operations capture their data using the

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exact same method, the time of capturing should also be similar. Calendar months and averages should be dealt with on the same standards.

After investigations, it was found that verified supporting documents for environmental management are limited. Source documents exist in every operation but are often internal. The municipality should thus generate verified measuring documents for all categories in the environmental management process.

Environmental representatives in gold mining companies in South Africa are however not knowledgeable about these processes. They are not aware of the definitions and origin of the environmental aspects to be reported on. Accurate definitions should therefore be communicated to gold mining companies in order to determine the scope of an environmental element.

Finally, the need to capture and store all these data measurements, documents and processes in a centralised database exists. When utilising such a database the implementation time will be shorter due to electronic logic and calculations and the adaption and processing of documents will be more accurate. The source documents for audits will also be easily accessible and securely saved.

1.6. Contributions of the study

The reporting procedures for the 14 mining operations investigated in this study are diverse and will be used to explain the shortcomings in environmental management in the gold mining industry.

The contributions of this study have been defined through the shortcomings in the existing environmental data management systems. The last yet concluding contribution describes how the former contributions can be combined within an integrated and centralised environmental data management system and still be successful.

1.6.1. Management of a standardised environmental

reporting

process for gold mines

Current situation:

Each operation at the gold mining company distinctly reports on their internal environmental data. Some of the operations do not have a reporting system in place. The person

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and trust that the values are correct. Different processes are followed at each operation for each individual reporting category.

Shortcomings:

Due to complex and diverse processes being followed at the different operations, inaccurate data is reported. The time of measurement for the same reporting category among the different operations is inconsistent. Other shortcomings between the operations are the point of measurement, units of the values, and the scope of each category. Different source documentations are submitted for each category. The data recorded at the individual operations varies from the data being reported to the board.

Contribution to improve the current situation:

The main focus of this study is to implement a new management model to standardise the environmental data for reporting purposes within a gold mining company. The improved process ensures accurate reporting. By standardising the process, the overall reporting time decreased significantly after each month. All the operations within the gold mining company can make use of this generic model. The model has been developed to comply with the GRI requirements. Certain categories will not be applicable for shafts, where other categories will not be applicable for the plants. These specific categories should be ignored for that operation.

1.6.2. Semi-automated data gathering methods

The priority for environmental data management at gold mining companies in South Africa is very low. As no crucial tax implications are in order yet, the mines do not focus on their environmental systems. A manual data gathering process can be identified at each operation of the selected mining group.

Various personnel manually capture water and power meter readings at various times. The meter readings are written on a paper and sent to the responsible personnel that reports on it. The hand written values are typed on an excel spreadsheet for further reporting or calculations.

Bills and invoices due to be processed are manually recorded on an excel sheet. At certain operations, excel sheets are not even used and the personnel calculates the amounts for a month by using a hand calculator.

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Shortcomings:

Given the current manual situation, several shortcomings were identified. No verified process is in place to capture accurate and traceable data for the water and power categories. The manual calculations and excel capturing methods that are currently being used in most of the GRI categories highlights a big risk of inaccuracy. Human typing errors occur regularly. The time lapse between the same data points is concerning as inaccurate

amounts will be reported for separate months.

Data integration is essential in the development of this improved system. Various data gathering techniques were investigated, developed and implemented to effectively capture the most accurate data. The most crucial areas where data optimisation was vital were with the meter readings for the water and power data. A mobile application was developed and used to capture, verify and track the individual readings [45]. Additional development was done to the online data management system to read and interpret original municipality bills and invoices.

1.6.3. Validated data for audit purposes

Each operation mainly reported inaccurate data for GRI purposes. Due to the individual processes being followed, the type of source documents (if available) differs from the various operations. Not all the operations use the same type of source documents for the same reporting category. The reporting times, units and calculations for each reporting category

are also diverse.

Shortcomings:

A big concern, due to limited source documents, is the inaccuracy of the reported data. The overall data will give an inaccurate reflection of the environmental situation and can cost an organisation a lot of unnecessary time and money. Most of the applicable source documents are not available on site and cannot be used to document findings. External auditors are struggling to analyse the data on a basic level due to incomplete and inaccurate source documentation.

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The main priority for the new improved environmental data management system is to obtain

and use verified source documentation to report data. Several benefits include

improvements in effective reporting quality and verified tax claims. With the applicable

source documentation, companies can submit their claims for carbon tax as well as 12L tax

incentives. [46]

During the audit, a specific type of source document was identified and requested to be used

for each GRI category. Most of these source documents can be obtained from group

representatives for the entire mining group.

The monthly data for an operation could not be accepted or displayed if all the relevant

sources were not obtained and submitted. After the data has been accepted, it is locked so

that no additional changes can be made to the data without permission. This ensures that

the data can be audited and verified at any given point in time. Source documents include

electricity bills, municipal water bills, various invoices, weighbridge tickets etc. Calibration

certificates are required where meter readings are used.

1.6.4. Simplified information display

It was discovered that every operation reports on their environmental data uniquely. Each

operation has their in-house reporting systems to which they should comply with. Within an

organisation, different GRI categories are documented using different records. Various

reports are generated on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. The values for the specific GRI

categories are extracted from these sheets to populate the final board report for the entire

mining group.

Shortcomings:

Data errors and reporting times are directly equivalent to the number of manual reporting documents. The more documents needed to obtain the data, the more inaccurate the reporting values. Human error or finger faults are natural occurrences with any manual process. The current reporting time is also lengthy due to the collection of all the various supporting documents and finding the values on these sheets. Manual reporting processes

should therefore be avoided.

Environmental data management for gold mines