Enhancing eco-economic efficiency of mineral deposit exploration to achieve sustainable development in the mining industry of Kazakhstan

The mining industry in the world has undergone a major metamorphosis in recent years. These changes have forced higher education to modify the curricula in a thorough way to meet the mining entrepreneurs’ needs. The paper’s scope is to answer the research question—how to attract students and implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in higher education in mining engineering? Based on the case of international cooperation carried out at the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology (WUST) within the framework of educational projects co-financed by European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities Raw Materials (EIT RM), the authors prove that the idea of sustainable development can be introduced into the system of teaching mining specialists at every level of their higher education (engineering and master’s studies), through developing their new competencies, introducing new subjects taking into account innovative solutions and technologies, or placing great emphasis on environmental and social aspects. Examples of new curricula show a good way to change into the new face of a mining engineer.

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Mining Eco-Efficiency Measurement and Driving Factors Identification Based on Meta-US-SBM in Guangxi Province, China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105397 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5397

Author(s):

Yonglin Li ◽

Zhili Zuo ◽

Deyi Xu ◽

Yi Wei

Keyword(s):

Economic Efficiency ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Resource Efficiency ◽

Efficiency Measurement ◽

Environmental Efficiency ◽

External Factors ◽

Beibu Gulf ◽

Government Control ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Internal And External Factors

The mining industry is one of the pillar industries of Guangxi’s economic and social development. The output value of mining and related industries accounts for 27% of the whole district’s total industrial output value. Therefore, the mining eco-efficiency measurement in Guangxi can be of great significance for the sustainable development of Guangxi’s mining industry. This study adopted Meta-US-SBM to measure the mining eco-efficiency in Guangxi from 2008 to 2018, including economic efficiency, resource efficiency, and environmental efficiency. It used the standard deviation ellipse model to simulate the migration trend of four efficiencies in Guangxi and used GeoDetector and Tobit models to explore the internal and external factors that affect the mining eco-efficiency. The four efficiencies in Guangxi show large temporal and spatial heterogeneity, and the internal and external factors that affect the mining eco-efficiency are different. The following conclusions can be drawn. (1) Environmental efficiency and mining eco-efficiency are improving, while economic efficiency and resource efficiency are deteriorating. Cities bordering other provinces have a significantly better mining eco-efficiency than non-bordering cities. (2) The development center in Guangxi has migrated to the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone. (3) Natural resources index and mining economic scale have a great impact on the mining eco-efficiency, and with the increase of the mining economic scale, the mining eco-efficiency showed a typical “U-shaped” curve. Finally, this study put forward corresponding policy recommendations to improve the mining eco-efficiency in Guangxi from four aspects: opening-up, technological progress, regional coordination, and government control.

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Spatio-Temporal Characteristics and Obstacle Factors of the Urban-Rural Integration of China’s Shrinking Cities in the Context of Sustainable Development

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084203 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4203

Author(s):

Bin Du ◽

Ying Wang ◽

Jiaxin He ◽

Wai Li ◽

Xiaohong Chen

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Economic Efficiency ◽

Formation Mechanisms ◽

Shrinking Cities ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Temporal Characteristics ◽

The North ◽

Urban Rural ◽

Spatio Temporal

Based on the fundamental concept of sustainable development, this study empirically analyzes the spatio-temporal characteristics, formation mechanisms and obstacle factors of the urban-rural integration of shrinking cities in China, from 2008 to 2018. The conclusions are as follows: the overall level of the urban-rural integration of shrinking cities in China is low; the internal differences of urban-rural integration are also small, and the changes are slow. Next, the space difference is high in the east and low in the west, high in the south and low in the north. Moreover, differences exist among different levels of urban agglomerations. Urban economic efficiency, urban resources and environment, urban social equity and rural economic efficiency are the main factors affecting the urban-rural integration of shrinking cities in China. Urban and rural economic efficiency are the two most prominent shortcomings that restrict the urban-rural integration of shrinking cities. The spatial resistance mode of each city is more than the two-system resistance; the main resistance of shrinking cities with a higher level of urban-rural integration also comes from the non-economic field. This study expands the research scope that up till now has ignored the discussion of urban-rural issues in the research of shrinking cities at home and abroad, and provides practical guidance for the sustainable development of shrinking cities in China.

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Research on the Sustainable Development of Mining Industry OHSAS18001 Based on IFE and EFE Matrix

International Journal of Engineering and Technology ◽

10.7763/ijet.2017.v9.1021 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 485-491

Author(s):

Jiangdong Bao ◽

◽

Jan Johansson ◽

Jingdong Zhang

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Mining Industry ◽

The Sustainable Development

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MINING COMPLEX OF THE MURMANSK REGION: MINIMIZATION OF MAN-MADE IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories ◽

10.21177/1998-4502-2021-13-2-188-200 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 188-200

Author(s):

Vladimir MASLOBOEV ◽

◽

Dmitry MAKAROV ◽

Elena KLYUCHNIKOVA ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Russian Federation ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Mining Industry ◽

The Arctic ◽

Green Growth ◽

Murmansk Region ◽

The Russian Federation ◽

Mining Complex

The Murmansk region is a region with the largest enterprises of the mining complex of the Russian Federation: KF JSC “Apatit”, JSC “Kola MMC”, JSC “Olkon”, JSC” Kovdorsky GOK”, JSC” North-West Phosphorus Company”, LLC”Lovozersky GOK”. They provide the majority of the country’s demand for phosphate ores, zirconium raw materials (baddeleyite), niobium, tantalum, and rare earth metals. In addition, the mining and processing of copper-nickel, iron and chrome ores, nepheline and ceramic raw materials, facing stone and building materials is carried out. At the same time, the activities of enterprises have a very negative impact on the environment. The issues of environmental safety in the extraction and processing of minerals, storage of mining waste in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are of particular relevance. The definition of sustainable development in relation to the mining industry is given. The concepts of available best technologies, circular economy, and “green growth” are considered from the point of view of their contribution to sustainable development. It is shown that the sustainable development of enterprises at the present stage is impossible without improving the environmental friendliness of production. The article analyzes the legislation of the Russian Federation and the practice of its application to identify mechanisms that promote sustainable development and eliminate barriers to the implementation of this concept in the mining industry. New technological solutions have been developed for mining enterprises of the Murmansk region, aimed at reducing aero-technogenic emissions, cleaning waste (mine) water, processing tailings of enrichment as man-made deposits, which allows both to minimize man-made environmental impacts and to increase the full use of mineral raw materials. Thus, the expediency of using the principles of “green growth” for the development of economic development policies in the Arctic is justified.

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