TA11A Case Studies on Minerals and Metals Products
C120-122
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Tuesday
() Life Cycle Inventories in Peruvian gold mining industries - Basis for Cleaner Production Indicators.
Valdivia, Sonia1, 2, 3, 1 Catholic University of Peru, Lima, Lima, Peru2 Wuppertal Institute for Environment, Climate, Energy, Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany3 EMPA, Saint Gallen, Saint Gallen, Switzerland
ABSTRACT- The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is considered an important instrument for evaluating environmental aspects of products and activities. An exhaustive quantitative analysis of the materials flow and an objective comparison of environmental impacts on the environment and health are the main characteristics of this methodology. Case studies of the application of LCAs for products (i.e. packaging materials, construction materials, and cars) are already available. However, no comprehensive case studies for metals such as gold considering extractive mining activities in contexts like the ones existing in the Andean and Amazon regions have been prepared. Present project to be described refers to the development and results of the first phase of an LCA, which is the elaboration of Life Cycle Inventories (LCI) in two mining activities (one located in Arequipa, Peruvian Andean Region, and the other one in Madre de Dios, Peruvian Amazon Region). As precise environmental related statistics or up to date information on environmental situation with respect to the Peruvian gold mining industry do not formally exist, this project is thus contributing to proposing, for the first time, quantitative information and indicators to this industrial sector. A close cooperation with the two mining activities has positively helped to gather required information. Present paper firstly presents LCIs for the two mentioned cases as well as initial obtained environmental indicators. A classification and discussion of indicators completes this first part. Secondly, potential uses of obtained indicators, such as the assessment of potentials of Cleaner Production (CP), are to be discussed. As CP focuses on parallel pollution prevention, reduction of consumption of natural ressources and economical savings, economical aspects of the obtained environmental indicators are basic issues to be analysed.
Key words: Life Cycle Inventory, Gold mining sector, Cleaner Production, Environmental Indicators