ABSTRACT
The demand for minerals and metals in today’s society is greater than it has ever been throughout the history of the world. Metal use intensity has declined over time on a per capita basis while the total consumption has increased (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment 1999: 7). This record demand, production, and consumption is driving the world economy and improving the standard of living in most parts of the world. With this increased demand comes increased responsibility to produce those minerals and metals in a way “that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Commission 1987: 51). By effectively applying the principles of sustainable development, mining in the twenty-first century can create positive environmental and economic legacies, the impact of which lasts even longer than that of the mines of the last hundred years.
