A Survey of Sustainable Development Initiatives in the Australian Mining and Minerals Industry

This paper describes 13 case studies illustrating initiatives to embed sustainable development in the Australian minerals industry spanning a decade and a half from 1990. For each case study, a brief background to the mining site or mineral processing operation is given, a description of the existing processes prior to implementing the initiatives, a description of the initiatives, and the drivers, barriers and conclusions drawn from each set of initiatives. The key outcomes from the case studies are that minerals companies in Australia are putting sustainable development into operation at their sites and these are as follows: environmental and social improvements at operations and communities in which they operate can realize economic benefits and will not always incur a major financial cost; local communities provide the means by which a mining or minerals processing operation can realize its full potential in contributing to a region's economic and social well‐being; improvements to waste management pr...