The Environmental Excellence in Exploration (E3) Project
Neil D.S. Westoll, J. Elizabeth Clemson, Anthony J. Andrews,
Improving environmental performance in exploration is a key step towards bettering the public's image of the mining industry and ensuring continued access to public lands for the purposes of mine development. To this end, the Environmental Excellence in Exploration (E3) project was initiated by a consortium of leading mining companies, and the PDAC has agreed to endorse, sponsor and coordinate it.
E3 is designed to advance environmental stewardship in the exploration stage of global mineral development by creating an e-manual, providing rapid access to the most up to date information on environmental management practices for minerals exploration in any part of the world. The e-manual will inform all stakeholders about potential issues and concerns, and identify the most effective management techniques to eliminate or mitigate their environmental impacts.
It is estimated that E3 will require Cdn$500,000 in startup funds, to be expended over the first 15 months, but beyond that point E3 has been designed to be self-funding. Fundraising commenced with $50,000 from the PDAC, and over $300,000 has already been committed to the project, mostly from Canadian companies.
This paper will outline the progress made to date on E3 and discuss the plans and deliverables for the first phase of the project.
Mots Clés:
Environment, Image, Access, Stewardship, e-manual, Plans, Global, mitigation, Exploration, Deliverables
