Range of Services
The department offers
a wide range of consulting services in the mining and processing of mineral
resources.
We have extensive experience in the fields of base metals mining (lead,
zinc, tin, silver, wolfram, antimony), precious metals, coal, precious
stones and industrial minerals.
Our expertise focuses on the following areas:
• Promotion of small- and medium-scale mining operations,
• Mineral processing technology,
• Environmental protection during mining,
• Supporting and strenghtening mining-related institutions,
• Environmental impact assessment (EIA),
• Establishment of an encouraging business environment
• Social support measures and organisation of miners
• Development of an adequate legal framework:
The department is
involved in the conception, planning, evaluation, organization and execution
of international cooperation projects. Primary emphasis is placed on finding
comprehensive and sustainable solutions.
Project Approach
It is our opinion
that promoting the activities of small- and medium-scale mining
can only be effectively realized if the concept is successful in recognizing
and solving the diverse and unique problems encountered in this subsector.
This involves dealing with aspects of technology, business organization,
personnel, financing, marketing and law.
Improving these
basic conditions is the purpose behind the applied-technology projects
performed by the mining and environmental protection department (MEDP).
Beneficiation
and further processing of mineral raw material: In finding solutions
for projects involving preparation and secondary processing of raw materials,
the department focusses on proven, often historical or region-specific
methods, developing them further through the integration of modern components.
The resulting solutions
are very often especially appropriate for use in developing countries
because they offer a combination of economic advantages, environmentally-acceptable
production methods and reasonable energy demands.
Additionally, such
solutions are more labor-intensive and less capital-intensive, two qualities
which favorably address the needs of developing countries.
An example of this
is the project to improve the traditional beehive coal-coking operation
in Colombia, where the concept proposed for the secondary burning of the
coke-oven gas emissions with the aid of a steam-turbine, was developed
into a project. In addition to the generation of energy, this concept
also lead to a significant reduction in emitted pollutants.
Environmental
protection measures: Finding ways to make environmental protection
financially affordable for small-scale mining operations is the goal of
a number of the department’s projects. Solutions are sought by introducing
environmentally-favorable technology through the training and education
of workers, increased work safety measures, higher productivity by means
of semi-mechanization of the operations, and assistance in legalizing
the mines; these measures contribute towards reducing the environmental
impact of small-scale mining. One key focus is on mercury and cyanide
problems. See our "Mercury
and Cyanide references".
Support and
strengthening of mining-related institutions: In all projects, the
mining and environmental protection department works closely with agencies
such as ministries, regional development offices, mining and environmental
authorities, as well as non-governmental organizations; doing so, the
expertise and organizational ability of these agencies, and their assumption
of regulatory powers, should be improved so that they can independently
supervise and carry out future programs.
Environmental
Impact Assessment: Conducting environmental impact assessment (EIA)
and environmental sector studies is another major area of concern within
the department’s line of services. Eenvironmental management plans and
monitoring and control concepts are designed to facilitate the implementation
of better practices in mining procedures.
Establishment
of an encouraging business environment: The provision of fair
marketing conditions, the establishment of straight forward business registration
and administration, providing the access to finance and governmental extension
services are seen as key elements for the promotion and support of private
sector activities in small scale mining.
Social support
measures and organisation of miners: Promoting artisanal and
small scale mining as a motor of rural development includes aspects such
as the elimination of child labour, the generation of additional income
opportunities within and outside the mining sector, the minimisation of
conflicts and a gender sensitive approach towards sustainable community
development.
Development
of an adequate legal framework: Long term and sustained development
of a formal artisanal and small scale mining sector are only possible
if an encouraging and fair legal framework for the ASM sector is enforced.
Access to mining titles, to information and governmental services as well
as good governance are key issues.
Capacity building
through formal and non formal qualification: The training of
miners, especially those from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector,
the training of trainers and the training of staff from the national,
regional and local authorities is a key focus of Projekt-Consult GmbH´s
services. From the implementation of workshops and seminars over the development
of curricula and didactic materials, the establishment of training facilities
and capacities up to the concept development and feasibility studies for
mining schools are professionally covered by our company. Ongoing activities
are currently performed in Bolivia (for Apemin 2), Senegal (support to
artisanal gold mining), Papua New Guinea (establishment of training courses
at three training centres) and Afghanistan (support of the Afghan Geological
Survey).
Department’s Activities
(Extract):
- Support of the
Afghan Geological Survey with training, database development, generation
of geological field data and investment promotion, Afghanistan
- Provision of training
course development, training of trainers and vocational training of
miners in the framework of the Mineral Sector Support Project, Papua
New Guinea
- Advising the Apemin
2 project in Bolivia on the establishment of a mining school for Bolivia
- Execution of institutional
support, health care, environmental education and technical training
in the gold mining areas of eastern Senegal
- Advisory services
to De Beers in developing the Mwadui Community Diamond Partnership Programme,
Tanzania
- Advising the Minerals
Commission for institutional strengthening and capacity building in
Ghana
- Implementation
of a long term program to normalise the artisanal mining in Mongolia,
focusing on the development of a legal framework, the strengthening
and establishment of organizational structures and the transfer of knowledge
and skills (see
project doc, 150kB pdf)
- Development
of a framework for guidance notes for governments on the formalisation
and development of sustainable of artisanal and small scale mining activities
(for CASM/WB)
- Design study
for a pilot project on the development of barite mining under the WB
mining sector project in Nigeria
- lobal evaluation
of actions against child labour in mining and provision of recommendations
for future projects to eliminate child labour (for ILO)
- Revision
of global donor and government funded activities focusing on artisanal
and small scale mining in order to upgrade the CASM inventory
- Training
of gem stone miners in prospecting and exploration, exploitation, evaluation
of gem stones and gem stone marketing in Sri Lanka
- Management
and technical assistance of a project to reduce the environmental impact
of small scale brick production in Northern Vietnam
- Assessment
of the gold mining situation and first application of the tool kit for
the development of base line studies in African small scale mining in
Birmin Gwari, Nigeria
- Assistance
to the mining sector diversification project in Zambia
- Advisory
for the Development of a Small-Scale Mining Regulation in Madagascar.
- Integrated
environmental management in artisanal mining areas in Peru.
- Regional
development in the former mining centres of the Bolivian highlands including
small-scale mining promotion, environmental rehabilitation, diversification
and qualification, social infrastructure and strengthening of the public
society in Bolivia.
- Development
of a permanent training system for environmental auditors and environmental
specialists in the mining and metalurgical industry of Peru.
- Fight agains
„Mercury Contamination from Gold Mining in the Tapajos and Madeira
River Basins, Brazilian Amazonia.
- Promotion
of small-scale gold and diamond mining in Ghana.
- Environmental
protection in gold mining in Ecuador.
- Integrated
environmental management in small-scale mining in Bolivia.
- Environmental
impact evaluation on the mining of semi-precious stones in Rio Grande
do Sul, Brasil.
- Feasibility
study for a project to technically improve traditional small coking
operations that reduce emissions and produce energy in Cundinamarca/Colombia.
- Consulting
work in gold placer mining as part of the project
- Pequeños
Proyectos Productivos“, Costa Pacifica, Colombia.
- Mining and
economic geology within the scope of the integrated development project
in the catchment area of the rivers Kayanga/Geba and Kolibra/Corubal
in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Senegal.
- Preliminary
evaluation of a project to provide consulting services for small-scale
mining of gold and diamonds, Republic of Central Africa.
- Conceptual
planning and presentation of sensitizing and information seminars to
promote small-scale mining in selected countries.
- Newly-revised
EIA-sector guide lines „Reconnaissance, prospection and exploration“,
„Surface Mining“ and „Underground Mining“.
A lot of the experiences of our department has been published in books.
Please find a selection below:
Priester,
Michael/Hentschel, Thomas: Small-Scale Gold-Mining. Processing
Techniques in Developing Countries. GATE, Vieweg-Verlag Braunschweig 1992,
ISBN 3-528-02064-4.
Priester, Michael/Hentschel, Thomas/Benthin, Bernd: Pequeña
Minería - Tecnicas y Procesos para la pequeña minería
en paises en desarrollo. GATE, Vieweg-Verlag Braunschweig 1992, ISBN 3-528-02066-0.
Priester, Michael/Hentschel, Thomas/Benthin, Bernd: Tools
for Mining. Techniques and Processes for Small Scale Mining. Vieweg-Verlag
Braunschweig 1993, ISBN 3-528-02077-6. (more details
online)
Wotruba, H./ Hruschka, F./Hentschel, T./Priester, M.:
Manejo ambiental en la pequeña minería, MEDMIN, COSUDE,
La Paz, Bolivien 1998, ISBN 3-905299-71-7
Publicación
"en línea" del Libro "Manejo Ambiental en la Pequeña
Minería", editado por MEDMIN (Cosude - Projekt-Consult) en
Bolivia en 1998. Este libro sigue siendo una de las documentaciones más
exhaustivas de experiencias prácticas en proyectos de desarrollo
relacionados con el sector de pequeña minería y minería
artesanal en América Latina, Asia y África. (2000/2001)
Hentschel, Th./Hruschka, F./Priester, M.: Artisanal and
Small-Scale Mining: Challenges and opportunities; IIED, Geneva 2004, paperback
80 pages, ISBN: 1 84369 470 0
Wotruba, H./ Hruschka, F./Livan, K./Hentschel, T./Priester, M.:
Environmental Management in Small-Scale Mining, MEDMIN, CASM, SDC, La
Paz, Bolivia 2005, ISBN 3-905399-71-7
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