Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority
Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority
process of self-regulatory checking and corrective actions, such as auditing and incident reporting. He pointed out that in addition to helping to protect the environment, the system is also improving the productivity and efficiency of the company as a whole. He said that all the reports have to be reviewed by senior management, specifically the Executive Committee of De Beers Marine on an annual basis. In addition he said that there is an independent audit that is conducted on a regular basis. With regard to waste management, Dr. Corbett said that for the offshore fleet, waste is collected by a launch or tug and taken to Port Nolloth, south of the Orange River. From here, Dr. Corbett said the waste material is transported to Cape Town by lorry. Dr. Corbett said that the waste material is re-cycled or disposed of in Cape Town. He said that one of the most important aspects of the whole process is the compilation of reports. He said that the reports have to look at a variety of parameters. These include legal, economic, natural and social parameters that contribute to a thorough baseline information data set. He pointed out that it is important to identify all activities that are to be carried out, in particular their duration, what techniques and technologies will be involved, and where they aware to take place. He said that through the analysis and the assessment of these kinds of information it is then possible to create a baseline for environmental impact assessment. With the baseline and an understanding of what is to happen, Dr. Corbett said that one is in a position to develop the environmental management programme. He said that it is important that that process takes in as broad a spectrum of science as possible, given that the ecosystem under study is a complex natural environment. He said that reports are given to the relevant government department that analyzes them and requests revisions as appropriate. When the reports are approved, Dr. Corbett said they constitute the environmental management report. He said that the report becomes a legally binding contract between the organization and the government department involved. Dr. Corbett said that internal auditing is on a monthly and per voyage basis by vessel. He said that the environmental management team itself does quarterly audits and that the South African Bureau of Standards, the accredited body for ISO 14001 certification, visits the organization’s operations on a six monthly basis to survey what is going on and ensure that the company is doing what it said it would. INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 656
In terms of communication, Dr. Corbett informed participants that De Beers has developed an extremely detailed Internet site, which is available over satellite link to their vessels at sea and to all the staff involved in environmental issues. He said that the site gives everyone live access to any updates that become available. Dr. Corbett explained that as a result of the environmental impact assessment, De Beers Marine undertook a review of its approach to waste management. He said that the organisation examined the provisions of the MARPOL Convention and decided to meet these requirements and, wherever possible, to go beyond them. Based on this decision, Dr. Corbett said that De Beers Marine then adopted a cradle to grave approach for the full spectrum of waste types it generated so that again, wherever possible, waste is separated and treated on site. He gave an example of the tracking system under the ISO 14001 framework. He said when De Beers Marine brings its waste onshore; the load is monitored through the full spectrum of the logistical operation. He said that when the waste brought to shore, there is a transfer log that keeps track of any waste that is moved from the launch to the jetty. He also said another set of receipts are provided at the jetty for the dispatch of waste to disposal sites He said that there are differences between the approach to environmental management offshore and onshore. Onshore, Dr. Corbett said that there would be a rehabilitation programme, but that offshore this is not a practical consideration. He said often, in trying to rehabilitate the environment, further problems and complexities in terms of the environmental response are created. He said that at De Beers, rather than rehabilitation the focus is on understanding the impacts in some detail, monitoring those impacts, and minimizing the overall long-term effects. He said that monitoring the habitat is a good approach because it provides a very clear indication of environmental health. At the same time, he cautioned that it is very important to be able to monitor and assess the natural variability of communities within the habitat and to be able to look at the impact of mining on these communities. In this regard he said that a key issue is to determine how quickly impacted areas recover. From the work of De Beers, Dr. Corbett said that a principal finding is that impacted areas never become sterile. He said that it has been found that there may be a very brief period of sterility after INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 657
- Page 614 and 615: and Ore Reserves (JORC). He also sa
- Page 616 and 617: With another slide, Dr. Corbett sho
- Page 618 and 619: of De Beers’ deepwater operation
- Page 620 and 621: system that allows other functions
- Page 622 and 623: CHAPTER 16 A CASE STUDY IN THE DEVE
- Page 624 and 625: change through heat transport and c
- Page 626 and 627: Main sites of oxygen minimum Flow o
- Page 628 and 629: • Undertake necessary mitigatory
- Page 630 and 631: State, by such spilling or pollutio
- Page 632 and 633: including diamonds, from non-fluore
- Page 634 and 635: agreements require that government
- Page 636 and 637: including current velocities, oxyge
- Page 638 and 639: ackground levels and confined to a
- Page 640 and 641: Sonar equipment used on some DBM ve
- Page 642 and 643: advocated this approach for environ
- Page 644 and 645: local geology, sedimentology and mi
- Page 646 and 647: Levene’s test could also be used
- Page 648 and 649: unquestionably be alarming, and the
- Page 650 and 651: 3.4 Future Innovation in Video Tran
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- Page 654 and 655: esearch contributions of Mark Gibbo
- Page 656 and 657: 16. Craig R. Smith (1998), The Biol
- Page 658 and 659: magellanicus, Gmein) populations. J
- Page 660 and 661: SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION AND DISCUSS
- Page 662 and 663: presentation he would show that kno
- Page 666 and 667: initial mining, but that within a v
- Page 668 and 669: continental shelf. He suggested tha
- Page 670 and 671: would result in the extermination o
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- Page 674 and 675: of the Namibian government would be
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- Page 684 and 685: partially separated continental fra
- Page 686 and 687: occur beneath the continental shelf
- Page 688 and 689: Using these criteria, a number of a
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- Page 694 and 695: to survive the transgression are pr
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- Page 698 and 699: sedimentary layers that are favoura
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In terms of communication, Dr. Corbett informed participants that<br />
De Beers has developed an extremely detailed Internet site, which is<br />
available over satellite link to their vessels at sea and to all the staff<br />
involved in environmental issues. He said that the site gives everyone live<br />
access to any updates that become available.<br />
Dr. Corbett explained that as a result of the environmental impact<br />
assessment, De Beers Marine undertook a review of its approach to waste<br />
management. He said that the organisation examined the provisions of<br />
the MARPOL Convention and decided to meet these requirements and,<br />
wherever possible, to go beyond them.<br />
Based on this decision, Dr. Corbett said that De Beers Marine then<br />
adopted a cradle to grave approach for the full spectrum of waste types it<br />
generated so that again, wherever possible, waste is separated and treated<br />
on site. He gave an example of the tracking system under the ISO 14001<br />
framework. He said when De Beers Marine brings its waste onshore; the<br />
load is monitored through the full spectrum of the logistical operation. He<br />
said that when the waste brought to shore, there is a transfer log that<br />
keeps track of any waste that is moved from the launch to the jetty. He<br />
also said another set of receipts are provided at the jetty for the dispatch of<br />
waste to disposal sites<br />
He said that there are differences between the approach to<br />
environmental management offshore and onshore. Onshore, Dr. Corbett<br />
said that there would be a rehabilitation programme, but that offshore this<br />
is not a practical consideration. He said often, in trying to rehabilitate the<br />
environment, further problems and complexities in terms of the<br />
environmental response are created. He said that at De Beers, rather than<br />
rehabilitation the focus is on understanding the impacts in some detail,<br />
monitoring those impacts, and minimizing the overall long-term effects.<br />
He said that monitoring the habitat is a good approach because it provides<br />
a very clear indication of environmental health. At the same time, he<br />
cautioned that it is very important to be able to monitor and assess the<br />
natural variability of communities within the habitat and to be able to look<br />
at the impact of mining on these communities.<br />
In this regard he said that a key issue is to determine how quickly<br />
impacted areas recover. From the work of De Beers, Dr. Corbett said that a<br />
principal finding is that impacted areas never become sterile. He said that<br />
it has been found that there may be a very brief period of sterility after<br />
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 657
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