According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, land reclamation and increasing productivity for sustainable development, the slogan of the year of the Environmental Protection Organization on the occasion of Clean Earth Day.

In this regard, the close relationship between mines and mineral reserves with natural resources and the environment is undeniable. Mercury has been criticized by environmental activists for years, targeting mining and mining. In recent years, there have been many reports about the problems that mining activities have created for the environment, and in the eyes of environmentalists and even the people, mines are considered enemies of the environment. But is this thinking true? This attitude of considering mining activities as only destructive to nature and having hostile attitudes towards it does not seem desirable to miners and mining activists. Regarding the extent of mining activities damage to the environment and the solution to balance the relations between the two sectors, Samat talked with experts and activists in this field, which you can read below:

Mining is not the enemy of the environment

Peyman Afzal, a member of the board of directors of the Iranian Mining Engineering Association and a member of the board of directors of the Iranian Geological Society, criticized the negative attitude of environmental activists towards mines and the gloomy face of mining activities by the public. Not enemies who hurt each other and face each other. The prevailing opinion in the society is that mining and mining industries cause the most damage to the environment and activities in this field should be prevented, while the mining sector of the country causes the least damage to the environment compared to other industrial sectors.

He added: "When the mining sector entered the industry, the approach of the Environmental Protection Agency to mining activities changed. Since 1378, the Environmental Protection Organization has always been attacking the owners of mines and mining activities, while with proper interaction, many problems will be solved and inappropriate approaches will be changed.

The need to interact with the mine

A member of the board of directors of the Geological Society of Iran, further mentioned the possibility of cooperation between the mining sector and the Environment Organization and said: the mining sector can have a very good interaction with the environment, but the Environmental Protection Organization must make changes in its thinking. Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency and the activists in this field have turned their full attention to the mines, and this is a very important and worrying issue, because the institutions related to natural resources and its protection must cooperate with the mines; No retribution before sin.

He added: "In some cases, we see that the mine has not started operating yet, but environmental problems have been raised by both the Environmental Protection Organization and the residents of the area, and has led to the prevention of the mine to start operating." The only reason for this is the existence of some common misconceptions in this area.

Requiring government incentives

A member of the board of directors of the Iranian Mining Engineering Association considered the high level of property rights as a heavy burden on the owners of mines and said: "Reconstruction of mines is an issue that is often raised by environmental activists to reduce mines to nature. It seems that incentives should be provided for this by the government and institutions; For example, the property rights paid by the mine owners to the government will be reduced if the mine is rebuilt.

 It should be noted that the property salaries paid annually by the mine owners to the government are large, and the mining activist cannot pay this amount or spend on improving and renovating the mine.

He added: "By allocating such facilities to mining activists, while reducing the burden on them, mining facilities and equipment will be reconstructed and renovated, and further damage to the environment will be reduced."

Separation of mining from industry and trade

Peyman Afzal further called government policies inappropriate and called for the separation of the mining sector from the industrial and commercial sectors.

In this regard, he said: "Activists and experts in the field of mining believe that the mining sector should be separated from the industry and trade sectors in order to address the problems of this sector in a professional manner and with support." It should be emphasized that the mining sector needs clear and sustainable support from a specialized ministry.

He added: "If separate ministries are formed in the specialized discussion of mining and mining industries in the country, important, more effective and expert decisions will be taken to solve the problems of the mining sector and will further reduce many issues in the field of mining and increase presence." We will be private sector investors in the mines and the growth of the mining economy in the country.

Non-destructive mineral exploration

Alireza Shahidi, head of the Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization of the country, while emphasizing that mineral exploration is not destructive for the environment and natural resources, said: And has an expert aspect; Therefore, the argument made by some about neglecting sustainable development is unacceptable.

According to the head of the Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration, exploration is a regional survey to identify mineral potential, not the start of mining and processing operations. In this regard, he added: "Some time ago, a plan was proposed to reduce the deadline for inquiries about mining explorations, which not only does not help the country's mining sector, but also increases the error rate in discovering mining areas, and therefore it seems approved to reduce the inquiry deadline." Not in the interest of the country's environment; Therefore, it seems necessary for government institutions to seriously review this issue so that we do not see damage to natural resources and the environment.

The need for mining supervision

The head of the Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization of the country in the discussion of environmental degradation by mines, said: Regarding the issue of environmental degradation by mines, it should be said that the duty of the Environmental Protection Organization is mutual and it can be said that the miner and environmental protection organizations are to blame. The mining work does not end with the completion of the mining and exploitation process. The mine started from the beginning, which was known as an area with mineral capacity, and its activity has not been completed until it returns to the environment.

Shahidi added: "The Environmental Protection Organization is very strict when issuing exploration and exploitation licenses, but unfortunately, monitoring and strictures are reduced during mining operations."

According to experts, if the process of monitoring the activities at the same time as mining is carried out by the Environmental Protection Organization or the Forests, Rangelands and Watershed Management Organization, we will not see any damage to the environment from the mines.

Concluding remarks

Protecting natural resources, as well as restoring the environment by repairing its damaged parts, is one of the important tasks of humanity as the heir to the earth. It is hoped that in the near future, with proper interaction between the mining sector and the environment, we will not only see a reduction in damage to nature, but also the restoration of damaged areas.