Geology and Mining: A Symbiotic Cooperation?!

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Author name: Wellmer and Friedrich-W., is this the correct representation of your name for this journal?

L343: you distinguish between small-scale mining (SSM) and artisanal small scale-mining (ASM). And reference it with [44] and [45]. [45] could be a wrong citation, as I couldnt find it (neither with this title nor with author or paper). In [44] there are references to the worldbank and OECD. Both of them would take the abbreviation ASM for artisanal and small scale mining and point out that there are different definitions. Maybe you could mention that the abbreviation ASM is also used in another context. You refer to a discussion in chapter 6, but in chapter 6 you define ASM as artisanal and small scale mining. Please make this consistent. And I find no discussion about this in chapter 6.

L405: effects

L470: AU$? Do you mean Australian Dollar or is it a mistake as you have US$ for the rest.

In the title you write about the question of a symbiotic cooperation. It could be of interest to discuss, why  there is no (not enough) cooperation in many cases.

Author Response

Cover letter for Reviewer 1:

Normal letter comments of reviewer, italics reply of author.

Author name: Wellmer and Friedrich-W., is this the correct representation of your name for this journal?

FWW: No, name wrong,  name corrected

L343: you distinguish between small-scale mining (SSM) and artisanal small scale-mining (ASM). And reference it with [44] and [45]. [45] could be a wrong citation, as I couldnt find it (neither with this title nor with author or paper). In [44] there are references to the worldbank and OECD. Both of them would take the abbreviation ASM for artisanal and small scale mining and point out that there are different definitions. Maybe you could mention that the abbreviation ASM is also used in another context. You refer to a discussion in chapter 6, but in chapter 6 you define ASM as artisanal and small scale mining. Please make this consistent. And I find no discussion about this in chapter 6.

Answer FWW: In line 343 I say: “The second example involves technologically advanced small-scale mines (SSMs), a category of mines (44, 45)“.In the title of  (44) the word „small scale mining“ appears, in the title of (45) „small-deposit mining“.

To avoid confusion I added a half-sentence: „which are often small deposit mines.

In Chapter 6 I discuss ASM and I added a sentence after the 1st paragraph defining ASM: ”They must be clearly distinguished from advanced small-scale mines (SSMs), often applied to small deposits, discussed in Chapter 4.2”.

L405: effects

Answer FWW: Corrected. Thank you for pointing out this mistake

L470: AU$? Do you mean Australian Dollar or is it a mistake as you have US$ for the rest.

Answer FWW: Changed to A$, no mistake.

In the title you write about the question of a symbiotic cooperation. It could be of interest to discuss, why there is no (not enough) cooperation in many cases.

Answer FWW: At the end of the Introduction I inserted a short comment:

Also not addressed in this article is the question of why the constructive cooperation of the geologist and the mining engineer is often missing. An in-depth analysis from a psychological and sociological perspective is beyond the scope of this paper. From the extensive experience of the author and knowledge of mines and mining companies, the company philosophy and operational style, in addition to the complexity of the orebody, have a significant influence on such cooperative relationships. In mines with simple geology, such as that found in many coal mines, the philosophy of mining engineers is that they believe they can solve the geological problem on their own.

Cover letter for Reviewer 1:

Normal letter comments of reviewer, italics reply of author.

Author name: Wellmer and Friedrich-W., is this the correct representation of your name for this journal?

FWW: No, name wrong,  name corrected

L343: you distinguish between small-scale mining (SSM) and artisanal small scale-mining (ASM). And reference it with [44] and [45]. [45] could be a wrong citation, as I couldnt find it (neither with this title nor with author or paper). In [44] there are references to the worldbank and OECD. Both of them would take the abbreviation ASM for artisanal and small scale mining and point out that there are different definitions. Maybe you could mention that the abbreviation ASM is also used in another context. You refer to a discussion in chapter 6, but in chapter 6 you define ASM as artisanal and small scale mining. Please make this consistent. And I find no discussion about this in chapter 6.

Answer FWW: In line 343 I say: “The second example involves technologically advanced small-scale mines (SSMs), a category of mines (44, 45)“.In the title of  (44) the word „small scale mining“ appears, in the title of (45) „small-deposit mining“.

To avoid confusion I added a half-sentence: „which are often small deposit mines.

In Chapter 6 I discuss ASM and I added a sentence after the 1st paragraph defining ASM: ”They must be clearly distinguished from advanced small-scale mines (SSMs), often applied to small deposits, discussed in Chapter 4.2”.

L405: effects

Answer FWW: Corrected. Thank you for pointing out this mistake

L470: AU$? Do you mean Australian Dollar or is it a mistake as you have US$ for the rest.

Answer FWW: Changed to A$, no mistake.

In the title you write about the question of a symbiotic cooperation. It could be of interest to discuss, why there is no (not enough) cooperation in many cases.

Answer FWW: At the end of the Introduction I inserted a short comment:

Also not addressed in this article is the question of why the constructive cooperation of the geologist and the mining engineer is often missing. An in-depth analysis from a psychological and sociological perspective is beyond the scope of this paper. From the extensive experience of the author and knowledge of mines and mining companies, the company philosophy and operational style, in addition to the complexity of the orebody, have a significant influence on such cooperative relationships. In mines with simple geology, such as that found in many coal mines, the philosophy of mining engineers is that they believe they can solve the geological problem on their own.

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript named as "Geology and Mining: a symbiotic cooperation?!" focuses on interactions of geologists and mining engineers from exploration stage to post mining closure and land use stage. Manuscript is well written and informative. The topic covered by the author is extremely important while in today’s world the gap between geologist and mining engineer is increasing. Manuscript addresses this issue.

I have minor suggestions for the manuscript.

1-) Table 1 seems overflowing the page. Size of the table should fit the space left for writing. 

2-) At figure 2 equation is given as y=7404 cp^-0.59 the parameter cp is unclear. Instead dc can be used to refer the daily capacity. 

3-) At figure 3 at Y axis daily capacity is given without dimension and X axis should be given in English "mio" is possibly stands for million. 

4-) At figure 5 it is hard to read the writings. Writings could be given as legend. 

Author Response

Cover letter for Reviewer 2:

The manuscript named as "Geology and Mining: a symbiotic cooperation?!" focuses on interactions of geologists and mining engineers from exploration stage to post mining closure and land use stage. Manuscript is well written and informative. The topic covered by the author is extremely important while in today’s world the gap between geologist and mining engineer is increasing. Manuscript addresses this issue.

FWW: Dear Reviewer,

thank you very much for your comment.

I have minor suggestions for the manuscript.

1-) Table 1 seems overflowing the page. Size of the table should fit the space left for writing. 

FWW: I not able to do this in the new version supplied by the  editor. I asked the editor to do this.

2-) At figure 2 equation is given as y=7404 cp^-0.59 the parameter cp is unclear. Instead dc can be used to refer the daily capacity. 

FWW: done

3-) At figure 3 at Y axis daily capacity is given without dimension and X axis should be given in English "mio" is possibly stands for million. 

FWW: Done

4-) At figure 5 it is hard to read the writings. Writings could be given as legend. 

FWW: Done

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear authors

Hello, this manuscript called "Geology and Mining: a symbiotic cooperation?!" it is well written and structured, it is easy to understand, and although I don't think it is very new... this topic is interesting and can generate a good number of citations for your future manuscript and Journal Mining. I will recommend the present manuscript, after Major Revisions.

In the introduction, the contribution of mining should be detailed more than just metals, but also economic and political aspects, etc. For example, the dependence of some countries in their economy in general on mining, for example "Chile is the largest producer of copper in the world, and the sale of this commodity contributes 10% to the national GDP" And the need for extraction of a greater number of critical elements for sustainable technology. A recently published manuscript in a journal mentions these details DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107441

In general, I have not detected errors in the methodology and explanation from points 2 to 6.

The Conclusions should be significantly improved, they are too simple... I think a point by point would be better, and give explanations for each one. This may seem like a long thing, but I think it's necessary.

Figure 5 and 8 must be enlarged to be readable. Figure 10 and 13 do not look good. And in general, improve the font size of all the Figures.

Regards

Author Response

Cover letter for Reviewer 3:

Normal letter: comment of reviewer, italics comment of authors plus new text in red

Dear authors

Hello, this manuscript called "Geology and Mining: a symbiotic cooperation?!" it is well written and structured, it is easy to understand, and although I don't think it is very new... this topic is interesting and can generate a good number of citations for your future manuscript and Journal Mining. I will recommend the present manuscript, after Major Revisions.

Answer FWW: Dear Reviewer,

thank you very much for this comment. Certainly the topic is not new, but it is an ongoing problem, which should discussed regularly.

In the introduction, the contribution of mining should be detailed more than just metals, but also economic and political aspects, etc. For example, the dependence of some countries in their economy in general on mining, for example "Chile is the largest producer of copper in the world, and the sale of this commodity contributes 10% to the national GDP" And the need for extraction of a greater number of critical elements for sustainable technology. A recently published manuscript in a journal mentions these details DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107441

Answer FWW:

I added a paragraph discussing the importance of increased metal production for the green energy transition (“Energiewende”) and the chances of future deep sea marine mining. I did not discuss the paper DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107441 (Toro et al: Submarine mineral resources: A potential solution to political conflicts and global warming. Minerals Engineering 179 (2022)). In my opinion the paper is seriously flawed. To become independent of China there are many other Rare Earth deposits (REE) on land (see USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries), which are far cheaper to exploit than resources in the deep sea. On the cost curve (or merit order) REE from the deep sea are at the end of existing possibilities. Far cheaper for example also would be the extraction of REE from phosphates, which are mined in large quantities.

(Further comment of FWW: The bold reference are marker for myself to convert them in the text into the required numbering system).

New text at the end of the Introduction:

This paper primarily considers cooperation between geology and mining in established and on-going mining operations for base metals and precious metals on land. Looking to the future, we must also consider marine mining operations, not yet realized in the deep sea. The planning and execution of such operations will create a special challenge for teams of geoscientists, engineers, and biologists. Deep-sea marine mining operations might become important, especially with regard to increased metal demand due to the green-energy transition (energiewende). The consequence of this transition is higher material intensity per energy or other relevant unit, i.e., we will see growing consumption, disproportionately higher, of certain metals and minerals (IEA 2021). A recent study by the International Energy Agency in Paris examined increased consumption of the metals and minerals copper, lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, graphite, and rare-earth elements; not considered is steel and concrete. For example, the IEA concluded that the production of electric cars uses about six times more of the considered metals/minerals as that of conventional vehicles per vehicle or an on-shore wind plant requires nine times more mineral resources than a gas-fired power plant (IEA 2021a, p. 5, 89). Copper, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and rare-earth elements as possible by-products can be mined from manganese nodules of the deep sea. Other base metals like zinc and by-products like indium and germanium can be exploited from massive sulphide occurrences at extinct black smokers in the deep sea (Sharma 2017, Kuhn et al. 2017). The increased demand combined with cost pressures related to the urgency to internalize environmental and social costs might lead to a new price plateau for many metals, making marine mining economically feasible (Buchholz et al. 2020). Thus far, no marine deep-sea mining activities are in operation. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) with headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, is responsible for future deep-sea mining activities in international waters.

On its website, the ISA states that it “…is mandated under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to organize, regulate, and control all mineral-related activities…for the benefit of mankind as a whole (e.g., Art. 1, 136, 137, 140, 150). (...) In doing so, the ISA has the duty to ensure effective protection of the marine environment from the harmful effects that may arise from activities in the Area[1] (Art. 145 and UNCLOS Part XII).” In fulfilling this mandate, the Council and Assembly of the ISA is supported by expert advice and recommendations from the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC), ISA (2022): Environmental Impact Assessments (https://www.isa.org.jm/environmental-impact-assessments) (ISA 2022). Deep-sea areas are currently being explored, but mine-planning approaches are still under development. To minimize environmental impacts but enable economic exploitation, particularly intensive cooperation between geologists, marine mining engineers, and biologists is critical in order to design mining methods and mine plans and schedules and to provide technical advice to the LTC of the ISA as “recognized experts.”

In Chapter 6 about artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) I added two tables showing the economic significance of mining, as well ASM as large scale mining. I am of the opinion that this aspect fits better there into the flow of the text than in the Introduction which deals mainly with the significance of raw materials itself. (Blue old text, red new additional text)

 For some commodities, artisanal and small-scale mining not only plays a significant role for the worldwide supply (Table 2)—in 2017, it also offered 40.5 million people a direct opportunity to earn a living (72). This compares to only 7 million working in industrial mining in 2013. Considering the multiplicator factor, i.e., the number of people depending indirectly on ASM, the number is estimated to be 150 million. In Africa, 40–50% of the ASM workforce are women (73). It has been estimated that ASM makes a significant contribution to informal economies in as many as 55 countries (44, 74). The economic importance of mining in general for the economies of some developing nations is shown in Tables 3 and 4, in Table 3 for some countries with only an insignificant share of ASM, and in Table 4, the same statistical figures are shown for countries with an ASM share between 20-<30% and 10-<20%. So the relevant importance of mining for the economy of many developing nations is much higher than even for the classical industrialized mining and mineral export countries Australia and Canada. For Australia the relevant figures (share of GDP, share of exports) are 10.2/39.1, for Canada 2.9/ 9.1 (Drobe).

 Table 3. Contribution of raw materials to the economies of selected developing nations with ASM share of less than 5% for 2019 (source 66, 74, Drobe)

Table 4. Contribution of raw materials to the economies of selected developing nations with ASM share between 10% and 30% for 2019 (source 66, 74)

In general, I have not detected errors in the methodology and explanation from points 2 to 6.

Answer FWW: Thank you

The Conclusions should be significantly improved, they are too simple... I think a point by point would be better, and give explanations for each one. This may seem like a long thing, but I think it's necessary.

Answer FWW:

I added 5 bullet point summarizing the major points.

Figure 5 and 8 must be enlarged to be readable. Figure 10 and 13 do not look good. And in general, improve the font size of all the Figures.

Answer FWW: My former secretary did the figures. She re-did them as good as possible and enlarged the font size by two points. I cannot do it better. I ask to accept it, please. Otherwise the figures should be enlarged.

Regards

[1] The Area is the space in the open international sea beyond national jurisdiction in which, under the jurisdiction of the ISA, mineral rights are reserved and exploration rights granted.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors

The suggested changes have been made, so please approve this article for publication.

Regards