Mining Sustainability Working Group

Mining and Metagenomics: Public Acceptability and Translational Praxis

The Translational Research Group (TRGR) at UBC (Department of Applied Ethics) is undertaking an exciting and unique Mining and Metagenomics project.  There is ongoing research that looks at how mining companies can explore and exploit properties of organisms in their natural environment and how this can help to reduce ARD.  What is innovative about this TRGR project is the integration of the social, natural and applied sciences. The project is looking at the development of a genomic tool for monitoring and improving passive mitigation of mine drainage. But it is also working to better understand how the processes by which the mining industry and its stakeholders make decisions about what water treatment (passive or active) to use.  The project also wants to explore the implications of those processes for the adoption of novel genomic technologies in the larger context of emerging field.

The research questions provide some important ideas about how this project will help companies approach mining issues in a holistic manner.

Question 1 – What socio-economic, geographic, and historical factors affect the adoption of AMD treatment technologies in BC’s mining industry?  This question takes a multidisciplinary and historical (evolutionary) look at why certain treatment systems (passive or active) have been adopted locally.  This is a useful approach in order to look at future decisions and mine management policy, particularly as there have been some concerns around mining projects that could require thousands of years of monitoring activities.

Question 2 – What is the nature of stakeholder engagement in decisions on technological change? How and why do perceptions of novel technologies vary across different stakeholder groups? How do stakeholders differentiate between active and passive treatment systems?  This question allows the researchers to address some of the perceptions that communities have about mining particularly looking at the reception of emerging technologies. This could provide important insight for how to approach and inform communities about details of mining project management, as well as providing an opportunity to further educate communities about mining projects. The end result could lead to productive opportunities for dialogue.

For more information about the project, please see: Mining and Metagenomics

Trackback URI | Comments RSS