The managing director of Haver & Boecker Niagara Peter Grotjohann keeps the editorial of World of Mining (teh new edition) with the title Green Mining-does it works?

1. 127
Green Mining – does it work?
Our planet is unique. As unique as life itself. It
took so many cosmic coincidences to even start
it that mans appearance on the surface of the
earth is simply astonishing.
Only 300,000 years ago the era of the modern
homo sapiens began – a mere blink of the eye
in space and time. Today mankind faces one
of the greatest challenges of history: we are
experiencing a population growth of unknown
dimensions and will share our rapidly changing
environment with eight, nine or ten billion people
over the next few decades. Our willingness to try
out new ways and mindfully utilize resources will
decide how this era unfolds and how peaceful
and fulfilling our future will be.
So let‘s take a look at the things that allowed mankind to thrive: courage
to change, innovation, and team spirit. We gained an enormous amount of
knowledge about ourselves and the world around us. We know what future
generations need, what moves us deep inside and propels us forward. And
most of all: what makes life worth living. All we need in the face of change and
challenge is the courage to take the next step, even more so, if everybody
benefits from it.
Looking at the above an increase of mining and further impact to our valuable
and fragile environment seems inevitable – it looks like we are doomed!
But is this the right question to stop mining? Since the early days of my Min-
ing Engineering Studies I have asked myself this question. No matter in what
modern living environment you are looking around yourself you will find about
80 % of the products you see are finally coming from a mine:
The bricks of a house, the concrete of a bridge, the asphalt of the roads, the
glass and aluminium of the windows, most of the plastic parts in your car and
certainly the majority of the modern IT equipment you are using everyday are
finally made out of raw materials coming from a mine. Mining will be there,
always.
So the question is how we mine, process, transport, separate, classify and
crush raw materials and how we recycle them to reduce the need of new
materials. The question is
• if we use all of the raw material in a deposit or only 85 %,
• if we use 2 m³ of water to wash one ton of raw material or only 0.5 m³,
• if we run 100 % of feed through a crusher or bypass 30 % of already fine
material,
• if we run expensive washing circuits or screen at natural moisture.
3 / 2019
Editorial
World of Mining –
Surface & Underground
International Journal founded in 1902
Former: Surface Mining,
Braunkohle & Other Minerals
Volume 71 (2019)
Published bimonthly
No. 3 · May/June 2019
ISSN 1613-2408
© GDMB Verlag GmbH
Publisher:
GDMB Verlag GmbH
POB 1054
38668 Clausthal-Zellerfeld
Germany
e-mail: redaktion@gdmb.de
Editor-in-Chief:
DIPL.-ING. JÜRGEN ZUCHOWSKI
Managing Editor:
DIPL.-ING. CLAUS KUHNKE
Editorial Staff:
DIPL.-MIN. FRANK-DETLEV LIESE
ULRICH WASCHKI
Printing:
Oberharzer Druckerei,
Fischer & Thielbar GmbH,
38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld,
Germany
P. GROTJOHANN
Multi-stage system for solar
evaporation of brines near the Great
Salt Lake in Utah, USA; p. 165

2. 128
3 / 2019
Editorial (continued)
Editorial Advisory Board:
PROF. DR. BRONISLAW BARCHANSKI
Berg- und Hüttenakademie Krakau
PROF. DR. GREGOR BORG
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
PROF. DR.-ING. ALBERT DANIELS
TH Georg Agricola, Bochum
PROF. DR. CARSTEN DREBENSTEDT
TU Bergakademie Freiberg
PROF. DR. WALTER FRENZ
RWTH Aachen University
UNIV.-PROF. DIPL.-ING. DR. MONT.
ROBERT GALLER
Montanuniversität Leoben
DIPL.-ING. WERNER GRIGO
Bezirksregierung Arnsberg
DIPL.-ING. REGINE GROSSER
LEAG
DR.-ING. LARS KULIK
RWE POWER AG
PROF. BERND LOTTERMOSER, PHD
RWTH Aachen University
DIPL.-ING. THOMAS NEU
proG.E.O. Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH
UNIV.-PROF. DR.-ING.
CHRISTIAN NIEMANN-DELIUS
RWTH Aachen University
DR. CHRISTOS ROUMPOS
General Division of Mines
Public Power Corporation S.A.
In mining and mineral processing everything can be done a little smarter, more
efficient, using less energy and water compared to conventional systems.
Intelligent machines and monitoring systems can already help to foresee
maintenance cycles and adapt operating parameters to changing material
conditions. Higher investment cost often offset operating and maintenance
cost over years.
This is my understanding of Green Mining.
Dipl.-Ing. Peter Grotjohann
Managing Director, Haver Niagara
Heating system in the boiler house;
p. 177