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26 MINING FOR CLOSURE
processing activities in mining, especially tailings dis-
posal facilities, including tailing ponds or dams, have
potential to produce very serious consequences.
As a result, the Commission highlighted the need
for an extension of the scope of Directive 96/82/
EC. In its resolution of 5 July 2001 (5) on the Com-
mission Communication on the safe operation of
mining activities, the European Parliament passed
an extension of the scope of that Directive to cover
risks arising from storage and processing activities
in mining. In short, a significant range of mining
activities are now addressed by Seveso II and the
obligations of the Directive are now mandatory for
industrial actors and for the public authorities of
the Member States responsible for the implemen-
tation and enforcement of the Directive. These
conditions will also be valid for accession countries
and should be of great interest to those countries
aspiring to accession.
Links to the full content of Seveso II47 (Directive
2003/105/EC Of The European Parliament And Of
The Council of 16 December 2003 amending Coun-
cil Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major-ac-
cident hazards involving dangerous substances) are
included within Appendix B to this document.
2.3.3 the eu mining directive and
its implications48
As part of its continuing programme of harmoni-
zation of regulations, the European Community
is developing an extractive industry waste direc-
tive. This is known as the European Community
Draft Directive on the Management of Waste from
the Extractive Industry.49 The draft directive was
given first reading by the European Parliament at
the end of March 2004 and the Council reached
political agreement on the proposal in October the
same year. It seeks to prevent pollution and acci-
dents and directly targets countries such as those
in SEE/TRB.
The proposed Directive will help prevent serious acci-
dents resulting from the mismanagement of mining
waste, like the disaster in Baia Mare in 2000, where
the whole of the Danube was polluted with cyanide
... It will also minimise chronic pollution of lakes
and rivers by waste facilities that are badly operated
and monitored. In short, the proposed Directive will
make management of waste from the extractive in-
dustries safer. We are currently embarking on a his-
toric enlargement of the EU and must ensure that
the best environmental standards are applied across
Europe (European Commission, 2003 quoting En-
vironment Commissioner Margot)
In a press release in mid-2003 (European Commis-
sion, 2003) the Commission indicated that the Di-
rective is intended to regulate the management of
waste from the mining and quarrying industries.
It was held that due to the composition or volumes
involved, such waste can constitute a serious threat
to the environment and human health if not prop-
erly managed. The proposal seeks to introduce EU-
wide rules designed to prevent water and soil pol-
lution from long-term storage of waste in tailings
ponds, waste heaps, and so forth. The Directive is
intended to ensure the stability of these waste stor-
age facilities to minimise possible consequences
from accidents. Further, the Directive is intended
to work together with the revised Seveso II Direc-
tive on the control of major industrial accidents,
and a Best Available Techniques document on tail-
ings and waste rock (Commission of the European
Community: Directorate-General JRC, 2004).
This initiative falls under the competence of the Eu-
ropean Integrated Pollution Prevention and Con-
trol Bureau , part of the Insti-
tute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS)
in Sevilla of the Joint Research Centre.50 The Best
Available Techniques reference document (BREF)
describes the Best Available Techniques of waste
management to reduce everyday pollution and to
prevent or mitigate accidents in the mining sector
47. Available online at
dat/2003/l_345/l_34520031231en00970105.pdf
48. For a summary of this Directive, see
comm/environment/waste/mining/.
49. Proposal for a Directive Of The European Parliament And Of
The Council on the management of waste from the extractive indus-
tries COM(2003) 319 final 2003/0107 (COD).
50. The IPPC-Directive (96/61/EC) has introduced a framework
requiring EU member states to issue operating permits for indus-
trial installations performing activities as described in its Annex
1. These permits must contain conditions that are based on Best
Available Techniques (BAT), and aim at achieving a high level
of protection of the environment as a whole. Importantly in the
context of this document, a key feature of the IPPC-Directive (cf.
art. 16) is to stimulate an intensive exchange of information on
Best Available Techniques between the European Member States
and the industries considered. For Annex 1 activities, the Euro-
pean IPPC-Bureau organises this exchange of information and
produces BAT reference documents (BREFs) and Member States
are required to take into account when determining permit condi-
tions for so called ‘Annex 1’-type installations. The Bureau carries
out its work through Technical Working Groups (TWGs) compris-
ing nominated experts from EU Member States, EFTA Countries,
industry, and environmental NGOs.