The Editor of the Journal of Cleaner Production (JCP), Prof. Dr. Don Huisingh, welcomes Gavin M. Hilson of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, UK, as guest-editor of a special issue entitled, “Improving Environmental, Economic and Ethical Performance in the Mining Industry”. In Volume 11, Issue 2, of the JCP, “Environmental Management in the Small-Scale Mining Industry”, the pressing environmental concerns in small-scale mining were addressed. An industry prominent throughout the developing world, small-scale mining has been responsible for widespread damage to landscapes and waterways.

In the proposed issue, however, we are looking to expand the discussion by examining key environmental management topics in the more energy and material intensive large-scale mining and mineral processing circuit. The stresses exerted by such operations necessitate the adoption of state-of-the-art CLEANER PRODUCTION concepts, approaches, technologies, as well as the development and implementation of stringent preventive policies and managerial strategies. We solicit and welcome articles of approximately 8000–12,000 words from academics, graduate students, governmental personnel, industrialists, trade association representatives and NGOs involved in all facets of helping to make mining, in all of its dimensions, more environmentally, economically and ethically sound. Illustrative article topics include, but will not be limited to:

• The effects and effectiveness of the implementation of improved environmental technological processes designed to reduce the use of toxic substances in the mining industry
• Critical reviews of the benefits and challenges of EMS implementation in mining
• Critical reviews of the scope and enforcement of current environmental regulations for mining and proposals on how the regulatory system can increasingly incorporate the preventive and holistic approaches of Cleaner Production, as integral to the process of contributing to societal and ecological sustainability
• Analyses of case studies of improved technologies in mining in both developed and developing world settings
• Analyses of case studies of the benefits and challenges in implementing sustainable environmental management in mining and processing
• Analyses of case studies on the benefits and challenges of implementing regulatory policies, programs and procedures that are designed to enhance the protection of the environment, the economy and of the community
• Analyses of case studies of the roles of NGOs, the media, insurance companies and other organisations in helping to make mining operations more ethically, economically and environmentally sound
• Reviews of the problems of acid mine drainage and of new technological and management approaches to its prevention and effective management
• Assessment of results of the sound usage of mine wastes on site and off site
• Reviews of benefits and challenges of implementation of “best” environmental management practices for mine opening, operation and closure
• Reviews of the application of Sustainable Development Principles in assessing, preventing, mitigating and compensating miners, mining communities and adversely affected downstream communities
• Reviews of the results of the application of the “Mining Code of Ethics”
• Reviews of educational and training materials available for helping to shift mining toward more sustainable policies & process
• Reviews of books, videos, computer software and other tools that focus on ways of making mining more environmentally, economically and ethically sound

In addition to major documents, the editor welcomes submissions of shorter reports (1500–3000 words) that examine specific environmental technologies, policies, laws, and codes of ethics of interest to the mining community

Authors of major and shorter documents are encouraged to include diagrams, photographs or illustrations to help readers better understand the concepts being discussed.

All prospective authors are invited to submit proposals and/or abstracts electronically by December 1st 2003 to: g.hilson@imperial.ac.uk; or gavin.hilson@utoronto.ca (G.M. Hilson).