While many exploration techniques could be described as non-invasive with minimum risk of environmental impact (for example certain geophysics techniques). Other exploration techniques have the potential to cause environmental impact. An example of a technique that has the potential to cause impact on the environment would be core drilling. Core drilling can have a number of potential impacts on the environment if not properly managed. An example of one potential impact associated with core drilling, is the discharge of water, which will contain sediment and this sediment may contain minerals that can be harmful to the environment (the sediment itself can be harmful, as even if it is inert it can smother habitat).
Exploration companies need to risk assess for environmental impact associated with their proposed activities and carry out appropriate assessments to understand what impact they may have. This assessment may include environmental monitoring to establish baseline conditions. The company will then need to put in controls to manage the risk and importantly monitoring must take place to demonstrate that controls are working, and no impact is occurring (this monitoring may include measuring the physiochemical properties of water leaving the exploration site).
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