The mining industry faces increasing economic, environmental, and social challenges as easier deposits deplete and ores become more difficult to mine and process, and more stringent environmental and social standards must be met. While these factors increase costs and risks, they also present opportunities for a more integrated approach to mining, processing, materials handling, and waste management. Two areas of particular risk are in tailings and water management. As mining and processing tonnage rates continue to increase, the disturbance footprints, water and energy consumption, and scale of tailings storage facilities also rise. These factors can be mitigated by more selective mining, ore sorting, and pre-concentration, and more intensive tailings dewatering. Such alternatives must be considered in conjunction with the selection of mining method, metallurgical flowsheets, major equipment selection, and key process design criteria. Models for integrated design and possibilities for reducing environmental impact are reviewed.