The mining sector is ignoring the green light at the end of the tunnel that is attached to a 100-ton locomotive driven by the environmental movement. The collision is going to be messy. It will impact the industry at a time when the voracious metal demands of China and India could bring enormous prosperity to Canada's northern and aboriginal communities as well as impoverished countries around the world.
There is no doubt that environmental issues dominate society's
cultural and political agendas.
On the political front, the new found commitment to
environmentally green initiatives by the McGuinty and Harper
governments spell enormous challenges for an industry that most
urbanized Canadians still feel is a major source of habitat
destruction and pollution.
Mining Sins
The mining sins of the father are certainly coming back to
haunt the sons. Past industry practices that were detrimental
to the environment are still highlighted by the anti-mining
crowd. Yet, the reality of mining in the 21st century is quite
the opposite. Ontario and most other jurisdictions around the
world have strict regulations. Mining companies must develop
closure or decommissioning plans that require the restoration
of all lands to their natural state when the operations are
finished.
Over the past 20 years the industry has made tremendous strides
at reducing the environmental footprint of their operations.
With the advent of the Internet, mining companies that do not
follow best practices, anywhere in the world, are quickly
discovered and stopped. In the Sudbury Basin, Inco has spent
close to $1 billion over the past 30 years to reduce the amount
of sulphur pollution by 90 percent from their local smelter
complex.
However, calls to freeze all resource development in Canada's
vast northern boreal forest are being met with favourable
reactions in southern vote-rich urban ridings where the general
population has very little understanding of the mineral
industry.
Furthermore, the industry has also miserably failed to educate
the general public, the media and the political decision makers
about aboriginal mining success stories. Mining is the largest
private sector employer of First Nations people in Canada.
Voisey's Bay, the uranium deposits in northern Saskatchewan and
diamond operations in the Northwest Territories all employ
significant numbers of aboriginals.
About 50 perent of the Voisey's Bay operations workforce is
aboriginal, many trained by the company and far exceeding
initial expectations.
In many lesser developed countries, mining corporations almost
become substitute governments in the isolated regions they
operate in. The social initiatives that they often provide
range from educational and medical services to helping build
local capacity so small businesses can benefit from the mineral
operations.
Barrick Gold Corporation is partnering with World Vision Canada
to develop nutrition, education and employment skills programs
that will benefit people in the Alto Chicama District of
northern Peru, where the company's Lagunas Norte mine is
located.
Xstrata PLC has committed to set aside a minimum of one percent
of annual group profit before tax for corporate social
involvement initiatives. Xstrata's HIV/AIDS voluntary testing,
counselling and treatment (VCT) programs in South Africa were
commended by the Global Business Coalition for HIV/AIDS at the
2005 business excellence awards. They are also implementing
programs in other high-risk areas, such as the Dominican
Republic, to limit the impact of the disease and prevent new
infections.
In the African countries that De Beers operates, the company is
at the forefront of providing badly needed HIV/AIDS
medications, medical services and prevention counseling to
staff and their families. These positive stories are not being
told and the mining industry has only itself to blame.
De Beers Canada Inc. is currently building a $1 billion dollar
diamond mine called the Victor project, near Pottawatomie's
First Nation on the James Bay Coast. The general public's lack
of understanding of the mining sector's ability to alleviate
aboriginal poverty enabled the Ontario government to
arbitrarily impose a new 13 percent diamond royalty with no
political ramifications.
This unfair ruling, after the company had invested hundreds of
millions of dollars into the project and helped educate and
train many Aboriginals for future employment - a responsibility
that should have fallen on the government - will damage the
province's international reputation.
A 2005 study on employment in the mining sector by the Mining
Industry Training and Adjustment Council (MITAC) found that the
industry will need to hire up to 81,000 highly skilled new
employees over the next decade.
The number of students enrolled in post-secondary
mining-related programs is well below the predicted demand.
How is the minerals sector going to entice these kids to enter an industry with such a bad image created by the "greens" in the Internet, the chief source of this generation's information?
For an industry that is almost "punch drunk" on the highest profits in decades, one has to ask why they are not spending more money on advertising and public relations initiatives when their social license to operate is routinely being questioned.
If the mining sector wishes to thrive and prosper over the next
few decades, continue to have access to land and attract the
next generation of skilled workers, then they have to do a
much, much better job of communicating with urbanized
Canadians, the media and the political decision makers. Their
activities of the past few years are simply not good
enough.
Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant and policy analyst who writes extensively on mining issues.[email protected]