See July 2009

August 2009

Commentary

Mining is a highly polluting activity having caused social and environmental problems throughout history, in rich and developing countries alike. Mining, causes insidious problems that are not easily addressed since the pollution that they cause is often carried great distances from the source point and that the toxic pollutants can linger for many generations.

So how bad is Mining?

A mining operation:
1. builds roads and installations, which in itself can have devastating effects on the environment, especially in undisturbed pristine rainforests;
2. strips the site of all plants, topsoil and rocks. For example a single gold ring generates 20 tons of mine waste;
3. digs up chemically reactive minerals, such as sulphide ores which react spontaneously with oxygen when excavated producing toxic chemicals such as sulphuric acid, which can persist even after the mine has closed;
4. adds toxic chemicals to extract the mineral in question, such a cyanide or mercury. In fluvial plain mining for gold about 1kg of mercury is released into rivers for each kg of gold yielded;
5. needs large amounts of energy and water. Mining consumes about 10% of global energy;
6. depletes non essential resources, that are actually essential for other people or species in the area, such as clean water, plants and animals.

A waste spill in Guyana in 1995 made international headlines where over four billion litres of cyanide-laced waste-water was released into a tributary of the Essequibo. The effects were profound, killing all aquatic and terrestrial life in the vicinity and affecting thousands of people that used the river for agriculture and drinking.

Since mining can be catastrophic if not undertaken correctly, many nations have adopted regulations to moderate the negative effects of mining operations. However in developing countries where application of the law is weak and foreign currency is needed, safety and environmental precautions are often overlooked. Countries like Panama, Guyana, Indonesia and Peru, to name a few, have been the victims of a highly mercenary business that have affected their inhabitants and their bio-resources for many, many generations to come.

The cost of mining is ultimately borne by the tax paying public who subsidize clean up operations and suffer from an enormous opportunity cost of not being able to utilize resources sustainably over time.

Do we need mining?

Metals, chemicals, fossil fuels all come from mining and these commodities drive our industry and first world lifestyles. Without mining our lives would change drastically. It is impossible to imagine a world without mining and most environmentalists would agree that mining is a necessity, however they would also argue that mining at any cost is not.

What can we do to alleviate the effects of mining?

As individuals we have a choice of what to buy. Do you really need a gold ring or necklace, diamonds etc in the knowledge that to obtain these items a large negative environmental and quite possibly social, impact has been made. Can you recycle the jewellery that you already own?
Is there a mine you know about that is not adhering to environmental law? Make your voice heard about it.
Since mining companies seldom have a direct relationship with consumers they are relatively buffered against public opinion. However most of these companies do have shareholders that can be convinced. Bad publicity produces low share prices and shareholders do not want that.

What do we need?

We need an international mining certification standard that employs independent third parties to verify legal, social and environmental parameters of mining operations. We need retail stores to only sell precious metals and minerals that are certified under this standard. Research into such a scheme has been undertaken in Australia and we need this to quickly come into effect and be mainstreamed into our high streets.

Our planet and its people cannot take the abuse that mining is inflicting on it at present, using current methods. A major rethink needs to be made by civil society, politicians and the industry itself.

OTHER NEWS:

AT LAST! Petaquilla gold mine fined in Panama. Finally the Panama ombudsman has called into question the gold mining activities of Petaquilla and fined it $1 million for environmental destruction. The illegal activities of Petaquilla have been highlighted through a campaign by CREA. The goldmine has already caused widespread forest destruction and contamination of rivers by heavy metals where endemic and endangered species of frogs are found. These areas, once virgin rainforest are now wasteland due to the inability of law enforcers to act. Read this news report to find out more

Slaughtering the Amazon, a Greenpeace report exposing the links between large multinational corporations and deforestation practices by cattle ranchers in Brazil, has been the catalyst in the push for corporations to establish new supply chains of sustainable sources. Read More

Using perennial crops. Keeping a diverse landscape for natural pest predators, and reducing tilling could all be ways to improve crop productivity. The Ecological Society of America discussed these issues at their annual meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico From August 2-7, 2009. Read more

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has launched a new blog called Rural Climate Exchange. The Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and their partners generate a wealth of knowledge that can better enable rural people in developing countries to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts. The purpose of this blog is to help bring such knowledge to light, so it can better serve global efforts to cope with climate change.” Read more

The Colombian government has given land concessions of the Serrania de San Luca rainforest in Northern Colombia to a South African gold mining company. According to a report conducted in 2001 by the local conservation group ProAves, the rainforest contains many vulnerable species including eleven threatened bird species, one of which is the Critically Endangered blue-knobbed currasow. Currently there is no protective area for biodiversity conversation in the San Lucas rainforest as the government does not consider it necessary. Read more.

In conjunction with the states of California Wisconsin and Illinois, the Surui tribe of the Brazilian Amazon are beginning to develop a conservation initiative that will mutually benefit both the Amazon rainforest as well as the Surui people. This plan, potentially funded by the states’ governments, could provide a system where conservation jobs and educational and health systems are established in the region facilitating a future of preserved environmental connectedness, protection, and appreciation. Read More

Getting the public on board with climate change. Humans have been wired by evolution to respond to the most immediate threats, ones they can hear or smell or see — like the lions approaching our ancestral watering holes in the Serengeti. So in searching for answers as to why society has been so slow to react to one of the greatest threats facing the planet today — global warming — this deeply ingrained instinct is a good place to start. Climate change just doesn’t offer those kinds of sensory signals — at least not yet — and humans have not felt the need to react, according to researchers. Read more
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