Minerals, Wealth and Progress - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 44

Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, chaired by Norwegian Prime
Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, and consequently called the Brundtland Commission.
In the words of the Brundtland Report (WCED 1987), sustainable development means
'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs'. This is probably the most widely accepted definition to date.
Sustainability is arguably the most widely used environmental 'buzzword' of the past
decade. It has been widely used and misused to denote a variety of concepts. Clearly, the
concept of sustainability varies depending on what is being sustained. Sustainable agricul-
ture, for example, refers to agricultural systems that can be continued indefinitely without
system failure. At first glance, sustainable mining appears to be a contradiction in terms, as
for all practical considerations, minerals are not renewable. Most mining projects have finite
operating lives of 5 to 50 years. However, the concept of sustainability can be applied to most
aspects of mining and associated activities. A variety of examples are discussed below.

The concept of sustainability
varies depending on what is
being sustained.

Mining Company View-point
From the view-point of a mining company, sustainability means locating and develop-
ing mining projects to provide returns to shareholders, as well as funding to find or
acquire replacement projects. Some companies, such as the Benguet Corporation of the
Philippines, once a major producer of gold, copper and other minerals, have sustained
themselves during downturns in the industry, by alternative revenue generating activities
such as real estate development. Profit is clearly the main requirement for sustainability
of a commercial enterprise. Most companies aspire to be sustainable; however, many do
not achieve this goal, whether due to poor management, lack of profitability, take-over, or
inability to find replacement projects.

Community View-point
From the view-point of a community hosting a mining operation it is important that the
mining operation itself is not perceived to be sustainable. All mining projects have finite
lives. Communities should be well informed so that their expectations are realistic. While
there are examples of communities which have been supported by mining operations for
more than 100 years, there are many more examples where mining has ceased after much
shorter periods. In some cases the associated communities have declined substantially or
disappeared totally, as in the case of 'ghost towns', the remnants of abandoned mining
communities. This is not to suggest that there is anything intrinsically wrong with tempo-
rary communities. Many mines are developed in remote, unpopulated areas with no other
potential source of employment and, in such cases, there is usually no reason for the com-
munity to be sustained, once mining ceases.
Mining itself, however, can be considered as a sustainable activity as there will always be
ores to be mined. This follows because the elements which combine to form ores remain
at or close to the Earth's surface, even after they have been used. When the higher grade,
readily accessible ores have been mined, lower grade and/or less accessible ores will be
mined. And, in the future, particularly if production costs increase, it can be expected that
more and more mineral and metal products will be produced by recycling.
In many cases, the communities that have developed in association with mining, have
continued long after mining has finished, albeit on a reduced scale. Examples in Australia
include many of the larger inland cities, such as Ballarat and Bendigo, which continued to
exist and ultimately to thrive following conclusion of mining. What is important to a com-
munity considering becoming host to a new mining project, is that the community itself
is sustained during and after mining. This usually means that the pre-existing livelihoods
and economic bases are maintained and that additional means of income generation are

All mining projects have fi nite
lives.