Looking Ahead - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 833

in the industry. Similarly, large companies contribute substantially by providing funding
and personnel resources to professional societies and technical symposia, conferences and
workshops. In many cases, they set an example for other companies to follow.
In developing countries, large mining companies are often seen as l ag-bearers for their
home countries. It is common for them to be accompanied in their ventures by service and
equipment suppliers from their home countries, thus contributing to broader trade links.
Given the stakes, large companies are naturally cautious, tending to 'overkill' so as
to leave nothing to chance. In the environmental impact process this may mean that the
breadth, depth and duration of studies is much more than is required by local regulators or
international practice, and also more than is required for adequate assessment of impacts.
While this may be commendable in principle, it can also have the effect of 'raising the bar',
making it difi cult for the proponents of projects that follow, especially for small companies
with limited resources.
Large companies also attract close attention from international environmental NGOs.
This does not lead inevitably to confrontation, but on occasion may result in productive
dialogue. There have been instances where NGOs have successfully inl uenced corporate
policy. For example, BHP Billiton undertook not to use submarine tailings disposal after
campaigns by NGOs opposed to this disposal method.
As noted in Chapter Four, junior companies often play an important role in exploration.
Often staffed by professionals who may have received much of their training and experi-
ence in the employ of major companies, junior companies are in many ways complementary
to the majors. Large ore bodies discovered by juniors are usually developed by the majors,
while the majors frequently sell their smaller discoveries to junior companies. Formal and
informal cooperative agreements between the two sectors are not uncommon.
Junior companies usually have relatively limited i nancial resources. When developing
projects in their own right, they are closely controlled by their lenders, which can impose
less than optimal operating constraints in terms of environmental outcomes. From an envi-
ronmental perspective, lack of i nancial strength presupposes a risk that the company will
be unable or unwilling to meet its environmental commitments. There have been many
past examples of small mining companies going bankrupt and abandoning their mines
with little or no warning. Such 'orphan' sites are widespread in the USA, Canada and else-
where. The accrual of funds to pay for closure is therefore much more critical in the case
of junior companies. In countries requiring project approval based on a formal feasibil-
ity study, it would be appropriate for host country regulators to grant approval only to
those projects where the feasibility study demonstrates robust proi tability under all cred-
ible assumptions. Under such a regulatory regime, junior companies would be unlikely to
receive approval to develop marginal projects, thus avoiding future 'orphan' sites.

Given the stakes, large companies
are naturally cautious, tending to
'overkill' so as to leave nothing
to chance.

Junior companies. are closely
controlled by their lenders, which
can impose less than optimal
operating constraints in terms of
environmental outcomes.

Future Supply and Demand

Demand for most mineral commodities has increased substantially throughout the twentieth
and twenty-i rst centuries, growing steadily except for temporary reductions during reces-
sion periods. As shown in Table 22.1 , the worldwide production of commonly used metals
increased by between 420% and 4,380% between 1900 and 2004.
Despite improvements in recycling, particularly during periods of high commodity
prices, demand for most metals and other mineral commodities is expected to continue
increasing for the foreseeable future. The current pace of industrialization in China and
India, if continued, will ensure that demand increases at even higher rates than those
experienced to date. This means that known resources will be extracted at increasing rates,

Demand for most metals and
other mineral commodities is
expected to continue increasing
for the foreseeable future.