Looking Ahead - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 842

such as Zambia and the Philippines, which were once major exporters, are once again
developing new projects and are being joined by many countries that have not previously
had signii cant mining industries. These include Ireland, Argentina, Laos, Madagascar,
Mongolia and Tanzania. Countries such as China, Mexico and India which have always
had many, mainly small mines, are adopting modern technologies for exploration, project
dei nition, production and environmental management, with the result that large-scale
mines are beginning to replace relatively inefi cient small operations.
There appear to be at least four main reasons for the redistribution of mining away
from historical mining countries. These are:
●

Most of the relatively easy to i nd, near-surface deposits in the historical mining coun-
tries have already been found and, in many cases, have already been mined;

●

Many countries, particularly those in the Pacii c Rim, are geologically highly prospec-
tive for very large, although relatively low-grade deposits that have proven to be highly
proi table, using large-scale equipment;

●

In several cases, pioneering exploration in new regions without a history of mining,
has been successful (for example Kingsgate's Chatree Project in Thailand and Oxiana's
Sepon Project in Laos), encouraging other companies to follow, and

Many geologically prospective
countries have, belatedly in some
cases, recognized the economic
benefi ts that mining can bring.

●

Many geologically prospective countries have, belatedly in some cases, recognized
the economic benei ts that mining can bring, and have consequently introduced pol-
icies to attract exploration and encourage mine development. The World Bank and
other multi-lateral funding agencies have been inl uential in assisting many develop-
ing countries to rewrite their mining laws so that they encourage exploration while, at
the same time, ensuring that the host countries will benei t from the resulting mineral
developments.

Anti-mining sentiment, now common in many western countries, may also be a factor
inl uencing mining companies to explore elsewhere, although strong anti-mining senti-
ment is not coni ned to western countries. It has also been claimed, particularly by anti-
mining activists, that lower environmental standards have been a factor in attracting
mineral exploration to developing countries. There does not appear to be much, if any,
truth in this assertion, as:
●

Many developing countries have environmental standards that are equal to or higher
than those of many western countries, although the capacity for enforcement may not
yet be commensurate;

●

Most international mining companies have stringent internal standards which apply to
all their projects, regardless of location, and

●

Financing institutions have increasingly adopted the Equator Principles which require
adherence to high standards, particularly in relation to social impacts and community
development.

It is clear, however, that there are small, home-grown operations in developing countries
that have lower standards of performance than those of international companies. In many
of these countries, it appears that government regulatory efforts target the international
companies, while local companies are able to get away with lower standards.
No mining has ever been carried out on the continent of Antarctica. There are inter-
national treaties that preclude mining there, which would probably deter any systematic
exploration. Added to this, the costs and risks associated with exploration, development,
operations and shipping of the product would be prohibitive. While it is possible to imag-
ine geo-political circumstances that could change this situation, such circumstances are
unlikely in the near term.

It appears that government
regulatory efforts target the
international companies, while
local companies are able to get
away with lower standards.