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Day: October 20, 2010

Chile Mine Rescue Teaches Us That Modern Civilization Built on Mining — John R. Hunt (On the Rocks)

I spent most of one night and the next day watching the rescue of the Chilean miners. Like most people I am delighted, and a little surprised, that the rescue was successful. The news they are likely to make a very healthy buck out of their adventure is also pleasing.

I thought the commentators missed one point when they were pontificating about mining and miners. If it were not for the metal ore miners dig up, modern civilization could not exist. This is not an exaggeration. Just walk around your home and consider all the things made out of metal, or held together with metal.

Plastics have replaced some metal but I even your computer has some vital bits of gold and other precious metals performing tasks I do not understand and cannot spell. That awful tangle of wires that connect your computer, printer, scanner and also connect to the power source are most likely made of copper, possibly from the same mine the 33 Chileans were trapped in.

Mining is dangerous, even if safety regulations have made mining a lot safer in Canada than in many other countries. Even as this is written there is news of miners trapped beneath the surface in Ecuador and a much bigger and nastier accident in China.

According to many reports the Chinese mines kill more than 2,000 miners a year. There are not only many big operations which can be supervised but also many illegal small mines where anything goes.

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Leaked PDAC Sponsored Corporate Social Responsibility Report Flawed by – Marilyn Scales

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

 If words such as “suppressed report” and “international violations by Canadian mining companies” were not written to be inflammatory, I miss my guess. Such was the headline above a report leaked by MiningWatch to the Montreal Gazette, Toronto Star and various news outlets. MiningWatch’s release also made hay out of the fact that the report was commissioned by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. The implication is that the mining industry is trying to hide its bad behaviour from the public.

In fairness, I called the PDAC and learned that the leaked document was a first draft and the final draft was not identical. I was also told that the association wanted a benchmark survey and was disappointed with the quality of the study.

So I looked over the 16 pages of “Corporate Social Responsibility: Movements and Footprints of Canadian Mining and Exploration Firms in the Developing World.” It was prepared by the Canadian Centre for the Study of Resource Conflict, that has no dated material more recent than 2006 on its website. I did learn that the CCSRC is associated with Royal Roads University.

I turned past the title page. It seems 75% of the world’s mining companies are Canadian, and 33% of all violations are attributed to Canadian miners. Followed by India, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, companies from these five countries are responsible for 63% of all corporate social responsibility violations.

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STATEMENT BY PROSPECTORS AND DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA REGARDING MEDIA REPORTS ON THE CANADIAN EXPLORATION AND MINING INDUSTRY

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is a national association representing the mineral exploration and development industry. Its 7,000 individual and corporate members are involved in the exploration, discovery and development of new mines and new wealth. The PDAC’s annual convention is the world’s largest annual gathering of the mineral industry.

TORONTO, Canada (October 19, 2010) – The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) today issued the following statement regarding media reports on the Canadian exploration and mining industry:

“In August 2009 the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) commissioned the Canadian Centre for the Study of Resource Conflict to conduct an internal study on the public’s perception of the Canadian exploration and mining industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) record. The study was for internal industry deliberation to inform its ongoing thinking on CSR.

The study deals with unproven allegations, not proven violations.

The internal study suggests that Canadian exploration and mining companies are alleged to be involved in approximately 5 “incidents” per year, over the course of the study’s 10-year timeframe. This is consistent with the data collected and published by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.

To provide some perspective: Canada has 1,800 exploration and mining companies operating 10,000 projects in over 100 countries at any one time. Given this and the fact that Canada is the headquarters of more than 75 per cent of the world’s mining and exploration companies, the PDAC found the results encouraging but with room for improvement.

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Canadian Mining Firms Worst for Environment, Rights: Report – by Toronto Star Reporter Les Whittington

Les Whittington is with the Ottawa Bureau of the Toronto Star, which has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on Canada’s federal and provincial politics as well as shaping public opinion. This article was originally published October 19, 2010.

OTTAWA—Canadian mining companies are far and away the worst offenders in environmental, human rights and other abuses around the world, according to a global study commissioned by an industry association but never made public.

“Canadian companies have been the most significant group involved in unfortunate incidents in the developing world,” the report obtained by the Toronto Star concludes.

“Canadian companies have played a much more major role than their peers from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States” in these incidents, says the Canadian Centre for the Study of Resource Conflict, an independent, non-profit think tank.

The problems involving Canada’s mining and exploration corporations go far beyond workplace issues. “Canadian companies are more likely to be engaged in community conflict, environmental and unethical behaviour, and are less likely to be involved in incidents related to occupational concerns.”

The research surfaced as a long, fierce political battle over legislation to tighten federal government scrutiny of Canadian mining operations abroad comes to a head. Bill C-300, a private member’s bill put forward by Toronto Liberal MP John McKay, will be voted on in the Commons next week.

The proportion of incidents globally that involve Canadian corporations is very large, according to the report. “Of the 171 companies identified in incidents involving mining and exploration companies over the past 10 years, 34 per cent are Canadian,” the Centre found.

It said the high incidence of involvement of Canadian companies is in line with the Canadian industry’s dominant position in global mining and exploration.

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