Mining Sustainability Working Group

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6273

Michael Busch | July 16, 2009

Editor: Emily Schwartz Greco

Foreign Policy In Focus
www.fpif.org Continue Reading »

…why not blog about the application of Web 2.0 in mining operations?

There is no question – the blogosphere is out there and it continues to grow.  But how does blogging and other web 2.0 technologies impact mining.  Is it ok to have random individuals doing uncontrolled reporting on the mining industry?  How has civil society started to mobilize itself virtually?  If a mining company hosted a blog with a local community, what would be the exit strategy if it went awry? Or could collaborative communication technologies be the key to building transparency and trust between mining companies and their stakeholders, thereby contributing to sustainable governance structures? Continue Reading »

In continuation ….
Mountaintop removal is an international climate change issue: Over 500 massive mountains and 1.5 million acres of hardwood deciduous forests have been clear cut and blown to bits in the US; and the coal exported from mountaintop removal operations, including millions of tons to dirty coal-fired plants in China, contribute to the growing carbon dioxide emissions climate crisis. Meanwhile governments from around the world prepare to examine the option of paying countries not to cut down their forests in order to maintain these areas as storage for carbon and to mitigate climate change. The idea falls under the “Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (UN-REDD)” scheme, up for debate this year’s climate negotiations in Copenhagen. Continue Reading »

Old King Coal

PricewaterhouseCoopers recently released its annual British Columbia Mining Survey, which provides a succinct review of the some of the economic trends of the local mining industry. There are also some comments on environmental and social issues, however the focus is on finances. This is particularly interesting in light of this year’s economic downturn.  What was striking about the report is that BC’s mining industry, overall, has not suffered a downturn, but rather, based on the answers of the 40 (aprox) respondents, gross mining revenues increased by $1.5 billion to $8.4 billion in 2008, up from $6.9 billion in 2007.  This is largely because of spikes in coal prices and increased demand.  Coal has been an important part of BC’s economy for many generations, but has rarely gets attention from the general public.  Coal-bed methane projects have gained exposure, yet there seems to be some apathy around coal mining. Continue Reading »