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Sustainable Mineral Operations in the Developing World.

B. R. MARKER, M. G. PETTERSON, F. MCEVOY, AND M. H. STEPHENSON, EDITORS. Pp. 249. The Geological Society Special Publication 250. 2005. ISBN No. 1-86239-188-2. Price £75.00.

902 Vista del Mar, Sequim, Washington 98382

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Have you tried to explain what sustainable mineral development is to a friend, colleague, or student? Perhaps you’ve been wondering yourself how sustainability concepts apply to the mineral industry? After all, mining depletes natural resources. Is there a contradiction in terms here? Definitely not. As some of the papers in this book will help you better understand, sustainable mining, sustainable minerals, or sustainable mineral development, whatever you hear it called, is a viable and important concept.

The book is a collection of 20 papers presented at a 2003 conference organized by the Joint Association of Geoscientists for International Development in collaboration with the Environmental Group of the Geological Society and the British Geological Survey. Although the subject is sustainable mineral operations, the range of topics covered is very broad. Perhaps this is a reflection of the range of perceptions about sustainability and mineral development.

Papers by Hobbs, Richards, and Shields and Solar present the basic concepts that make sustainability and mineral development compatible objectives. Hobbs puts thoughts about sustainability and mineral development into their historical context and explains how perceptions have evolved from an environmental emphasis to one that integrates economic, environmental, and social changes accompanying mining. The key concept that connects sustainability and mineral development is the conversion of natural resource (mineral) capital to lasting and beneficial environmental and social capital.

Interestingly, there is not one paper that provides examples of how these conversions can or have been realized. A few countries, including Sweden, Finland, and the United States, are used as examples of where natural resource capital has been successfully converted to other forms for society’s benefit. I find these examples . . . [Full Text of this Article]