Mining and sustainable development: considerations for minerals supply

Sustainable development involves meeting the needs of human societies while maintaining viable biological and physical Earth systems. The needs include minerals: metals, fuels, industrial and construction materials. There will continue to be considerable demand for virgin mineral resources, even if levels of recycling and efficiency of use are optimal, and rates of population growth and globalisation decrease significantly. This article aims to stimulate debate on strategic issues for minerals supply. While the world has considerable stocks of mineral resources overall, international considerations of the environmental and social aspects of sustainable development are beginning to result in limitations on where mining will be conducted and what types of deposits will be mined. Current and emerging trends favour large mines in parts of the world where mining can be conducted within acceptable limits of environmental and social impact. Finding new deposits that meet such criteria will be all the more challenging given a disturbing global decline in the rate of discovery of major economic resources over the last decade, and the decreasing land area available for exploration and mining.
To attract responsible exploration and mining, governments of mining nations will need to provide: regional-scale geo-scientific datasets as required to attract and guide future generations of exploration; resource access through multiple and sequential land use regimes, and frameworks for dealing with indigenous peoples' issues; and arrangements for consideration of mining proposals and regulation of mines that ensure responsible management of environmental and social issues.
The minerals industry will need to continue to pursue advances in technologies for exploration, mining, processing, waste management and rehabilitation, and in public reporting of environmental and social performance.     

Imperatives for attracting investment and technology in the Indian mining sector

In India, the mineral resource inventory and the production of a large number of important minerals have registered significant increases during the last few decades. Yet the country continues to be a net importer of many high value and scarce minerals and metals, like gold, diamond, and several base metals. Exploration and development of the resources of these minerals are technology- and capital-intensive. To bring technology and capital through foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Indian mineral sector, it is imperative to lay stress on: accurate resource estimation and categorization, as well as realistic projection of the true values; rationalization of legislative measures based on R&D studies and reorganization of the implementation machinery; conducive tax structure; notification of acts and rules applicable to offshore mineral resources; time-frames for granting licences and leases; encouragement to labor productivity by rationalizing labor laws; reforms in the monetary system to increase market competitiveness of Indian minerals; and judicial reforms. FDI in the Indian mineral sector is important to firm up the knowledge-base of mineral resources and their optimum exploitation.     

At the 50th anniversary of the UN

This paper describes how the design by the UN of its institutions for delivering technical assistance and advisory services in respect of mineral resources development have changed over time. UN practices in such fields as mining and minerals development are analysed, as are the gradual and subtle impacts of such practices on changes in UN perceptions of its roles not only in development but also in peace and human rights. The final section examines some of the problems that will confront the UN in the future, as it seeks to incorporate the principles of interdependence and interlinkage among development, peace and human rights into its technical assistance and advisory services in the field of mining and minerals development .     

青海省矿产资源综合开发利用探析

作为我国有色金属、贵金属、盐类与能源等矿产的主要蕴藏地之一的青海省,在经济发展的四大支柱——石油和天然气、盐湖矿产、有色金属矿产和水电资源产业中,有三项为矿产资源,为推进全省国民经济和社会快速发展提供了强有力的支撑,综合开发利用这些资源对全省经济社会发展具有重要意义.通过对青海省矿产资源综合开发利用的全面分析,找出存在的突出问题及其原因,提出相应的对策和建议.     

云南磷矿资源开发新技术研究

分析了云南磷矿业的资源优势和开发中存在的问题，并对新技术进行了研究。     

The value of mineral resources: Perspectives and conflicts

The concept of value is central to mineral economics as it is all branches of economics. In the minerals sphere particular problems are posed for a theory of value by, firstly, the non- renewability of mineral resources, secondly the substantial effort that must be made to convert a mineral into a useful product, and finally the perception of minerals, both economically and symbolically, as peculiarly national forms of wealth. Some thoughts are offered on different approaches to mineral resource valuation and on the frequently conflicting principles of exploitation to which these various approaches give rise.     

Understanding the dynamics and competitiveness of the South African minerals inputs cluster

South Africa has developed niche competencies around the extraction and processing of mineral resources. Firms involved in the manufacture and supply of inputs to mining and mineral processing represent a key source of competitive advantage upon which future growth and development in the country can be planned. Drawing on a qualitative and quantitative study of 678 supplier firms conducted in 2004, this paper presents an assessment of the state of the South African minerals inputs cluster. The various demand and supply relationships, dynamics, and growth opportunities within the cluster are highlighted and the threats affecting the cluster's future competitiveness reviewed. The interventions needed to overcome and/or enhance them are also identified.     

Soviet non-fuel mineral resources : Surplus or scarcity?

The USSR has long been regarded as a resource-rich country with no need for external sources of non-fuel mineral resources. Increasingly, however, it is beginning to appear that such an assessment of the Soviet non-fuel mineral resource picture is overly optimistic. The Soviet mineral industry is beset by a variety of problems which complicate the extraction and utilization of needed minerals. The USSR remains a resource-rich country, but the difficulties it encounters exploiting its resources are multiplying. This article examines the Soviet aluminium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, iron, lead, manganese, platinum, titanium and zinc industries, and offers views of the Soviet resource future in each area.     

Predicting impacts of major projects on housing prices in resource based towns with a case study application to Gladstone,Australia

The resources sector in Australia makes a major contribution to the national economy, and underpins employment and population in the mining and mineral processing towns. For those towns, rapid growth in employment can generate particular pressures in local housing markets because of the relatively large size of the industry and the small housing stocks involved. Through a case study of Gladstone, the study provides a dynamic five-step population and housing model, to estimate short to medium term mining impacts of major resource developments. The model includes both the direct and indirect labour force generated by new resource sector developments and their flow-on effects on population increases. Sensitivity testing has allowed for different levels of resource development, employment multipliers and labour inflows. Three different approaches have then been applied to predict the housing price impacts of the expected population growth.     

A mineral commodity life-cycle?: Relationships between production,price and economic resources

The production, price and economic resources profiles of a number of mineral commodities are examined and consideration is given to the theory that such profiles can be related to one another within the framework of a life-cycle model of development. While the behaviour of some of the commodities examined appears to lend support to the theory, that of others reveals fundamental problems with its underlying assumptions. It is concluded that, while the demand for a mineral commodity in specific uses may indeed manifest cyclical tendencies, as a general behavioural theory and as a basis for resource estimation the life-cycle model applied to minerals is of little value.     

Harnessing the bonanza: economic liberalization and capacity building in the mineral sector

Over the past decade many developing and transition economies have liberalized their investment regimes for mining and privatized formerly state-owned mineral assets. In response, these economies have witnessed increased foreign investment in exploration and development, growth in the number and diversity of mineral projects, and the opening up of new channels for harnessing increased economic and social benefits from development in the minerals sector. The restructuring of fiscal and regulatory regimes to encourage foreign investment, and the associated influx of mining capital, technology and skills, is transforming traditional relationships between mining firms, local communities and the government. This transformation necessitates a re-evaluation of the most effective policy approaches to capture increased economic and social benefits from mineral production. This article considers effective mechanisms for improving the capacity of developing and transition countries to maximize the economic and social benefits of mineral production. Common challenges associated with minerals economies are reviewed. Consideration is given to the opportunities for harnessing foreign direct investment and the possibilities for creating new partnerships between local communities, industry, government, and multilateral development agencies through social investment projects. The article concludes with a series of recommendations for the design and implementation of policy approaches towards harnessing mineral production for economic and social benefit following the liberalization of investment regimes for mining.     

安徽矿业企业境外资源开发模式研究

为了缓解资源供给压力，保证经济健康与可持续发展，安徽省政府在2008年明确提出要“走出去”开发境外的矿产资源。在国际矿业市场主流资源开发模式研究的基础上，对安徽矿业企业的投资环境进行战略分析，提出安徽省可以将“走出去”分为三个阶段，在每个阶段分别配合实行相应的矿产开发模式以顺利达到开发目标，实现自身发展。     

The Ethiopian mining sector

The Ethiopian Constitution of 1928 vests in the state ownership of all mineral resources. However, the mining code of 1944 recognized the right of individuals and private companies to explore for and develop those resources. The results were quite impressive; Ethiopia became a producer of gold, platinum, copper and other minerals. A revised mining code in 1971 further extended the rights of individuals and companies to develop the mineral resources of the country. In 1974, the newly established revolutionary government eliminated private ownership of mines and established instead state-owned mining companies to develop the mineral resources of the country. In time, the demand for government funding by other sectors of the economy left little for the mining sector and it went into decline. To correct that problem, the Government of Ethiopia in 1989 decided to again make private ownership in the mining sector legal. This paper describes some of the recent initiatives to open the mining sector to private enterprise.     

The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints

At first ‘sustainable mining’ could be perceived as a paradox—minerals are widely held to be finite resources with rising consumption causing pressure on known resources. The true sustainability of mineral resources, however, is a much more complex picture and involves exploration, technology, economics, social and environmental issues, and advancing scientific knowledge—predicting future sustainability is therefore not a simple task. This paper presents the results from a landmark study on historical trends in Australian mining, including ore milled, ore grades, open cut versus underground mining, overburden/waste rock and economic resources. When complete data sets are compiled for specific metals, particular issues stand out with respect to sustainability—technological breakthroughs (e.g. flotation, carbon-in-pulp), new discoveries (e.g. uranium or U), price changes (e.g. Au, boom/bust cycles), social issues (e.g. strikes), etc. All of these issues are of prime importance in moving towards a semi-quantitative sustainability model of mineral resources and the mining industry. For the future, critical issues will continue to be declining ore grades (also ore quality and impurities), increased waste rock and associated liabilities, known economic resources, potential breakthrough technologies, and broader environmental constraints (e.g. carbon costs, water). For this latter area, many companies now report annually on sustainability performance—facilitating analysis of environmental sustainability with respect to production performance. By linking these two commonly disparate aspects—mining production and environmental/sustainability data—it becomes possible to better understand environmental sustainability and predict future constraints such as water requirements, greenhouse emissions, energy and reagent inputs, and the like. This paper will therefore present a range of fundamental data and issues which help towards quantifying the resource and environmental sustainability of mining—with critical implications for the mining industry and society as a whole.     

A review of mineral development and investment policies of Botswana

Botswana's mineral policy objective is primarily to maximize the national economic benefit from the development of mineral resources. In 1999, the government replaced the old mining code of 1977, which was out of tune with prevailing economic philosophies with a new mining code. Although, the old act had its shortcomings it served the country reasonably well for 20 years, during which time the country was transformed from being one of the poorest of the world's poor to a middle income country. One of the cornerstones of the new and old mining codes is that government does not subscribe to privately owned minerals rights. The Botswana government attempts to provide a fair balance between the various stakeholders. There are, however, areas in the mineral policy and mining codes that need to be critically reviewed as outlined in this paper.     

Private capital: What impedes its entry into China's minerals industry

The paper commences with an analysis of the nature and status of private capital investment in the minerals industry in China. Based on the analysis, the authors examine the main barriers in terms of the mineral rights market, industry access and investment security that impede the participation of private capital into exploration and development of China's mineral resources. The discussion addresses how to encourage the participation of private capital into mining investment and it concludes that it is of significant importance to ensure the soundness of mineral rights market, impartiality of industry access, and security of mineral rights.     

低碳经济背景下云南矿业可持续发展对策研究

低碳经济是以＂低能耗、低污染、低排放＂为主要特征的一种经济发展模式。对矿业而论,低碳型矿业是今后发展的必然趋势,但目前云南矿业是＂高消耗、高排放、低利用＂的粗放型发展模式。基于云南矿业的特点及制约因素的分析,提出其可持续发展对策,包括寻求最优开采率、发展矿产资源的深加工、进行企业结构调整、增加集约程度和矿产资源多元化利用、促进废物资源化等。其中,特别要关注尾矿的资源化利用、矿山生态环境的植物修复和煤炭资源的清洁生产。     

Privatizing the minerals sector

The end of the Cold War presents new challenges for the dynamics associated with mineral resources development. Broader approaches are needed to help mineral rich developing countries develop their minerals sector. These countries need to embark upon programmes of policy reform and privatization in order to make their mineral resources industries more efficient and responsive to free market forces (such as supply and demand and price), and to turn mineral sector decision making over to the private sector. This article examines the use of policy reform and privatization strategies to increase mineral resource production in developing countries, thereby contributing to both developing country economic growth and developed country access to mineral supplies .     

The role of price expectations and legal uncertainties in ocean mineral,exploration activities

In this paper, a standard exploration activities model is modified and applied to time series, data from deep seabed mining of a group of minerals where the number of patents is used as a proxy, for the level of mineral exploration activities. In addition to the rational expectations model, price, expectations formation for mineral prices is decomposed into trend and cyclical components using the, HP-filter method. Estimated parameters from the supply and cost functions are used to determine the, shadow price of the minerals. The non-linear instrumental variables estimator is employed to estimate, the exploration activities function. While the rational expectations model shows the importance of, current prices on exploration efforts, the HP-filter model suggests that firms concentrate on the trend, in prices rather than the short-run cyclical fluctuations. Also, while the U.S. refusal to ratify the LOSC, has increased the legal uncertainties surrounding the management of ocean resources and reduced the, incentive to engage in exploration activities, the passage of the ISA's main legislative accomplishment, regarding regulation of the explorations for polymetallic nodules appear to have made a positive effect.     

加强矿产资源开发中对环境的保护与治理

矿产资源开发对促进国民经济的发展具有重要的作用,但与此同时也带来不少环境问题,如破坏土地和生态环境,在矿石采选冶中产生“三废”对周围环境严重污染,破坏水资源平衡,引发地质灾害等。因此,现在必须高度重视并加强矿产资源开发中对环境的保护与治理,使矿产资源开发与矿山环境保护协调发展。首先,应制订并实施各地区的矿产开发规划,根据环境容量等调整矿业布局和矿业结构,严格对矿山环境进行监测、监管;其次,应加强对矿山环境的调查和评价,加强矿山环境保护的科技研究,提高矿山环境防治技术水平并加速技术推广;最后,应加强矿山环境保护的宣传教育,使矿山环境在全体公民的参与和监督下得到有效的保护。