Environment,mining and the Lesser Developed Countries

Mineral activities are a potential source of environmental damage, but the traditional role of minerals and metals in material well-being of man is too easily forgotten in the rigmarole of environmental protective response especially among the inhabitants of the Industrially Developed Nations (IDN). It is imperative that the needs and interests of both the mining industry and the environmentalists converge to a common point of understanding for the continued economic development of the world.People of the Lesser Developed Countries (LDC) on the other hand, are caught in a vicious struggle of basic existence and any talk of environmental damage/protection is, therefore, extraneous to their way of life. But the modern tools of progress so eagerly sought by the LDC for the development of their resources including minerals could destroy their environment, very likely beyond repair, if their public policy objectives do not include any timely preventive measures for the protection of their environment.