Valuing the social dimension

摘要

Sustainable mining is an impractical oxymoron. A generally accepted way to measure the non-financial impact of a mining company would suit all parties. Almost by definition, mining is an unsustainable pursuit. That does not mean the industry is blind to the impact of its activities on local people and their physical environments. Nor does it mean it should be stymied and capital deterred from supporting it. Historically, miners have behaved badly. Nasty scars extending across parts of the North American landscape show the callous indifference of an earlier generation. Mutilated bodies in colonial-era Africa and hundreds of deaths in the pursuit of gold for the wealthy and privileged mean the industry's historical record is hardly unblemished.