Responsible Production in the Mining Industry
By Michael Karpati
Mercury is a highly toxic material. While it is unsafe for handling by humans , it has been utilized extensively throughout history due to its inherently useful properties. Thermostats, for years, contained the harmful material, and could be found in many homes, often being left installed even after those homes were passed on to new owners. Just as houses are no longer constructed utilising asbestos, mercury is no longer considered fit for purpose in the construction of everyday items like thermostats.
Mercury does, however, still have uses to certain groups, regardless of any potential danger to those handling the material. The mining industry uses mercury extensively to extract gold through amalgamation. While a definite source of energy, mercury is unsafe for those handling it, being the very definition of a hazardous material. A potential solution to this problem is to work with processing plants which utilize methods that are well-controlled.
- Plantel Los Angeles, Nicaragua © PLA -
We cannot live without mining. Pots and pans are made of metal, asphalt is made of sand, gravel and stone. For planes you need aluminum, iron, and other metals. Copper, lead, iron, and other minable materials are necessary for sanitation. Wind turbines and solar panels require materials only obtainable through mining. Quartz is an essential ingredient in making glass. Domestic appliances, computers, coffee machines, all require materials obtained from mining. In other words, if mining suddenly ceased to exist, our lifestyle would fundamentally change. We utilize more and more metals as we develop as a society, and this trend is not going to disappear any time soon.
Since you cannot remove mining from the equation, the only reasonable answer is to focus on working with well-controlled , well-monitored, and, most importantly, safe processing plants that are fit for purpose. This paper will focus on how such a solution benefits companies, communities, and the relationsbetween them.
Processing plants and industrial processes have the power to transform the value chain. They can be more efficient, be eco-efficient with a significantly lower eco-footprint, reuse water, minimize energy consumption, and, if set up with the fairness we all wish the world was based around, can pay the artisanal miners a fair price for their ore. This is how the artisanal miners get the best and fairest value for the work they perform.
Inserting processing plants can add huge value-to-value chains by improving upon a step in the chain, minimising the environmental footprint while at the same time improving revenues for the artisanal miners. As you can see from the following examples, certain values are vastly important for the long-term success of the industry as a whole.
Dynacor, operating the Veta Dorada plant in Peru, is a good example of a company committed to sustainable values. Four pillars guide their decision-making process: the environment, health and safety, corporate social responsibility, and community development projects.
They suggest that “The impact of Dynacor Gold Mines’ activities and the well-being of artisanal mining communities are at the heart of our social responsibility awareness” and that “It is important that our actions have a positive economic and social impact on the communities in which we operate.” These values are not universally shared by the entirety of the mining community, nor are these values upheld by all who claim to have them. When they are upheld by those within the industry, however, fantastic things can happen. “Given we make it possible to trace our products, our buyers are willing to pay for this guarantee of traceability and purity in the form of a purchase premium.” This is not solely beneficial to them, says Jean Martineau “The artisanal miners benefit via reinvestment of the premium into their communities. The focus is on education, health and social services.” This sort of reinvestment is essential to guarantee the future of the industry as a whole, guarding not only the interests of the mining companies themselves, protecting against potential incursions by communities tired of being taken advantage of, but also bridging the gap between those who choose to be in the industry and those whose lives force them into it.
“By contributing to the collective well-being and sustainable development of artisanal mining communities, we recognize the value of their work.” While this is a universal desire for all, wishing to be recognized, it is not granted to far too many in the world, particularly to those we never see or think of. Artisanal miners are not given the credit for the watch someone wears or the jewelry around a person’s neck. Very little, if any, thought is put into where the jewels came from, or how the watch was made. Companies such as Dynacor and Px Précinox, its Swiss Refining partner, make it a priority to grant the workers the respect they deserve, which assists in bridging the gap between company and community. And, after all, in the long run, “At Dynacor, we believe that doing business honestly, transparently, and with respect for the workers is the best quality assurance of our product.” And is that kind of assurance really so much to ask for?
Plantel Los Angeles, is another processing plant, in Nicaragua, known for working with communities, and on top managing its environmental footprint by protecting forests, and being concerned with water consumption and the preservation of waterways in general. They plan to plant 500,000 trees as a method of protecting the waterways’ flora and fauna. They are working with thousands of artisanal miners; in fact, their motto is “Mining for Everyone”. Their ultimate goal, as it should be for us all, is balancing to meet the peoples’ needs while also protecting the planet on which we all live, the planet we share with one another.
This company considers that by introducing processing plants into the equation, you can eliminate nearly 1 tonne of mercury every year, serving 1500 miners. Artisanal mining gets stabilized in this scenario, and is provided with order and security. The industrial plants are exclusively for artisanal miners in Nicaragua, providing security and human development, reducing impact, and offering choices and traceability through good management systems.
This traceability system has created a register of artisanal miners; they have identified the workplaces of said miners, the present conditions. They ensure no child labour is present, they trace their suppliers, and processing and exportation is compliant with international norms and laws.
What can be drawn from these examples is that their environmental actions and their assistance of the artisanal miner needs to be worked into the conversation a lot more, not only for purposes of sustainability, but also for basic moral decency. Artisanal miners deserve safe and secure working conditions, as do we all, and these processing plants help to provide that safety and security in a way which others, not presenting the same face of social activism, simply do not.
To conclude, there is much that must be done to improve the conditions of the artisanal mining community; there is much that can be done, and hasn’t been yet. The elimination of mercury from the process is an important step which must inevitably be taken. This step will not be taken, however, until more processing plants with stringent procedures and rules are brought to bear on the industry. Such processing plants provide safety and security for the miners, giving them a higher quality of life, higher pay, giving them the recognition and respect deserved by all, and impacting the environment in positive ways.