Support for an industry

Eclipsed by the stories on Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s efforts to leave the country, the tragedy that struck the family of former Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr., and the frenzy over the latest Manny Pacquiao fight was a conference on the mining industry.

The symposium was held last week in Baguio, a city that prospered from two major industries: mining and tourism.

These days it seems inconceivable in this country that the two industries can co-exist. In fact I’ve seen that prosperous co-existence in places such as western Australia, where the city of Perth, built on mining fortunes, is one of the cleanest and loveliest I have ever visited. The same is true in several cities I have visited in South Africa.

The ambassadors of these two countries, plus three other envoys, were among the speakers invited by former foreign affairs secretary Delia Albert to the 58th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference, held at Camp John Hay in Baguio last week.

Albert, a presidential envoy on mining, also opened the Baguio Historical Mining Museum.

She is just starting to put together a group that can clarify to Filipinos issues that have bedeviled the mining industry, and she thought that hearing about the experiences of other countries could be a good start.

And so, during the conference, Ambassadors Rod Smith of Australia, Alcides G.R. Prates of Brazil, Roberto Mayorga of Chile, Agnes Nyamande-Pitso of South Africa and Stephen Lillie of the United Kingdom related how much mining has contributed to their respective countries’ economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts.

All emphasized that there have been no public protests against mining operations in their countries.

In Australia, Smith said mining accounts for 20 percent of the nation’s exports. Australian companies are also among the most active around the world, with 650 projects being developed by 230 Australian companies in 43 African states alone. The industry has attracted A$430 billion in new investments this year in Australia, currently one of the strongest economies in the world, with A$1.4 trillion in GDP.

Prates told the conference that mining has played a major role throughout Brazil’s history. In 2008, mining accounted for 4.2 percent (or a whopping $70 billion) of Brazil’s GDP, with 20 percent of mining exports in that year amounting to $27.7 billion. China bought 59 percent of Brazil’s iron ore production in 2008. Prates said the mining industry accounts for a million jobs in his country.

Brazil, which expects rising demand for minerals in China and India, last year approved a national mining plan until 2030. Among other things, the plan includes measures to improve oversight of mining operations.

Mayorga, for his part, said mines in Chile, both private and state-run, accounted for 62 percent or $44 billion of total exports in 2010.

In South Africa, a center of the world’s diamond trade, mining has been a major industry for the past century. Mineral exports, which amounted to $21.6 billion in 2009, accounted for 30 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings, Pitso told the conference.

Lillie, for his part, related how mining made London the center of the global metals trade. The British Empire enjoyed a coal monopoly during the Industrial Age.

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In Baguio, the ambassadors were addressing an audience that needed little convincing about the benefits of mining. 

But perhaps their stories could persuade the Aquino administration to give the industry more support amid a barrage of comments about the evils of extractive industries.

Some of the comments have been shrill and seem to be coming from people high on something. But other concerns are valid and need to be properly addressed. Filipinos really have seen too many environmental disasters due to irresponsible mining, and it will be a struggle for the mining sector to erase the bad memories, especially if the negative consequences are still evident.

But if the mining industry wants to remain in this country, that struggle must be undertaken. And if the government truly believes that mining can contribute much to economic growth, it cannot leave the industry to fend for itself.

The industry now has to contend with local governments imposing their own rules regulating mining operations, such as the recent ban on open-pit mining in Zamboanga del Norte and South Cotabato.

Humans have been extracting minerals from the planet since ancient times. Everything we use has something sourced from materials extracted from the Earth. The key is sustainable use of natural resources, and the restoration or rehabilitation of ruined environments.

Proper zoning also helps. The government must identify specific areas for mining, away from human habitation. Communities or cities that prosper from the mining industry must be built away from the sites.

Admittedly, this is easier in countries with vast tracts of land such as Australia, Brazil and South Africa. But if the P-Noy administration wants mining investments, it should create the proper environment for the industry to flourish. It should sell the benefits of the industry to the public, to deny support for rebels who use the issue to extort “taxes” from mining operations. It should impose rules on mining companies to compel corporate responsibility, including environmental protection within reasonable limits. If the rules are clear and fair, mining firms would be more than happy to comply.

And the government should make sure the rules will be followed by small-scale mining operators, including local politicians, who are among the biggest violators of environmental and safety rules in mining.

If the government thinks mining is more trouble than it’s worth, it should just ban mining altogether. That’s better than inviting investors and then failing to create the proper environment to make the investments viable.