First Post

Welcome to John Meech's Blog.

This being my first blog, it will be short and sweet.

It is my intention to post items of interest on numerous topics related to the Mining Industry and the attempts being made around the world to address issues related to environmental protection and sustainability of the land, of local communities, and of the long-term economic viability of the company in question.

Sustainable Mining has been a vision of the Mining department at UBC since 1997 with a clear statement on our web site at that time. The term may sound like a contradiction since mining by its very nature depletes an orebody rendering mining activity at any specific site eventually unsustainable. Unlike renewable world resources such as food, fish, and forests, most mineral deposits eventually are exhausted. So how can Mining ever be logically classified as a sustainable activity?

Well, the answer lies in the desire of society to restore the land at a mine site to its previous state or if that is not possible then to create a site that supports new activities such as tourism, recreation, or new industrial businesses to provide continuing employment for the local population. In order for a mining company to remain a sustainable enterprise over the long-term, its Board of Diurectors and its Management team must plan for closure of the site and the continued exploration to discover new orebodies for continued exploitation.

In recent years, the successful mining companies have all adopted an approach to protecting the environment and developing ways to sustain the mine site, the local communities, and the company to continue to function long past the end of the operating phase of mining.

These pages will discuss some of the more innovative projects around the world that are being worked on = some of which actually involve sustainable production from the earth at a single site for the long-term benefit of Mankind.

I would like to invite you to contribute comments on this blog.

I wish you Season's Greetings at this festive time of the year and all the best for a prosperous New Year in 2008.