QLD Mining and Energy Bulletin
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/42546
IS OPERATING SUSTAINABLY MORE The answer is a resounding "YES!" Professor Chris Moran reports. T o understand why the answer is 'yes', it is helpful to discuss some broader aspects of mining and clarify some defi nitions. The global context of how economic development and mining interact is key. Within this context it is important to understand the difference between sustainable development and operating sustainably. It is also helpful to have some context on the approach of seeing sustainability as a maturity journey. The fi rst important concept is that of sustainable development. The generally accepted defi nition of sustainable development is meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising those of future generations (Brundlant 1987). The key in this defi nition is the balance between meeting needs today and tomorrow. It is clear that the current global situation does not provide equity between peoples of today; there are vast differences in wealth, quality of life and opportunities. One simple way to view the differences is to examine a map of global gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (see for example, the International Monetary Fund data mapper: www.imf.org/ external/datamapper). It is certain that metals and energy are critical to economic development. Rio Tinto has published estimates of the 'metal [36] QLD Mining and Energy Bulletin Spring 2011 intensities' of economies with various levels of GDP per capita (Rio Tinto 2007, Outlook for metals and minerals – Investor seminar: www.riotinto.com/documents/ PR582g_Outlook_for_metals_and_minerals_ Investor_seminar.pdf). What their work shows is that as an economy develops demand for coking coal, iron ore, nickel and copper increase at a rapid rate at a GDP of approximately $10,000 – $20,000 (in year 2000 terms) and then plateau. Aluminium apparently shows no plateau. In other words as economies become more wealthy the demand for aluminium continues to increase. Rio Tinto has overlain these data with global population fi gures and projections of global growth. This analysis results in a conclusion that demand in the next two-three decades for these commodities will be immense. Approximately half of the expected development is projected to come from India and China. The thing that is needed to convert these raw materials into the infrastructure that represents economic development is energy. Today, the energy intensity (energy use per capita) of China and India is at least fi ve times less than that of Australia and the USA. So in the biggest of pictures, if billions of people are going to have a reasonable quality of life in the coming decades a great deal of mineral and energy production must be undertaken. It is true that wealthy economies could ease the challenge by drastically reducing consumption thereby making commodities available for development. However, recent studies, for example of carbon dioxide production, show that consumption patterns continue to increase. It is likely, therefore, that rates of mining and energy production will increase in the coming decades. The argument above defi nes the demand. In simple terms we only need supply. Supply consists of accessible exploitable resources in supply countries and a mechanism of fi nding and supplying them. Mining companies play the latter two roles, i.e., discovery, exploitation/ refi ning and transport. Given this likely scenario, what is required for sustainable development? I take the view that there are four conditions that have to be met. 1. Nations that supply minerals must be able to prosper as a result of their mineral wealth. If supply nations do not get a suffi cient share of the wealth then they cannot meet their own goals and therefore lose the incentive to supply minerals. The ongoing debate in Australia regarding tax on mining profi ts is an excellent example. The previous Prime Minister made the case that the Australian national budget was not benefi ting suffi ciently from the resources MINERALS PROCESSING