Exemplar

There is such a thing as responsible and ethical mining.

- ALEX MAGNO

We have the complete policy framework to attract the best investments that will enable the country to leverage its rich mineral resources for our people's economic growth.

The Mining Act of 1995 was trapped at the Supreme Court for a decade because of petitions filed by dogmatic environmental groups. Having cleared the legal obstacles, this law ought to have attracted a flood of investments.

Sadly, however, investments have been less than expected. There could be many reasons for this. The permitting process may be tedious and unpredictable. Mining, because of the long gestation required, could be vulnerable to our rather unstable politics. Investors could be fearing an unsteady policy environment. Then, as in most other areas of business, there is the problem of corruption to worry about.

It could be that while world-class environmental safeguards are well in place in the Mining Act, policies supportive of exploration might need some perfecting. Mining is a capital intensive industry. The investments begin with exploration of areas to test for commercial viability of mining activity. We might need to examine our policies regarding exploration to encourage investors to test for deposits.

Hopefully, with time and the accumulation of experience, mining will become less contentious. This could be a robust industrial activity that helps sustain inclusive economic growth. Successful mining enterprises could directly assist the communities that host them.

There are more and more examples of ethical mining enterprises that should calm fears about environmental degradation. Modern mining, after all, makes use of new technologies that enable efficient extraction to happen without upsetting the ecology.