Letter to the Editor: Management quality not what it used to be

The commentary by Jay Collins you published (“Cost overruns on capital development — a growing concern,” T.N.M., June 11–17/12) strikes me as both timely and appropriate.

Our industry has gone through many changes in the last few decades. Among the more important has been the decline in the role of the large company at the mine-development stage. These companies maintained a group of in-house “sergeants” (experienced, practicing engineers who were not corporate officers) who knew the business and acted as mentors.

People of this calibre are just about extinct, and we have the prospect of junior companies having the competency of their management tested when they find what could be a mine. Some of these companies wisely  sell out to a major while others choose to go it alone, often with the unfortunate consequences noted by your contributor.

During a career in the mining industry, I worked in just about every role possible for a geologist. While I would never deprecate the value of computers, I cannot see how they can always replace completely what can be achieved by manual drafting. Some of these old skills still have a place but seem to be ignored.

Material included in National Instrument 43-101 reports sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. Apart from technical deficiencies, such as ignorance of surveying principles, the reports are often poorly written and contain errors of grammar and spelling. These do not inspire confidence.

What are we to think when a yellow-page consultant chooses to measure tailings by weight rather than volume? The reader is left wondering when, if ever, the consultant last wore safety boots. Computers obviate the tedious work of measuring volumes that has to be done as part of any estimation of tonnages.

I cannot subscribe to the one-process-suits-all approach when it comes to estimation of average grades, especially where the method seems to override principles of statistics. I am still waiting for a response from the vendor on this question. As it is, any surprises will be inherited by the mine operator years away from now.

Brian Hester
Vineland, Ont.