Editorial Wasting our assets

Mining’s a funny business. It is based on what is unsentimentally referred to as a “wasting asset” and therein lies both the boon and the bane of the industry.

It’s the blessing of the industry in that its greatest challenge lies in the search for further mineral wealth to replace those sources that have been mined out. It’s also the curse of the industry to be seen by many as unconscion able capitalists who deplete the nation’s resources through greed with reckless disregard for the environment, then move on leaving those who grew to rely on the industry to fend for themselves. Exploitation of non- renewable resources is not a crime, not legally or morally. The crime is in wasting those assets by leaving them unexploited.

The truth is, that mining plays an important role in Canada’s economy and way of life, but it is only a part. Mining serves a useful role in our economy even though most outside of the industry are unaware of its significance. But it can only be ignored at the nation’s peril.

Neither can the role it plays be measured only in terms of dollars and cents, of the percentage it contributes to the gross national product, to the foreign earnings it generates through exports, of the jobs it provides. All of those contributions are significant, but its greatest role is that of nation building.

Canadians often cringe at what they perceive as their role in the international scheme of things as hewers of wood, drawers of water. But being a provider of natural resources to the world is not something of which we should be ashamed. True, the goal is to develop a more balanced, more mature economy, but that does not mean Canada should emulate Japan or Korea to the point of excluding resource industries. We may have a lot to learn from other nations about how to develop secondary industry and service sector employment, but we must also be careful to maintain our vigorous primary industries and our resource sector — our strengths.

It is those industries that have opened many of the frontiers in Canada, and that process continues today. Mining’s role is not just as a bulwark of a strong, diversified economy, but as the pioneer that sees wealth, jobs and prosperity where others saw only rocks and bush. Bathurst, Timmins, Flin Flon, Yellowknife, Dawson — the list of communities that are based on mining goes on and on.

It may well be that as those communities mature, their reliance on mining decreases as secondary industry develops. That is all to the good and is a logical progression in the continuing process of nation building.

Fears of the imminent collapse of whole communities due to the whim of corporate directors and the depletion of orebodies are hardly warranted in the light of experience. Yes, some towns such as Schefferville, Que., have suffered terribly from the vicissitudes of world metal markets. But for each one of those there is a Timmins, Ont., that lost the Hollinger but gained Kidd Creek, or Sudbury where reserves of nickel ore will last for decades or Flin Flon, Man., where mineable reserves just seem to continue to be found. At Thompson, Man., for example, Inco recently announced plans for a $100-million capital expenditure plan to maintain its nickel production there.

Eventually all mines must close, but if other industries haven’t developed around the pioneer industries, that’s not the fault of the mines. Mining can get the foot in the door of Canada’s frontiers; it’s up to others, government included, to make the most of that opening.