NO HEADLINE (April 16, 1990)

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“Globe ’90?” the voice demanded. I turned from my companions, as we strolled past the doors of the Vancouver Convention Centre, to see an elderly woman looking sternly at me. “Yes,” I said, thinking she was asking directions to the entrance.

“Don’t waste your time,” she commanded. “They’re all in there filling their pockets, trying to make money out of the environment. Shameful.”

I would have found these utterances mysterious if I had not previously seen a television news conference in which Greenpeace and other “Environmental Non- Governmental Organizations” (hence ENGOs) announced that they were boycotting Globe ’90, the environmental extravaganza held in Vancouver recently.

The Greenpeace boycott apparently centred around the Trade Fair, a showplace for environmental technology, ranging from novel waste disposal units and pollution detection devices to oil spill cleanup systems. It seems that a conference is okay, but a demonstration of commercial systems that really do something about the environment is not. ENGOs are evidently uncomfortable with the idea of harnessing the profit motive for a good cause.

It’s too bad that the ENGO boycott also applied to the conference portion of Globe ’90. If the environmentalists had attended the sessions I participated in, they might have learned something about the progress that the mining industry is making toward solving its environmental problems.

The Mining Association of Canada, along with the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, co-sponsored the “Metals and Minerals” stream of the conference. In three half-days, co-chairmen Gordon Thompson (Cominco) and Carl Anderson (UMA Engineering Ltd.) shoe- horned in no less than 24 papers.

For me, the session on “environmental challenges and business opportunities” was highly significant. Three major real- world challenges (sulphur abatement, acid mine-water neutralization, mine reclamation/decommissioning) were reviewed, and practitioners described state- of-the-art solutions. I found their presentations informative, sober, realistic and satisfyingly technical. This was an account of actual progress toward sustainable development, not an exercise in public relations.

Acid rain, for example, is a high-profile issue. Although a majority of Canadians believe that the performance of the mining industry has deteriorated in the past 10 years, the reverse is true. Speakers outlined the progress that has been made in sulphur abatement at Trail, B.C., and Sudbury, Ont., and described ongoing work to extend the improvements still further.

Some 43% of Canadians believe acid drainage from rock and tailings at mine sites has become worse, too, contrary to reality. Speakers dealt with the nature of the processes that produce acid drainage and described current research in waste management techniques to prevent such problems in future. Thanks to the work of the British Columbia acid drainage committee, a technical guide is being prepared that recommends methods of predicting, controlling, and monitoring acid drainage.

The ultimate question every mine must face is how to decommission and reclaim the site to leave it in a stable and harmless condition after production ceases. Practices have improved greatly, a reality recognized by only one Canadian in four. Speakers described in detail how this challenge can be met effectively and economically, and also outlined government requirements.

Those examples are just from one session. Altogether, the conference showed that the mining industry is aware of its obligations and is on a path toward sustainable development.

As I looked around the room, I recognized almost everyone as an industry colleague. They were obviously benefiting from the information and from the opportunity to discuss issues with the experts.

My only regret is that those who denounce our industry as being “incompatible” with sustainable development were conspicuous by their absence. George Miller is the president of The Mining Association of Canada.

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Commercial quantities of amethyst gemstones are now being produced by Precious Purple Gemstones of Thunder Bay, Ont., said Precious President Steven Lukinuk. During 1990, a total of 6,000 gemstones, both loose and mounted, will be mined from the 40-year-old Thunder Bay Amethyst mine, 35 miles east of Thunder Bay. According to Lukinuk, the mine has a “75-to 100-year” life.

The gemstone operation consists of mining, crushing, tumbling, grading, preforming, grinding, polishing, and gem appraisal. About one-sixth of the gemstones have already been processed, says Lukinuk.

Sales of the gemstones will be directed at the tourist and retail market.