It has been a week of bad news. Markets are in melt-down. Earthquakes are active. I’m three-quarters the way through the new Harry Potter. Huntington Mine is a greater tragedy than ever–my sympathies to those affected.
Inbetween reading books & news this week, I stumbled on a number of other interesting sites. Here is my take on their message.
There are things you can do when you stop mining, but would rather not spend money on closure.
First you could turn the site over to the locals and tell them it’s an opportunity for stakeholders to participate in community-based, deliberative decision making and to decide how to turn the site into a Sustainable Enterprise. This is fairly cheap: all it requires is a temporary hut, an underpaid secretary, a couple of pretty photos taped to the walls, and monthly evening meetings supplied with sweet rolls.
Second you could engage a firm of big-city accountants to manage the property in trust pending a rise in the price of the metal when you plan to raise more cash and reopen the mine. This is a bit more expensive as those big-city folk know how to charge and all those trust documents get to be glossy.
You could declare bankrupt. That is a bit inconvenient, but it does make it clear to the taxpayer that they will have to pay for closure. Course taxpayers love that sort of thing: lots of opportunity for museums, research centers, learning circles, and the rest at government expense.
Another rather clever tactic is to “suspend” operations pending a consultant’s review of alternatives. With the right consultants on board you can study the thing to death: alternative comparison reports; peer review meetings; interaction with the regulators; community liaison; you can spin this out for twenty years and more.
Finally you can undertake closure, and look pretty good and socially responsible. The trick is then to find another rich deposit that makes you an attractive target for takeover by dumb foreigners. When these silly foreigners buy your company, invest your funds in another company with no closed mines, and leave the locals authorities to pursue the foreign-country new-owners; and if the new owners have lawyers skilled in NAFTA and international law, they will remain your friends.
I have this week come across an example of every one of these schemes in successful operation. I risk life and limb if I provide the links to the sites where they are described. At any rate I am holding on to the information in the hopes somebody will engage me as their mine-closure-strategy consultant. Have a good weekend.
