President Obama lectures the Chinese on censorship and they censor him on Chinese media as hand-picked “students” ask polite questions and avoid the truth—whatever that is in a goon-dominated place. The saddest and scariest part is that such tight control of people and the truth leads to a commercial behemoth that is seeking to take over the dollar and world mining. The Chinese long ago blocked this blog–about two years ago if I recall, soon after it started, so there is no danger I will offend anyone with negatives comments on Chinese mind-control.
These tart comments are prompted by a discussion I had last week with an eminent professor of mining. I remarked most innocently that law dictates how mining is done and how reclamation is done or not done. This idea hit him as original and he immediately proposed getting a PhD student to explore the idea. Ever the academic, he quibbled that it is regulations that drive mining practice, not laws. We will brush aside that quibble, for laws grant powers to regulators to set regulations—do not want to confuse our professor too much.
In the Chinese context there seem to be rules, but no enforcement—unless you damage the Great Wall then they will round you up and shoot you. I kid not. On the web today is a news item to that effect: unruly miners undermining the Great Wall.
A Chinese gold mining company is being investigated for causing serious damage to one of the oldest sections of the Great Wall of China. Hohhot Kekao Mining Co. is suspected of destroying about 100 meters of the wall while prospecting in Inner Mongolia to the northwest of Beijing, the head of the regional cultural relics bureau, Wang Dafang, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Then there is the news item from India on a whole state gone mining mad and violating every rule of decency and law. Here is what they say in that peculiar brand of English that comes out of India:
Documents brought under the RTI Act showed that over last 6-7 years more than dozen leading mining and steel companies dug out excessive quantities of iron, chromite and manganese ores in wanton disregard of existing laws and limits. It’s no secret they could do it due to lax supervision of officials of the Orissa Pollution Control Board, Indian Bureau of Mines, state mines department, forest department, district collector and Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Makes you wonder what chance Rio Tinto has of holding onto their Mongolian mining interests?
If only it could be as simple as it is in old England. There I read that a whole mining village is for sale for no more than about one million pounds:
A unique bit of history is up for sale in Tavistock, England. Morwellham Quay was a mining town that served silver, tin and copper mines in the area. It has been turned into a restored Victorian mining village and museum and is a world heritage site. But lately visitors has dropped off and a few months ago the Devon County Council decided to stop funding the center. It went into administration and closed at the end of last month. Now, as the BBC News reports, it’s up for sale for a guide price of £1.1million. Potential buyers must submit sealed bids and written proposals on what they would like to do with the site by January 21. The village is set in 200 acres and has an open-air museum that includes the restored 19th century village, the docks and quays (complete with restored ship), the George and Charlotte copper mine, a Victorian farm and nature reserve.
I have often thought that we should pass a law requiring mines to reclaim the closed mine to the extent that it presents a nice purchase by rich people seeking a quiet spot in the woods. The Royal Mountain King Mine near Copperopolis in California is the one I would buy if it came up for sale with no residual environmental obligations. (It used to be owned by Meridian Gold–they got taken over and now I can find nothing of value on the web about it–although Ian Hutchison presented two papers on it in Banff last two weeks ago.)
Meanwhile I will just have to dream of owning a country estate that was a mine. That is unless I can complete the PhD on the role of law in making mining possible and reclamation proper, and promote a law making it possible for me to retire legally there.
