From the ChinaDaily.com.cn a report that “Residents of Mianyang, a city in Sichuan province, have begun buying bottled water in a panic after authorities announced that the chief local water source had been contaminated by residue washed away by floodwaters from a local manganese plant.”

Most of the report focuses on buying bottled water.  Really nothing substantive about the manganese waste except a picture that shows what appears to be a nasty situation with steep slopes, slope failures, washout, and debris piled up in front of an innocent observer.  This being China, we will probably never hear another word.  This blog is banned in China, as no doubt will deep investigation of what happened. 

Still we note this as yet another failure of a waste disposal system.  Not a mine though.  The mine and failure at the mine is mentioned in passing in the final paragraph of the report.  We read:

In Songpan, where the mine is, repairs are being made to a dam that was damaged by landslides that occurred after a series of heavy downpours began pounding the region on last Tuesday. 

I guess the mine is off-limits to reporters and failure of the mine dam is probably of far less interest than people lining up to buy bottles of water.   Indeed, I am intrigued by the simplicity of life in the village and the positive tone of the report.  Can you image a report in a Canadian or US newspaper on the failure of both the mine dam and the processing plant waste disposal facility, and the contamination of the local water source.  Only a Chinese report could say:

Like many residents in the city, Xiao’s wife used the free bottled water to cook a meal for her family. Aside from questions over the quality of tap water, life is proceeding as usual in Mianyang, Xiao said. 

Although such subservience and abject grovelling is not surprising when you read this report:

A Chinese activist accused of subversion for signing a 2008 democracy manifesto has been languishing in detention without trial for a year and a half, his lawyer said Thursday. Beijing attorney Liu Xiaoyuan said authorities in the southwestern city of Mianyang in Sichuan province have repeatedly delayed bringing Zuo Xiaohuan’s case to trial since his detention in April last year.  The subversion charge stems from Zuo publicly signing Charter 08, a bold appeal for multiparty democracy, Liu said in a phone interview. Liu said authorities are using that as a pretext and are punishing Zuo for helping laid-off teachers write and submit government petitions.  Chinese authorities routinely use the vaguely worded subversion charge to jail activists it considers troublemakers. Liu’s appeal for his client comes as several activists in China have been investigated or detained on the same charge since February this year amid an expansive crackdown on dissent.

Which raises the issue of ethical products from China.  Let us face it straight on: All products from China must be considered unethical.  This is an absolute logical conclusion if you assume that absent democracy, a free-press, and environmental responsibility, the resulting product is unethical.   Surely the Hollywood dignitaries protesting a pipeline should instead be outside Wal-Mart protesting unethical Chinese products.  Maybe we can restore jobs in North America by buying ethical products mined & made in North America.  Sure they will be more expensive, but then consider how much better you will be able to sleep at night.    I wonder how many of those Occupy Wall Street protestors use unethical Chinese markers to write up their puerile posters? 

Back to the manganese slide and bottle water.  I found this site that talks of mining in Sichuan province.  Here is the picturesque description of the mines of the province—no mountaintop mining protestors here!

Large mining trucks shuttled back and forth over the levelled top of Longmen Mountain, as rocks tumbled down the steep slopes. In the dense forest below, white rockfall scars were clearly visible through the trees.   This was the scene at the open-cast mining site owned by Lafarge’s Dujiangyan concrete plant, observed by Yang Yong, a geologist who in August carried out a two-week survey of the earthquake-struck Longmen mountains in Sichuan province, south-west China. “After the Wenchuan earthquake, businesses had the opportunity to move in and expand, and a number of new mining areas were opened up in Longmen. We need to be wary of this,” said Yang.

The most interesting part of the report is this: 

The area Yang investigated is the Longmenshan fault zone, located between the Sichuan basin and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The fault, which runs 300 kilometres in length, was the cause of the devastating Wenchuan earthquake of 2008 and of numerous geological disasters before that, affecting more than 100 cities and towns in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. Earthquakes and mudslides, combined with years of mining in this mineral-rich area, have already caused serious damage.   Secondary disasters in the Wenchuan earthquake zone are growing both in degree of damage inflicted and size of area affected, according to Ma Dongtao, a researcher at the Chengdu Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, who said the problem would continue for decades, perhaps even as long as 100 years.   Liu Ping, former head of local Caijiagang village said that mudslides were not particularly frequent before the earthquake, but now they are common. “When it rains heavily, there’s a mudslide. It has been like this ever since the earthquake. This year, we have had three already.”

Could it be that the manganese mine mudslides follow on the earthquake?  A fascinating study if ever we could get to the details.

Barely another day, and another failure of a tailings dam.  And a slew of denials and lies from those responsible.  Here is part of the longest report I can find on the incident:

A crisis desk was established in the province following the collapse of the dam’s embankment on Saturday. The governor’s office has announced that nearby villages could be evacuated. The facility, owned by the Eti Silver Corporation, reportedly contains 15 million cubic meters of cyanide. It is located 34 kilometers from the provincial capital, near the village of Gümüş.

“We are calling for urgent measures,” said Mustafa Satılmış, the Kütahya representative of the Turkish Foundation for Reforestation, Protection of Natural Habitats and Combating Soil Erosion (TEMA). “If not, it is certain that we’ll be faced with an environmental disaster that will cause irreparable damage.” He said TEMA had grave concerns about the situation. “The amount of disinformation [on a possible cyanide leak in Kütahya] is enormous. We expect officials to make a satisfactory statement on this. We feel that not making statements on the issue won’t get us anywhere.”

Company workers continued work started on Saturday to prevent the cyanide from flowing into the first stage of the dam, from where it could leak outside, while work was also under way to strengthen the embankments.

 

The collapse of a tailings dam at an Eti Silver Corporation facility has led to serious concern among environmentalists and officials. The facility has stopped production and its workers are now trying to prevent a cyanide leak that could have disastrous effects on the environment.

Satılmış said although TEMA had been unable to acquire official information from technical professionals, they had been able to ascertain that a “severe risk” had formed in the tailing dam’s stages. “The embankment between the second and third stages collapsed, and now the entire burden is on the third stage. Immediate action is needed.”

Understandably, locals are not convinced; they are concerned.  Who would not be concerned when you read the following bland assurances by officials:

Speaking to reporters, the mukhtar (village head) of Köprüören said he fears the cyanide may flow into the first stage of the dam, from where it could leak outside. He said the village of Köprüören would be affected the most in the event of a cyanide release.

Kütahya Governor Kenan Çiftçi, on the other hand, announced on Tuesday that there is currently no risk of cyanide release. “There is currently no risk of any threat to locals. This incident is completely under control,” he said.

In a press conference he called in his office, the governor said he had two meetings with Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroğlu and took all necessary precautions. He said the company has stopped production and that the embankments have been strengthened to prevent any release of cyanide. He added that a team of experts has been following the situation around the clock.

Environmental groups warn that a possible leak would lead to a disaster much worse than a spill of industrial waste in October at an aluminum plant in western Hungary.

From these brief reports and denials, all we can glean it that an intermediate dike has failed and all the tailings are now held back by the outer perimeter dike.  Thus this may be a nothing event.  Except recall that Merrispruit failed when an intermediate berm failed and put all the pressure on the outer perimeter facilities. 

The environmentalists are focussing on the cyanide.  Maybe an issue, but first I would fear for the release of fluid and solids that could inundate villages and villagers.  It is one thing to drown in tailings; cyanide is trivial in its impact by comparison with a watery death. 

Witness the following:

Immediate measures are needed to avert what could be an environmental disaster in Kütahya, where the collapse of a tailings dam in a silver mining and refining facility has led to concern, according to environmentalists and scientists who continued to issue warnings on Monday.

No doubt these folk who re warning are branded tree-huggers, socialists, liberals, and anti-mining.  It is so much easier to accuse the innocent than to act to deal with the horror-results of unbridled irresponsibility.

Is it possible to loose money mining gold?  Nobody wants to loose money mining gold.  In the sphere of lose journalism, it is possible to loose money mining gold.  Here is a part of one report on a company that “lost” money mining gold.

Entree Gold said a $5.3 million net loss in the first quarter of 2011 was due to increased exploration activities at its Yerington copper porphyry projects in Nevada.  “We are advancing our Yerington projects to development through systematic drilling and upgrading of known deposits and by exploration of additional targets. We have been building our team and operations in Yerington and are strongly encouraged by the initial drilling results we have received. In addition, substantial exploration and development work is underway on our properties in Mongolia,” Entree Gold president and CEO Greg Crowe said  on Friday.

Seems they did not loose money.  As I read it, they invested money in seeking gold.  That is a very different thing.  Maybe investors “suffered a loss.”  But surely they view this as a valid investment in the potential of future profit. 

Consider the rest of the report which states:

Entree Gold’s flagship property is the Lookout Hill property in Mongolia, which surrounds the mammoth Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project currently being developed and constructed by Ivanhoe Mines. As part of its quarterly report, Entree Gold says it has extended mineralization in Mongolia and has formed a $7 million joint venture with Oyu Tolgoi LLC, a subdidiary of Ivanhoe Mines and the Government of Mongolia.

I cannot say if it is a good use of money to invest in this company, or determine if the money would do better in US government bonds.  Maybe neither is a wise investment; maybe both are speculation akin to Las Vegas gambling.  But then, maybe investing in finding gold in Mongolia is no sillier than investing in USA fiscal prudence.  Both are fraught with danger, as in both places greedy, short-sighted politicians will seek to grab from those who generate wealth. 

Kind of like Canada’s NDP who seem to prefer spending money earned by others in preference to making money themselves.  As proof, consider the newly elected NDP member of parliament who won the election in spite of spending most of the campaign period in Las Vegas.  Bet this one will shout loudest about the duty of taxpayers to support students and others who need to spend un-earned money, or at least money earned by others.

Thus let us return to the issue of whether investing in mining exploration in a company with a negative cash flow is the same as loosing money. 

I suggest it is not a loss of money.  I suggest that Emtree Gold is an investment, not a loss looser.  The only thing that is lost in this report is the credibility of the reporter, who probably does not understand the basics of exploring, investing, or developing mines with a great potential to make money.  Like all socialists, the journalist who wrote this article probably believes money grows on trees, and that any capitalist who shakes the tree to send down a shower of cash should be heavily taxed to support the ignorant, indigent, and lazy. 

Not that I have worked hard today.  One very long conference call to deal with mining matters and an obdurate client; one rewrite of a report to focus attention of reality; and hours looking after my granddaughter as mother plays the professional in Fort McMurray.  Fun in spite of being a low profitable activity.

Sometimes tailings dam fail because of the poor quality of the construction.  Sometimes mine geowaste facilities fail because of poor design.  On the basis of today’s events, I conclude that they may fail because of poor concepts, poor understanding of the theory, and plain simple incompetence. 

Here is a link to a posting on a civil engineering dam that could fail because of poor quality control during construction. 

Actually the story appears to be of worse deeds than plain incompetence.  One cannot but wonder if venality and criminality are rife on the site too.  Here are a few quotes from the report that highlight the overall issues:

Inside information, which includes documents, photographs and videos, has been passed over to us by a former Quality Controller, who says concerns about sloppy procedures and cost-cutting measures were ignored by the bosses at Sinohydro. 

The sensational video footage clearly shows workers hosing extra water into the cement mixers before it is pumped into the dam, which is visible  in the background.  Our information is that this forbidden practice was endemic on the project and that poor quality control procedures allowed it to happen.

The key problem, according to our informant, has been a total failure of the Quality Control measures, which are supposed to ensure the dam is built to proper specifications.   He complains that there were “definitely not enough” Quality Controllers hired for the project and that therefore it was impossible to carry out adequate supervision across the many different work points on the enormous site.

The first real job I had after graduation was on the Hendrik Verwoerd dam construction.  The dam now goes by another more African name.  I was one of three shift supervisors.  Pouring of concrete was around the clock, twenty-four hours a day.  One of us was in charge for eight hours, having relieved the fellow in charge of the site for the past eight hours, and in tune we were relieved after an eight hour shift.

The other two fellows were at least twice my age.  I got the job because they had worked on the mines as shift bosses under my father.  When they got wind of the coming of the son of their former boss (my father) they insisted that I join them and they took me under their wings. 

I owe them everything.  For they taught a green-horn for university how to be practical, how to make a construction site work, how to place every type of concrete in every form conceivable.

I also learnt every trick in the book when it comes to altering the properties of concrete to make it more workable.  And I learnt how to manage the French quality control engineers who were every where, all the time.  I learnt to  respect them and admire their persistence in demanding quality when my instinct and the instinct of all of those we managed was to compromise quality in the interests of an easy shift. 

    Recall we were placing up to 2,000 cubic yards of concrete per shift with four blondins, four cranes, pumps, trucks, you name it moving fresh concrete in the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon, in the cold of night and the blazing mid-day, midsummer, desert heat.

So I can understand but not countenance what happens at some dams, such as the one discussed in the link I provide above. 

  The real issues is once again to study this posting as yet another indicia of how and why dams, both civil concrete and mining geowaste fail.

Annually the Fraser Institute comes out with a survey of mining countries and ranks them according to how good a place it is to try to find an ore body, to open a mine, to operate a mine.  The Institute gives you a good guide about where to invest.  I pay considerable attention to what they say.  For this is not some fusty old institute opining; it is the honest opinion of real mining men and women who are asked their opinions of mining countries.  This is no academic ranking.  This is what people who are trying to find ore bodies, open mines, and run mines think.  And their thinking is based on hard experience. 

As it is a Sunday that I compose and post this comment, I thought that I would enliven the dull issues  of incompetence and commercial interest with pictures that most epitomize the story.  Thus you will find a lot of reproductions of paintings of The Judgement of Paris.  Recall that Paris was asked by the three godesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, to decide who was the most beautiful.  Paris got Helen, wife of Agamenon’s brother, as the prize for the correct answer.  And then ensued the fall of Troy and the founding of Rome.   Helen, incedentally went back to her husband after the fall of Troy.

The judgement of the Fraser Institue is about as subjective and consequential as the judgement of Paris.   At the end of this posting, I give more on this fateful judgement.  Now enjoy the judgement of the Fraser Institute.  But be wary:  the following is not for the faint of heart when it comes to corrupt politicians, venial NGOs, and the voluptuousness of Medievial, Classical, and Modern art. 

The blog-sphere is awash in comments on the most recent survey.  Most of the blog comments are brief, repetitive of others, and fatuous, to say the least.  Here follows a survey of some of the things they are saying—and I use this as an opportunity to get to the heart of the rankings. 

Alberta has surpassed Quebec as the world’s most attractive jurisdiction for mineral exploration and development, From the Institute’s webpage:

“Alberta’s resource-friendly government, competitive taxation regime, and superior infrastructure render the province a standout for mining investment, not only in Canada but also globally,” said Fred McMahon, coordinator of the survey and the Institute’s vice-president of international policy research.

If you have ever tried to get to the oil sands mines from central Fort McMurray and spent a half hour going about four kilometers along Highway 63, you will know the claim of “superior infrastructure” is garbage.  Alberta and, in particular, the area around Fort McMurray is not blessed with infrastructure:  the roads are poor, they have been building bridges for two years and no progress, and the traffic is far worse than Los Angeles.  Maybe you cannot mine in California, but at least there are highways where you can move–by comparison with Alberta. 

Then you get to the mine, and better prepare yourself for a long wait.  The security system is a good example of gross inefficiency.  I calculate on the basis of observations over the past three years that at least $1,000 an hour is wasted by consultants and contractors waiting in slow lines to get in.  Work that out over a year and you see that only an industry awash in money could support such inefficiency and poor infrastructure.  The Fraser Institute did not seek my opinion on this one.

Enough realism about Alberta.  Overall, Canada did well:

This year, Canadian provinces claimed four of the top 10 spots, with Alberta jumping to first from forth, Saskatchewan climbing to third from sixth, Quebec falling to fourth from first, and Manitoba holding steady at ninth.  The other provinces and territories generally fared well, with Newfoundland and Labrador placing 13th, the Yukon 15th, Ontario 18th, Nova Scotia 19th, New Brunswick 23rd, British Columbia 36th, Nunavut 44th, and Northwest Territories 52nd.  “BC continues to be viewed poorly, with respondents citing land claims issues, environmental uncertainty, and political turmoil at the provincial level as reasons to remain hesitant about investing in British Columbia,” McMahon said.

At the bottom are the usual miscreants:

The bottom 10 scores went to Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Wisconsin, Madagascar, India, Guatemala, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, and Honduras.

Although the Escobar Silver Mine in Guatemala seems to be proceeding apace, and the Marlin Mine continues to make money in spite of the dishonesty of British Columbian academics (see posting below.)

South African ranks low—I have often on this blog said investment in Africa is for only British imperialists and crazy adventurers:

South Africa fell to 67th place out of 79 countries in a survey measuring the attractiveness of the government’s mining policies, Business Day reported, citing the Fraser Institute, which carried out the poll.  The latest ranking leaves South Africa just four places above Zimbabwe, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said. Last year, South Africa ranked 61st out of the 72 countries surveyed, Business Day said.

You almost have to sympathize with Shabangu:

The country’s poor showing is a blow to the aspirations of Mines Minister Susan Shabangu to improve South Africa’s standing.  The latest survey findings have been published just ahead of a roadshow to Canada and the United States by Shabangu and mining industry stakeholders to convince investors that “South Africa remains a good investment destination”.  On June 30 last year, Shabangu acknowledged the “profound influence” that the Fraser survey has on investment decisions globally.

Having read these blog pieces, I turned to the report to read it myself.  Here are some thoughts prompted by my reading.

I love Nevada as a place to recreate, mine, and invest.   Thus I was sadened to see this assessment in the survey:

After the Australian states, Nevada’s score suffered the biggest fall in the developed world, from 88.8 to 77.0 out of 100, and from a rank of 3rd to 10th out of 51.  According to miners, Nevada still re mains a good place to mine, but the results show that they were worried by an effort to put a huge tax increase to a referendum (the referendum petition failed to get enough signatures to be put on the ballot). The legislature did, however, enact and a new one-time mining tax.

One commenter is recorded as saying:

A recent decision in Nevada to levy a “one-time” tax on mining claim holders to pay off a State budget short-fall will prove to be fatal to exploration in Nevada. The long-term consequences will be devastating to mining in Nevada which already is burdened by high land-holding costs and a mature exploration regime.”

California came up.  From where to where I cannot fathom.  The survey says:  “California’s score rose by 15.2 points, but from a very low level.”  Searching through the many rankings and scores, all I can tell is that California is a place of high taxes, regulatory uncertainty, environmental laws of horrendous proportions, and general labor madness.  So much for the Terminator!

Actually the whole USA comes in for mild criticism.  One comment:

“In the US, generally, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona are mining friendly, but the preponderance of federal land is a problem as the US government is generally anti-mining and the bureaucracy can hold one up forever.”

As for Mexico, the opinions are unanimous:

 

The increase of criminal organizations in Mexico posing as anti-mining groups is problematic. These groups continue to extort mining companies and create false claims in the press which damages companies’ reputations.”

The more I read about the pernicious influence of drug cartels on mining in Latin America, the more I tend to the opinion that the mining industry should come out in support of the legalization of drugs. That does not mean you can use drugs and come work on the mine the next day.  All it means is elimination of those drug lords who pose as anti-mining do-gooders and impede honest mining. Afterall, miners want to operate unimpeded in a free society. Why should do they not they support the general principle, and say: “Legalize drugs, and let us get on with mining.”  I bet most Canadian anti-mining activists are active users of drugs.  At least all those that I know personally are. 

Finally back to Africa and the Chinese and what we all know: African politicians are corrupt, and the Chinese do not care and thus succeed.  Here is a quote that says this nicely:

The apparent hardening attitude towards mining in Africa is not simple. Lack of transparency and an absence of public understand ing of the industry is often manipulated by politicians/civil servants either for self gain or to cover for their failure to deliver meaningful service to the people. Add to this the Chinese way of doing things and risk will continue to increase unless we get out there and start educating.

I recommend that you download the full report for free and study it in detail before investing money in any aspect of mining.

PS. 

Here is how Wikipedia tells the story of Paris:

It is recounted^[3] that Zeus held a banquet in celebration of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (parents of Achilles). However, Eris, goddess of discord, was uninvited. Angered by this snub, Eris arrived at the celebration, where she threw a golden apple (the Apple of Discord) into the proceedings, upon which was the inscription καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, “for the fairest one”).^[4]

Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They asked Zeus to judge which of them was fairest, and eventually Zeus, reluctant to favour any claim himself, declared that Paris, a Trojan mortal, would judge their cases, for he had recently shown his exemplary fairness in a contest in which Ares in bull form had bested Paris’s own prize bull, and the shepherd-prince had unhesitatingly awarded the prize to the god.^[5]

Thus it happened that, with Hermes as their guide, all three of the candidates appeared to Paris on Mount Ida, in the climactic moment that is the crux of the tale. After bathing in the spring of Ida, each attempted with her powers to bribe Paris; Hera offered to make him king of Europe and Asia, Athena offered wisdom and skill in war, and Aphrodite, who had the Charites and the Horai to enhance her charms with flowers and song (according to a fragment of the Cypria quoted by Athenagoras), offered the love of the world’s most beautiful woman (Euripides, Andromache, l.284, Helena l. 676). This was Helen of Sparta, wife of the Greek king Menelaus. Paris accepted Aphrodite’s gift and awarded the apple to her, receiving Helen as well as the enmity of the Greeks and especially of Hera. The Greeks’ expedition to retrieve Helen from Paris in Troy is the mythological basis of the Trojan War.

Next move on to getting the kids to make the pizza.  You may stoop to buy a ready made crust.  Lay this out and then let the kids spread some tomato paste as a base.  Let them decorate the crust with slices of pepperoni, pineapple, and diced ham.  Then set out a bowl of grated cheese and let them sprinkle the cheese liberally.  The grandkids love this and recognize it as a step-up in the art of cooking. 

My favourite is corn muffins.  A small box of corn muffin mix cost less than a dollar.  Let the kids spray or spread olive oil into the individual cups of a muffin pan.  Better yet let them place those individual paper cups into each of the metal depressions—this is a cleaner and safer approach.  Let them pour the mix into a big bowl.  Let them break in an egg.  Best you pour in the milk or water.  Now introduce them to the mixer.  It is best to get a small, hand-held device for the kids.  You will have to supervise this operation as at worst the result may be splattered mix all over the kitchen.  Let them spoon the runny mix into the muffin cups and into the oven.  Now they know they are advancing in the skills of cooking.

Here is my favourite recipe to make with kids.  I have made it with the older boys many times, and every time it is a hit of entertainment and good eating.  Start by getting a large pot of water heating.  While the water heats, get the grandkid who is most trusted to cut a packet of bacon into small pieces, and let them start frying the bacon to a nice crisp.  The less skilled grandkids are put to breaking a half carton of eggs into a bowl, an activity that they seemingly enjoy a great deal.  Let the youngest grandson break the contents of a packet of the long, thin pasta into pieces.  At least he can do that with little mess and almost safely.  One of the older kids can be allowed to toss the pasta into the boiling water. 

Once the pasta and bacon are cooked, you will have to drain the water off the pasta.  But the kids are allowed to mix the bacon and the eggs into the pasta and churn it all around until the eggs cook to a nice goo from the heat of the pasta and the bacon.  Serve soon with ketchup and they will eat their fill in happy contentment. 

This dish is of course classic pasta carbonera.  I have read it was a favourite of Italian miners—not sure where or when they were mining—for they could easily transport the ingredients down the mine and make the dish with little more than an open flame at lunch time. 

When I was growing up on a mine, the idea of men, boys, or kids of any stripe cooking was not envisaged.  All the cooking was done by servants.  In the morning they would confer with my mother on the day’s meals and that was that.  I am not sure my mother even knew how to cook.  The cooking maid’s range was limited.  Mainly eggs & bacon with toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, stews, spaghetti and meat balls, and an occasional roast for supper.   Vegetables were always cooked to a pulp, and meat to a dried cinder.  But we knew no better and were always hungry.

On Sundays we would go to grandma for lunch.  She was a superb cook with a slow Aga stove that she tendered with skill and love.  But then she had been widowed with three young kids and had been forced to open a boarding house for the local miners.  She had learnt how to cook big meals for hungry miners.  She would prepare us a chicken stuffed with pork sausage, roast potatoes and onions, and all followed by trifle.  Sunday we truly ate well. 

In my high school days I lived with a widowed aunt.  On Sunday, she prepared the meals for the rest of the week and froze them in the fridge.  Each evening, Gog-gog would heat the allotted dishes and make sure they were ready when she got home for work and supper with me and my cousin.  Gog-gog had been my uncle’s aide on the mine, and came with my aunt to work for her when my uncle died.  While Gog-gog was male, we thought of him simply as loyal servant and would never ourselves have ventured into the kitchen which was truly his domain during the week. 

The first time I saw men, boys, and kids cooking was when courting.  My wife’s father was a colonel in the air force and an avid cook.  I recall my utter amazement the first time I was invited around.  He had the whole tribe of kids and males involved in peeling vegetables for a large stew for a large family gathering.  I did not know how to get involved.  We all sat on the sunny porch, the kids drinking coke, the men beer, and we all peeled, cut, and diced potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, and tomatoes.  It was weird and wonderful. 

Then came time to barbecue the meat.  Again it was new to me to see men cooking meat over an open fire.  There was much argument about the coals, the cleanliness of the grate, the right tongs, and the need for a cover or not.  Recall this was Africa and there were no Webbers on sale at the hardware store.  The boys and young men gathered around respectfully listening to the old men banter about their cooking opinions and braaiing skills.  A strange new world opened up.

Then for ten years at university I was on an mining-company scholarship in a university residence and never thought of cooking for myself at all.  Food was in the canteen and it was always good and plentiful.  Not until I was a grandfather did I actually cook a meal for myself or seek to entertain grandkids with cooking.

My son was brought up, as I was, ignorant of the art of cooking.  Yet he taught himself when he needed to.  The lesson learnt is this: if you do not entertain your kids with cooking, they will find a way when the need arises, but it is best to give them a good grounding. My son taught himself to cook when, as an officer in the U.S. Navy he was stationed in Japan.  Along with three other officers, he rented a house on the beach overlooking Mount Fuji.  We realized his interest in cooking when on Fridays we received a call from him asking how to cook a stew, how to roast pork, how to make bread pudding. 

“And why do you want to know this?” was our incredulous reply.

“Because a whole bunch of Australian and British girls are coming down from Tokyo for the weekend,” he stated in muted tones. 

You can imagine the rest.  For Christmas, I sent him the South African cookbook Cook and Enjoy.  Now he is a good cook.

Time has passed and he has two kids.  So with my grandkids I make trifle.  It is very ease to make.  It can be pretty complex if you choose, but with kids, I recommend simple.  Let them break a bought sponge cake into pieces.  Let them peel and cut bananas, strawberries, or some healthy fruit.  Give them a carton of cream.  If you can find it, give them a carton of custard—if you cannot find this, no matter.  And maybe some jelly you made the previous day.  Give them nuts and raisins.  Cherries are great.  Them let them loose to layer this to their heart’s content.  You may decide to pour some milk to moisten the whole.  Let them put this in the fridge to cool and hey presto they are delighted with a sweet, gooyey mess. 

If they can read, direct them to the web to explore the over fifty recipes for trifle that I found one day.  Just warn them not to choose any that involve booze.  For sherry and port are my favourite additions when the overly censorious daughters are not watching.  If they are safely out of the way, I douse the kids’ trifle layering with sherry.  Then everybody enjoys the trifle.  Just do not tell them what is in it. 

From trifle advance to bread pudding.  It is easy.  Take dry bread.  Let the kids break it into small pieces.  Then to their creative talents let them layer the bread, apricot jam, nuts, raisins, glazed cherries, and whatever they like and so fill the bowl.  Let them mix milk and eggs and pour this over the bread and the rest.  You will have to supervise a bit when it comes to putting this in the oven and baking to a solid mass.  The grandsons will eat what they have cooked with gusto regardless of the details. 

In theory the idea of entertaining the younger kids with cooking is to draw them into the purchase and preparation.  You will have to control the oven or the hot plate.  Thus it is best to plan and cook things which involve lots of breaking, mixing in bowls, pouring into dishes.  Any mix that they can mix and that you can pop into the oven yourself will do.   Lasagne is a perfect example.  Trifle and bread pudding are also great.  They involve lots of safe preparation on the table; lots of scope for individual choices about layering, and you remain in control of the final act of popping the dish into the oven.

Avoid cooking that involves the stove top until the kids are teenagers, when they probably don’t want this form of entertainment involving you. 

A final word:  the sooner you teach them to cook on an open fire in a camp setting the better.  But see this as camping, not cooking.  Give them pre-cooked sausages pieces to gingerly advance to the open flame.  And then give them marshmallows and chocolate and send them to bath and bed.

A Chinese state-owned firm has already been awarded the concession for a copper mine in eastern Afghanistan.  Many mining industry executives say they expect the Chinese to bid aggressively on Afghanistan’s newly discovered mineral deposits even as many Western firms sit it out.  Robert Schafer, executive vice president of Hunter Dickinson, an exploration and mining firm based in Vancouver, Canada, which lost the bid for the copper mine concession to the Chinese company, said he believed that the Chinese “have a different perception of the risk” because they see mineral resource development as part of a national strategy.  “Their concern is for the supply of a commodity, so they are willing to do things at a loss,” Mr. Schafer said. “So yes, I could see the Chinese being willing to make investments in areas where we are unwilling to.”

I knew the Chinese were already mining in Afghanistan.  I did not know Vancouver companies had bid against the Chinese for the property.  Bold fellows out there at Hunter Dickinson.  They describe themselves thus:

Hunter Dickinson (HD) is a private corporation and an acknowledged leader in the global mining industry. Hunter Dickinson has an exceptional track record for acquiring high-quality mineral properties and advancing them through the discovery and delineation of resources, detailed project engineering, mine permitting, construction and operations. These mineral properties are held by public and private companies affiliated with Hunter Dickinson as wholly-owned interests, joint ventures and project investments.   Behind every HD company is a multi-disciplinary team of Hunter Dickinson Services Inc. professionals with an exceptional breadth and caliber of experience.

    Maybe you should spend some of the weekend looking deeper into them as part of your portfolio adjustment of mining investments.  The fact that they are trying to outbid the Chinese says they must have money.  The fact that they  are seeking to mine in Afghanistan may be good or bad, depending on your perspectives of risk and predictions of  U.S. and Canadian policy in that war-torn country.  You could spend a whole weekend on this evaluation.

Also over the weekend you may choose to do some reading on the Australian mining tax.  The situation is fluid; the news is confusing; the outlook pessimistic and optimistic, depending on who is talking.  You could spend a whole weekend reading and trying to sort it all out.  But then you are more likely to own shares in Australian mining companies than in Afghanistan mining companies.  So maybe it is worth it. 

    The danger as I see it is that the Australian government is promising to take the money from shareholders and give it to the communities where the mines are located.  The rhetoric is getting overheated—see this link:

The [tax] money would go to rail, roads, ports and “other crucial infrastructure” in mining communities, with projects selected on the basis of local development and job creation, export potential and ability to reduce capacity constraints. Based on the priorities of WA Premier Colin Barnett, Rudd nominated the Pilbara cities of Karratha and Port Hedland as an area of concern, to upgrade airports, water and communications infrastructure, and land servicing.  Kelly Howlett, the livewire mayor of Port Hedland, went to Canberra this week to talk about the needs of her town of almost 20,000 people, which is expected to grow by 50 per cent in the coming decade. The message she brought was one of long-term sustainability for a community that has been built around the operations of iron-ore digger BHP Billiton and, more recently, Fortescue Metals Group.   “Economic infrastructure, such as the port, roads and rail, has been provided by the miners and other companies,” she says. “What we desperately need now is social infrastructure for the people who live here, and those who will eventually move here, particularly housing and health services.”

     With most mines in full-gear verbal support of sustainable development, they can hardly complain that the local communities are now taking them at their word.  Afterall the mining companies are an easy target for statements like this one:

The other day, the Prime Minister did not miss his chance to antagonise miners when he was in Mandurah, south of Perth, home to many fly-in, fly-out workers. “Mining companies have stepped back over the last 10 to 20 years from providing all the infrastructure needs associated with their developments, let alone communities like this one which support the mining industry in other parts of the state,” he said.

Before we know it, mining will be so popular with local communities in Australia, they will be doing it themselves—or taxing them to sustainable levels of community relations and the true cost of a social license to mine.  Surely time to rebalance investment portfolios. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I understand the theory of community relations, corporate responsibility, and sustainable mining.  I may not agree with any of them.  But in Afghanistan and Australia we have delightful opportunities to see the chickens and Chinese come to roost as local communities demand full-scale implementation of these ill-defined, vague, and self-immolating philosophies.  The fascinating question is which mining companies will blink first and how big their blink will be.   Are they prepared to pay the taxes that support implementation of sustainable mining?  Are they prepared to actually spend the money inherent in implementing these grand statements?  Or will they flee at the first demand for honesty in advertizing? 

  Right now we are seeing Canadian companies reticent to put up the money to mine Afghanistan, and international companies making big news of investments stopped in Australia and diverted anywhere else.  Thus I repeat: this weekend is a perfect time to master these issues and decide how they will affect your mining investment portfolio.  No time for sentiment. No time for philosophy.  Time only for hard monetary decisions.  Although it will be fun to read the lies told by the politicians and PR people.  Enjoy the weekend.

       

Sitting in the 8:30pm sun of Fort McMurray reading e-mails, I saw this one from my son, who is in the U.S. Navy station in the Pentagon in Washington, DC–he states:  “Interesting…maybe it will change the course and purpose of the war!” 

   Then he quotes this news item: 

 The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. 

The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. 

 A few searches and we find umpteen news items on this same finding.  Also I recall blogging about this earlier this year at this link.    In that blog posting I noted the following; 

This [blog posting and a] question is prompted by a report that reads in part: 

“In this Taliban stronghold in the mountains south of Kabul, the U.S. Army is providing the security that will enable China to exploit one of the world’s largest unexploited deposits of copper, earn tens of billions of dollars and feed its voracious appetite for raw materials.  U.S. troops set up bases last month along a dirt track that a Chinese firm is paving as part of a $3 billion project to gain access to the Aynak copper reserves.   The U.S. deployment wasn’t intended to protect the Chinese investment — the largest in Afghanistan’s history — but to strangle Taliban infiltration into the capital of Kabul. But if the mission provides the security that a project to revive Afghanistan’s economy needs, the synergy will be welcome.” 

On which I made this sarcastic comment: 

The very idea that US troops are being deployed (inadvertently it is true) to make it possible for the Chinese to mine copper, is outlandish.  That men and women of America stand to loose their lives so the Chinese may move in under the protection of Karzai and the Taliban and grow rich wresting copper from the reported huge reserves in Afghanistan, leaves me cold. 

Now, today the US has awoken up to the fact that there are ore bodies in Afghanistan.  About time.  The Chinese have been aware of this for some time and appear to be active already.  I suppose we should be happy that the US has come out of a slumber of unimagination and failure to see what the Chinese have already seen and exploited.  

   There is no doubt that if the U.S. and Canada get going and get government support, they may be able to outdo, should we say outmine, the Chinese.  But I wonder.  Canadians are timid because of the threat of Bill C-300.  U.S. mining companies are worried about attacks by environmentalists.  Australians are reticent to act for fear of higher taxes.  Maybe only the Chinese have the system and culture to do it.  

Which leaves one wondering: why not encourage the Chinese to take over the Afghanistan peace-keeping efforts in return for free reign in developing the mines of a future rich Afghanistan.   I venture to suggest the Chinese would do a better job at “peace-keeping” in Afghanistan than any other nation.  And they would probably do a better job at mining in that harsh and dangerous place than the soft-minded west. 

  Another fascinating question that probably would have to be debated ad infinitum in the U.S. is this: should we try to reduce production of drugs by encouraging mining in Afghanistan?  Afterall, drug production is almost organic, an agricultural activity as worst.  Whereas mining is……well you have seen and heard it all: environmentally destructive, etc.  

It is a fascinating choice: Drugs or ore.  Poppy growing or mining.  Agriculturalists or miners.  U.S. private corporations or Chinese government puppets.  The comparisons are stark, and the choices hard. 

Shows how stupid and desperate the U.S. effort in Afghanistan has become that we are reduced to such silly choices.  Almost as bad as having to choose between Obama and a turn-coat McCain.  Or between Obama and Mitt Romney.  Or Hillary versus Sarah Palin.  As an aside on this: how sad that John McCain could resist the bullying of the Vietnamese, yet is easy prey to the bullying of the Arizona Republicans.  Or has he become a coward in his dotage? 

I would suggest that the U.S. tea-party folk debate the issue of mining versus growing drugs versus fighting and dying in Afghanistan.   If they can do this intelligently and come up with a practical answer, they have a place in the national debate; if not they should shut up and give us all a break from their tired and timid anti-everything rhetoric.  

Or maybe the SME can stop worrying about what I write in this blog and concentrate on mining issues of true significance to the nation.  Surely that is what a national society of mining engineers should be about. Rather than competing with private industry and attacking bloggers. 

   I personally am pessimistic.  I fear the U.S. will loose out on this opportunity.  I fear the Chinese will beat the west with single-minded focus.  I fear we will bog down in tea parties of both the Republican kind and the Alice-in-Wonderland kind.  I see Johnny Depp and Helen Bonaham Carter riding to victory in America while the Chinese ride to riches in Afghanistan.   I see here a clash of culture with the socialist winning over democracy.  And maybe there is no harm therein, if we can get out of the mess of an ungovernable nation.  The British failed more than 100 years ago.  Maybe we should admit we cannot succeed where no other nation has, and get out with honor and mining certificates.   Or leagalize drugs and stop mining!

This question is prompted by a report that reads in part:

In this Taliban stronghold in the mountains south of Kabul, the U.S. Army is providing the security that will enable China to exploit one of the world’s largest unexploited deposits of copper, earn tens of billions of dollars and feed its voracious appetite for raw materials.  U.S. troops set up bases last month along a dirt track that a Chinese firm is paving as part of a $3 billion project to gain access to the Aynak copper reserves.   The U.S. deployment wasn’t intended to protect the Chinese investment — the largest in Afghanistan’s history — but to strangle Taliban infiltration into the capital of Kabul. But if the mission provides the security that a project to revive Afghanistan’s economy needs, the synergy will be welcome.

The very idea that US troops are being deployed (inadvertently it is true) to make it possible for the Chinese to mine copper, is outlandish.  That men and women of America stand to loose their lives so the Chinese may move in under the protection of Karzai and the Taliban and grow rich wresting copper from the reported huge reserves in Afghanistan, leaves me cold.

The optimistic streak in me argues that if the US can bring peace to this torn country, and the peace enables mining to develop as an honest employer, then herald the success. 

The ironic part of me smiles at the idea that mining could become the basis of the security we are told drives us to continued operations in Afghanistan.

The cynic in me tells me that only the cynic would invest in such a venture: i.e., invest in arms to pacify the country so that the Chinese may come in and invest. 

The tragedian in me asks: is the US now but a paid mercenary for imperial commercial expansionist who are able to afford such services?

It would be nice to think that mining could take over from poppy growing as the primary economic activity in Afghanistan.  But they will probably reclaim the tailings impoundment to become another poppy field. 

It would be nice to view this report as another example of cooperation between Rio Tinto and the Chinese, undertaken in a cloak of honesty and transparency. 

I cannot but wonder if there are any Chinese troops in Afghanistan helping Nato keep the peace and train the Afghans to defend themselves.  And if there are none, why not:  are we afraid they will take over where we leave off and become the third invader, starting with Russia, to try to bring Afghanistan into its fold? 

Not that I would invest my money in mining in Afghanistan, but one must ask if there are US or Canadian companies willing, wanting, and able to explore the waste of the land of the Taliban to mine. 

So many questions; so few answers.  But it is Sunday and time for sundowners.  Let me know if you have any of the answers or at least opinions that differ from mine–demine me. 

“

The Frieda River copper-gold project is located near the border of the Sandaun and East Sepik Provinces of northwestern Papua New Guinea. Xstrata holds a 74% interest in the project and Highlands Pacific and OMRD the remaining 26%. Xstrata is the project operator.   Mineralisation at Frieda River consists of bulk tonnage, moderate grade deposits with a separate high grade but metallurgically difficult deposit at Nena. A prefeasibility study started in early 2009.

Another report notes the potential of this mine:

According to geological reports provided by Highlands Pacific Limited, the ore potential found in the Frieda River area outsizes the neighbouring Ok Tedi Mine with a heavy presence of gold and copper accompanied by a rich concentration of other metals as well. This mineral wealth carries an attractive financial projection that runs into billions of kina.

Naturally the land is sacred, and there are concerns amongst the local people:

Writing in PNG newspaper The National, Moutu said, “I want to challenge and appeal to all the educated people of Sepik River societies throughout PNG to mobilize and address the question of a Frieda River mine before we dig and bury ourselves in the coffins of mineral intoxicants. 
As feasibilities are being carried out, we have the right to demand a sound environmental plan that incorporates all and every concern about our crocodiles and humans, fish and sago, water and contaminants, eels and mayflies, birds and mosquitoes, men’s houses and churches…”

   Meanwhile the Chinese have been proceeding with the Ramu Mine and a plan to blast the coral, lay a pipeline, and discharge the tailings from their new nickel mine out to sea.  Just this weekend this report of a setback appeared: 

Papua New Guinea (PNG) landowners have won a David and Goliath battle to freeze a Chinese nickel miner’s construction of a massive pipeline to dump waste into the sea. The national court in Madang on Friday ordered work to stop on the nickel mine’s previously approved submarine tailings disposal system. The Ramu mine in Madang Province, on PNG’s northwest coast, operated by the Chinese Metallurgical Construction Group Co (MCC), plans to dump five million tonnes of slurry waste annually into Basamuk Bay. The company was preparing to start blasting coral reefs for the tailings pipeline to be laid. The stop-work order is another setback for the Chinese project, which has suffered a series of problems with the mine’s construction and relations with local people. Tiffany Nonggorr, the lawyer representing the Madang landowners, said MCC must find an alternative to dumping the mine waste into the bay.

“This injunction is a massive victory for us, definitely a David and Goliath struggle. Landowners have stopped the Chinese, who have spent $US1.4 billion ($A1.52 billion) to build this mine,” she said.  “The mine’s proposal is just too risky. There are grave environmental concerns,”  she said. Despite having government and environmental approval, the proposed deep sea tailings pipeline would destroy the environment and local people’s livelihoods, Mrs Nonggorr said. Judge David Cannings granted a temporary injunction forcing MCC to stop work “that involves directly or indirectly damage or disturbance to the offshore environment including all coral blasting or popping of dead or live coral and laying of pipes. MCC “shall not carry out directly or indirectly any such work, pending determination of the substantive proceedings” to be heard at a later date, he said. In July last year, construction of the mine was briefly stopped due to health and safety concerns, while in May outbreaks of violence exposed simmering tensions between Chinese management and PNG workers. The Ramu mine is expected to yield 143 million tonnes of nickel over 20 years and during construction will employ 3,000 workers including 700 Chinese.

Naturally the company is upbeat and optimistic they will be able to bring the mine to fruition.  Here is what they say in one report:

Highlands said in a statement on Monday that the DSTD process has been the subject of extensive technical and investigative work over several years, and is regarded as being the safest and most appropriate method for the Ramu project. Ramu NiCo has reported that the project also complies with all the statutory requirements in obtaining and maintaining the environmental approvals, including those for the DSTP.  “It is important to note that the four landowner groups that have been involved in the project since its inception continue to fully support the project as they recognise the positive benefits that will flow through the region and the country,” said Highlands MD John Gooding.   “While this is frustrating, it is not the first time the project has had to overcome obstacles.”  
He added that the final construction work and commissioning activities would continue on the remainder of the project.

Thus we will watch the development of these projects, as they wind their way through the regulatory process, the courts, and the pipeline.