Monday, October 16, 2017

Mining 57, More photos during Mining PH 2017 conference

Posting some of the quotes-with-photos made by the Secretariat during the Mining 2017 Conference last September 5-7, 2017.


Some of my photos at the farewell dinner.


With the Stratbase-ADRi group.


And in a brief karaoke segment, I sang on stage, "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles :-)


Meanwhile, reposting this article today by JB Baylon.
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Who’s afraid of open pit mining?
By Jose Bayani Baylon
October 16, 2017

THERE’S a lot of brouhaha about open pit mining these days, spurred by Ma’am Gina Lopez alleging that they create acids that will bedevil all of humanity for life. And you know how convincing she can be, so even the President has expressed apprehensions about open pit, apprehensions that could extend to actually banning this form of mining.

While listening to my mining colleagues discuss the issue, my genetic make up (I am the son of a doctor and a nurse and brother to two more doctors) kicked in and a very medical image cropped up.

Mother Earth and many women have something in common - they are gifted with blessings that need to be brought into the world so that life can be better. For Mother Earth these are her mineral wealth; for many women, this is a child.

Now women who are blessed with a child have two ways of bringing God’s gift into the world - the normal laborious method, or the sometimes quicker Caesarian section. These are two accepted methods that are used depending on the situation of the mother or the child, or both; the fact is some women can be at risk - and the child in their womb as well - if an OB Gyne does not resort to the “C-section.” My mother, for one, had to go through the C-section three times; thankfully she had the late great Dra Gloria Aragon watching over her.

Again: whether a woman gives birth via the normal way or by C-Section is determined by the situation and managed by the experts. No one can say we will ban Caesarian because it leaves an ugly scar and puts a woman at risk with her anesthesia etc etc etc.

Similarly the ore deposit determines which form of mining is done in order to bring out into the world the mineral wealth with which Mother Earth is blessed. An ore deposit or body near the surface of the earth is therefore mined using surface mining or open pit; an ore body that is in the form of veins or goes deep into the recesses of Mother Earth is mined via underground mining. Like a pregnant woman, Mother Earth’s situation determines the way her gifts are brought out into the light. Again one cannot force only one method of mining because the ore deposit or body determines what is used.

Are there risks? Of course there are. But that’s why you have experts who require pre testing and constant monitoring during the procedure. Are there accidents? Of course there are. But they are few and far between and sometimes they just happen. Are there examples of successes? Well, my brothers and I are just three of hundred of millions of examples of successful C-Section births, while for mining there countless examples around the world of open pits rehabilitated into such destinations as golf resorts.

The point is, in life, one can always choose to focus on the dangers. But then what happens? “Oh my gosh an airplane crashed! We should ban flights and shut down all airlines!”. Or “ An elevator got stuck! Let’s do away with lifts and use the stairs!”.

That’s why there are tests: for humans these range from blood tests to BP monitoring, while for environmental projects you have Environmental impact assessments and clearances. Once a patient or a project passes these tests then it means the experts are more than confident everything will turn out fine.

So: it’s right to worry about open pit mining just like it’s right to worry about Caesarian operations. But trust your experts. That’s the reason they’re there.

And if you like, pray or do yoga.
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