A TALE OF TWO CITIES: ASYMMETRICAL IMPACTS OF MINING IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

Extractive industry projects in general, and mining in particular, tend to be under immediate and sustained scrutiny from regulators, NGOs, the media and even the general public. As the mining industry has moved “off-shore,” the level of concern over potential environmental, social and health issues has not lessened. Ironically, potential project health impact concerns are actually magnified in a developing country setting because of the underlying significant burden of pre-existing disease and the frequent lack of a functioning public health infrastructure. Two recent mining projects, Kabwe, Zambia and Buyat Bay, Indonesia illustrate the perils and pitfalls that await international mining companies and their work in a developing country setting. Kabwe is a large, historic lead mine/smelter in the Copper Belt of Zambia operated by the Government of Zambia in the post-independence period. Buyat Bay was a small gold mining project in Sulawesi Indonesian operated by Newmont Mining a large, US based international company . The Kabwe mine and smelter had a 90 year operation in the fourth largest city in Zambia. The lead pollution legacy from the Kabwe mine represents one of the largest sustained mining pollution legacies in the world. However, the Kabwe site has attracted minimal remediation funding or international scrutiny relative to the magnitude of the ongoing health problems. In contrast, the Buyat Bay gold mine became a cause celebre attracting international media coverage despite the well-documented lack of any scientific evidence that health or environmental impacts actually occurred. The factors that produced this asymmetrical reaction will be explored and discussed. There are numerous cautionary lessons for the mining industry as new projects are considered in a developing world setting.