4 to deliver on that potential on a long-term sustainable basis. My pitch today, to you, is how we might change our public discourse around our great industry. So, let’s talk about mining and the industry we are, the industry we need to be, and the industry we could be. 1. INTRODUCTION In talking about mining and what we do, for some reason we struggle to be clear on our primary role in society. So, let’s keep it simple. We produce the physical materials that support human life as we know it today. Of course, all species use the earth and materials around them to survive, to thrive and to grow. But no other species has the material impact we have on our habitats, nor do they have the potential to wreak as much havoc on a global scale as we can. However, I contend, through industrial scale and responsible mining, we are the most important industry in terms of our primary purpose to supply the materials that make the world work for some 8 billion humans. We provide the necessities of life to support social cohesion at its most basic level, while being the physical foundation upon which economic sustainability and longterm wealth creation are built, at scale. My second point builds from that first proposition, that we are the key to delivering the 3 pillars of Global Sustainability (economic, environment and social). The fact that we generally mine higher grades of desirable materials at industrial scale allows us to concentrate and minimize our physical footprints, while delivering sufficient materials to customers to satisfy society’s needs. That is, we ensure that the demand for materials is met at a reasonable price, for most people across the globe to be lifted from hunger and poverty, while being sheltered and protected in societies that generally try and deliver for the common good. While not perfect, the concept of comparative advantage and the trade of goods drive our ability to share across societies to minimize our human footprints as we mutually benefit from surpluses in one location for those in another. Our global progress is built on the thesis we can help each other build a better world. Mining’s role in our global economy is foundational to this thesis. And with my third point, consistent with why we come together to encourage each other to think about doing things smarter, we must also anticipate how our work needs to evolve to continue to provide the materials the world needs to support global growth and diversity of human and planetary prosperity. Of course, as we evolve and grow the demands we place on primary minerals and metals supply will also grow to the point where product thrifting, substitution, and progressive circularity will become more important conversations in the materials supply equation. To be architects in our own future we must introduce and integrate these material supply opportunities into our global operating systems and processes in a way that neither dislocates of corrupts the imperative to deliver materials to broader society on a consistent and affordable basis. If we fail that dual objective test for our customers, we will be replaced by those that can.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0Mzk2