6 • Water: reflecting a fluid state of another life supporting input – also containing some life-threatening impurities, • Minerals: come from Earth and are contained within gassy, fluid and solid states. • Energy: where fire is a manifestation of an energy release in a particular form. And while our articulation of where matter comes from might have been modernized, our definitions reflect centuries of learning and application of new tools and processes to understand and reflect a deeper knowledge of science and materials. In the end the concepts are not significantly different from how people think about the world and their experience of it, but I argue in our modern world our connection to these basic principles is far more remote than our ancient ancestors. In today’s modern world it seems to me that indigenous and other “nature-connected” societies (as opposed to modern scienceconnected urban inhabitants) have a deeper appreciation and understanding of how they use naturally occurring matter to help make their lives both manageable and sustainable. In our modern and more urbane existence, the physical separation we have from raw materials and the products we use in our daily lives tends to distance us from the experience and understanding of where “stuff” comes from. And how we transform raw materials into modern products for consumption is further disconnected from our experiences of how the world works. We need to help people understand the products of mining are core to our very existence – providing water, nourishment, shelter and warmth, the facilities to travel and to build a world beyond anything the Ancient Greeks could ever imagine. Just to make sure you didn’t miss it – my simple message to the world at large – for most practical purposes most “Stuff” comes from mining – in one form or another. So, in terms of telling a mining story this seems like a good place to start to explain how our world relies on mining to make life possible for 8 billion humans. Now, if we start with that proposition the next question that people may ask…but at what cost and why is large scale regulated mining better than 8 billion people digging their own holes to “scratch out” their own existence? So, let’s see if we can put some shape around that answer. 2.2 “Industrial Scale” Mining and Minimizing our Global Mining Footprint The mining of relatively large-scale, higher grade mineral deposits enables the concentration of mining activities in relatively small areas across the globe. Not surprisingly, smaller physical footprints yielding relatively higher production levels usually correspond to lower extraction costs and better returns on capital. Of course, when people mine resources that are not as well-endowed from an extraction economics perspective, they must be more innovative to compete on costs, margins and returns. In this context, our competitive imperative
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