Sustainable development: can the mining industry afford it?

Adopting the values of sustainable development implies an increase in the m ining industry's environmental and social costs. For an industry already of fering poor returns on capital this is potentially a problem. An examinatio n of the historical record, however, reveals that past increases in environ mental and social costs have been more than offset by developments in indus try productivity. The emergence of information and communication technologi es seems likely to extend this trend into the future. The particular challe nges being faced by mining in the US appear to be less to do with rising en vironmental costs than with competition from countries which have recently opened up to foreign mining investment and to a strong dollar. It seems lik ely that industry's adoption of more sustainable practices will require, an d could even promote, improved returns to capital in mining. (C) 2001 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.