A leading provider of “news and education on the copper market” is warning investors that because of the recent tailings facility failures in both Mexico and Canada, it is “more important than ever for investors to find evidence that companies are environmentally and socially aware.”
Just last week, a massive tailings dam failed at the Buenavista del Cobre mine in Canenea, Sonora, and dumped 40 million liters of copper sulfate into the Rio Sonora. Mexican authorities are blaming the mine’s owners, Southern Copper Corp., a subsidiary of Grupo México.
The Mexico News Daily reported Friday that Mexico’s environmental agency Profepa is blaming the mine’s operators for massive tailings release that was not immediately reported to authorities.
The News Daily is reporting that Arturo Rodríguez Abitia, assistant prosecutor of industrial inspection at Profepa, said the mine acted in a negligent manner for not having monitored the release of the contents of the tailings pond. He said Profepa will be looking to apply the highest penalty possible, which is about 3 million pesos, or $230,000.
Photo credit Twitter: @betoeliasm
In saying the mine was at fault, Rodríguez told the News Daily there should be control and emergency systems in place should a toxic spill occur, and the waste materials would be trapped by another pond to avoid being released into the river. Detection systems to warn of a problem should also be in place.
Local officials said last week that the mine made no attempt to notify authorities of the incident. The water commission was advised by a municipal president.
Businessweek reported early Monday that 88 schools in a northern Mexico state will not open because of the danger of water contaminated by the spill. The schools are expected to open next week after water quality tests have been completed.
Officials have distributed more than 1 million gallons (4 million liters) of drinking water over the past week using tanker trucks, reaching 80 percent to 90 percent of people in the area.
Grupo Mexico’s Buenavista mine is considered to be one of the largest porphyry copper deposits in the world, while the state of Sonora leads Mexico in terms of mined production of gold, copper, graphite and other products, Copper Investing News reports.
Copper Investing News also states that the disasters unfolding in Mexico and the Aug. 4 Mount Polley tailings dam failure in British Columbia, “[serve] as a reminder of why lengthy permitting and environmental approval processes are necessary for mine construction, and of why due diligence should always be an ongoing process for investors.”
Buenavista is a major profit center for Southern Copper’s operations. According to Grupo México’s 2011 report, the company plans “significant” expansion at Buenavista from the then current 180,000 tones of copper content to 480,000 tons of copper content.
Grupo México’s consolidated net sales for 2011 reached a record high of $10.443 billion, a 25% increase over the $8.338 reported for 2010. This increase is attributed, in part, to greater production by Buenavista del Cobre.
Juan Rebolledo, Grupo Mexico’s vice president for international relations, downplayed the impact, according to an online report in the Raw Story.
“The content of these acids is not toxic in itself,” he said on radio network Formula. “There’s no problem, nor any serious consequence for the population, as long as we take adequate precautions and the company pours lime into the river, as it is currently doing.”
The mine spill may have some near-term impact on mining production, according to Stockhouse.com.
Meanwhile in Canada, the B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak told CBC News there would be an independent inquiry into the Mount Polley disaster. “British Columbians expect an independent investigation and they will get one,” Polak told CBC radio.
IF THERE WAS A SECRET ABOUT TAILINGSS , RECENT EVENTS IN CANADA AND MEXICO HAVE ILLUSTRATED THE DEVASTATION THAT RESULTS WITH TAILING SPILLS . MINING COMPANIES OPERATE ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF THE LAND BUT IF THOSE LAWS ARE NOT ENFORCED , MINING COMPANIES TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE TO CARRY ON IN THEIR OWN INTERESTS . MAINTAINING TAILINGS IN A SAFE AND SECURE MANNER IS A MAJOR EXPENSE WITHE ANY MINING OPERATION REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS BEING MINED . MINING COMPANIES ARE DRIVEN BUY GREED AND PROFIT
THE MOUNT POLLY DISASTER IN BRITISH COLUMBIA , CANADA , HAS PRODUCED AN OUTCRY FROM THE FIRST NATION PEOPLE BUT VERY FEW ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS HAVE BEEN HEARD FROM . THE MINING INDUSTRY IS HOLDING ITS BREATH WHILE WAITING FOR THE OUTCOME OF THE INVESTIGATIONS WHICH THE GOVERNMENT HAS INITIATED . ALL TAILINGS FACILITIES IN THE PROVINCE MUST NOW BE INSPECTED (THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 76 ) AND STATUS REPORTS SUBMITTED BY DECEMBER , 2014 . SADLY , THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT NO LONGER HAS THE ADEQUATE PROFESSIONAL STAFF TO PROPERLY ADMINISTER THE MINING ACT LET ALONE THE ENVIRONMENTAL ACT AS IT RELATES TO MINING ACTIVITIES . WHO WILL EVALUATE THESE REPORTS ?
GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES HAVE BECOME TOO COMPLACENT WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH MINING COMPANIES . THE ENFORCEMENT OF SAFETY MEASURES TO CONTAIN TAILINGS IS OFTEN LEFT TO THE COMPANY IN QUESTION OR OVERLOOKED ENTIRELY . THE INSTALLATION OF FLOW METERS ON ALL TAILINGS MOVEMENT SHOULD BE REQUIRED BY LAW WITH THE RESULTS SUBMITTED WEEKLY TO AN APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY . SADLY , GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES DO NOT APPEAR TO HAVE THE WAYS AND MEANS TO ASSESS SUCH RESULTS .
MINING IS A HIGH RISK BUSINESS AT THE BEST OF TIMES AND MINING COMPANIES ARE GAMBLERS . THE FACT THAT TAILINGS POLLUTION CAN CROSS INTERNATIONAL BORDERS IS REAL . ALSO , ONCE A MINING COMPANY LEAVES A MINE SITE , THE TAILINGS IT PRODUCED ARE LEFT BEHIND FOR OTHERS TO DEAL WITH . MINING COMPANIES ARE RUTHLESS IN THIS REGARD .
MAJOR TAILINGS SPILLS IN RECENT YEARS HAVE CAUSED MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHAOS AS THEY INVOLVE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS WHICH RESULT IN RAPID DISPERSION . TOXIC TAILINGS SPILLS ARE LIKE DUMPING RAW CHEMICALS IN A DRAINAGE SYSTEM . THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE BUT A MUCH SLOWER RESPONSE THAT SPREADS THROUGH THE FOOD CHAIN . IT DOES NOT SIMPLY GO AWAY . THE ” PLUME ” OF SEDIMENT WHICH INITIALLY IS THERE FOR ALL TO SEE WILL SETTLE IN TIME BUT THE METAL WILL CONTINUE TO OXIDIZE AND LEACH .
MINING COMPANIES MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS AND/OR INACTIONS . A MINING/RESOURCE COMPANY WITH A ” BAD REPUTATION ” SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO APPLY FOR A MINING PERMIT . GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES SHOULD DO THEIR DUE DILIGENCE AND BACKGROUND CHECKS BEFORE AN APPLICATION FOR A MINING PERMIT/LICENSE IS CONSIDERED . AUGUSTA RESOURCES SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO APPLY FOR A MINING PERMIT CONSIDERING THE TRACK RECORD OF THEIR SENIOR EXECUTIVE IN SARDINIA .
Good Golly You “Tree Huggers” Are Against Anything “American” First Why Not Visit A “Copper Mine In Arizona” Not In The Mountains Of Canada With Enough Snow To Service California. Second Tailing Failure In Mexico, Yikeess, Have You Heard Of The “Monsoons”?? I Live Close To Nogales Az Which Is Just Across From Nogales Mex That Has A “Treatment Plant” That They Can Not Handle, During The “Monsoons” So This Mexico Shit-Water Runs Into The Arizona River!! Yikeess, However This Happens Only During Heavy Rains And Not One Person Has Fixed This Problem In 5 Years At Least!! Now In The Green Valley Area Of A Copper Mine Not A Problem When The Monsoons Come, Plus This Mine Is Cleaner Than Most NogAles Mex Homes. God Bless America.