EDITORIAL PAGE — A prescription for growth

While doctors are well known for their interest in mining investments, few ever venture into the operations theatre. But a group of Canadian doctors believes it has just the right prescription for developing a co-operatively run, open-pit mine in the southern African country of Malawi.

This “alternative mining” project is the brainchild of Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR), a non-profit organization that implements various programs aimed at improving the general health and well-being of rural African communities.

CPAR is aware that the World Health Organization has identified poverty as the number-one cause of poor health in the developing world. At the same time, however, it realizes that governments have limited resources for social programs at home, let alone abroad. The physicians are also well-aware that international donor support for the development of the Third World is waning, and they hope to fill this gap, at least partially, by helping local communities find ways to harness their resources for health, education and social well-being. This is where mining comes into play.

CPAR believes sustainable development cannot exist without a strong economic base. Toward that end, the group intends to form a partnership with a Malawian co-op organization to develop a mine that will produce industrial minerals of value to the local economy. The Malawian government is supportive of the project and will provide CPAR with access to a concession that has proven mineral deposits.

But the mine is not only expected to produce minerals needed locally (such as aggregates for building purposes, and lime and phosphates for improving the soil); CPAR also expects the mine to produce profits that will go back to the community in the form of urgently needed water systems, tree planting and health programs.

The industrial minerals project will help fight poverty through improved employment and the training of local people in employable mining skills. CPAR says it will ensure that the mine becomes a model in the areas of environmental protection and occupational health and safety. Experienced managers of small-scale mines will be employed at all stages of the project. All that is needed is private support or a small institutional grant to fund the design and development work — and work to secure this funding is already in progress.

This industrial minerals mine will be small in scale, and of no consequence to major mining concerns. But the implementation of small-scale mining practices and technologies may well lead to other mining ventures that have the potential to produce both products and profits for the benefit of the local citizens. It is small projects like this that stand the best chance of raising the standards of living for local communities.

Twenty years ago, politicians and aid agencies believed the best way to fight poverty in developing countries was to throw money at mega-projects that, in theory, would sustain the larger, state economy. But all too often, these projects provided only short-term benefits to a few entrenched interests at the top. Now, both politicians and aid agencies know that it is better to build from the bottom up, than from the top down. And what better building block than mining?