I’m in Perth at the moment, at the end of the Australian tour of a new documentary ‘Mine Your Own Business’. In the film, British journalist Phelim McAleer meets up with an unemployed 23-year-old Romanian miner Gheorge Lucian and together they explore a mine site in Rosia Montana before travelling together to Madagascar and Chile where environmental campaigining by western activists has prevented other mines going ahead. An underlying theme is that misguided environmental activism has stopped mining projects that would have brought jobs and opportunity to impoverished communities.
The film, produced by New Bera media in conjunction with the Moving Picture Institute in New York (a not for profit dedicated to advancing liberty through the medium of film), will go to film festivals next year and then hopefully into the cinemas. But this last week the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) sponsored the film’s Australian preview with one-off screenings in Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney and Perth.
After each screening there has been time for questions and discussion with Phelim and also Ann McElhinney, his partner and the film’s executive producer. In every city there have been some angry environmentalists in the audience letting us know that they disapproved of the documentary.
In Sydney a woman said that mining was a 200 year old technology that should be abandoned. Phelim followed up with comment that it was actually atleast a 2,000 year old activity and that mining technologies had changed and improved dramatically including over the last 20 years.
Ann followed on with comment that any one who lives in Sydney and is against mining is “living a lie”. She explained how mining provides the infrastructure and energy that we all use everyday.
Was the woman, who clearly stated as part of the discussion that she was “against mining”, living a lie or plain ignorant?
I know educated Australian women who are against logging, but use paper. I know women who are against mining, but couldn’t live without their gold jewellery. I know women who are against irrigation but expect an abundance of fruits, vegetables and affordable wine.
While in Sydney Phelim McAleer caught a bus, watched a movie and logged onto the internet. All activities that couldn’t happen without mining.
Here’s Phelim in front of the Sydney Harbor Bridge – another product of mining.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.