SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
MANAGEMENT OF MINES IN THE FUTURE
M. Javier, Enviromine, Denver, CO
ABSTRACT
Management is a major part of sustainability research. Many
different aspects of sustainability have already received significant
research attention, but the management processes in mining from the
perspective of their impact on society are less understood and
integrated as a holistic frame.
It is evident that mining technology has received major blame in
past ecological disasters and major mining-induced environmental
hazards, but the management-mining process has escaped unscathed.
This should not have happened. Instead, the management processes
should share equal blame with obsolete technology for the failure to
identify and monitor potential environmental hazards before their
inception of mining.
We will present an emergent style of management for the future
of mining. It challenges the actual “mind-set” of mining management. It
describes balance and equilibrium: physical, chemical, and biological
in nature as an understanding of nature’s language, which is Geomimic
along side “the bottom line”. The goal is to minimize loss instead of
maximize profits (waste design) at the design stage of mining and to
develop clean technologies (nature's values) to achieve non-social
environmental impacts that provide a prosperous legacy to future
generations.
Keywords: Waste design, Geomimic, nature’ values.
INTRODUCTION
The Mining Industry is structured, conducted, and led in a
fragmented linear system of management that results in large
accumulation of liabilities, which have far-reaching socio-environmental
impacts. Society has the duty and the responsibility to mitigate these
impacts in this present generation. Mining, as an industry, arrives to
the present millennium with a managerial structure organization that
was created two centuries ago; today we face new challenges. Many
of the above-mentioned liabilities create negative effects on society
and nature. Some of them can be attributed to operational “accidents”
that came about as the result of deficient technological application, but
it almost never pinpoints the real culprit, which is deficient
management. In spite of numerous instances of ecological disaster,
mining continues on with the same style of management before and
after any incidents occur. We do not even consider altering customary
course of action to manage the extraction of mineral resources. We do
not considering reengineering aspects of the process in order to avoid
further mistakes. We continue to manage with the same style, but with
heavy warning that those same cases must not repeat themselves. In
the review of those disasters, demonstrates that we never change
management from within because business and profits take
precedence over any socio-environmental concerns. This divergence
of objectives originated our concern to develop the present paper.
Writing for the future is dominated by two principles; first, we
cannot be writing when we arrive at the predicted time – we need to
have a blueprint of what kind of environment we are striving for, and
second, we can not repeat the past because the future cannot be like
the past. The future requires that we design a new system NOW. The
future of society depends on a sustainable society. It cannot be like the
past an present human tendency to consume too many natural
resources. Our definition of mineral resources from a human view must
be reconsidered. It is known that natural resources provides society
1 Copyright © 2010 by SME
Preprint 10-047
with many aesthetic, ecological, and economical benefits while also
defining an important part of our identity. In short mineral resources
contribute greatly to the quality of life in this unique planet. Is mining
industry keeping up with the rest do the changes going on in the
world?
In addition to technical and operational issues, mining is a social
issue. Primarily, society must define its identity as a support system of
life on earth while also bearing in mind its limitations. On the other
hand, we also have to allow for the high demands of a better informed
and discerning public and increasingly better educated and involved
communities as well.
BACKGROUND
The Mining industry plays an important and vital role in today’s
society. Without mining, the existence of our civilization would be
crippled, not to mention our quality of life. In spite of the liabilities that
have been generated and decreasing mineral resources for future
generations, mining made our present civilization possible. Therefore,
mining has an obvious place in our world. Without mining, society
could collapse. In today’s practices, mining is regulated by many
requirements such as social license, operational guarantee or bonding,
and other strict regulations in which causes mining to become a
SOCIAL ISSUE.
Society is obsessed with and anxious to mitigate all of those
mining liabilities around the world, hoping to preserve life and the
stability of nature. Society must demand and work for a new value
table of operation based on the sovereignty of nature. Instead of
working within a linear fragmented system that does not consider the
relevance of the magnitude of the consumption of energy put into a
product, we need to incorporate an integrated system that accounts for
all aspects of the finalized product. In order to achieve this kind of
environment, it is necessary that we persist in improving present and
future mining, as well as limiting how much energy we are allowed to
use per metal.
A traditional statement of management says: “if we measure
performance then we can manage”. The mining industry has many
attributions of liabilities; many of them are still in planning stage of
being mitigated and others are now being mitigated, but we still have to
live with the mismanagement of the mining operations in the past.
Today, the mining industry is not only measured by profit, but also for
environmental and social performances. A better understanding of
those issues and how to manage them is a crucial first step towards a
more long-term sustainable management approach. It is an immensely
valuable resource to conduct the mining industry under the perspective
of equilibrium. It will also give the industry a more friendly approach to
the environment as well as to the planet. This includes such things as
energy demand, abandoned site recovery, biodiversity, and water, air,
and soil management. Many of the ecological disaster in the world
have a common denominator, which is that they all use the same style
of management. Therefore, management was rarely considered a
factor in those disasters and has escaped unscathed. This should no
be the case. It is another reason to address the way that we practice
mineral resources administration in this planet.
In reality, there are only two main players in this mining scenario:
humans and nature. Nature is established with its own rules and laws
that humans cannot interfere with. Humans are only now beginning to

understand this. In the past, humans created their own laws that
disregarded the laws of nature, and the laws of human are subject to
corruption. Humans belong to and are a part of nature; nature is not a
part of humans. Nature is not managed through economics, but rather
through respect. Having these two players in balance, the mining
industry can perceive new values of this relationship submitted to the
respect of nature. Mining Cycle is illustrated in Fig.1.
NATUR
E
MINE OPERATION CLOSURE
FIRST STAGE OF MINING: REMEDIATION
Fig.1. Mining Cycle.
Throughout time, the mining industry was established for the
extraction of a single metal and seldom focused on more than one
metal (metal from by-products). Many valuable metals including rare
earth elements (REE) reside in extracted ore, but are often disposed of
as waste with no planning for future use or re-mining. Moreover, we
expect the highest quality of mineral to be sold in the market, but the
market does not pay for this gift of nature; for example, the iron ore of
Brazil has the highest quality in the world. Because of this condition,
pelletization of the ore requires less energy because the ore has fewer
pollutants. Is this savings of energy reflected in the price rewarded by
the market? Why does the market not pay for energy savings as well?
We cannot keep adding energy—which is wasteful—in the fragmented
cycle to obtain the final product (such as heating, toasting, smelting,
and manufacturing in many different geographical points).
The paradigm of economy in mining is a relevant issue if
economics is the driving factor in mining. Is economics the driving
factor of mining? The price of rare earth elements is very high, higher
than gold for example, but we still mine solely for gold. Where is the
drive of economics when we waste valuable elements? When or what
are the limitations of economy as a driver in mining? Many mines are
exclusively used for extraction of diamonds or gold without
consideration for any other elements. In the mining industry, the
product is sold only once and receives only one payment, without
consideration for the liabilities generated by the disruption of nature.
Metal can be recycled many times over, but the producer is only paid
once for this resource. This economic model is unfair from any point of
view.
One of the oldest sayings of management states “safety first”, but
in today’s business challenge this statement does not encompass the
bigger picture which is environmental, health, and safety first (EHS).
We still have accidents with fatalities in the mining industry. Many
people die and are being injured, so mine safety demands immediate
attention to be fixed. However, companies are using models that limit
the payment of benefits and fines, which directly represents the
continuation of the same pattern. We are an experimental industry so
the tolerance for accidents should be beyond “zero accidents”,
because only zero accidents can be acceptable in this industry. To
reach this point, management must deliver all efforts to have those
results. On the other hand, accidents combined with profitability for
companies cannot mix. We cannot be the best company in the industry
when we have accidents and this classification is wrongly admitted as
a path by the perception of illusion in management.
The future of mining is our challenge because in mining, the
process of restoration or depredation occurs without anything in
between. There is only one or the other happening at one time. This
2 Copyright © 2010 by SME
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
creates disequilibrium and imbalance within the ecosystem because
the earth is not given enough time to restore and regenerate itself.
Therefore, the future of management in mining will be based upon the
equilibrium in nature attached to a clean technology with an integration
of waste design and the benefit of full extraction of every metal
presented within the ore body. This relationship model is the basis for
establishing those principles of management as a concept for the
future. Otherwise, we will still have this question to answer: what is the
biggest factor affecting the future of management? Philosophy of
management was advancing in time (Fig. 2)
MAXIMIZATION
MINING ENGINEERING
PROFITABILITY
TIME MINE
MAXIMIZATION
MIINING ENGINEERIING
PROFITABILITY
PROJECT
HUMAN
MINING ENVIRONMENT
PROFITABILITY
Fig. 2. Philosophy of Management.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MANAGEMENT
Mining has several characteristics for management in the future;
several of those characteristics will be presented in this time. Mining in
the future requires a new style of management.
Mine Projects
The concept of mining projects reflects engineering in action while
accepting the uncertainties of geological aspects of this industry. Many
of the ore bodies are discovered after the extraction is completed and
well known. Before this, it is difficult to anticipate or predict the perfect
result because it is unknown until after the fact. In the geological
aspect of the ore body, the majority is polimetallic – composed of more
than one metal. However, in the mining project, we only seek to extract
a single metal, and in rare cases, two metals, but we never develop a
project for more than one metal and a single by-product. There is no
mention of the destination of many rare metals to be exploited. For
rd
example, the price of Rhodium on October 23 , 2009 is close to
$1900.00 / oz. troy. This is nearly double the current price of gold.
Knowing the composition of the ore cannot be determined until after
the ore has been mined. Many ore bodies consist of several elements,
but often, the only consideration is for a single metal and everything
else is considered to be waste. These considerations are established
in a well-planned concept of waste design.
The mining project up to now must always be oriented to human
profitability. Environmental aspects such as clear air and water, fertile
soil, abundant food supply, and others except toxicities fall under the
category of human profitability. All of these aspects lend themselves
towards better employee retention strategies and improved morale,
which is a direct result of ethics within this system.
Considering all the disturbances in mining, remediation should
appear as the first stage of development, where the mine planning is
initiated from mine closing at the beginning while utilizing the best
practices of mine opening and closing from the start. Also, we must
include the mine planning production into the mine closure plan. By
doing so, Mine Projects will be better well towards achieving
equilibrium (physical, chemical and biological). Mine projects should
attend the classification of reserves shown in Fig.3
 SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ

CLASSIFICACION OF MINERALS RESOURCES spheres (biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere) have
important interactions that make it easy to define the components as a
system. The earth itself acts as a closed system with a dynamic
Geologic Resources balanced of matter and energy in its interactions, among rocks, water,
air, and life work closely together as a complex system with each part
Accesible
Proven Probable Possible affecting the outcome of the whole, but in a complete harmony. Nature
Reserves Reserves Reserves cannot be defined by human views. Nature has its own intrinsic value
that we must respect. Nature has a dynamic equilibrium that has been
established through long periods of geologic time. We cannot exploit
Socio-environment Impact(**)
more minerals than nature can restore because there is nothing left
until more is generated over long periods of time. The law of nature is
an axiom or a postulate, human cannot alter or control those rules,
Inaccesible nature takes care of their own business without consultation to human.
Economy does not manage nature. In mining, we disturb the
equilibrium of nature; therefore, we have the goal of restoring nature in
order to continue living in earth. To understand nature better, it is
Sustainabl
important to understand the process of natural restoration (Geomimic).
Society Under these conditions, we should live in the effect to fix the cause.
Valid: Geologic/Technology (*) Mining engineers are managers of nature.
Technology
(*) Level Of uncertainties & risks Technology was spread across the earth by humans without any
(**) Social & ecosystem
consideration or constraint of its effects; many of these effects are
After: M Javier 1996
greatly beneficial to humanity and our objectives, but in many cases,
technology is contrary to nature. The latter cases will prove that
Fig. 3. Classification of minerals resources. through the orientation of the objective, during the application, we
It is necessary to find the optimal of indicator of utilization of the would find that some technology is opposed to nature; therefore,
capacity installed in the mine as well as plants. The goal is to find or technology is produced at the expense of nature. Many cases will
restore a new equilibrium or balance of nature. The business end of show us that technology was designed to accomplish certain needs
mining needs to develop a new table of values that functions within this without evaluation of its effects. In addition, technology was submitted
equilibrium. It is necessary to ask, at the end of the mining project, how to program maintenance in different time periods because we still did
much of the equilibrium that we have affected is restored? The not design technology to nurture nature. With technology, we try to
following graph is describing material without plan usage in future see extract the maximum amount of natural resources in a short time
Fig. 4. possible or as quickly as our ability is allowed while breaking the
equilibrium of our ecological habitat. In practicality, natural resources
GENERATION OF WASTE are extracted based on technology, yet we never consider the
limitations of natural resources, nor do we have any foresight for future
generations. Now, through project management, we continue this
Metal process until the NPV is zero. We have technology with a high volume
of extraction, but we do not measure its capacity or design of the by-
products that it generates.
Technology was created by humans to achieve goals or
Mineral objectives in the industry process for the specific benefit of the group
who uses it. Some of this technology has different processes that
create unwanted by-products and waste accumulating in large
REFINERY
Mineral concentrations around mining projects. Some of these technologies
also have a conflict of interest because they raise these factors into the
ethical areas of accessibility. Many of these technologies are restricted
to a single type of energy such as fossil fuels which make them totally
CONCENTRATION dependant on this finite resource. It is a challenge for mining
engineering to take this technology to the level of its incompetence. It
MINE no longer accomplishes the goals for which it was established. We
must understand the language of nature, which is Geomimic.
Technology created by humans requires constant maintenance, but
the technology of nature is maintenance free. This is something that is
Matte, Slag not well-known by humans. Without a balance of technology, there is
Waste Tailin
g no growth.
Humans
The future of mining is solely dependent on human behavior and
the balance of human needs and wants. Some societies have a much
higher consumption of natural resources than others. The Mineral
Total = W+ T +S
Information Institute registered that each American required 42,719
pounds of minerals in 2008 (www.mii.org) see Fig.5. Knowing that the
Minimization for less socio-environmental impacts ( Waste Design )
It happens only add and not subtraction population of the entire world is close to 6.785 billion people, if we give
the same standard of consumption as the United States to the rest of
the world, our natural resources will be depleted rapidly. Therefore, our
Fig. 4. Generation of waste in mining.
population needs to be re-educated on objectives that define the
Nature difference between progress and development because neither can be
The earth as viewed from space is called the “blue planet” infinite. In order to achieve this re-education, we present “Management
because it has a large constitution of water. Yet, in spite of being by Loss”, which means that we cannot waste the mineral haphazardly
composed of 71% water, we still call it earth. The earth and its four as we have done in the past. Also, not only can we maximize profit but

3 Copyright © 2010 by SME


also minimize loss in the mining process (“Management by Loss in
Mining” 2009, M. Javier). Based upon this new style of management,
humans will be able to develop a sustainable society because instead
of maximizing profit which leads to over consumption, we maximize
conservation which leads to sustainability.
It is remarkable to realize that the laws of humans are irrelevant to
nature. Again, mind set in the industry is an obstacle that still does not
match current time.
Safety is critical in the human factor of mining production. Mining
has always been a more dangerous occupation than other industries
and the manpower and material cost associated with accidents is
huge.
In mining, zero accidents has been a goal of business. It also is
extended to the environment, health and safety first.
Fig 5. Human consumption of Mineral resources.
Energy in Mining
The energy polices set in place by a given country determine the
type of energy and equipment design that is used and made available
to mining. These policies also represent the responsibility and
accountability of the country to manage and control pollution of the
planet. The energy policies also determine the product and accepted
equipment design in the industry. Having effective energy policies in
place is vital in the global context of restricting CO2 emission. A typical
and traditional example is the use of fossil fuel which is forced to the
whole industry by the manufacture of equipment that is still designed
under those conditions, without the consideration of the relevance of
alternative energy sources that have less impact on the planet by
limiting levels of pollution. It is known that if the industry allows the use
of the same equipment but requires different energy sources, it will
limit the use of the internal combustion motor, which should have
replaced long ago. By not mandating proper energy polices, the use of
obsolete technologies is extended at the wrong time. The challenge is
to use energy policy to force the manufacturer of equipment production
of new technologies to take advantage of alternative energy sources
rather than to continue to relying on improved yet obsolete
technologies that have fundamentally remained the same since the
beginning of industrialization. We still keep the same equipment based
on fossil fuel, but we call it new technology.
Energy has a huge importance to the future of industry because
energy is the bottleneck that drives all production. The problem with
energy is not with the generation of it, but with the storage of it. Let me
reiterate, we understand how to generate energy, but we don’t know
how to store enough it. We cannot continue to use energy such as coal
and fossil fuel to power plants, without controlling the generation of
pollution. There are serious side effects with the generation of
pollutants and with the limitations of the planet’s ability to restore itself;
therefore, coal and fossil fuel as sources of energy do not have a place
in the future. Referring to the pollution generated by the power plants
that consume coal to generate electricity, these plants create waste
with a high level of arsenic that seeps into the groundwater. If we
consider the Clean Water Act and the acceptable levels established by
4 Copyright © 2010 by SME
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
the Environmental Protection Agency, the arsenic contained in the
waste has been found to be eighteen times higher than the federal limit
in some cases. According to EPA data, the Clean Water Act is being
violated hundreds of thousands of times per year, yet there is no
punishment for the violators because we do not have a specific
regulation to control the waste created by power plants.
It is becoming commonplace to call other sources of energy
“renewable” such as wind power or solar energy, but this is improper
because wind power and solar energy is not renewable; these sources
of energy are constantly present on the earth. These sources are
always available to our usage and consumption, but the challenge is
how to properly utilize and store these energies. For example, the sun
delivers enough energy in one day to meet all the energy requirements
of humanity for a full year; however, we do not use this available
energy. Therefore, this is a necessary clarification because other
energy sources such as bio-energy fit into the renewable category, but
not wind and solar.
This determination to manage energy includes the transportation
of waste mineral around the world with no accountability for the
movement of those materials. For example, in the mining industry, we
utilize energy for the extraction, transformation, transportation, and
manufacturing of products without any integration of the consumption
of energy (energy utilization quotas). We permit a clear condition of
fragmentation in respect to the mining industry. We use energy in the
smelting, we use energy in the refinery, then we use more energy in
the transformation, and we use more energy in the final product
without the benefit of the initial energy applied to the metal. This
constant application of energy caused by fragmentation is a disparity of
good energy management that cannot persist into the future because
the usage of energy in this manner is extremely inefficient.
Not only is energy efficiency a big issue in mining, but the
productivity and the appropriate usage of energy in the extraction of
metal is also demanding a new discipline in the industry. Referring to
efficiency, it is remarkable to mention that efficiency is an achievement
to a certain point and then efficiency becomes inefficient, no matter
what you do. This is a principle of efficiency. (See Efficiency Cycle in
Fig 6). Referring to productivity, we define the metric as one resource
versus another resource; in mining, we can measure productivity by
comparing the amount of energy utilized to the amount of extracted
mineral. For example, the quantity of energy consumed per quantity of
mineral produced (joules or kwh / ton) is far from the traditional
measurement of man-hour/ton (“Productivity & Competition in Mining”,
2006 M. Javier).
EFFICIENCY CYCLE
Process # 1
%
EFF
Process #2
Technology
Process # 3
TIME
Fig. 6. Efficiency Cycle.
Our view exists to build an energy-efficient culture through
effective leadership. To accomplish this, we must maintain a constant

balance of energy in each process in mining. This balance is sustained
through the assignment of accountability in energy values in the whole
process of metal extraction. We must manage energy aggressively
with the long-term thinking, which is a key responsibility of successful
leadership.
Equipment
Equipment is related to the type of technology applied within the
process of extraction. Its orientation of design is in the capacity of
volume of production. Still, equipment manufacturers confront
challenges such as: alternative energy sources, less maintenance,
more preventive maintenance, safety demands, wear-proof materials,
decommissioning, recycling, versatility, gravity (load/hp), life use of
equipment, refueling (faster refueling system), standardization, and
resale value. There are issues about weight of equipment versus load
capacity, lubrication (centralized), fully automated fire-suppression
systems, improvements to additional lighting and visibility,
communication, and energy efficiency.
Today, the market for equipment behaves in the same way as any
commodity. In the future, equipment will be based on electrical
energies provided from solar and wind energies. This is especially true
for the internal combustion engine (1876). It cannot be kept around for
too many more generations because it keeps us hooked on one type of
energy source, but the design is cheap enough to last into the future.
The technology of nature is always maintenance-free; this is not true
for the technology created by humans.
Automated equipment has advantages in mining because it
reduces the number of human labor hours while increasing production,
but the main characteristic of mining is hard work to have no work
(NPV tends to zero in time). Automated equipment maximizes its
output and increases efficiency by eliminating the discontinuity caused
by bringing in new workers at the beginning of a shift. Many
manufactures offer automatic equipment to the mining industry. The
industry needs equipment for re-mining that the manufacturer is in the
process of creating. We do not have the versatility of equipment to
avoid decommission or to delay obsolescence. It is necessary to
design equipment that is easily disassembled and transported for re-
use or for discarding from the mining site, rather than leaving
equipment like a wrecking yard which causes negative visual impact to
the environment after the project is complete. The mining industry is in
agreement with the equipment manufactures, but in the selection of
equipment, the industry does not have any choice in regards to energy
sources; therefore, both cooperate to produce ecological footprints
every year even though the energy price is subject to volatility.
Mine Site
Mines are located and inhabit areas that are isolated and
removed from cities. There are now many cases where humanity will
live around those places for the first time. This condition becomes an
excellent opportunity for a mining company to define the urbanism of
future cities. As we know, our cities were not designed to exceed a
certain number of people. Instead of designing for proper expansion,
we put stress on the environment and nature around us because our
demand exceeds the capacity for nature to meet these requirements
(water, food supply, electricity, etc). To illustrate, we can already
answer the question: How many people are supposed to live in
Phoenix without stressing the surrounding area? In addition, we are
challenged to determine a method to limit the number of people who
will live in a city. In the case of mining sites, we know in advance the
quantity of people that can live in a mining town from the very
conception of the project.
This scenario presents a new opportunity to put these ideas into
action by using the mining industry as a means of defining urbanism of
the future. This is accomplished by implementing building designs such
as the use of gray water, dry toilets, rain water collection, natural
illumination, solar and wind power usage, optimal size of rooms, use of
LEDs for illumination, energy efficient building design with high
insulation built from material gathered from the area without the need
to import, seismic structures, the concept of community and
socialization, mass transportation, centralized grocery supplies,
centralized hospitals and infirmaries, and by respecting the culture of
5 Copyright © 2010 by SME
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
the people who inhabit these areas. We can also manage CO2
emissions by designing cities that are built for humans and not for cars
(“Mine site in Future” 2008, M. Javier). The control of water should be
established as a closed-loop system to avoid imbalance and pollution
in the underground watershed. Managing this type of city will be a
preservation of our planet and will form the legacy to the coming
generation of miners.
Market
The market is a receptor for many mineral resources from around
the globe. As a consequence, it also has an emerging industry as a
recycler of metals. The market has interesting conditions where the
market itself functions as a method to liberate or sanitize many of the
liabilities formed or generated at the other end where the extraction of
minerals originates. Commonly, the traders and economists register
these liabilities as externalities. Parallel to this, many certifications (ISO
and its infinity numbers) are implemented at the producer’s end, but
there are none in the final end which is known as “the market”. This
disparity of responsibility is causing the imbalance in fair trade
negotiations between producer and receptor of a finite mineral
resource. Additionally, the market determines the price of metal only,
while excluding the condition of the environment and the social issues
of the extraction of minerals as well. These issues are never included
in the price that the market sets. The price is oriented and based on
the speculation of the supply and demand curve without consideration
of the transportation of waste from one further geographical point on
the globe to another and make it profitable without any consideration of
the production of the ecological footprints (transportation of ecosystem
creates imbalance of environment on both ends).
The market is obligated to share the responsibilities of this
generation’s liabilities in many parts of the planet. Also, speculation
cannot be part of its driving force because it is stressing the
environment in its capacity at both ends of where the mineral
originates. The market also accepts products of child labor and
violations of socio-environment concepts because the marketplace
system is made NOT to detect the ethical factors of extraction. There
are many examples in the extraction of gold and diamonds that are in
the public domain with little effects in the market and its practices. We
do not promote more regulations because it is not our style to restrict
the industry, but also this ethical aspect must be assimilated into the
market as regulation. It can be a simple requisite of trading principles.
The market needs the same weight in order to have balance in social
and environmental justice.
In the future, the market should not be ruled by the
supply/demand curve, but rather for the rationalization of minerals
usage. It is obvious that mineral resources are limited and cannot be
pivotal in a system that demands unlimited resources. Otherwise, we
must obtain other planets to supply us with the same resources. The
criteria for the doctrine of a free market for minerals would be put in the
issues of archives because the market must be responsible with
nature. We cannot compromise more than the limit that the capacity of
nature is able to support. We need to design new models of drivers
that can be set in place to encourage responsible mining. To achieve
this purpose we must begin designing the proposed models right now
so that those results meet future needs.
In the market, we must have a metal design that restricts the
acceptance of mineral concentrates. In this manner, we can use less
energy in the transformation process because we have corrected the
inefficiency of energy conservation. In addition, the metal price is only
paid to the producer one time, but the payment for recycling is multiple
and unlimited and is not accessible to the producer whose concept of
properties are limited to the provider of their raw materials. Many
people in the investment and financial sector diminish the idea of
recycling because it does not produce money to the investor
immediately. Purposely, this practice puts the producers of raw
material into jeopardy because its own products are in competition with
their destiny in operation. This causes an imbalance in the price
because the products produced from recycled materials are cheaper
than those produced from raw material. Arrogantly, economists of the
world typify this as market value, but in reality, it is irrational and
ignores the fact that this practice produces the ability to destroy the
 SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ

supplier. Here, it is important to give the price of the recycled material
to the producer as part of the system. The real value of metal still must
assimilate socio-environmental costs because there is no cheap metal;
therefore, the market must pay the real value of metal without
interfering its financial speculation. If we value money in time it is
necessary to value the resource in time as well because our behavior
is part of our legacy to the next generation and our responsibility starts
in today’s action. See the value of mineral resources Fig 7.
metal
INFINITE RECYCLING
Fig. 7. Real Value of Mineral Resources.
(Geomimic). This includes reorienting incentive and reward conditions
to promote long-term strategic and tactical thinking in multidisciplinary
collaboration. Also, it includes knowing how and when to achieve the
maximum advantage of the disturbance of how nature restores its
equilibrium. The future of management is the understanding of who we
are and where want to be and go. Knowing its driving strategy, which is
a conversation with nature in its language of equilibrium (Geomimic),
we will be able to build the picture of the future in the heart of
management.
We need to understand when we can say that the mining
operation is a success. The success of the project depends on the
ability of the mining company to show that the project uses water, soil,
and air responsibly and its impact on the people and the environment
are minimized through careful planning. The balance of water,
reserves, air, and energy are the key to achieve this requirement of
success. The criteria of balance and equilibrium must be established in
every process of the extraction of mineral resources. This concept is
about not losing or wasting the finite mineral resources. During mining
exploitation, we are exposed to many unknown effects caused by the
contents of minerals reacting differently in every mining situation.
There are a concentration of minerals that manifest effects that have
toxicity and a hazard characterization. It is notorious that the big
difference between toxicity and hazard characterization is that
regulation is determined by the hazard rather than the toxicity. There
are thousands and thousands of chemicals for which the federal
government does not have any safety limits. In management, it is
necessary to promote the autoregulation and responsiveness of the
industry by operating under commitment rather than compliance. It
describes the contents of style in mine management see Fig 8.

STYLE OF
MANAGEMENT IN MINING INDUSTRY

STYLE OF TRADITIONAL PROPOSAL STYLE OF

MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT
STYLE OF TRADITIONAL PROPOSAL STYLE OF
MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT
OBJECTIVE Economic Profits Human Profitability
Economic Profits Human Profitability NATURE Liabilities Equilibrium with nature
OBJECTIVE Liabilities Equilibrium with nature RESERVE Undefined Defined
NATURE Undefined Defined TECHNOLOGY Human Design Geomimic (Nature design)
RESERVE Human Design Geomimic (Nature design) SCALE Market decisions Needs decision
TECHNOLOGY Market decisions Needs decision PLAN Gain (specific) Loss (integrated)
SCALE Gain (specific) Loss (integrated) MODEL Maximization of gains Minimization of loss
PLAN Maximization of gains Minimization of loss Pyramidal
MODEL Pyramidal Horizontal FUNCTION Fragmented Horizontal
FUNCTION Fragmented Integrated Rigid & Linear Integrated
STAGE
STAGE Rigid & Linear Flexible & Dynamic Flexible & Dynamic
PROCESS
PROCESS

After: M. Javier 2008

Fig. 8. Management in Mining.

After M. Javier 2006
Therefore, the market is essentially able to dictate that the
commodities that are accepted must be free of the violation of socio-
environmental concepts. In addition, it is an supreme necessity to
include the cost of externalities due to the effects of the extractions of
minerals while establishing the metal prices in order to create a fair
trade. The market does not produce raw materials; it only consumes
them. This will be a necessary condition as part of a new system for a
RESPONSIBLE MARKET.
Management
Management of mines in the future will be a constant assessment
in the equilibrium of nature. It is simple to ask, what do we manage?
The simple answer is that we manage the future of the planet for the
future of humanity.
To confront the demands of the future, it is necessary to enhance
the capability to innovate an organizational model and management
practices according to the equilibrium and balance of nature
6 Copyright © 2010 by SME
The mining industry is managed with value maximization in mind
(mental set) to the benefit of the shareholder. While we continue to
work in the manner, the result will be the same as the past but if the
objective becomes the equilibrium of nature then the results will benefit
the planet and humanity as a whole. Ideally, if we achieve equilibrium
in nature after a disturbance occurs there would no safety hazards for
concern because everything would be non-toxic. More over, we would
not need regulation for pollutants over limits by elements nor would we
need an enforcement body to keep the planet livable. No industry
wants more regulations, but the industries with bad practices
demanded control by society through strict regulation. In reality, the
industry generates all regulations and more strictly than before.
The wealth of management must be reengineered in the tables of
equilibrium (physical, chemical, and biological). It is not only
concentrated in the creation of wealth, but also in maintaining wealth.
We are facing a changing world; therefore, it justifies a new style of
management specifically in the mining industry due to the process in
attending to an exponentially increasing population and rapid finite
resource depletion. In the proposed style of management, “the optimist
vision in the short-term and the pessimist in the long-run stage” is

irrelevant and irrational because the long-run effects will diminish short
term returns. Many financial institutions still proclaim with a high
intensity the need for the results of profit without attending to the
intensity of the generation of wastes in spite of the Equator principles,
which we are still observing the effects in the projects of the financial
world. Mining does not bring “new products” to the market that can be
rewarded with the highest prices such as iPod MP3 players; to the
contrary, the market is subject to the constraint of having cheap
minerals. Or, better expressed, how can we increase future revenue
with the same product? Beside the point, it remains a fact: how can we
increase benefits not only for the highest revenues to the financial
world, but also to society as well? Also, how can we have a new
generation of miners that will deal with a legacy of the accumulation of
liabilities created by us? Many people are still wrapped up in the
statement: can we satisfy the financial expectation of the present low
cost set-up in the long-range business success? In the trade to satisfy
the financial institution, mining is pressured to deliver a “big deal” with
low-price metal without attended liabilities that increase in
accumulation packaged as an externality (social and environmental
costs) rather than to satisfy the environmental needs of society. Today
in the financial “world”, the mining industry faces the necessity of
reconciling INCOMPATIBLE GOALS such as payment of the
investment, reduction of expenses (but not cost because it is almost
impossible to reduce costs) to maintain its current income, non-
renewable resources, imbalance with nature, risks, uncertainties of
effects, but nothing else except only for the “satisfaction” of the
financial institutions. Miners with this incompatible set-up make a
complex system in pursing balance that almost becomes
“extraterrestrial issues.”
After the collapse of the economy, selling TRUST becomes a very
difficult scheme to sell. This scheme originates in a society that lacks
confidence and within a weak society relationship because good
reputation is a big issue based on the background of how the
environment is managed. This is important because of the new table of
values. Innovation in management rather than products is most likely
to create long-term advantages. Traditional management is out of date
and no longer has validity to satisfy nature. Building better
management integrates its central goal of accomplishment of human
purpose with nature and its equilibrium which is remarkable to consider
because we belong to nature and never vice-versa.
We have kept the actual business model for many decades. If we
want management to take us to success, we must re-engineer its
principles. In this task, we present the proposal that differs from the
single question that took Frederick Taylor to Jack Welch, which was:
How do we get more out of our people? Moreover, today it becomes
how can we exploit our mineral resources without affecting nature and
implicitly give the tool to the next generation for having a planet in
balance. The current priority of the mining business is not to achieve
energy efficiency or to increase productivity because they have tiny
effects in time. The purpose of mining is to establish a clean
technology with a waste design to nurture nature. In addition, it is
proven that any efficiency or optimization begins to decline in
effectiveness after it reaches the maximum level. To find the correct
balance in the priorities of management, executives can display a
statement from the following questions: Are you increasing productivity
and reaching energy efficiency, or are you controlling to avoid the loss
of mineral reserves, energy and water? To develop a model is shown
in Fig 9.
Today, mining companies are becoming aware of the importance
of land and water to protect life in those mining areas. Therefore,
Management of mines in the future will concentrate in balance and
equilibrium with nature and its demands with leadership in action (Fig.
10). To achieve this condition, we will develop clean technologies
without socio-environmental impacts to the next generation.
IMPLEMENTATION
It is viable to implement into any style of management a vertical,
pyramidal, or horizontal structure hierarchy because of its flexibility and
dynamic objectives regardless of the size of the company. It is feasible
that the re-education of the workforce in the mindset of value based on
7 Copyright © 2010 by SME
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
equilibrium of nature, where re-education is based on the transfer the
ownership of knowledge to the employee with an innovative and
creative culture. The appropriate implementation of this new style of
management will fulfill our expectation for having a visionary legacy to
the next generations.
PHILOSOPHY
CULTURE
Integration
Prediction MODEL
Responsive OF Reengineering
Auto regulate BUSINESS
Ethics
TRANSPARENCY
Credibility & trust
Fig 9. Development of Business Model.
Nature
Knowledge
Culture Experience Vision
Values
Wisdom
ATITTUDE REPUTATION
IDENTITY
Fig 10. Leadership in mining.
OBSERVATIONS
Many researchers and scholars within the academic and industrial
sectors of the world have the task of defining sustainability. This theme
was approached in many meetings and books, especially about the
main concepts of sustainability. The theory and management principles
focused on the specific applications areas of industry to define these
concepts. As the fashion of the industrial lexicon was established in
today’s mining business, many people forced sustainability to become
part of the renegotiations and reorganizations of looking for
opportunities to rebuild new destinies. With them, conditions such as
sustainable development—which means that the mining industry must
be sustainable and use these principles as an incentive in its
development—became classic models. In reality, reaching the true
definition of sustainability affects the business of how mineral
resources are gathered and maintained within this planet, if not within
the universe. Sustainability relates forces that will change management
practices directly and indirectly. We do not wait for the future to come,
we simply write the future now. In the definition of Brundtland
commission about sustainability in 1987, it defines social, environment,
and economy as pillars of sustainability. This definition is only from the
human point of view and does not include nature. In Fig. 11 is shown
nature’s view; we can improve profit and the benefit of business, we
can improve the standard living of society, but we can never say that
we improve the environment. Sustainability is not an idea. It is a
concept to understand (“The Myth of Sustainability”, 2009 M. Javier). If
not, we can move the factor human to become human zero (Human
Zero Theory) to understand what humans really means to nature. We
do not create a sustainable world; we only create sustainable people.
Many people consume as a goal of life and measure happiness based
upon their consumption. At this time, consumerism is imposed to

society in order to generate profit. Society based on income
(ASPIRATIONS) is very dangerous to nature because its capacity to
consume (the speed of the degradation of the planet) is proportionally
related to their income; therefore, it is necessary to know HOW TO
DECREASE THOSE IMPACTS. In reality, we are in the model of
capital market and management performance that defined by human
theory without considering nature values. The tendency of the
utilization of mineral resources is higher than before, will reach the
limitations of the earth, and cannot be regenerated. The consumption
of these resources is increasing as well as the needs of the
population’s demand for a higher standard of living. If we keep the
exact same population, the demand for mineral resources will continue
to increase; therefore, at the end of the day, mineral resources will be
exhausted. This condition determines that humanity is always facing
extinction
ENVIRONMENTAL
L
Environmental
SOCIA
ECONOMY
Social
Economy
Fig. 11. Sustainability Definition.
Whenever we have a problem to overall interactions between
population, resources, technology, pollution and environment, we
create a simulation model to correct the problem, but these models are
not capable of encompassing every parameter that is involved.
Otherwise, we would confuse the model with reality. It is not a valid
point when we can say that any simulation models have many
uncertainties. In comparison to the industry, uncertainties rise based
on multiple unknown possibilities, but the industry navigates with hope
and hope is not a goal and worse, it is not an ocean of assumptions
except we have them. Seeing the negative side effects of many
technologies invented by humans requires maintenance. It is better to
replicate what nature does because nature is maintenance-free and
compensates effects. This is a very simple message. Put the
regulation into the design of the products. That is Geomimic.
Ethical practices in the exploitation of minerals is an issue to
consider due to the presentation of mining to society in broadly varied
sources such as: the accumulation of liabilities with a large amount of
materials without destined uses, that mining has developed
government regulations that force the interruption of business practices
with negative perceptions, that the forecast of resource shortages are
not properly represented, and that consumption design is still not
considered to nurture nature in its waste generation. Ethics is the most
important factor in any human activity because it gives us the
confidence to do the right thing the first time. Ethics is defined as a
systemic guide to think.
The mindset of education in universities has an important issue
for future management. We are still in the high belief of promoting in
the Ivy League school of business (MBA programs) the traditional idea
of infinite sources of mineral resources and the unlimited profit doctrine
in business. We are still creating the best employee whose assumed
interest is in the maximization of wealth for the shareholders without
their participation in screening for objectives. We must form leaders to
confront the challenges of future management, instead of continuing
the same cycle of education. In the social responsibility fashion, we
have a mindset which is a radical contradiction in mining when lately
the statement in the profile of many mining companies advocates or
assumes social responsible as a new model of operation while
contradicting the language of business: money. How can a company
8 Copyright © 2010 by SME
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
be socially responsible at the expense of the shareholder’s revenue?
The two ideas are incompatible. It is necessary to observe how many
companies devote anywhere from 5-20% of their revenues to
Research and Development within the formal budgeting process. Also,
It is necessary to review the assumption that management takes for
the shareholder’s interest. Is management promoting to maximize
shareholder or simple is attempting to keep stockholders satisfied in
business?
It is important to address this question: Who’s managing your
company? Many people will answer immediately that “the CEO,” or
“the executive team,” or “all of us in middle management” are in
control. Moreover, you could be satisfied with that answer, except that
you would not be informed with the whole truth. To a large extent, your
company is being managed right now for rules and conventions of
th
“modern” management which were set back in the early part of the 20
century; in today’s scheme this model is hardly trying to confront
challenges which it was not designed for. It has a tremendous similarity
to the internal combustion engine; both are in the stage of
obsolescence. Therefore, we must create an innovative culture to set
up new principles and rules that decide to a new model in the future.
We cannot continue with the same past. Our ethics is a key factor in
management, not to mention that ethics in the best present book of
management does not occupy any chapter. The problem with people is
their way of thinking because many people still think that natural
resources are a management problem that must be fixed from a
management solution. It is a mental mindset. The only impediment is
the mental model in people. People who live in economy or based on
economy but do not assess its cost the ecosystem services as a plus
rather than externalities. It is remarkable that people live from waste;
one externality is waste from trees and plants, which is oxygen.
Sharing the message from nature: “If cutting trees started civilization
when we cut the last tree civilization will end, too”.
CONCLUSIONS
• Definitely, in human systems or activities, traditional management
does not have room in the future, and this proposal is set forth to
motivate the field of thinking because it is simple and capable of
wide application.
o Nature is subject to management by RESPECT
o Waste design should nurture nature; a simple concept of
mitigation (Geomimic)
o Minimization of loss instead of maximization of profit
o Focus on equilibrium (physical, chemical, and biological) to
develop a new model of management
o Productivity is increased when error rates decrease or loss
decreases
• Sustainable society is a step up from Management by Loss
(MbL). The market and the people have the responsibility to work
towards one vision which is the planet being in equilibrium.
Management by loss is the initial application to manage mineral
resources in the pursuit of sustainable society. We define
sustainability as the longevity of humanity, which is not a
constraint, but an objective. This means that sustainability is not
an opportunity of work, neither a level of emotional commitment
with the industry; it is a human obligation to survive in time. The
problem is the big confusion that financial capital is vital in order
to exploit natural resources. We cannot live in this frame
anymore; this is a purely bad perception of reality.
• It necessary to understand the limitation of the usage of language.
There is a word for not having enough of something—shortage—
but there’s no word for excess demand. There’s no such word as
a “longage” of demand because the English language doesn’t
allow it! Also, the people of the Amazon have no word for
“speculation”, yet speculation is a driving force of the
marketplace. How can we mix culture and business when cultures
have words without definition because those words do not have a
meaning that benefits the culture?
• The paradox in mining appears with the mine closure because in
the beginning we mine for one metal but in the end we have an
abundance of polimetallic as a waste and that remains in the mine
without any benefit to the initial operation. This condition leads
 SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 28-Mar. 03, 2010, Phoenix, AZ

towards not closing mines anymore based on the double impact

that represents mining. It is appropriate to further the investigation
of the re-mining process of those wastes that still contain value to
society. The best practice in mining is mining closure and opening
at the same time if possible. When it is evident that resources are
depleting rapidly here on earth, what other choice do we have but
to mine on other planets throughout the galaxy, which is an
illusion.
• The implementation of this proposed management style of the
future can be from the top down if we keep the pyramidal
hierarchy structure. In the future, this type of management will use
the horizontal hierarchy structure because everybody will have
good participation, effective communication, and re-education of
objectives. This is a change of culture because the metric of
performance will be established in clear responsibility and
accountability having a clear table of values in efficiency for waste
elimination by design. Management of the future of the mining
industry demands totally different thinking about the industry as
opportunities for the innovation and creativity of engineers who
must see the possibilities of lasting in this type of society while
breaking the past and all old orders entirely. The mining engineer
is a vigilante of nature’s balance. Leadership should be practiced
with a high re-education of objectives while transferring the
knowledge of the rules and principles of nature.
• The mining industry must be more RESPONSIVE and
AUTOREGULATED (commitment rather than compliance).
• We must design the future of mining today; it is about science-
based standards and the value of nature. It’s much easier to
destroy than it is to build, so to have a strong system will take us
time to develop. Therefore, we need to start now.
• The mining equipment of the future must be oriented to new
energy sources instead of continuing to rely on obsolete fossil
fuels.
This paper was designed to provoke discussion and thought to
provide a solution and better understanding of the new challenges of
this millennium. We still have this unique planet to declare as our
home, but it requires many efforts from humanity to maintain its
balance. At this point, looking for another earth like the one we have is
a complete illusion. Good mine management in the future is vitally
important to society and the health of business in this world. The
importance of mine management will better-solve the administration of
mineral resources results than the past. Sincerely, we hope to
stimulate the thinking and understanding of this complex human
activity. To me, as mining engineer, mining is one of the most
satisfying professions in a not easily satisfied world. Our Innovation
and creativity must be exercised in order to conduct us into our destiny
of having a planet in complete balance. This proposal is intended to
be a contribution to the future.
REFERENCES
1. Javier, Mauro (2007) “Mining in XXII Century”.
2. Javier, Mauro (2009) “Management by loss in Mining” SME 2009.

9 Copyright © 2010 by SME