Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman of Anglo-American plc, said he hoped Chinese firms would play a pivotal role in tandem with foreign investors in ensuring sustainable development of the industry as it was in the broader interest of the Chinese people.
"I hope Chinese firms will also play a coalition role on sustainable development. Out of the 200 million people lifted out of poverty in the early part of the 1990s, 150 million of them were in China," the chairman of the London-listed conglomerate said.
"Our shared natural environment is under severe strain and there appears to be an acceleration of warning signals that we ignore at our peril. But I'm not saying this is in an anti-development way," he told hundreds of delegates on the second day of the top-level China Mining conference.
The environment has forced its way onto the political agenda in China, the world's most populous nation. Sixteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China, according to the World Bank, and the country's polluted rivers are turning into a major problem and political headache.
While Chinese mining officials have shown themselves to be broadly enthusiastic about the prospect of greater exploration and exploitation of natural resources in China, they always mention sustainability as a factor because of fears that public disquiet over pollution could lead to unrest.
"Often it's not the exploitation of the natural resource, it's poor macroeconomic management and lousy governing that causes the problem. The new World Bank environmental standards currently being drafted will reflect best practice in the mining industry," Moody-Stuart said.
It was becoming increasingly important to recognize the demographic and social implications of large-scale mining, for example, and ultimately mining is only sustainable if over a mine's lifetime, the extraction of natural resources is balanced by replacement of resources for the local people and the environment.
Robert Friedland, chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, said how his company's Oyu Tolgoi mine in southern Mongolia, near the Chinese border, was a classic example of sustainable development.
"The Gobi desert is very important for sustainable development," he said, describing how its location was similar to that of the most successful mines in Chile, the Australian Outback and Nevada, i.e., very remote.
"So these are the kind of environments we should be looking at. It's a great environment to sustain long-term development. If you want to mine sustainably and long-term, these kind of underground mines which are highly mechanized are ideal. They have no impact on the human population, they're very deep block cave mines," he said.
Robert M. Franklin, chairman of Placer Dome Inc said his company made strong efforts to manage environmental and social risk.
"We manage environmental and social risk and we constantly employ more advanced risk management strategies. But the risks are balanced with significant rewards – for our shareholders, employees, local communities and governments," he said.
Environmental sustainability often involves consultation with local communities around the mines.
"People around the mines have a right to expect that their health and well-being be respected. But many village administrations, particularly in very poor or remote areas, do not have the capacity to plan for their long-term future, so sometimes my management needs to focus on helping the village community focus on planning for the future.
State administrations have a role to play too. "Governments must ensure the rule of law, that legislation is clearly expressed and applied. Governments must ensure transparency that decisions are not taken arbitrarily and corruption does not take place. International mining companies look forward to sharing their experiences with the Chinese government," Franklin said.
Dr Liu Xiangmin, vice president of the Aluminum
Corporation of China (CHALCO) reiterated the line from many top Chinese officials about encouraging safer environment measures.
"The Chinese government is taking steps to encourage environmental protection. Chalco will take try and making mining development environmentally sustainable. Chalco is the key company in China's aluminum industry and as such will shoulder its responsibilities in future development," he said.
