The Nats and miners have this weird freeloader argument. ‘Those protesters are hypocrites. Their cell phones and ipods and cars all use mined products. They should support us mining’.
Yup. My cell phone has metals in it. Yup. Our tech base is made of mined elements. But not the stuff the Nats want to mine.
In Paparoa, it’s coal. Dirty coal too. Only good for burning. We can get energy in better, cleaner ways.
In Coromandel and the Barrier, it’s gold. 90% of the world’s gold is used for jewellery and wealth storage (called monetary gold). Only a fraction is used in manufacturing. In fact, world industrial demand is just 600 tons a year. 1700 tons a year is recycled. Very little is wasted. Don’t need to dig up more gold to meet industrial demand.
It’s not to make cell phones (0.03 grams in a typical cellphone) that the miners want to dig up Barrier and Coromandel. It’s to make shiny trinkets and fill Fort Knox.
Dig up our natural treasures. Leave behind toxic lakes. All so some company can sell dirty coal and pretty, shiny stuff..
Seem like a good deal to you?
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