Mining Tibet – A Risky Investment

In early May, I went to a Hard Assets mining investment conference in New York City to have a little chat with the folks representing Canadian mining company Continental Minerals (a subsidiary of Hunter Dickinson), a company that has completed successful exploratory operations near Shigatse in central Tibet, and is preparing to begin large-scale open-pit mining for copper, silver, and gold as soon as this year.

On the 6th floor of the Marriott Marquee Hotel in Midtown Manhattan was a vast showroom divided into a number of rows. Lining the rows were dozens of booths, 3-sided cardboard box stations, staffed with suited, smiling, handsome professionals. Shiny images of beautiful landscapes covered the booth walls; photographs of the ‘grateful and prospering’ communities of Alaska, Peru, South Africa, Indonesia, etc., advertised the mining operations of nearly 40 different companies.

Two colleagues and I, impeccably dressed and walking with confidence, went from booth to booth to hand out brochures. At the top was the logo of Hunter Dickinson (HDI), and the text detailed the reality of the situation on the ground inside Tibet, where HDI’s mining operations are planned.

The reps and investors discussed feasibility studies, the average annual production of millions of pounds of copper or ounces of silver, and the amenability of sites to open-pit mining. They took our brochures happily, and many began reading them before we even made it to the next booth. My heart rate was increasing; we were exposing ourselves as the enemy with every step and every brochure. It was time to head to the real target.

A kind-looking woman in her early thirties was staffing the Hunter Dickinson booth solo. For a brief moment, I almost felt sorry for her. She flashed big white teeth at me as I walked up. I browsed the available materials and looked at the photographs of plush Tibetan grasslands, pristine valleys, and happy Tibetan children holding up peace signs to the camera. My heart pounded, and something awful rose in my throat. Breathe. My eyes fixed on a phrase underscoring the photos:

“Hunter Dickinson: the socially responsible mining company.”

That was all I needed.

“I’m interested in Continental Minerals’ operations in Tibet.”

“Well, certainly. We’ve conducted successful feasibility studies and outlined a deposit of 220 million tonnes of mineral resources…”

I was disgusted before she could finish the first line. Doing my best to steady my shaking hand, I held out our brochure.

“Do you realize that Tibet is under virtual martial law? It is impossible for Tibetans to exercise their internationally recognized right to give free, prior, and informed consent for the production and extraction of their natural resources. How can Hunter Dickinson possibly claim to be a socially responsible mining company?”

Her eyes were huge; her face, scarlet. She blinked four or five times, and shifted in her heels. As sweat gleamed on her upper lip, she breathed in, smiled and said, “because of our operations in other countries.”

As we were escorted out by security guards that day, a palpable buzz had spread throughout the room. Dozens of corporate representatives were very happy that their companies aren’t mining in Tibet.

Tibetans routinely face shocking brutality for speaking out, and yet they continue to do so. As we walked away from the Marriott Hotel that day, on the other side of the world, hundreds of Tibetans were keeping a 24-hour vigil to stop a Chinese company from mining at Ser Ngul Lo Mountain in eastern Tibet.

After nearly five months of nonviolent protest by local Tibetans against the Chinese firm’s plan to mine gold and copper from the mountain considered sacred by these devout Buddhists, approximately five hundred protesters decided to put an end to the standoff…even if it meant their lives. They blockaded the entrance to the road that leads to the mine.

The Tibetans in Markham County, like all Tibetans, have seen the brutality of a Chinese government crackdown on peaceful protesters. And yet – to the disbelief of the Chinese leadership that has for decades allocated vast resources to the work of silencing Tibetans – common Tibetan men and women chose once again to sacrifice their freedom to protect what is sacred to them. And, as the bloody crackdowns of 1959, 1989, and 2008 (to name a few) have undoubtedly demonstrated, their courageous resistance in Markham County these past months could most certainly have cost them their lives.

As the Tibetan protesters stood off against armed Chinese security forces at the base of Ser Ngul Lo Mountain, I felt morosely prepared for the outcome that I had grown accustomed to hearing: X-number of Tibetans killed by random bullets shot into the crowd, arrests, disappearances, torture, the systematic harassment and intimidation of suspected protesters, or a complete information blackout throughout the ‘restive’ area.

The last outcome I imagined was a Tibetan victory.

And yet, on June 8th, it was “agreed in writing that there will be no mining in the area.” The Chinese authorities and local Tibetans resolved the standoff with an agreement that all mining operations would immediately cease, and cleanup plans for the site’s toxic remains are currently being discussed by both sides.

I was shocked. Perhaps it was a ploy to disperse the Tibetans back to their respective homes where they can be more easily arrested. Maybe the Chinese government figured they could give in this time because it was a Chinese firm, and hopefully this wouldn’t affect their contracts with foreign mining companies. Or, maybe their propaganda experts raised this as a good opportunity to feign concern over Tibet’s fragile environment.

Whatever the cost-benefit analysis used by the Chinese leadership that resulted in a Tibetan victory in Markham County, one thing is certain: the Tibetans’ nonviolent and persistent tactics had left the Chinese with an impossible choice – they could back down, or initiate a bloodbath.

Tibetans will continue to resist. And I have a feeling that companies like Continental Minerals have very little idea of what they’re getting themselves into by operating on Tibetan land. The Chinese government is accountable to no one, and a months-long protest, no matter what the outcome, is bad for business. We’ll see how long it takes Continental Minerals to figure that out.