It is good to see that large mining companies have mainly philanthropic goals as depicted in this documentary. In all three examples we are given it is obvious that the existing population will benefit from the proposed mining operations and that they are very keen for operations to start. It makes one feel good to see the landscape repairs that are GOING to happen in the little Romanian town that was raped by old Soviet mining methods.
The self interests of the opposing environmental lobbyists was a refreshing angle and the downright patronising attitude of the South African environmentalist in Madagascar needed to be exposed.
The whole picture, however, seems to me a little unbalanced. The only examples reported in the documentary showed what the mining companies are GOING to do. There was NOT ONE example of an EXISTING mining operation in a third world country to show how well they have achieved their stated aims in the past (perhaps because they couldn't find any).
The whole story would have benefited if there had been at least one example where we were shown the real benefits that have accrued from existing mining operations. How many local jobs have been created in mines in, say, Ghana or Indonesia versus how many workers are flown in from other countries? We also should have been shown how mines in these area have added to local environments. What wetlands etc. have been created? Some footage of the beautified landscapes that have been created by existing operations would also have been useful. I suspect they were not shown because they would not have painted a very flattering picture
This documentary very well produced but I feel that we are only being told half of the story. The effects of mining in third world countries are somewhat more intrusive than the rosy picture painted here.