Stock Market Regulators Need New Approach on Facts Mining Companies Disclose

Mines throughout the United States and Canada are responsible for major environmental impacts on land, air and water quality. In the U.S., EPA estimates that mining has polluted 40 percent of western watersheds, where most mining occurs. The EPA has also identified the mining industry as the largest toxic polluter in the U.S. There are tens of thousands of abandoned mine sites throughout western North America, many of which are still causing environmental damage.

Mining companies have often understated such impacts in permit applications, environmental impact assessments, and financial prospectuses. This pattern of performance has had significant financial consequences.When faced with the costs of remediation, mining companies have sometimes declared bankruptcy, to the detriment of creditors and shareholders. Taxpayers have been forced to assume the clean-up costs of abandoned mining sites. In past years, cases have been brought by citizens or by securities regulators in the U.S. and Canada alleging inadequate disclosure of material environmental liabilities.

Source: Silence is Golden, Leaden, and Copper
Disclosure of Material Environmental Information in the
Hard Rock Mining Industry
Robert Repetto