Mining Meaning from the Rhetoric of Nature—Australian Mining Companies and their attitudes to the environment at home and abroad

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the claims used by international mining companies, based in Australia, to justify the impact which their activities have on the environment in both Australia and Melanesia. The first section of the paper looks at the character of the major mining companies involved. The second provides an account of the forms of rhetoric used to defend their actions. These defences include the invocation of a rhetoric of nature. The third section of the paper considers the political dynamics of mining company responses to environmental criticism and regulation. The article concludes with an account of the potential for mining companies to embrace the goal of (ecologically) sustainable development.