ABSTRACT
Many externalities are increasingly being internalized due to tightening legislation, consumer pressure, and the force of public opinion. The greatest challenge to embedding sustainable development in minerals companies is this difficulty of linking it to financial success. Companies are still wrestling with the concrete steps necessary to make the concepts of sustainable development operational. A number of leading mining companies are starting to put in place a range of policies and programmes that tackle different aspects of the sustainable development agenda. Terminal liabilities are a huge issue for mining companies and go right to the heart of the sustainable development debate. Sustainable development issues clearly work to either enhance or detract from the value of real options. If environmental constraints, community opposition, or conflict over land rights make the potential expansion of a mine problematic, the value of this option to the company significantly decreases.
