Coloring outside the mines
When you represent the interests of an industry like mining, you鈥檙e bound to make a few enemies.
In the case of PDAC鈥攖he Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada鈥攁n increasingly sharp thorn in its side is a collective, Beyond Extraction,听that finds creative ways to disrupt the mining group annual convention.
Its latest salvo? A coloring book that shows children a less-sanitized view of mining environmental impact than the industry acknowledges.
鈥淎ll our projects seek to counter something PDAC is doing,鈥 said Zannah Mae Matson, an assistant professor of landscape architecture at CMDI. A previous campaign, she said, involved creating an audio tour of the minerals exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, that drew attention to mining labor and environmental calamities.
For , Beyond Extraction took aim at PDAC educational wing, Mining Matters, which builds lesson plans to extend the industry ideology into Canadian schools. Mining Matters also creates coloring books featuring kid-friendly characters who show that when mining companies complete operations, 鈥渢hey remediate everything, and everybody happy鈥攖he water clean, the trees are fine,鈥 Matson said. 鈥淲hatever.鈥
The title Beyond Extraction selected for its book, , counters Mining Matters鈥 message鈥攖hat mines give jobs, technology, bicycles and so on. The project argues that the industry doesn鈥檛 give those things without cost. It explains technical concepts like听free-entry staking and labor exploitation in ways that allow teachers and caregivers to听start conversations with kids about adverse impacts of mining.
Simplifying the message
鈥淭he biggest challenge was simplifying,鈥 Matson said. 鈥淭he illustrations had to be colorable and fun, and the message had to be approachable.鈥
The book is not about ending mining; rather, it offers听a more complete picture of mining human and听environmental impacts. That crucial as the industry听positions itself as a champion of the sustainability movement, since the metals miners unearth help听power alternatives to fossil fuels.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 live in a world where nothing needs to be taken out of听the ground鈥攂ut there is this false dichotomy that if you don鈥檛 like mining, then you love oil,鈥 Matson said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 fall into this trap of believing we all bear the same responsibility for mining because we all use a laptop computer.鈥
Instead, she said, we need to introduce lower levels of consumption while holding companies accountable to higher standards.
听We need to create higher levels of standards to hold companies accountable, and introduce lower levels of consumption.鈥
Zannah Mae Matson, assistant professor
The Beyond Extraction collective has released a coloring book, which Zannah Mae Matson co-illustrated, in five languages. Its message is designed to disrupt the work mining organizations do to influence curricula and position themselves as champions of sustainability. Photos by Kimberly Coffin.
鈥淎s someone who been researching mining for a long time, and seeing how these companies cover up the problems they cause, I have serious doubts they will be the heroes of a green, more just future,鈥 she said.
Matson research investigates how infrastructure impacts communities and the environment. That might mean what a road system in Colombia indicates about its colonial history, or how mining operations create lasting damage to nearby communities. It work that takes her around the globe but is especially prevalent in her native Canada, which has worldwide mining operations.
That a key reason Beyond Extraction is translating the coloring book into different languages. It launched last year, but this spring, translations into American English, French, Spanish and Portuguese came online鈥攃ountering Mining Matters鈥 multilingual approach, which also has editions in Indigenous languages, like Inuktitut.
鈥淚t so problematic that these materials are presented in the languages of people that the mining industry has dispossessed,鈥 Matson said.
The collective hopes to translate its coloring book into Dene, Inuktitut and Cree, but for now, it too costly for Beyond Extraction budget activism. The book relied on volunteer members鈥 expertise in media studies, landscape architecture and beyond; Matson also was one of听two illustrators.
Like many researchers, Matson is used to collaboration. Beyond Extraction, she said, is next level.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e facing such complex problems, you need collective ways of resisting them and finding answers,鈥澨齭he said. 鈥淚t nice to know you鈥檙e not alone, and feel听your work is rising to meet those challenges.鈥
Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.
Photographer Kimberly Coffin graduated from CMDI in 2018 with degrees in media production and strategic communication.