COMMENTARY — Back to the Stone Age

When it comes to producing wealth and tax revenues, and creating employment through high-paying jobs, there is little dispute about the enormous value of mining. But what would it be like to live for a week without relying on any product or service derived from mining?

Peter Lidstone, a mining student from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, was willing to find out. For seven days and nights he “lived” in Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains without any of the materials, comforts, convenience or safety that are derived from the products of mining. It was all part of this year’s Mining Week in B.C., and the Mining Association of British Columbia’s ongoing effort to draw public attention to the valuable contribution the minerals sector makes to society.

Peter was left alone in the woods with one pair of jeans, a leather vest and a pair of sandals (as well as certain concessions granted to ensure his safety). Nature provided the essentials: fresh water, the forest and access to ocean, where tidal sea creatures were available for possible table fare.

For a full week, Peter lived by his wits, foraging for food by day and trying to sleep by night. His planned journey back to a way of life before people discovered how to use metals, back to the Stone Age, attracted its share of media attention and captured the public’s imagination.

Peter was able to find a supply of wild raspberries and he also survived on fern roots, chickweed and dandelions. Without fire, the nights were long, dark and cold, and the mosquitoes were a nightmare. But the hardest thing to endure was hunger. As Peter put it, “living without mining is a great diet program if you want to lose some weight in a hurry. But that’s about all it’s good for.”

As the days progressed, something started to happen to this healthy young man who was challenging himself to survive without mining. He became quiet and withdrawn, and his enthusiasm began to slip away.

Using sheer willpower and determination, Peter lived for seven days and nights deprived of everything we take for granted. Over six days, he ate hardly a thing, and lost six pounds as a result. Without shelter, he never had proper sleep, and he was never clean enough for comfort. As he found out, mere survival is a far cry from really living.

After his ordeal was over, Peter walked out of the bush to attend the MABC’s annual awards luncheon where he was introduced and received a standing ovation — an ovation well-deserved.

— The preceding is an excerpt from “Mining Quarterly,” a publication of the Mining Association of British Columbia.