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| U.S. Borax |
For over 130 years, U.S. Borax has mined for refined
borates — minerals with a wide variety of uses: from treating
lumber to prevent termites, to plant nutrients that increase crop
yield and quality. Continued mining and expansion plans make environmental
stewardship and mine site reclamation a critical component of its
operating strategy. Borax, however, also sees it as an opportunity
to support workforce development in the community.
For ten years, U.S. Borax’s operation in Boron, California (near
Death Valley), embarked on a re-vegetation project. With only limited
success to show for its efforts, Borax elected to partner with Victor
Valley College, a nearby community college. The three year partnership
commits $10,000 per year toward a student internship program combining
academic and practical approaches to sustainable development challenges.
As a result of the partnership with Victor Valley College, mortality
rates for transplants are dropping and the transplant rate is expected
to rise from 100 plants to 500 annually in 2004. Student interns learn
nursery cultivation and reclamation site challenges, along with regulatory
and permitting requirements first-hand by participating in Borax-related
reclamation activities.
Following Borax’s lead, two other High-Desert mining companies
have entered into partnerships with Victor Valley college in nursery
development and site reclamation. Mitsubishi Cement Corporation and
Specialty Minerals Corporation, both of nearby Lucerne Valley, have
enlisted the help of the college to find reclamation solutions in
on-going programs.
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