Many sustainable investors will see the chaos in Ecuador as a sign of what happens when we take a chaotic approach to mining. In a nutshell, the government has threatened to pull the plug on 4,474 mining concessions throughout the country.

As of last Friday, the Ecuadorian government announced a 180-day suspension of activities on virtually all mining concessions in the country while a new mining law is approved.

Similar upheaval seems likely in Ghana, where Reuters reported that Mining Minister Esther Obeng Dapaah said on Wednesday the government will amend its laws to reap more benefit from its mining sector and the government may take a more direct role in the sector.

The minister was addressing the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the Ghanaian capital Accra.

NGOs like Oxfam and others have long criticized the government of allowing mining companies to run amok. No fewer than four cyanide spills have been reported in the country in the past decade.

It seems that the government of Ghana is now willing to give a colder shoulder to its corporate mining partners, perhaps due to NGOs partnering with local communities. M&M is now working on a report on cyanide use globally, and how the International Cyanide Code has helped changed attitudes toward communities and communication - expect that out in a couple days.

More from the department of uranium debates

At Mining and Money we’ve long debated just how “green” nuclear power is. Some of us feel it’s a viable, clean fuel, others do not. And while the jury is still debating, a report from Australia has weighed in with the latter group.

A report entitled Environmental Science and Technology now argues that the availability of high-grade uranium ore will deplete over time making the fuel more environmentally and economically expensive to extract.

“Commonly in the mining industry, as higher grade ores are mined, lower grade deposits become economic - but this is at increasing environmental costs such as more energy, water, greenhouse emissions, tailings and waste rock,” said lead author Gavin Mudd of Monash University in Melbourne.

Well, duh. Such is the case with all mining. This strikes me as refitting an old argument with new words. But please, post your comments.