Are mining people creative? Part Deux.

Ok, so it seems that my post about creativity in mining generated quite a few comments when linked to a discussion in one of the mining groups on linkedin.com, here, if you're a member.

The discussion seemed to swing around three types of comments: 1, yes they are creative and here is some background; 2, of course they are creative and taking a bit of umbrage at raising any question that they possibly could not be; 3, mining people are creative, but they are constantly waging a battle to stop their creativity being stifled by more risk averse upper management - aren't managers people too? I will leave that for you to decide, it could be subjective!

If there is any doubt, I too weigh heavily on the side that mining people are creative and speaking from my own background with engineer types, it is almost a default setting for problem solving. I also agree upper management needs convincing, that is one of the reasons they are there, to be gatekeepers for decisions. In fact, sometimes the way you try to get support for your idea can involve some creative strategies too. As I mentioned in the initial blog post, over the years I have also noticed that engineers very often have an interest in photography, but maybe that just appeals to a suppressed geeky stereotype of engineers tinkering with gadgets wearing pocket protectors?

My favorite comments though were those that loosely said: "Geologists are the most creative as they work with intangibles to believe in an orebody they cannot see. They have to believe."  Creative? Belief? Delusion? Not to knock geologists, but there is a fine line between belief with persistence and being wrong.

The discussion then went on to discuss the green challenges mining faces, which is a very good example of where we need creative solutions AND creative ways to propose new schemes and technologies.

What do you think?