Mining and Exploration

The Kibali goldmine in the Haut-Uélé province of the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo is no ordinary mine. With 812,152 ounces produced in 2021, the combined open pit and underground gold mine is officially the sixth biggest in the world. Now into its 13th year, the gold mine is still considered to have an enormous upside: In addition to an exploration prospect pipeline that continues to expand, its business plan seems set to continue for at least another 10 years. Business Excellence decided to take a closer look.
 

In 2022, the Barrick Gold Corporation marks a quarter of a century operating at the Loulo-Gounkoto Mine in western Mali. At Barrick, which previously operated in the country under the name Randgold Resources, the goal is to stay in the country for another twenty-five years. That sentiment alone tells us a lot about the relationship between the country and the company marketing its silver anniversary year. Business Excellence made the decision to visit the project in order to learn the keys to a successful mining partnership.

In November 2015, Lesedi La Rona, the world’s second-largest gem-quality diamond ever found, was mined at the Karowe Mine in Botswana. The mining team behind the discovery was Lucara Diamonds (formerly called Boteti Mining), a diamond exploration and mining company founded in 2009. In less than six years, the Canadian-registered firm had made a discovery that placed it firmly in the spotlight of industry analysts.

It has been a little over a decade since commercial mining began at the Canadian Malartic Mine in northwestern Quebec, Canada. With production of over 55,000 tonnes per day, the mine is not only the largest in Canada but one of the largest in the world. In 2020, however, the partnership behind the mine announced that it was going to begin construction of surface infrastructure and an underground exploration ramp, in a project known as the Odyssey project.

It has been a decade since Business Excellence first profiled Perseus Mining’s operations in Ghana. At that time, its first mine, the Edikan gold mine, was just about to begin commercial production. In the intervening period, the mine has produced over 2 million ounces of gold and based on current ore reserves, it is expected to recover a further 1.3 million ounces of gold over its remaining life, estimated to be nearly six years.

One of Panama's most significant investments, the Cobre Panama copper and gold mine, is making good progress following last year's Covid-19-related production interruptions. "The second quarter saw continued strong operational and financial performance. We are pleased to see the progress at Cobre Panama as it ramps up to the targeted 85-million tonnes of throughput in 2021.

Codelco, Chile's National Copper Corporation, is the world's leading copper producer and one of Chile's largest companies. The Codelco Salvador Division is located in the district of Diego de Almagro, in the Atacama Region. Its operations, which date back to 1959, are located in the Andes mountain range at 2,600 meters high, 1100 kilometers north of Santiago. This Division has been in operation since 1959 and has two types of deposits, the underground "Inca" mine and the open pit "Campamento Antiguo" and "Damiana Norte" mines.

Mining and South Africa go hand in hand. The country owes much of its development to its rich natural resources. And although mining’s contribution to national GDP is now a fraction of what it once was, it is still the eighth largest mining country in the world when production values are taken into consideration. Much of this production is in zinc, the output of the subject of this article, Gamsberg Mine, now the centerpiece of the world’s largest zinc mining and processing complex.

In a previous visit to Barrick Gold’s Pueblo Viejo mine in 2019, Business Excellence noted that the success of the firm was inextricably linked to the success of the Dominican Republic’s mining industry. A joint venture with Newmont, total investments in the Pueblo Viejo mine have already passed $1.3 billion. To put this in context, 2019 was a record year for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Dominican Republic, and total FDI was estimated at a little over $3 billion.

It is now eight years since Business Excellence covered First Quantum Mines for the first time. The company had just been awarded one of almost 30 mining licenses granted by the Zambian government. Global copper prices were on a downward trend that wouldn’t bottom out until late 2015. After a $1.1 billion investment, most investors would be forgiven for feeling anxious.