Mining and Exploration

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.

Botswana is home to one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Despite being a landlocked country with a miniscule population of a little over 2 million people, Botswana is an undoubted Sub-Saharan success story. Academics argue about the reasons for this success, but two reasons are mentioned again and again. The first is good institutions. The second, has been the country’s ability to exploit and market its outstanding mining resources.

When Business Excellence last visited El Teniente in June 2019, global copper prices were hovering at around $6,000 per ton, in a year of price declines for all base metals. What a difference two years have made; in 2021, copper is trading at close to $10,000 per ton, and continues on a consistent upward trend that began in the first quarter of 2020 - just as Covid-19 was arriving in Latin America.

Gold mining plays a central role in the modern history of Colombia. The myth of El Dorado - a mythical land of abundant gold and diamond reserves - was what first led the Spanish to settle the country at Santa Maria at the beginning of the 16th century. And by the 19th century, the country had already become the world’s largest gold producer. Reflecting this historical importance, here’s even a museum dedicated to gold in the country’s capital, Bogota.