Mining and Exploration

Business Excellence first visited the Sierra Gorda mine almost seven years ago, when it was still under construction. Its new owner, Polish mining giant KGHM, had recently invested over US$5.2 million to acquire the mine, making it the biggest foreign investment ever by a Polish firm outside of Poland.

When Business Excellence first visited Codelco’s Chuquicamata mine all the way back in 2013, what stuck out most was the sheer scale of the operations. As the biggest copper mine in the world, the vital statistics of Chuquicamata are quite staggering; at the time, before a modernization of the mine had begun, it was already producing 366,000 tons of fine copper per year and proven mineral resources totaling 4,200 million tons.

The importance of mining to the economy of the Dominican Republic cannot be understated. Figures recently released by the consulting firm Analytica bear this out; over the past 8 years, mining has represented 17% of the country’s FDI (foreign direct investment), 36% of its exports, and 17% of its receipts from direct taxes owing to employment.

Canada’s abundant mineral resources have led to an economic surge over the past decade, with shale oil occupying most of the newspaper columns. However, its coal resources - coming to the fore again after recent legislation changes in the neighboring US - are also enormous. By some estimates, the Peace River and Kootenay coalfields alone are estimated to hold more than two billion tonnes of coal.

The Alentejo district of Portugal is sometimes referred to as the ‘bread basket’ of Portugal thanks to its rich food reserves. However, ever since Swedish firm Lundin Mining acquired the Neves-Corvo mine back in 2006 as part of its merger with EuroZinc mining, the region’s land has become famous internationally outside the traditional areas of agriculture and cork.

Depending on which version of history is to be believed, the small Central American republic of Panama takes its name from a word meaning ‘an abundance of fish,’ or ‘an abundance of trees.’ Whichever version is taken, what’s clear is that Panama from the earliest times has been a country rich in natural resources.

Chile’s huge mining industry has taken flight over the past 40 years, creating thousands of skilled jobs and huge export markets and generating one of the world’s economic success stories in the process. Currently, the country’s mining industry employs close to a quarter of a million people and Chile ranks as the number one copper miner in the world.

In a previous article on First Quantum Minerals’ Trident Project in Zambia, we focused on the impact in terms of sustainability that it would have in the country - in terms of bringing quality employment, introducing several CSR projects, dramatically improving the regional infrastructure and all while respecting the natural environment in the area.

The rise and fall of prices in precious minerals can sometimes seem abstract, and of little consequence to anyone outside of mining companies and commodities traders. However, there is thankfully, a far more tangible impact of an upswing in prices for these metals: the huge FDI that follows in regions which are rich in mineral deposits.

It has been almost 18 months since Joy Global Inc announced the acquisition of Canadian-based Mining Technologies International Inc (MTI). Since then the worldwide leader in high-productivity mining solutions has seen its newest division go from strength to strength, building on the platform of organic growth in underground hard rock mining it started some seven or eight years earlier, and cementing its position as a serious contender within this section of the market.