A study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, called The Challenge of Speed and sponsored by Ricoh Europe, says that only one in ten financial services leaders believe they can rapidly take advantage of new opportunities ahead or adapt to unexpected changes in the future. This is in contrast to the average of two in ten European business leaders from all industries.

The news is a stark contrast to that of this time last year when the company was still reeling from the effects of strike action in South Africa’s mining sector, where much of the company’s iron ore and platinum activities occur.

Seeking to cement relationships forged during his Africa trip last year, President Obama will invite the leaders of 47 African nations to the summit, to be held in Washington DC. The move is widely seen as a response to the economic progress of the continent in recent years, and the involvement of China in much of it. In recent years France, China and Japan have led the way in upgrading diplomatic and commercial links with African states.

“As is typical of First Quantum, the project is doing very well and is progressing on-time and to budget.” Those were the words of John Gladston, Trident Resource Optimisation Manager, when we spoke during the summer of last year. The project he was referring to was of course the Trident project, the largest single project investment in Zambian history.

Doña Inés de Collahuasi, a Chilean mining company, operates the world's fourth largest copper mine. The operation comprises two principal porphyry copper deposits, Ujina and Rosario, as well as a smaller deposit called Huinquintipa that contains only sulphide mineralisation and copper oxides. It is a joint venture owned by two mining majors, Swiss-based Xstrata and London-based Anglo American, with 44 percent of the shares apiece.

ATS started life in 1996 by plugging a hole in the market. A Canadian minerals company working in Ghana and other African countries found it impossible to get the support it needed at its remote sites – like an army, an exploration company marches on its stomach. It hired an experienced facilities manager Jez Simms to meet its immediate needs, with such success that the unit quickly grew into an entity in its own right, taking its first outside contract in 1997.

Approximately 65 kilometres away from Santiago, in the Metropolitan Region, and 3,500 metres above sea level, one will find the Los Bronces division of Anglo American. Managed by a team of executives, the head of which is General Manager, Christian Thiele, the Los Bronces division boasts a workforce of more than 1,700 people, including company employees and operation and project contractors. Collectively they are responsible for implementing the Los Bronces Development Project, the objective of which is to boost the mine's production capacity.

When asked to explain just how important North Sea oil and gas remains, it doesn’t take Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, very long to respond with what I think you will agree is a pretty conclusive response. “Today the UK is reliant on oil and gas for approximately 73 percent of its primary energy supply.”

According to a recent study by security firm McAfee and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIC), The Economic Impact of Cyber Crime and Cyber Espionage the USA, the world's largest economy, loses about £65bn from cybercrimes every year including loss of key business data and intellectual property. The report also states that cybercrime costs the global economy $500bn annually and is a main contributor for dragging down economic growth across the world.

From an investment perspective, are there particular global trends, the high level of demand for gold in the Middle East and Asia at present for example, that give you encouragement for future growth in Africa’s mining sector?
The thing about gold that you have to remember is that there is actually very little physical gold around the world today. That is why in India, for example, gold is currently trading for around $1,600 an ounce.