Mining and Exploration

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.

In an industry as rigorously competitive as the gold production, Anaconda Mining Inc is a company of exploration that fundamentally strives for stability. The junior gold production company focuses its mergers and acquisitions target searches primarily on Canada and the United States, with a particular focus on Atlantic Canada. Anaconda correspondingly operates the Pine Cove open pit mine as well as controlling approximately 6,000 hectares of exploration property in the Baie Verte Mining District on the Ming’s Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada.

Norman Mbazima Chairperson of Anglo American’s Chairman’s fund, said: “While the results attest to perceptions pertaining to our impact as a company, the results nonetheless show which companies are successfully communicating their programmes and achieving reputational benefits,” reads the report. “In 2014, respondents agreed that Anglo American was achieving the greatest development impact, with 26 corporate mentions and 24 non-profit organisations (NPO) mentions.

Gulf Minerals is an Australian company that is developing manganese smelters in Kupang the capital of West Timor. The facilities will take advantage of the low cost of ore, with labour and power being the majority of operating costs. Indonesia’s ban on raw mineral exports was designed to encourage downstream investment in the country's mineral processing industry, and Gulf Minerals supports this policy.

Zambia's government is under increasing pressure from the mining sector to reduce the royalty increases introduced at the beginning of this year. The government royalties on open-pit mines increased from 6% to 20% and has received fierce criticism from mine operators in the area.

Two major stakeholders include First Quantum and Barrick both who have mines affected by the royalty increase. 

The World Health Organization believes that since February 2014, there have been nearly 18,000 reported Ebola cases and more than 6,000 deaths. According to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speed of response is the key to ending the Ebola epidemic, mostly affecting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.