The world is more connected than ever, and mining technology and service companies are no exception. As they expand their reach globally, they need to follow their clients to new markets, from a copper mine high in the Andes to the icey cold winters of Northern Canada. When exploring new markets, it’s the classic “chicken or egg” dilemma: You want to see success before committing to the expenses of a local operation, but as soon as you start generating revenue, the risk of being classified as a PE increases.
Codelco’s title as the world’s largest copper producer is now in jeopardy with production dropping to the lowest level in 25 years. Codelco has several structural projects underway that are meant to boost copper production for the next 50 years but it has been plagued by delays. Check out our overview to understand the current state of Codelco.
After a long sales cycle, the immediate focus for many mining technology and service providers is simply securing or being awarded the work but intellectual property is business-critical and should be treated as such. Mining Suppliers need to ensure they have well drafted clauses that protect their intellectual property while also often giving them the ability to use the data collected to improve their solutions.
Brazil is an important mining market. The country is one of the five largest mineral producers in the world. Although the country is known for its iron ore operations, it also has production in copper which until now has not received a lot of fanfare. That is set to change with some exciting developments.
In part three of our Brazil series, we cover practical information that companies need to know when hiring staff in Brazil. While many of the labor laws are similar to other parts of the world, there is some key details that will help companies understand how things work in Brazil.
Over the last few weeks there have been several new positive developments for the Ecuadorian mining market. Specifically, EcuaCorriente, plans to invest US$650mn-US$700mn to increase output of its already operating Mirador copper mine which will greatly increase Ecuador’s copper exports.
At a time when the world needs to find more copper, there are only a few examples of junior exploration companies that have been able to make significant discoveries over the last 10 years in Chile. This is set to change with the recently released Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Hot Chile’s Costa Fuego Copper-Gold Project.
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