Mineral investment valuation and the cost of capital

The author discusses some of the mineral investment modes used. He outlines the theoretical foundations of the cost of capital concept and derives models for determining the cost of capital from specific sources of financing. THe use of the weighted average cost of capital appears to have advantages and is illustrated with an example.     

Mineral exploration in the USSR and the USA

This article compares non-fuel mineral exploration in the USSR and the USA. It examines the organization of exploration; recent trends in the level and distribution of expenditures; exploration productivity; and planning and decision making. It shows that although the sequence of exploration stages and activities is very similar in both countries, substantial differences overshadow these similarities, largely because of different economic and political systems and mineral endowments. However, the article concludes that we still have much to learn before making a full comparison of Soviet and US exploration.     

The Tucson Mineral Show and the market for collector minerals: The potential for artisanal and small scale miners

Minerals that are sold to collectors are often produced by artisanal and small scale miners in many developing countries. The market for collector minerals is not well understood by most government agencies or NGOs but has a large impact on the artisanal and small miners that have the opportunity to produce these minerals because of the high prices that can be realized. This paper describes the collector mineral market that is held annually in Tucson, Arizona, that analyzes the competitive forces that affect the profitability of the mineral dealers at the show and describes potential methods for artisanal and small scale miners to participate successfully in the show. Most collector minerals produced by artisanal and small-scale miners are valued for their aesthetic qualities instead of mineral content. The 43 shows that operate during the first two weeks in February make up the largest gem and mineral show in the world, the Tucson Show. The Tucson Mineral Show is a subgroup of six shows that specialize primarily in collector minerals.There are several competitive forces at the Tucson Mineral Show that can affect the profit potential of dealers that participate in the show. These forces include potential entrants, suppliers, buyers, substitutes, and rivalry among existing competitors. New entrants face several barriers to entering the market place including the supply side economies of scale, demand side benefits of scale, and capital requirements. Because of these barriers, the cost of doing business and the way that promoters organize and manage the shows, it is difficult for artisanal and small scale miners to enter the show and compete with established dealers. However, with support from entities such as local governments, non-profit organizations, and international organizations the artisanal and small scale miners have the potential to have their minerals sold at the Tucson Shows for prices that would be greater than what can be achieved in the local market. Methods to help the artisanal and small scale miners compete include direct sales or consignments to retail dealers, tailgating, development of sales co-operatives, and the creation of an artisanal/small scale mineral show.     

Tackling the issue of rural–urban water transfers in the Ta'iz region, Yemen

The Ta'iz region of Yemen is facing serious water problems. Total water use has become unsustainable. While agriculture places a heavy demand on the region's water resources, supplies for the fast growing city and the industrial sector are severely rationed despite their much higher willingness-to-pay for water relative to the returns on most agricultural uses. The article considers several decentralized management options for enhancing sustainability and improving intersectoral water allocation. These include, taxing groundwater extractions, taxing inputs used in pumping groundwater, and implementing a tradable water rights regime. The first two options could lead to resource conservation but are politically difficult to implement and may not necessarily result in better intersectoral water allocation. The tradable water rights regime has potential for achieving the twin objectives of resource conservation and improved intersectoral resource allocation. If farmers' de facto water rights were legitimized, this option would be more acceptable to them. However, the following additional conditions need to be met for making the option viable: (a) a set-aside allocation is made for lifeline supplies for the poor; ( b) the water law provides for separation of water rights from land rights; and (c) community organizations are involved as co-managers of the region's water resources.     

Metal Contamination in the Republic of Armenia

/ Air, soil, and water samples were collected throughout the Republic of Armenia both before and after its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Reported analyses of those samples indicated that levels of several trace metal concentrations (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Ti, and Zn) exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations established by the former Soviet Union (FSU) and subsequently adopted by Armenia. Although industrial production has declined by more than 80% since the 1980s, the economy is improving and there is potential for a significant increase in the generation of industrial metal emissions. These include automobile emissions, which are now considered to be the primary source of atmospheric lead. Historically, the Soviet Union did not strictly enforce environmental standards, and Armenia is now faced with the resulting environmental problems and the associated risks to public health. Since some trace metal concentrations may be at or near potentially toxic levels, there is a need to accurately assess the extent of metal contamination in order to devise cleanup plans and develop long-term environmental protection and public health strategies in Armenia.     

Land use and management in the People's Republic of China

Widespread disregard for essential principles of sound environmental management and protection during the three decades of Communist rule prior to 1980 have exacerbated traditional shortages of good arable land and productive forest cover in the People's Republic of China. The government's policies have also drastically reduced valuable freshwater surfaces, caused extensive grassland deterioration and soil erosion, and brought about many local and regional climatic changes. However, new policies put into effect recently are attempting to reverse these trends with a sound ecosystemic approach to land management.     

Soil carbon stocks and changes in the Republic of Ireland

The soil carbon (C) stock of the Republic of Ireland is estimated to have been 2048 Mt in 1990 and 2021 Mt in 2000. Peat holds around 53% of the soil C stock, but on 17% of the land area. The C density of soils (tCha(-1)) is mapped at 2 km x 2 km resolution. The greatest soil C densities occur where deep raised bogs are the dominant soil; in these grid squares C density can reach 3000 tCha(-1). Most of the loss of soil C between 1990 and 2000-up to 23 MtC (1% of 1990 soil C stock)-was through industrial peat extraction. The average annual change in soil C stocks from 1990 to 2000 due to land use change was estimated at around 0.02% of the 1990 stock. Considering uncertainties in the data used to calculate soil C stocks and changes, the small average annual 'loss' could be regarded as 'no change'.     

Risk management in the Federal Republic of Germany

Spectacular industrial accidents, such as the ones in Bhopal, Mexico City, and Basle, have in recent times made the risks associated with the modern chemicals industry unmistakably evident. It has been seen that effective emergency plans for the people living in the vicinity of a hazardous installation become particularly important. The situation of hazardous installations in the Federal Republic of Germany is reviewed and the three-stage safety system, which is established within the German Regulation on Major Industrial Accidents (Störfallverordnung), is described. The evaluation of the current practice shows a couple of problems, especially connected with off-site safety precautions. The disaster control teams are often ill-equipped and inadequately trained. There is a need for further establishment of detailed and specific emergency plans, especially in rural areas. It is expected that the updating of the Regulation on Major Industrial Accidents, which is at present being undertaken in the Federal Republic of Germany and the compilation of instructions for the competent authorities will contribute to better emergency plans for the protection of areas in the vicinity of hazardous industrial installations.     

加强矿产资源开发中对环境的保护与治理

矿产资源开发对促进国民经济的发展具有重要的作用,但与此同时也带来不少环境问题,如破坏土地和生态环境,在矿石采选冶中产生“三废”对周围环境严重污染,破坏水资源平衡,引发地质灾害等。因此,现在必须高度重视并加强矿产资源开发中对环境的保护与治理,使矿产资源开发与矿山环境保护协调发展。首先,应制订并实施各地区的矿产开发规划,根据环境容量等调整矿业布局和矿业结构,严格对矿山环境进行监测、监管;其次,应加强对矿山环境的调查和评价,加强矿山环境保护的科技研究,提高矿山环境防治技术水平并加速技术推广;最后,应加强矿山环境保护的宣传教育,使矿山环境在全体公民的参与和监督下得到有效的保护。     

难溶性钾矿资源的开发利用

本文根据我国钾肥紧缺和天然难溶性钾矿资源状况,论述了几种主要难溶性钾矿资源的开发利用途径、方法和工艺,以阐明我国难溶性钾肥资源开发利用的可行性和重要性     

Imperatives for attracting investment and technology in the Indian mining sector

In India, the mineral resource inventory and the production of a large number of important minerals have registered significant increases during the last few decades. Yet the country continues to be a net importer of many high value and scarce minerals and metals, like gold, diamond, and several base metals. Exploration and development of the resources of these minerals are technology- and capital-intensive. To bring technology and capital through foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Indian mineral sector, it is imperative to lay stress on: accurate resource estimation and categorization, as well as realistic projection of the true values; rationalization of legislative measures based on R&D studies and reorganization of the implementation machinery; conducive tax structure; notification of acts and rules applicable to offshore mineral resources; time-frames for granting licences and leases; encouragement to labor productivity by rationalizing labor laws; reforms in the monetary system to increase market competitiveness of Indian minerals; and judicial reforms. FDI in the Indian mineral sector is important to firm up the knowledge-base of mineral resources and their optimum exploitation.     

Environmental impact assessment in the People's Republic of China

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures have been in existence in the People's Republic of China over the last decade. The impetus for China's introduction of EIA was provided by the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, which was adopted by the Fifth National People's Congress in 1979. The EIA process, which is administrative and not statutorily mandated, has been applied primarily to construction projects. Four stages are typically involved in an EIA investigation: design of the investigation, evaluation of background environmental quality, prediction of environmental impacts, and an assessment and analysis of the environmental impacts. A variety of approaches is used for predicting and analyzing environmental impacts, ranging from ad hoc methods to fairly sophisticated mathematical models. The results of the EIA investigation are compiled in an environmental impact statement, which is used as the basis for decision making by personnel in environmental protection departments. The EIA process does not include provisions for citizen notification or involvement. Views differ concerning the effectiveness of the EIA program in protecting China's natural, social, and cultural environments. Some hold that the EIA program has brought about improvement in environmental protection, while critics contend that the program has had little effect in the prevention of pollution. However, most, if not all, observers seem to feel that the program should be continued and improved. A major avenue for improvement is to place the evaluation of a particular project in a regional context. An earlier version of this paper was distributed at a workshop on Environmental Assessment Development Planning held in conjunction with the VII Annual Meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment, Brisbane, Australia, July 5–8, 1988.     

Mineral wealth and the economic transition: Kazakstan

The exploitation of mineral wealth can amplify the problems of the transition economies in three basic ways. First, the rebound of the real exchange rate that characterises a successful transition may be augmented by the capital inflow required to expand mineral production. This can cause both recession in the short-run and lower growth in the medium-term. Second, when the mineral revenues expand, the Dutch Disease effects may intensify the transition-related shrinkage of the non-mining tradeable sector, thereby retarding economic diversification and rendering the economy vulnerable to external shocks. Third, a mineral boom tends to concentrate revenue on the government, which may use it to postpone difficult decisions on economic reform and/or dissipate the revenue due to weak financial markets and inadequate public accountability. Kazakstan, like oil-rich Azerbaijan, is a late reformer and displays evidence of a faster transition rebound than other less resource-rich countries in the CIS do. However, Kazakstan has two advantages over Azerbaijan. First, Kazakstan has a more diversified mineral endowment with which to counter any trend towards single commodity specialization. Second, Kazakstan is making a later start on oil expansion so that it can learn from the experience of Azerbaijan. Priorities for Kazakstan are the continuation of prudent economic policies, the creation of institutions to enhance the transparency of the revenue flows, and the use of environmental accounting to provide a rationale for the deployment of the oil rents.     

Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification in the Dominican Republic

Enersol's SOBASEC (SOlar-BASed Rural Electrification Concept) programme demonstrates that stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems can be an economical option to grid expansion. Developing a local institutional system to support the dissemination of PV technology at the community level has been a major thrust of the programme. Both a service and parts enterprise and a local credit institution have been established, and technicians have been trained and employed. A modest revolving fund was also established to finance the installations. Field analysis of 100 installed systems suggests that small PV systems are viable for widespread application in the Dominican Republic.     

中国矿产资源可持续开发利用研究

本文通过对我国矿产资源情况及开发利用现状的分析,针对我国矿情和开发利用中存在的问题,提出了可持续开发利用应当采取的一些措施     

青海省湟源县矿产资源总体规划与县域环境保护

湟源县的自然生态环境优美,非金属矿产资源及其矿冶在全县国内生产总值中占有主导地位。本文论述了县域矿产资源开发、矿山生态环境保护的规划措施,为经济可持续提供了必要的条件。     

我国矿产资源的现状及保护对策

本文着重讲述了我国矿产资源的特点,全面分析了我国矿产资源的现状,并 提出缓解矿产资源危机的一些对策。     

Mineral development prospects of the Indochina area

Reform is under way in several nations within the Indochina area to stimulate economic growth and foreign investment. Though once forbidden, participation by foreign companies in mining exploration and development activities in Myanmar, Kampuchea, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam is now being solicited by the respective governments. This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of mineral and energy resources in the region and outlines possible development scenarios based on economic policies, financial and infrastructural constraints and industry interest. The investment climates for resource-related projects are assessed qualitatively by country. Clearly, the long-term development potential of mineral and energy resources in the Indochina area is large, and the potential gains outweigh any of today's problems.     

Trends in foreign investment : Agreements in the resources industry

Recent agreements between host country governments and foreign investors in the resource industries reflect an effort to meet the objectives of both parties. In some cases majority government ownership is combined with management control and the right of veto on certain policy questions by the foreign investor. Imaginative tax formulas are built into agreements that combine the principle of excess profits taxes with that of a minimum DCF rate of return. Expropriation risk is being limited by employing a high debt-equity ratio. Foreign investors are agreeing to programmes and policies that promote host country economic and social development, while host country governments are quaranteeing foreign investors against changes in laws that would affect their profits.