The supply behaviour of state mining enterprises: A case study of the Jordanian phosphate industry

An important feature of export-oriented production in mineral-rich developing countries for almost three decades after 1960 was the growth of state-owned enterprises. For the phosphate industry, this was reflected in the expansion of companies such as Office Cherifienne des Phosphate (OCP) in Morocco and the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC). There was a strategic importance of the industry for these nations and the large capital outlays necessary for phosphate and fertilizer production expansion often required considerable government assistance because of the perceived high risks of private investment in the industry.     

Multiproduct mine output and the case of mining waste utilization

This article addresses the concepts of economies of scope and multiproduct production, subadditivity and transray convexity as it applies to the mining industry. The article goes on to expand these concepts to include the case of mining waste utilization. It discusses how the modification of mining wastes into a marketable product can develop a relationship across the cost functions of the modified mining waste and ore production and how this interrelationship affects the profit maximizing condition. It discusses four possible outcomes from mining waste modification and its development into marketable products on the profitability and production of ore by the firm. Finally, it discusses mining waste utilization effects on rehabilitation costs and the potential for a decrease in the adverse community effects due to mine closure.     

The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints

At first ‘sustainable mining’ could be perceived as a paradox—minerals are widely held to be finite resources with rising consumption causing pressure on known resources. The true sustainability of mineral resources, however, is a much more complex picture and involves exploration, technology, economics, social and environmental issues, and advancing scientific knowledge—predicting future sustainability is therefore not a simple task. This paper presents the results from a landmark study on historical trends in Australian mining, including ore milled, ore grades, open cut versus underground mining, overburden/waste rock and economic resources. When complete data sets are compiled for specific metals, particular issues stand out with respect to sustainability—technological breakthroughs (e.g. flotation, carbon-in-pulp), new discoveries (e.g. uranium or U), price changes (e.g. Au, boom/bust cycles), social issues (e.g. strikes), etc. All of these issues are of prime importance in moving towards a semi-quantitative sustainability model of mineral resources and the mining industry. For the future, critical issues will continue to be declining ore grades (also ore quality and impurities), increased waste rock and associated liabilities, known economic resources, potential breakthrough technologies, and broader environmental constraints (e.g. carbon costs, water). For this latter area, many companies now report annually on sustainability performance—facilitating analysis of environmental sustainability with respect to production performance. By linking these two commonly disparate aspects—mining production and environmental/sustainability data—it becomes possible to better understand environmental sustainability and predict future constraints such as water requirements, greenhouse emissions, energy and reagent inputs, and the like. This paper will therefore present a range of fundamental data and issues which help towards quantifying the resource and environmental sustainability of mining—with critical implications for the mining industry and society as a whole.     

The role of price expectations and legal uncertainties in ocean mineral,exploration activities

In this paper, a standard exploration activities model is modified and applied to time series, data from deep seabed mining of a group of minerals where the number of patents is used as a proxy, for the level of mineral exploration activities. In addition to the rational expectations model, price, expectations formation for mineral prices is decomposed into trend and cyclical components using the, HP-filter method. Estimated parameters from the supply and cost functions are used to determine the, shadow price of the minerals. The non-linear instrumental variables estimator is employed to estimate, the exploration activities function. While the rational expectations model shows the importance of, current prices on exploration efforts, the HP-filter model suggests that firms concentrate on the trend, in prices rather than the short-run cyclical fluctuations. Also, while the U.S. refusal to ratify the LOSC, has increased the legal uncertainties surrounding the management of ocean resources and reduced the, incentive to engage in exploration activities, the passage of the ISA's main legislative accomplishment, regarding regulation of the explorations for polymetallic nodules appear to have made a positive effect.     

European aggregates production: Drivers,correlations and trends

Aggregates constitute the biggest branch of mining by production volume and the second in value, after the sector of fossil fuels. Their close connection with the construction industry places them among the most used materials worldwide, second only to water. Despite its significance, the sector suffers from the non-systematic register of production data, resulting in weakness to study the main features affecting the sector’s structure and future capacity. The paper focuses on the aggregates production in 26 European countries. Data from available sources are gathered and combined for a 10-year period (1997–2006), as an effort to provide a clear view of the major attributes of this vital industrial sector. Through a thorough analysis, the main drivers in aggregates production are revealed and existing correlations and trends are identified. New findings are also presented, for example the significance of GDP from construction and the strong connection of aggregates production per capita with the residential building sector.     

Investor demand and spot commodity prices

The on-going debate over the influence of investor demand on spot commodity prices largely attempts to assess this influence by measuring the growth in investor demand in recent years. Given the serious data problems that plague such analyses, this article pursues another approach in the hope of providing useful insights into the impact of investor demand on spot commodity prices. It focuses on the mechanisms by which investor demand affects spot prices, and in particular on two questions. First, how does an increase in investor demand on the futures markets affect the spot market and spot price? Second, when investor demand is increasing and pushing a commodity's price up, do physical stocks of the commodity also have to be rising, as economists and others widely assume?On the first question, the article concludes that a surge in investor demand raising prices on the futures markets will have a direct and comparable effect on the spot market prices when these markets are in strong contango. However, when markets are in weak contango or backwardation, price movements in the futures markets have a much looser effect on spot prices. As a result, changes in investor demand on the futures markets may have little or no influence on spot prices in the absence of a strong contango. Instead, changes in fundamentals (that is, producer supply and consumer demand) and possibly changes in investor demand taking place directly on the spot market largely determine the spot price at such times.On the second question, the article shows that investor demand can be pushing up a commodity's price even when investor stocks are falling, despite the widespread presumption to the contrary.     

The evolution of the Canadian mining industry: The role of regulatory punctuation

In this study, we analyze the evolution of Canada's mining industry from 1929 to 2006, focussing on the determinants of the number of firms in the industry and why this number changed over that period. Most empirical studies of industry evolution have focused on manufacturing industries that share similar structural characteristics. Perhaps because of this, extant models of industry evolution tend to ignore industry-specific and national-specific factors that can cause atypical trajectories, that is, heterogeneous industry evolution. Initial inspection of the Canadian mining industry shows that it is atypical in that it exhibits “negative skew” over time in the number of firms rather than the typical “positive skew.” We review two dominant theoretical approaches to industry evolution: the density-dependence theory and variants of industrial organization economics. We also consider possible sources of industry evolution heterogeneity, focussing particularly on “regulatory punctuation”. Using Canadian mining data, we find that the traditional models do not fully explain the changes in population size in Canada's mining industry. As a result, we introduce a number of hybrid models. The results from these hybrid models suggest that Canadian-specific regulatory punctuations, particularly the introduction of significant new taxes, environmental legislation, and incentives have shaped the trajectory of mining firm participation.     

Investor demand and spot commodity prices: Reply 2

This, our second reply to Östensson, supplements our earlier more technical analysis with a simple intuitive explanation of how investor demand can be driving commodity prices higher even when investor stocks are falling.     

Perspectives on community health issues and the mining boom-bust cycle

The health of mining communities is becoming a priority for the mining industry, governments, and researchers. This paper describes an exploratory qualitative study into community health issues and mining activities (associated with the mining boom-bust cycle) from the perspective of health and social service providers in the northern Canadian coal mining community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Health and social service providers report on increases in pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and mine related injuries during booming mine activities. During bust times, mental health issues such as depression and anxiety were reported. Overarching community health issues prominent during both boom and bust periods include burdens to health and social services, family stress, violence towards women, and addiction issues. This paper concludes by providing recommendations as to how the industry can enhance community health made by this important stakeholder group.     

Corporate social responsibility in the mining industry: Perspectives from stakeholder groups in Argentina

Since the liberalisation of its investment regime in the 1990s, Argentina has seen a rise in foreign direct investment into large-scale exploration and exploitation of mineral resources. However, many social groups (local communities, grassroots movement and the church) often strongly oppose new mining projects on the grounds of environmental, ethical and economic concerns. In a situation marked by widespread conflict, mining companies continue operating and develop Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives which are often promoted as a means of contributing to the sustainability and development of the nation. The paper develops a framework to highlight how the principles of stakeholder theory could be used as conceptual and practical guidance for conflict-resolution oriented CSR policies. The framework is further used to analyse two case studies of conflictive mining projects in Argentina. The paper explores how key stakeholders perceive contribution of CSR to welfare and the socio-economic development of mining communities and sustainable development of the nation. It demonstrates that institutional and social stakeholder networks often strongly oppose the idea of voluntary self-regulation implied by CSR in situations characterised by weak governance. Even though the CSR of companies could be improved in areas of corporate communication, transparency, stakeholder engagement and dialogue, it is not seen as a panacea for the social conflicts in the sector.     

Using exploration expenditures to assess the climate for mineral investment

Countries that rely on private investors to find and exploit their mineral resources need reliable indicators of their investment attractiveness. This study explores the use of exploration expenditures for this purpose, focusing primarily on Chile.     

Statistical considerations of progressive value and risk in mineral exploration

Financial markets recognise maximisation of expected value (E), in an essentially risk-neutral context, as the main corporate financial objective of private enterprise. This may be valid for large, integrated mining companies. Yet, most junior and middle-size exploration companies behave in a risk-averse fashion when making decisions about progressively more expensive exploration programs. From their perspective, a potential increase in expected value from either an increase in target value or related probability of discovery, or both, may not be a sufficient incentive to embark in an exploration programme if the resultant increase in expected value is accompanied by a significant increase in possible maximum loss. Risk-averse explorers may be unwilling to bear larger, albeit less probable losses, when the cost of successive exploration programmes is taken into account. The paper provides a practical methodology for such explorers to optimise the decision whether to progress to the next stage of exploration or to farm out a risky project. It uses a decision-tree model incorporating the effectiveness of the proposed exploration programme, the explorer's risk tolerance and related utility values and the probability distribution of the possible value of the exploration target.     

Linkages in Ghana's gold mining industry: Challenging the enclave thesis

By 2009, Ghana was the second-ranked African producer after South Africa, and had become the world's ninth largest producer of gold, at some 3.8% of global production, up from 2.6% five years earlier. Gold production volumes and revenues rose significantly over the decade from 2000. Yet gold mining tends to be perceived negatively in Ghana, and is seen as providing far less than it should in terms of public revenue, employment, skills development and spillovers, and localised economic development. Gold mining is often depicted as having an enclave status, disconnected and isolated from the rest of the economy. In contrast, the research findings here demonstrate that after a period of strong investment and growth, gold mining can no longer be viewed as an enclave activity: it is in fact more deeply linked into the Ghanaian economy than hitherto understood, through a set of as yet under-researched but promising economic linkages, notably backward linkages, which can potentially be strengthened by policy and support measures.     

Mineral economics: Overview of a discipline

Mineral economics is the academic discipline that investigates and promotes understanding of economic and policy issues associated with the production and use of mineral commodities. While its origins can be traced back at least 200 years to the writings of David Ricardo and other early Classical economists, it emerged as a separate academic field only after World War II and then primarily in the United States. As a separate academic discipline, its roots are found in mining schools that needed to consider the milieu in which minerals are sold. While geologists, mining engineers, and others with technical backgrounds were largely responsible for creating the first stand-alone mineral-economics programs, ultimately trained economists became participants as well. Moreover, even after the rise of mineral-economics departments, most of the research in the field continued and continues to be carried out in other academic units, including traditional economic departments and engineering schools, as well as in government agencies, nonprofit research organizations, consulting firms, and international organizations.     

Sustainable development principles for the disposal of mining and mineral processing wastes

This paper examines the minerals industry's response to sustainable development in the area of waste disposal and argues that leadership and guidance are still needed to forge collective agreement on norms and standards of practise. To encourage further debate, the paper develops a set of sustainable development principles for the disposal of mining and mineral processing wastes, and discusses the implications for current and future practise. In practise, the principles can guide waste disposal decisions through the consideration of what risk and magnitude, in any given local context, a particular management solution poses to their application. The sustainability challenge in the management of tailings and waste rock is to dispose of material, such that it is inert or, if not, stable and contained, to minimise water and energy inputs and the surface footprint of wastes and to move toward finding alternate uses. Future trends in mining and processing may compound the challenges of waste management, as lower ore grades increase the ratio of waste produced for a given unit of resource, and emphasise the urgency and need for the industry to adopt new approaches. New technologies and innovations, such as thickened tailings, dry stacking and paste backfill, have greatly increased the waste disposal methods available to meet the future challenges to sustainable development.     

Comparing petroleum fiscal regimes under oil price uncertainty

This study investigates and compares five upstream petroleum fiscal systems under crude oil price uncertainty. The fiscal systems analyzed are: the Alberta Canada tax and royalty system, the Papua New Guinea (PNG) (pre-2003) traditional Rate of Return (ROR) system, the Sao Tome and Principe/Nigerian Joint Development Zone (SNJDZ) Production Sharing Contract (PSC), the Tanzanian PSC/ROR hybrid system and the Trinidad and Tobago PSC. Contingent claims analysis is used to value the governments’ tax claims under uncertainty using a numerical approach, viz., Monte Carlo simulation. Each system is tested to obtain the after-tax value accruing to firms as well as the distortionary effects introduced by the fiscal systems. The results are then ranked. The Alberta Canada and PNG fiscal systems provide companies with the highest after-tax values while also being the least distortionary. The Tanzanian system is the lowest in both rankings, providing relatively low after-tax values and introducing strong distortionary effects. The SNJDZ PSC imposed a relatively high tax burden on companies with median distortionary effects. The Trinidadian PSC generated a median tax burden on companies but has strong distortionary effects.     

The forgotten resource curse: South Africa's poor experience with mineral extraction

Studies of the resource curse as it affects African states abound, yet few deal specifically with the experiences of South Africa. The inability of countries to convert natural resource wealth into income and improved development measures remains highly pertinent and is especially apparent in Africa's largest economy. This paper takes a unique approach to study the resource curse by comparing South Africa's political economy with the existing resource curse literature. Using data from international organisations, studies of poverty and qualitative evidence this paper examines South Africa's experience with mineral extraction. It is found that South Africa has experienced many of the symptoms outlined in the resource curse literature including relatively slow GDP growth, gross inequalities, entrenched poverty and the creation of a rentier state. Overall, it is concluded that South Africa has failed to benefit from natural resource wealth and can be classified as a resource cursed state. Not only has mineral wealth failed to benefit much of South Africa's population, sections of society have actually been harmed through the process of mineral extraction. This paper is the first to examine South Africa in light of the current resource curse literature and to conclude that the state far more closely resembles its sub-Saharan African neighbours than its upper-middle income peers.     

“Horizontal” and “vertical” diffusion: The cumulative influence of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) on mining policy-production in New Caledonia

The scale, duration and intensity of conflicts over mineral resources vary greatly. However, they always involve, in varying proportions, the triad stakeholder model—corporation, state, community—each element of which is internally heterogeneous. Increasingly, new players are entering the scene: international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), environmental grassroots groups, indigenous transnational networks, international aid and development agencies. Nevertheless, conflicts and arrangements around access to and control over mineral resources can take the apparent form of dyadic relationships between companies and local communities, resulting in negotiated company-community agreements, often called “Impact and Benefit Agreements” (IBAs). In our analysis, local agreements on mineral resource governance are seen as building blocks in the production of mining policy “from below”, even though they seem at first sight to exclude the state. This paper argues that these agreements, and the negotiations surrounding them, inform debates around mining through both “horizontal diffusion” (influence on other localities facing similar situations) and “vertical diffusion” (influence on policy design and implementation at upper political and administrative levels). This diffusion may occur in a “positive” sense, effecting further change in line with the intent of the original agreement, or in a “negative” one, actually making substantive change less likely, whether at a community or policy level. We build this argument through two case studies from New Caledonia, in the south-west Pacific, where mining has long been a key issue, especially in the current context of “negotiated decolonization” launched by the 1998 Nouméa Accord.     

Green accounting and sustainability of the Peruvian metal mining sector

This paper estimates the true economic income of Peru’s metal mining sector for the period 1992–2006, using a model of green economic income based on Hamilton (2000). The total depletion of natural capital caused by metal mining is calculated by estimating, on the one hand, the depreciation of mining resources (using the Hotelling rent approach) and, on the other, the environmental degradation provoked by metal mining activities. The results show that the total loss of natural capital represents between 31% and 51% of the metal mining GDP and between 2% and 4.9% of Peru’s GDP. On the other hand, correcting the usual GDP measure produced by the traditional National Account System (NAS) for the total loss of natural capital caused by mining activities shows that the GDP traditional measure overestimated by 51–64% the true economic income generated by Peruvian's metal mining sector during the period 1992–2006. The importance of the generation, taxation, and disposition of mining economic rents for Peru’s sustainable development in the future is also discussed.     

Reforming small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa: Political and ideological challenges to a Fair Trade gold initiative

In sub-Saharan Africa, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has caused a range of environmental, social and economic problems. Most of the donor support pledged to improve conditions in the sector to date, however, has failed to facilitate marked improvements, in large part because emphasis has been placed on technical interventions; at the same time, impoverished miners’ needs and concerns have been seriously overlooked. It is against this background that this paper critically examines the underpinnings and potential of “Fair Trade gold” as a solution to many of the problems plaguing the ASM sector and a mechanism for alleviating the hardships of its operators. Unlike the majority of ASM-support support measures implemented in the past, “Fair Trade gold” is entrenched in the discourse of “partnership” and “participation”. To ensure its effectiveness initiatives must be adapted according to the specificities of ASM.