In July 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its forecasts for economic growth in Latin America downwards. The reasons given were disappointing economic development in such important countries as Brazil and Mexico, as well as increasing concerns and tensions over the export tariff battle between the US and China. Fig. 1 shows the current economic growth in the 5 most important mining countries in Latin America and the growth forecast up to 2020. The World Economic Outlook (WEO) of April 2019 has revised its expectation for growth in Latin America by -0.8 % for 2019 and -0.1 % for 2020. Brazil is the worst performer with -1.3 % and -0.1 %, while Mexico’s growth is expected to be -0.7 % in 2019. In July, Chile lowered its growth forecast for the year 2019 by 0.3 % to 3.2 %.
As regards exploration expenditures, Latin America remains at the forefront of all world regions. This is the result of a recent survey by the renowned market intelligence corporation S&P Global [1]. This survey shows that global exploration expenditures for non-ferrous metals increased by 19 % to US$ 10.1 billion (bn) in 2018, and are expected to rise by a further 5 – 10 % in 2019. Latin America has a 28 % share of global expenditure in 2018, down from 30 % a year earlier. Base metal exploration expenditures in Latin America exceeded those for gold for the first time since 2014, in contrast to the global figures. The leading countries in Latin America are Chile, Peru and Mexico, which on a global scale are only bettered by Canada, Australia and the United States.
Most governments in Latin America have been financially supporting the mining activities in their countries for decades. Mining companies have been granted low tax and royalty rates, as well as favourable mining permit conditions [2]. Fig. 2 presents the Fraser Institute rankings regarding the attractiveness of the most important Latin American countries for the mining industry. The Policy Perception Index (PPI) takes account of 15 different criteria, such as political stability, government regulations, environmental standards, tax policy, etc.. A PPI of 100 is the optimum. In Latin America, Chile and Peru were well out in front, even on an international scale. Although the mining industry provided the countries with a sectoral investment boost, this did not automatically provide them with growth and development, as is shown by the discrepancy between export rates and the share of the mining industry in the countries’ gross domestic product.
Brazil Mining News
With over 209 million inhabitants in 2018 and a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 1869 bn, Brazil is the ninth largest economy in the world. Per capita income is around US$ 9140, having fallen from US$ 12 810 since 2013 as a result of the country’s long economic crisis. Brazil is rich in natural resources. In the international ranking, the country is the largest producer and exporter of niobium and the second largest exporter of iron ore, bauxite, tantalum and manganese. Fig. 3 depicts a map of the major ore mines in Brazil. About 80 % of the entire mining output stems from the two states of Minas Gerais in the south and Pará in the Amazon region in the north of the country. According to the Brazilian Mining Association (IBRAM), over 183 000 people were employed in the mining industry in 2018. There are 9415 mining companies, of which 87 % are small or very small. The number of large companies is estimated at 132 or less than 2 % of the total.
The mining industry accounted for only 1.4 % of the GDP in 2018. Excluding the oil and gas industry, the value of Brazilian mine production was US$ 34 bn. Fig. 4 shows the development of recent years with a peak in 2011 of US$ 53 bn. However, there has been a slight increase since 2016, although it was smaller than expected, with 6.3 % in 2018. The hopes of the industry are now linked to measures taken by the new right-wing populist government, but environmentalists see an enormous threat to the Amazon region and other ecosystems. IBRAM points out that the mining industry uses only 0.5 % of Brazil’s territory. Investment expectations for the five-year period 2017 to 2021 are placed at US$ 18 bn, compared to US$ 75 bn for the phase from 2012 to 2016. For the period from 2018 to 2022, a slight increase to US$ 19.5 bn is predicted.
The mining industry exported commodities valued at US$ 29.96 bn in 2018 after US$ 28.38 bn in 2017 and US$ 21.62 bn in 2016 (FOB prices). This accounts for 12.5 % of Brazil’s total exports. Iron ore makes up 68 % of the mining industry’s export revenue, amounting to 389.8 million metric tonnes per year (Mta) (Fig. 5). In 2
Mining Companies In The United States (top Producers)
Places follow gold and copper concentrate, which tie at 9 % each. The exports of copper concentrate amounted to 1.25 Mta (or 335 kilotons (kt) of copper), while the gold exports amounted to 95 t. The quantities of copper concentrate and gold have increased by 8 % and 20 % respectively since 2016. Brazil intends to further expand its production volumes of gold and copper in the future. After iron ore, the largest export quantities are accounted for by bauxite, with 8.47 Mta, and manganese (2.61 Mta). Niobium only accounts for 95.5 kt.
At the forefront of the largest Brazilian mining companies is Vale. The company achieved sales of US$ 36.575 bn in 2018. 54.8 % of this is derived from iron ore. This corresponds to a production volume of 384.6 Mta in 2018, which amounts to about 15 % of global production. Vale is planning to further expand its Carajás S11D mine, which up to now has reached a capacity of 90 Mta (Fig. 6 and keynote picture) and is currently the only “truck-free” iron ore mine. For 2019, however, smaller overall iron ore production volumes are expected, due to the Brumadinho disaster. In the copper ore mining sector, Vale operates the two mines Sossego (Fig. 7) and Salobo in Pará, on the southern border to the Amazon Basin. 285 kt of copper were produced there, which corresponds to 85 % of the country’s total copper production. An output of 450 – 500 kt is planned for 2024. In October 2018, Vale gave the green light for the expansion of Salobo III and an investment of US$ 1.1 bn.
AngloGold Ashanti, Kinross Gold and Yamana Gold, some of the world’s largest gold mining companies, are active in Brazil. Through AGA Mineração, AngloGold operates two mines (Cuiabá and Córrego do Sítio) in Minas Gerais, as well as Serra Grande in central Brazil. In 2018, a total of 494 kOz of gold was extracted there, after 557 kOz in 2017. Kinross Gold was able to significantly increase its output from the Paracatu mine (Fig. 8) in Minas Gerais. The output of mined ore increased by 73 % to 47.9 Mta, while the gold yield increased by 45 % to 521.6 kOz. Yamana Gold operates the Jacobina mine in Bahia, northeastern Brazil, which produced 145 kOz of gold in 2018. Other gold mining projects in Brazil are at the planning stage, such as Anglo American’s União Project (Cu/Au). The company is already successful with nickel mining and operates the two mines Barro Alto and Codemin in Minas Gerais. In 2018, the output of these two mines was 42.3 kt of nickel. By-products include manganese and niobium.
Automated Mining Market Size 2024 Regions Will Have The Highest Revenue, Top Countries Data With
Chile’s economy has developed well in recent years. With the country’s GDP at US$ 289.2 bn and its population at 18.7 million, the per capita income has increased to US$ 14 670. Economic growth was 4.0 % in 2018, while inflation was only at 2.4 %. The most important mining resources in Chile are copper (20.5 % share of world reserves), molybdenum (8.2 %) and silver (4.6 %). In the case of copper, the country’s share of 27.8 % of global production in 2012 put it in first place ahead of Peru (11.4 %), China (7.6 %), USA and DR Congo (both 5.7 %). In the case of Molybdenum, Chile accounted for 20.2 % of global production (2
Place). Approximately 80 % of Chilean copper production comes from porphyritic copper deposits in the Andes, which in addition to copper, are rich in molybdenum, gold and silver.
The mining industry in Chile accounted for 9.8 % of the country’s GDP in 2018. Copper production alone accounted for 8.9 %, leaving only 0.9 % for all the other metals [3]. Over the last 20 years, the mining industry accounted for an average of 13.8 % of the GDP. Fig. 9 shows the development of Chilean production volumes for copper, molybdenum and silver since 2012 (2012 = index 100). While copper production volume only increased by 7 % to 5.832 Mta in the period considered, molybdenum production increased by 73 % to 60.705 kt. Silver production increased by 15 % to 1.37 kt, with a peak of 1.57 kt in 2014. Investments by the mining industry dropped from US$ 15.301 bn to US$ 9.242 bn in the period from 2012 to 2018, but the trend has been rising again since 2016.
The Top 10 Best Mining Companies To Invest In (by Revenue)
Fig. 10 provides the copper production volumes of mining companies in Chile from 2012 to 2018. Well out in front as market leader is the state-owned company Codelco (Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile) with a production volume of 1.758 Mta copper in 2012 and 1.807 Mta in 2018. This represents a market share of 32.4 % in 2012 and 31.0 % in 2018. The output of Codelco’s flagship mine El Teniente (Fig. 11) will soon be increased to 0.5 Mta. The subsequent places in the ranking after Codelco are occupied by Escondida (owned 57.5 % by BHP Billiton, 30 % Rio Tinto, 12.5 % others), Collahuasi, Anglo American Sur and Los
Chile’s economy has developed well in recent years. With the country’s GDP at US$ 289.2 bn and its population at 18.7 million, the per capita income has increased to US$ 14 670. Economic growth was 4.0 % in 2018, while inflation was only at 2.4 %. The most important mining resources in Chile are copper (20.5 % share of world reserves), molybdenum (8.2 %) and silver (4.6 %). In the case of copper, the country’s share of 27.8 % of global production in 2012 put it in first place ahead of Peru (11.4 %), China (7.6 %), USA and DR Congo (both 5.7 %). In the case of Molybdenum, Chile accounted for 20.2 % of global production (2
Place). Approximately 80 % of Chilean copper production comes from porphyritic copper deposits in the Andes, which in addition to copper, are rich in molybdenum, gold and silver.
The mining industry in Chile accounted for 9.8 % of the country’s GDP in 2018. Copper production alone accounted for 8.9 %, leaving only 0.9 % for all the other metals [3]. Over the last 20 years, the mining industry accounted for an average of 13.8 % of the GDP. Fig. 9 shows the development of Chilean production volumes for copper, molybdenum and silver since 2012 (2012 = index 100). While copper production volume only increased by 7 % to 5.832 Mta in the period considered, molybdenum production increased by 73 % to 60.705 kt. Silver production increased by 15 % to 1.37 kt, with a peak of 1.57 kt in 2014. Investments by the mining industry dropped from US$ 15.301 bn to US$ 9.242 bn in the period from 2012 to 2018, but the trend has been rising again since 2016.
The Top 10 Best Mining Companies To Invest In (by Revenue)
Fig. 10 provides the copper production volumes of mining companies in Chile from 2012 to 2018. Well out in front as market leader is the state-owned company Codelco (Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile) with a production volume of 1.758 Mta copper in 2012 and 1.807 Mta in 2018. This represents a market share of 32.4 % in 2012 and 31.0 % in 2018. The output of Codelco’s flagship mine El Teniente (Fig. 11) will soon be increased to 0.5 Mta. The subsequent places in the ranking after Codelco are occupied by Escondida (owned 57.5 % by BHP Billiton, 30 % Rio Tinto, 12.5 % others), Collahuasi, Anglo American Sur and Los
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