How to Hold Miners — And the Governments They Work With — Accountable

How to Hold Miners — And the Governments They Work With — Accountable

Resource-rich countries are increasingly looking to consultants, advocacy groups, and development agencies to help them negotiate with miners from a more informed position. And miners are doing the same in the hope of avoiding the conflicts that have plagued them in the last few years. The upshot is that, over the next few years, the resource-extraction industry, and mining in particular, will become more transparent than ever. Mining firms will probably see less profit, and poor and middle-income resource countries will get more. That can go toward addressing their populations’ basic needs and speeding up development — or it can be lost to corruption. 

The lack of innovation in mining

The lack of innovation in mining

Despite all the talk about automation and innovation, a modern day mining operation looks very much like a mine did 50 years ago. Admitted, everything is bigger, but fundamentally we have seen big shovels load dirt into large trucks for many decades. The mining technology has not evolved rapidly, and very few step change improvements have been realised in mine operations. Is the mining industry this conservative?

Why a Finite World is a Problem

Why a Finite World is a Problem

 A finite world means that we eventually run short of easy-to-extract resources of many types, including fossil fuels, uranium, and metals.  This doesn’t mean that we will “run out” of these resources. Instead, it means that the extraction process will become more expensive for these fuels and metals, unless technology somehow acts to hold costs down. If extraction costs rise, anything made using these fuels and metals becomes more expensive, assuming businesses selling these products are able to recover their costs.

Development of Indian Mining Industry – The Way Forward

Development of Indian Mining Industry – The Way Forward

Mining is one of the core sectors that drive growth in an economy. Not only does it contribute to  GDP, it also acts as a catalyst for the growth of other core industries like power, steel, cement,  etc., which, in turn, are critical for the overall development of the economy. Our analysis has shown that every one percent increment in the growth rate of mining and quarrying results in  1.2 – 1.4% increment in the growth rate of industrial production and correspondingly, an approximate increment of 0.3 percent in the growth rate of India’s GDP.

Emerging Green Mining Innovation

Emerging Green Mining Innovation

New breakthrough science and cost reductions from the world of cleantech/greentech hold promise for making mining more profitable, safer and cleaner. Which new innovations aimed at reducing toxicity in mining, as well as minimizing the need for power and water, are best positioned to succeed? Which green mining technology companies will win and which will lose? How can existing players manage risk in the face of new innovation?