Symposium focused on emerging mining markets

The more than 200 delegates who attended the Global Mining Opportunities Symposium in Toronto got a taste of how exploration and development work is taking shape in the world’s emerging mining markets.

The 1-day conference, sponsored by the Mineral Economics Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy & Petroleum, focused on projects in Africa, Latin America, the Commonwealth of Independent States, China and Southeast Asia.

The symposium’s chairman, Keith Spence of the Bank of Montreal, said mining markets in these countries are heating up as a result of several factors, including a general reduction of political risk, changes in political systems, depletion of North American reserves, and the courting of investment by foreign governments.

As a result, mining companies, banks, consulting and engineering firms, and investment houses will continue to experience an increase in their offshore activities, he said.

Keynote speaker Karl Elers, chief executive officer of Battle Mountain Gold, stressed that mining companies must ensure that they act responsibly, especially in foreign jurisdictions.

“It’s important to do the right thing, as well as do the thing right,” he said, adding that companies must make use of local employment, support local enterprise, and avoid partisan politics, while, at the same time, minimizing the impact of Western values on foreign cultures.

In a separate talk, Peter Hooper, president of Dynatec Engineering, said the recent decrease in South African gold production does not detract from that country’s status as a powerhouse producer. “It must not be forgotten that at US$400 per oz., South Africa still has massive reserves,” he said, adding that a modest rise in the price of the yellow metal would trigger a dramatic rise in production.