Battery metals is a fast-evolving sector in mining, with enormous potential for growth. An entire day was spent discussing the potential of the African battery metals market at February 2019’s Mining Indaba, in South Africa. But, despite growing interest...
Asteroids are huge lumps of rock – some barely a few hundred metres in length – hurtling through space; and they are focusing minds here on planet Earth because they are extremely rich in minerals, from cobalt to platinum.
A...
There is a myth that many people believe with regard to copper mining – that the price of copper alone determines the strength and success of the industry, as evidenced by the amount of copper produced.
Whilst price is a...
An easily understood feature of corporate taxation is that you only tax a business once it is making a profit. But what do you do if it takes several years before the business makes a profit?
It easily takes 7-10...
Step 1
Ore is taken out of the ground
Holes are drilled in the ground (if it’s an open-pit mine) or in the rock-face (if it’s an underground mine), and explosives are placed in them to blast it open. The resulting...
Outside of the aerospace and defense industries, mining is arguably the most capital-intensive business in the world.
You have to move a lot of earth to get at the mineral-bearing ore, and this requires complex structures, equipment, vehicles and heavy...
This striking graph confirms what Zambians may have suspected, both intuitively and through personal experience – it’s mining that is the main driver of the economy and helps to put money in people’s pockets.
GDP per capita is a country’s...
There are two kinds of people – those who invested in bitcoin early and have made a fortune; and those who wished they had. But the real story behind this amazing cryptocurrency isn’t its rapid rise in value or...
1. It is Africa’s second-largest gold producer
In 2016, Ghana produced 90 tons of gold; only South Africa – with 140 tons – produced more gold on the continent. The gold mining industry accounts for five percent of the country’s...
Considering that the per carat value of coloured gemstones like emeralds and rubies is growing faster than diamond prices, it may finally be time to rewrite Marilyn Monroe’s 1950’s hit, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. The growing popularity...
