27 November 2014
Hidden Ninjas in Mining
Hidden Ninjas in Mining
The mining industry has seen a lot of changes in direction over
the past few years…. Many feel like we're fighting against unseen
ninjas. You know the kind, the hidden ones that are right in front
of you, the:
- Red tape ninja
- Bureaucracy ninja
- Commodity price volatility ninja
- Global economic uncertainty ninja
- Wind direction ninja
- Government policies / taxes / royalties
ninja
- Rising operational costs - high costs of labour
and
compliance ninja
- Non-mining professional heads of businesses
making
ultimate technical decisions ninja
- Strengthening USD ninja
- Strong AUD ninja
And all these Ninjas are coming at the mining industry from
different directions, while the battle to raise funds continues and
financing of projects in general is hard to come by as Investors
turn away from mining. At the same time China's economy is slowing
but by global standards is strong! West & Central China has yet
to experience large scale mass migration / modernization /
urbanisation - hidden ninja ready to go ballistic? And India is on
the verge of doing similar…. And let's not forget the Ebola
"pandemic" that has killed <5,000………..is that technically a
"pandemic"? I digress……
So what is all this Ninja activity leading
to?......
- Mass technical & operational redundancies
since 2012
and many leaving the industry forever.
- Exploration budgets cut and/or
non-existent
- Companies taking a serious look at
operational
efficiencies, innovation & cost reducing
technologies -
good stuff really.
- Scrapping of the carbon & MRRT - will it
lead to
increased market confidence?
- M&A activity is leading to new and exciting
prospects
and projects.
So what is the end result?
Who knows what's really going to happen?
Who knows how to accurately predict future demands?
World demand promises to increase dramatically in the coming
years - fact.
What will the mining and exploration industry look like this
time next year?
What variable scenarios do you need to build into your strategic
planning?
In the words of English poet Coleridge: "If men could learn
from history, what lessons it might teach us."
When could the hidden ninja jump out from behind the waste dump
and cut you off at the knee-caps or could the ninja grant you
amnesty?