Chapter 1: The resources industry
The mining and processing of raw materials have played a critical part in the development of modern civilisation. Towards the end of the twentieth century there was a subtle, but important change through the development of increasingly diversified multinational mining companies while leaving grassroots exploration to smaller resource companies. Indeed, the level of exploration and, importantly, exploration success declined significantly in the late 1990s and the impact of low commodity prices restricting the availability of funds saw a significant reduction in new mining operations.
What no one foresaw was the significant growth among developing nations, particularly China and to a lesser extent India, as they ...
