Overview of the mining industry in South America
As a consequence of the global economic crisis and the drastic slump since the middle of last year in the prices for metal raw materials, by around 40 % for lead and zinc and 60 % for nickel and copper, the mining industry in South America has also come under pressure. Investment projects have been put on ice and tens of thousands of jobs are under threat because of cutbacks in delivery quantities. However, the important production countries Chile, Peru, Brazil and Mexico hope to come out of the crisis stronger than before, as the remaining investment projects indicate that the region will profit disproportionately. This report presents an overview of the mining industry in the most important countries of South America and discusses the economic significance of the industry in those countries, the industry’s investments, the most important metals, the quantities produced in recent years and the company structures. Subsequently, highlights of the leading companies and most important mining projects are presented.
1. Current situation of the mining industry
As a consequence of the severe stock market losses since May 2008, the rankings based on market capitalization of the biggest mining companies have seen a dramatic upheaval. The sector in general is now only worth about 1/3 of its previous capital value and some companies have lost even more heavily. For example, the market value of Xstrata recently hit a low of 9.35 billion US$, representing a loss of almost 85 % compared to the peak value of the previous year. But even such renowned companies as Alcoa, Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan were severely...
