Tracking the trends 2015

There is no doubt that mining companies operate in complex geographies where they face increasing challenges in responding to regulatory and compliance requirements. At the same time, they have an imperative to adapt to changing market conditions while adopting new innovations as they seek to produce more for less cost. These conditions remain regardless of whether we are in a downturn, or a recovering market.

Our aim is to spur frank discussion about the industry’s strengths and weaknesses without painting worse-case scenarios or donning rose-tinted glasses. We invite you to dig through the top ten issues mining companies will face in the coming year.

Mining companies continue to grapple with challenging market conditions, including price volatility, geopolitical turmoil, rising costs, declining grades, and a general lack of financing. To remain viable into the future, companies must get more adept at balancing short-term investor expectations with long-term business imperatives.

This report highlights that in order to embrace the need for longer-term thinking, mining companies are getting back to the basics to clarify what they stand for, what they believe, and what they plan to achieve long- term.

The ten issues identified in the report are:

• Back to basics – The pursuit of operational excellence
• Innovation is the new key to survival—It’s about more than cost control
• The new energy paradigm—Reducing power project costs
• Dwindling project pipelines—Walking the supply/demand tightrope
• Financing’s great disappearing act—The implications reverberate across the market
• Survival of the juniors—Navigating troubled waters
• Seeking new skillsets—Shifting industry realities for a new generation of talent
• Riding the waves of geopolitical uncertainty—From best guess planning to embracing uncertainty
• Rising stakes around stakeholder engagement—Companies struggle to balance competing interests
• Engaging with government—Finding new ways to communicate and collaborate