“2013 is proving to be a year mining industry executives won’t soon forget; though most will not want to remember,” says the Mining Recruitment Group.
RENO (MINEWEB) – How bad is this year’s outlook for the international mining industry? So miserable that a measly 9% of mining executives recently polled by Vancouver’s Mining Recruitment Group said they are actually bullish on the year ahead.
In his second quarter 2013 survey, Andrew Pollard, president of The Mining Recruitment Group, observed, “2013 has been a year in which most involved in the mining industry will not soon forget; thought most will not want to remember.”
“Through the eyes of mining executives, this new report provides evidence that companies of all stage and size have had to make tough decisions in the wake of nearly unprecedented market turmoil,” said Pollard. “With investors sitting on the sidelines turning a blind eye, wildly fluctuating commodities prices and having to face escalating costs, executives aren’t counting on a short term fix, though long term, their sentiment is refreshingly rosy.”
In the document MRG: Mining Executive Outlook, Summer 2013, based on a survey completed by 2010 mining leaders, Pollard called 2013, “The Year of the Bear.”
“In the eyes of mining executives the next 6-12 months will prove to be bleak with 64% taking a bearish view when asked to comment on the overall strength of the industry,” he observed. “These findings have fluctuated dramatically since our last polling in Q4 where only 11% of respondents held a bearish outlook, when asked the same question.”
However, when asked the same question with a longer-term, three-year view, 66% of the respondents were bullish as to the future of the industry. “It would appear that for most executives, the long-term fundamentals of the industry are intact, despite the view things will likely get worse before they start to get better,” said Pollard.
Gold still glitters in the eyes of mining executives. Seventy-four percent of mining executives suggest gold will make the greatest gains among commodities over the next three years. Copper was second with 63% “expecting to see a massive appreciation in the metal while uranium rounded out the top three at 53%,” he noted. “Trailing close behind was silver at 50%, which was the only other commodity that there seemed to be a long-term consensus on.”
Commodities which executives view as having the highest likelihood of depreciating in value over the next three years are molybdenum, nickel and iron ore, respectively, with 44%, 36% and 27% of the multiple selection vote.
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