Investors have lost confidence in the mining industry, making it difficult for mining companies to secure financing and investment. Global investment in mineral exploration and development has declined for three consecutive years, and the number of new discoveries has decreased. To stay afloat, mining companies have been forced to rely on asset sales and mergers and acquisitions. While most mineral prices have declined, minerals needed for emerging industries—such as lithium—are in high demand, driving their prices steadily upward.

Expected 2016 The shift in mineral product consumption driven by industrial transformation and upgrading will continue, and the impact of the U.S. dollar’s appreciation on the mineral products market cannot be overlooked. Although the global recovery remains sluggish, China and India will continue to serve as a dual engine for global economic growth, with South Asia Emerging economies, as represented by, will become New动力 。

The global economy is recovering slowly, and the energy and mining sectors are contributing less.

2015 Year 10 Month, International Monetary Fund (International Monetary Fund) In the World Economic Outlook report, it will... 2015 Global economic growth rate for the year To revise the previously forecasted 3.3% Lower to 3.1% , will 2016 Year Growth rate from 3.8% Lower to 3.6% Although advanced economies such as the United States and the Eurozone are experiencing an accelerated recovery, the growth rates of developing and emerging economies have slowed more than originally anticipated—and these two major economies... GDP The share of the increment in the global economy is 2015 Reached the year 79% Therefore, the slowdown in growth rates of developing and emerging economies has a significant impact on global economic growth. IMF Believe that, Commodity prices have fallen, currencies have depreciated, and financial markets are volatile. is a major factor behind the economic downturn in emerging economies, if... 2016 If commodity prices stabilize this year, emerging and developing economies could see some improvement—for example, Brazil, Russia, and several countries in the Middle East and Latin America that rely on exports of iron ore and oil.

The World Bank in 2016 Year 1 Moon 6 The latest “Global Economic Outlook” released today also lowered the forecast for global economic growth. 2015 The annual economic growth rate, from the previously projected... 2.8% Downgrade to 2.4% . 2016 Annual economic growth rate from 3.3% Downgrade to 2.9% The World Bank believes that, 2015 Global economic growth this year has fallen short of expectations, mainly due to a sharp drop in commodity prices, weak trade and capital flows, and a series of financial volatility events that have sapped economic vitality. The main factors influencing future global economic growth are: ① Whether high-income countries can sustain their recovery momentum; ② Whether commodity prices can stabilize; ③ Whether China’s economy can gradually shift toward a growth model driven by consumption and services. The report forecasts... South Asia region will become the future driver of global economic growth Highlights ， The Eurasian region will gradually stabilize and recover, the Latin American and Caribbean region will emerge from recession and experience moderate recovery, and the Middle East and North Africa region will accelerate its recovery. The report specifically mentions The economies of countries such as India, Vietnam, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Bulgaria will accelerate their growth. Energy, mining, and infrastructure development will drive an economic recovery in countries including Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana, Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, and Peru.

Investment in mineral exploration and development continues to decline, once again triggering a crisis across the entire industry.

SNL Metals and mining companies in 2015 Year 11 The monthly report shows that, according to the company’s… 1798 An exploration investment in 10 Survey Statistics for Mining Companies with Annual Revenue Exceeding US$10,000 ，2015 The annual global budget for exploration investment in non-ferrous metals is 87.7 hundreds of millions of dollars, considering that the surveyed entities may account for a significant portion of the total exploration investment budget. 95% Therefore, SNL The estimated global budget for exploration investment in non-ferrous metals is: 92.O hundreds of millions of dollars, Relatively 2014 Year-on-year decline 18%。 This is also 2008 Below for the first time since the financial crisis of the year. 100 hundreds of millions of dollars, and with 2009 The annual figures are roughly comparable. From the perspective of mineral types, Gold remains the mineral with the largest exploration investment budget. ， Occupies 45% From the perspective of the exploration stage, grassroots exploration has fallen below for the first time. 30% , for 29% , and The proportion of exploration efforts focused on deep and peripheral areas of mines continues to rise. , to 34.2% From a regional perspective, Latin America Still attractive The region with the largest exploration investment , accounts for 28.3% From the perspective of company size, Large mining company Still in mineral exploration. Main force , accounts for 48.8% 。 SNL The company expects that the trend of reduced investment in mineral exploration will continue in the short term.

Despite an overall decline in global mineral exploration investment and a general reduction in new discoveries, there are still some bright spots. Brazil’s deepwater oil fields and onshore oil and gas fields Exploration continues to make significant progress. Egypt discovers a super-large gas field in the Mediterranean Sea. 。 Turkey's Red Horse Mountain (HotMaden) Copper-gold mine, Chile's Alturas (Altitudes) Gold mine, Monty, Western Australia (Monti) Copper-gold mine, Krouri, Eritrea (Colluli) Potash deposits and the Luolo diamond mine in Angola are both rare, world-class ore deposits. . Our country is in Ultra-large-scale lithium deposits associated with coal have been discovered in the Pingshuo Coalfield of Shanxi Province and the Junggar Coalfield of Inner Mongolia. This is the first discovery of its kind in the world, representing a new mineralization model with significant potential economic value.

Some mining companies are focusing their exploration and development efforts on... Small in scale but high in quality. the project, To hope to obtain a return as soon as possible. shorten project cycles. Even for ultra-large or giant deposits, investment scales are reduced and designed production capacities are lowered. As a result, global investment in mining project development continues to decline sharply. According to... SNL Statistics from the Swedish office of the metals and mining company (formerly the Swedish Raw Materials Group), 2014 Investment in mining projects decreased compared to the previous year. 16.1% , among which Investment in green space development projects declines. 29.2% 。2015 The trend continues to decline year after year, and is expected to be lower than... 2014 Year-on-year decrease 10% Left and right.

The mineral products market is shrinking, impacting the entire mining industry chain—from exploration and development to smelting. Australia’s mining industry has become the sector with the highest unemployment rate in the country. When mining companies cut production or close mines, a large number of workers are inevitably left jobless. In several countries—such as Brazil, Chile, and South Africa—worker strikes have erupted precisely because mining companies have reduced investments or failed to adequately address workers’ concerns. From the perspective of mineral types, bulk commodities like oil, coal, and iron ore are the most severely affected. The downturn in the mining industry has also led to a significant brain drain, with many skilled professionals leaving the country.

Prices of bulk mineral commodities are expected to halt their decline and rebound, while the price increases for minerals needed for new energy and new materials—after having surged sharply—are beginning to slow down.

Affected by a combination of factors—including slowing demand, oversupply, and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar—international mineral prices have experienced a sharp decline over the past year and more, with most mineral prices falling to: 2008 The lowest since the financial crisis of the year, with some even hitting record lows. 10 A new low in years. 2015 At the end of the year, International crude oil Price compared to 2014 Year 6 The monthly high has already fallen. 70%， Iron ore The price decline reached 60%， Copper price The decline reached 20% The sharp decline in energy and mineral prices has directly impacted the exports of key mineral-resource countries such as Russia, Brazil, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Nigeria, thereby affecting the overall economic and social development and stability.

The decline in mineral prices has directly led to a significant drop in revenue for countries that are major exporters of mineral products. 2015 This year, Brazil's iron ore exports amounted to... 3.66 hundred million t , relatively 2014 of the year 3.44 hundred million t Growth 6.3% ; however, the export value has decreased from last year's 258 From hundreds of millions of dollars to 141 hundreds of millions of dollars, a decrease 45.4% Although copper production and exports have risen, Chile... 2015 The annual export value of mineral products still declined. 17.6% , from last year's 419 From hundreds of millions of dollars to 2015 of the year 345 hundred million dollars.

Due to International mineral prices It has already fallen sharply, Expected 2016 There is limited room for further substantial declines this year. , but The dual pressure of oversupply and slowing demand persists. The appreciation of the U.S. dollar continues to put downward pressure on the prices of dollar-denominated mineral products. However, considering factors such as the gradual increase in production cuts by mining companies, geopolitical instability, and miners’ demands, the situation of severe oversupply in the mineral market is expected to improve, increasing the likelihood that prices will stop falling and begin to rebound.

At 2015 However, not all mineral prices are falling. Minerals related to new energy and new materials—such as lithium, phosphorus, cobalt, chromium, and iridium—are on the rise. Take lithium as an example, 2015 Lithium carbonate price for battery-grade at the beginning of the year 4.3 Ten thousand yuan / t After several rounds of significant adjustments, market quotes at year-end have been raised to: 12.3 Ten thousand yuan / t , some companies even provide quotes. 16 Ten thousand yuan / t , up nearly 3 Twice; the price of lithium hexafluorophosphate was only at the beginning of the year 8.5 Ten thousand～ 9 Ten thousand yuan / t , by the end of the year it surged to 26 Ten thousand yuan / t , the increase is also 3 Twice. Expected 2016 In the coming year, prices of new energy, new materials, and minerals will likely continue their upward trend, though the pace of increase may slow down.

M&A activity in the mining industry has fallen to its lowest level since the financial crisis, but is expected to rebound in the short to medium term.

According to SNL Statistics for metal and mining companies, 2014 Global M&A in gold and base metals this year... 2013 The year’s low point has seen some recovery, but overall, it remains at a relatively low level. Although the market capitalization of mining companies and the value of their mining assets have shrunk significantly, large mining companies are facing operational difficulties, and there aren’t many that can afford to allocate funds for mergers and acquisitions.

According to EY’s statistics, excluding the spin-off of BHP Billiton— 87 hundreds of millions of dollars), 2015 In the first half of the year, the number of global mining M&A deals was... 170 One, down year-on-year. 43% The M&A amount is 127 hundreds of millions of dollars, down year-on-year 30%; But they increased month-on-month, respectively. 2%