Mining News — Newmont Recieves Full Regulatory Approval To Acquire Newcrest Mining

The acquisition of Newcrest Mining Ltd by global mining giant Newmont Corp is officially in the books. The company recieved the regulatory approvals from Papua New Guinea and The Philippines to go ahead with the massive acquisition for Newcrest Mining.

The approvals fom those countries were a determinant factor in the future prospects for this deal. Once this news was released to the public (mining industry followers has been anxiously waiting for this news), Newmont president and CEO Tom Palmer said that the proposal to acquire Newcrest Mining for $19.2 billion was thanks to the support of the government in Papua New Guinea.

Newmont is considered to be the largest gold miner and producer in the world. The company recently announced a new investment plan for its Santz Cruz gold mine in Argentina, whereby it will invest $540 million to extend the life of mine (LoM) there until 2034.

Based in Colorado, United States, Newmont is already at the top tier of gold miners. This deal to aquire Newcrest, however, just gave the company a significant global reach in copper production capacity.

If you haven’t been following the gold price this year, then I have no idea what’s been taking your attention in the global commodities markets. Ever since inflation hikes and debt ceiling talks, gold has been at the top of the discussion of global markets. And the next big discussion in the mining industry will inevitably be on the future-facing commodities: copper, nickel and potash.

Read more about the Mali case for gold miners below.

new mining law targeting global gold miners in Mali has been reportedly coming into fruition as the military-coup inspired government seeks to increase the government’s stake in gold mining projects from 20% to 35%. The North Africa Post

Mali is one of the biggest gold producers in Africa, where the world’s largest miners, like Barrick Gold and B2Gold, carry out gold mining operations.

However, political instability is nothing to underestimate in this country. The fact that the mining law hasn’t actully come into effect reveals that there are mostly likely other factors coming into play, which could cause the Malian government to back down from its stance.

Gold is one of the only economic drivers for Mali’s future, and while this might sound like a travesty for one of the African Sahel’s poorest areas, the demand for gold has absolutely taken a much bigger share of global mining prospects and demand.

Copper is the other part of this story…

A big headline for mining news and global commodities markets came out recently, when it was announced that the Democractic Republic of Congo (DRC) would likely take the top spot of global copper production in a surge of investments into the country to ramp up output of the commodity.

Currently, South American producers in Chile and Peru hold the world’s top rankings for global copper production. But according to these reports, DRC has become a more attractive place to establish new copper mines and increase output due to higher-grade ores. Reuters

In a related story, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been given exclusive rights to export artisanal gold from DRC mines. Controversy over the status of the contract has been followed by ‘Le Congo n’est pas a vendre’ (Congo is not for sale) as human rights and smuggling issues in DRC’s artisanal mining trade are no secret to the world of commodities.

These trends are part of the much larger geopolitical trends that have been kickstarted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The global pandemic has caused several countries to unravel, with socio-political instability that was building up for decades, and causing the global economy to be shaken up with uncertainties, putting the world’s largest companies in some of the most vulnerable areas.

All of these trends should give us a broader understanding of what’s happening in geopolitics and the global economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether or not we can overcome our pre-conceived ideas about energy and commodities is going to be a key problem facing the world’s population after the global pandemic.

We need to get more serious about Climate Change, but also look at how the world’s most valuable commodities are going to be needed and secured in the future; hence the critical nature of future-facing commodities.

The geopolitical trends point to this conclusion: the future of global economic development is going to depend heavily on the effective production and supply of global commodities around the world. That’s why one of the biggest industrial trends for global mining projects is related to Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) frameworks and shareholder values.

The aspects of producer economy areas and indigenous groups’ issues play a big role in this phenomenon — and rightly so in my view. These trends are part of the much larger geopolitical trends that have been kickstarted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The global pandemic has caused several countries to unravel, with socio-political instability that was building up for decades, and causing the global economy to be shaken up with uncertainties, putting the world’s largest companies in some of the most vulnerable areas.

I cover all of the global mining projects in the publication Areas & Producers. If you want to know about a specific mining project, or about a problem facing mining’s future in a particular area, send me a note Monroe 4PEACE and we can talk about covering it in the publication.

The content in Areas & Producers provides a methodology for readers and writers who are curious about global trends and the future of the world.