Comment: Gratton addresses Vancouver Board of Trade – Canadian Mining Journal
On global market conditions: First, the ugliest bits. Over the course of 2013, the world’s 40 largest mining companies booked record impairments of $57 billion. Aggregate net profits fell 72% to their lowest level in a decade, their collective market capitalization declining 23%.
2013 was also a grim year for mineral exploration financing, with global exploration budgets dropping by 30%. What’s more, PDAC research indicates that in 2013 more than 50% of all financings were for $500,000 or less compared to just 13% in 2010.
Global economic growth has declined for the past four years, falling from 5.2% in 2010 to 3% in 2013. The Bank of Canada, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank all downgraded global economic growth forecasts for 2014, in recent July updates.
