| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Ericsson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Chinese control over African and global mining-past, present and future
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Mineral Economics. - : Springer. - 2191-2203 .- 2191-2211. ; 33:1-2, SI, s. 153-181
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chinese companies are far from taking control over African or global mining. In 2018, they control less than 7% of the value of total African mine production. Chinese investments in African mining of non-fuel minerals between 1995 and 2018 have contributed to production growth but it has also increased Chinese control over African mineral and metal production. There is evidence pointing to a continued Chinese expansion in African minerals and metals but at a slower pace than in the past decade. Through a detailed analysis of every mine, fully or partially controlled by Chinese interest in Africa and all other parts of the world the paper also measures total Chinese control over global mine production to be around 3% of the total value.
|
|
| 3. |
- Ericsson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Cobalt: corporate concentration 1975-2018
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Mineral Economics. - : Springer Nature. - 2191-2203 .- 2191-2211. ; 37:2, s. 297-311
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The world’s dependency on cobalt mines in Congo and cobalt refineries in China is seen as serious security issues with potentially dangerous implications for the energy transition. However, Chinese refineries have a similar supply security issue as most of its cobalt concentrates are imported. Most supply security studies take a country perspective on market concentration and supply risks. However, control of the mines and refineries lies with the producing companies, not the governments of the countries where they are located. This paper analyses the corporate structure of the cobalt industry at the mine and the refinery stages over a longer time period to establish changes in the level of corporate concentration and to put the situation in 2018 in perspective. The level of corporate concentration at the mine stage is low and does not raise concerns for market failures or a lack of competitiveness. Corporate concentration of refined cobalt depends on the Chinese government’s influence over Chinese production: if the state control over individual refineries is assumed to be strong, the corporate concentration is high. Mine stage supply security could be strengthened by improving the general political stability in the DRC to make the country more attractive for investors other than the present ones. Increased local beneficiation would strongly benefit Congo and reduce China’s influence. This is a long and complicated process and its success is not at all certain. At the refinery stage, the solution is much easier: reliability of supply could be improved by constructing refineries in countries outside China.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ericsson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Global metal market : Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
- 2017
-
Ingår i: World of Mining - Surface and Underground. - : GDMB Gesellschaft fur Bergbau, Metallurgie, Rohstoff- und Umwelttechnik. - 1613-2408. ; 69:1, s. 31-35
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Analysis of a number of indicators points towards a turn around in metals market during 2017 after several rough years. The past years certainly were disastrous in terms of the depth of the fall, but it must not be forgotten that the downturn started from an extreme high whether in 2011 or earlier. During 2016 all prices for metals produced in the EU have improved. The industry's market valuation is slowly improving. At the peak in the first half of 2011 the market capitalization of just short of 2500 bn USD. In 2016 the mining companies had lost 2/3 of their market value and were around 750 bn only. During the first years of the super cycle, European politicians and Commission bureaucrats were caught unaware of the strong foreign dependency of the metal supply for European industry. In absolute terms, copper production has increased by 10% from 2000 to 894 kt in 2014. Zinc production has fallen by a little less to 840 kt in the same period. European equipment manufacturers seem to have been increasing their market shares in recent years of downturn in total investments when productivity has been in focus not only volumes.
|
|
| 5. |
- Ericsson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Locus of control over global mine production– developments between 1985 and 2018 against a historical background
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Mineral Economics. - : Springer Nature. - 2191-2203 .- 2191-2211.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is a well-known fact that mine production has shifted from the industrialised countries of Europe, North America and Japan to emerging economies in Latin America, Africa and Asia and to Australia since the mid-20th century. The lack of self-sufficiency or high import dependence, in particular of the so-called critical metals, has become an issue of great political concern in these industrialised countries over the past 15 years. This study of six metals, cobalt, copper, iron ore, lithium, manganese and rare earths, contrasts this picture of geographical location of production with an analysis of where the control over mine production around the world is based, which we call the locus of control. Production might have moved out of the industrialised countries but control over production by companies based in the industrialised countries remains and has even increased between 1985 and 2018. We measure control as share of the total value of the production of the six metals. European transnational mining companies have increased their control from 14 to 18% while mining companies based in North America have lost control, a decline from 13 to 8%. When Australian companies, that have more than tripled their control in the same period, are added, control by the industrialised countries has increased to 44% of these six metals. Companies based in Latin America, Africa and Asia excluding China, taken together have maintained their control level, roughly a third of the total value of the six metals. Inside this group of countries African share has dwindled from 12 to 3% while Asian companies have more than doubled their share from 5 to 12%. Control by mining companies based in the republics of the former Soviet Union have been reduced from 25 to 7% while in the same period Chinese companies’ control has doubled from 6 to 12% of the total value of these six metals. Countries in Asia (excluding China) together with Latin American and African countries produce 51% of these six metals measured by the value at the mine stage. However, companies based in these countries control not more than 33% of the production.
|
|
| 6. |
- Ericsson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Обзор мирового рынка железной руды за 2019–2020 годы : [Iron ore market report 2019–2020]
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Gornaya Promyshlennost (Russian Mining Industry). - : Scientific and Industrial company 'Gemos Ltd.'. - 1609-9192 .- 2587-9138. ; :1, s. 74-82
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Preliminary figures of global iron ore and steel production in 2020 show a slight decline. The article reviews iron ore production by global companies (Vale, Rio Tinto, BHP, FMG, Anglo American, etc.) in 2019 and 2020, as well as production figures by the leading steel producing countries (China, India, Japan, Russia, USA, South Korea) in 2020. Iron ore imports and exports are also analyzed. It is noted that the global iron ore exports had increased by around 43% over the previous decade, however, they went down by 1.7% in 2019, and this decline in exports continued in 2020. Australia is the largest iron ore exporter with a market share of 55%; this share increased by one percentage point in 2020 compared to the previous year. Green-field projects by global producing companies are presented in Brazil, Australia and other countries. A conclusion is made that despite a 3.5% decline in the global economy forecast by the International Monetary Fund in 2020, it is possible to acknowledge that the iron ore market is well balanced. However, if steel demand and steel production volumes increase unexpectedly and some of the planned new mines are not commissioned, the surplus can quite promptly turn into a deficit. In the long term, the plans to produce steel without using fossil fuels, without coke and therefore without CO2 emissions, could revolutionize the iron ore market and increase the demand for products with a high iron content.
|
|
| 7. |
- Hodge, R. Anthony, et al.
(författare)
-
The global mining industry: corporate profile, complexity, and change
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Mineral Economics. - : Springer Nature. - 2191-2203 .- 2191-2211. ; 35:3-4, s. 587-606
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The continuation and increasing importance of mining is inevitable as society embraces both the transition to a low-carbon economy and application of circular economy concepts. However, across many parts of society, there is an ongoing sense that those who are carrying many of the costs and risks related to mining particularly over the long term (often host communities and countries) are not seeing a level of benefit that seems fair. In contrast, there is frustration within the industry that mining is not being given due credit for the importance of its role in contemporary society by those who would criticize industry practices. Over the past several decades, dozens of initiatives aimed at strengthening mining's social and environmental performance have been mounted from both within and outside the industry. These generally depend on a "leadership-trickle-down" change model. While progress has been achieved, the society-industry trust deficit continues. The global mining community comprises a corporate core and a complex range of other surrounding interests. We suggest that some key questions regarding the nature of this community and its appetite and capacity for change have not been explored thus impeding the effectiveness of change management. We offer (1) an estimate of the number of companies that lie at the core of the global mining community: some 25,000 operating in about 140 countries (using data from the mid-2010s); (2) a profile of these companies as an initial step towards understanding the "culture" of the global mining community; and (3) a listing of additional complexities and observations important to bringing global-wide improvement to mining's social and environmental performance. We argue that building on work to date, a fresh approach is required. We are calling for a dialog to reflect on the ideas presented here, refine them as appropriate, and develop the needed strategies and action plans. Such a process must build from a comprehensive understanding of the global mining community and its culture. It must be collaborative in nature and involve not only the range of mining companies but also with surrounding interests and governments. If this is not done, the change that is needed to align actions of all mining actors with social values will not occur and the trust deficit will remain.
|
|
| 8. |
- Löf, A., et al.
(författare)
-
Iron ore market review 2018
- 2019
-
Ingår i: CIS Iron and Steel Review. - : Ore & Metals Publishing House. - 2072-0815. ; 17, s. 4-9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Iron ore prices remained at relatively high levels during 2018. Premia paid for high quality ores increased and are substantial. Global iron ore production is estimated to grow by around 2% in 2018. Sharp cuts in production of un-beneficiated ore have taken place in China during 2018. Demand for iron ore in general and for high grade products in particular has however increased. Future developments in China, both in the steel and iron ore industries, will be crucial to the global iron ore markets in 2019. This review is written in March 2019 and incorporates as much as possible figures and trends for the full year 2018, in some cases this is however not yet possible.
|
|
| 9. |
- Aldea, Jorge, et al.
(författare)
-
Current and future drought vulnerability for three dominant boreal tree species
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 30
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and severity of droughts, possibly causing sudden and elevated tree mortality. Better understanding and predictions of boreal forest responses to climate change are needed to efficiently adapt forest management. We used tree-ring width chronologies from the Swedish National Forest Inventory, sampled between 2010 and 2018, and a random forest machine-learning algorithm to identify the tree, stand, and site variables that determine drought damage risk, and to predict their future spatial–temporal evolution. The dataset consisted of 16,455 cores of Norway spruce, Scots pine, and birch trees from all over Sweden. The risk of drought damage was calculated as the probability of growth anomaly occurrence caused by past drought events during 1960–2010. We used the block cross-validation method to compute model predictions for drought damage risk under current climate and climate predicted for 2040–2070 under the RCP.2.6, RCP.4.5, and RCP.8.5 emission scenarios. We found local climatic variables to be the most important predictors, although stand competition also affects drought damage risk. Norway spruce is currently the most susceptible species to drought in southern Sweden. This species currently faces high vulnerability in 28% of the country and future increases in spring temperatures would greatly increase this area to almost half of the total area of Sweden. Warmer annual temperatures will also increase the current forested area where birch suffers from drought, especially in northern and central Sweden. In contrast, for Scots pine, drought damage coincided with cold winter and early-spring temperatures. Consequently, the current area with high drought damage risk would decrease in a future warmer climate for Scots pine. We suggest active selection of tree species, promoting the right species mixtures and thinning to reduce tree competition as promising strategies for adapting boreal forests to future droughts.
|
|
| 10. |
- Aldea, Jorge, et al.
(författare)
-
Species stratification and weather conditions drive tree growth in Scots pine and Norway spruce mixed stands along Europe
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 481
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mixed forests are suggested as a strategic adaptation of forest management to climate change. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) are tree species of high economic and ecological value for European forestry. Both species coexist naturally in a large part of their distributions but there is a lack of knowledge on the ecological functioning of mixtures of these species and how to manage such stands. This paper analyses these species' intra- and inter-specific competition, including size-symmetric vs. size-asymmetric competition, and explore the effect of weather conditions on tree growth and competition. We studied basal area growth at tree level for Scots pine and Norway spruce in mixed versus pure stands in 22 triplets of fully-stocked plots along a broad range of ecological conditions across Europe. Stand inventory and increment cores provided insights into how species mixing modifies tree growth compared with neighbouring pure stands. Five different competition indices, weather variables and their interactions were included and checked in basal area growth models using a linear mixed model approach. Interspecific size-asymmetric competition strongly influenced growth for both tree species, and was modulated by weather conditions. However, species height stratification in mixed stands resulted in a greater tree basal area growth of Scots pine (10.5 em(2) year(-1)) than in pure stands (9.3 em(2) year(-1)), as this species occupies the upper canopy layer. Scots pine growth depended on temperature and drought, whereas Norway spruce growth was influenced only by drought. Interspecific site-asymmetric competition increased in cold winters for Scots pine, and decreased after a drought year for Norway spruce. Although mixtures of these species may reduce tree size for Norway spruce, our results suggest that this could be offset by faster growth in Scots pine. How inter-specific competition and weather conditions alter tree growth may have strong implications for the management of Scots pine-Norway spruce mixtures along the rotation period into the ongoing climate change scenario.
|
|
