DENVER—Already quite familiar with the roller coaster of economic cycles, the nation’s miners may well ride a current boom higher for a longer time than in years past, industry representatives said Wednesday.
The boom comes as companies are emerging from a 15-year drought in exploration and development that has left low mineral stockpiles amid unprecedented demand and escalating prices, said Bernard Guarnera, chief executive officer of Behre Dolbear & Co. Inc., a Denver-based industry consulting firm.
“We are in a very unique situation,” Guarnera told participants at the National Western Mining Conference & Exhibition. “This cycle is quite different than the ones we’ve seen in the past.”
The growth is being driven by a voracious appetite for minerals in China, India, Russia and Brazil, he said. For example, the four countries are expected to consume 18.5 million tons of copper by 2015, which compares with a 2007 global consumption of 17 million tons.
Economic booms typically last about three years for producers of such commodities as aluminum, copper, lead, nickel and zinc, Guarnera said.
The growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future as companies scramble to boost production.
Francis J. Kane, president of the International Copper Association Ltd., said China’s need for building supplies dominates his industry’s outlook. “All of our houses could disappear in a mortgage crisis and China still needs a lot of metal,” he said.
Producers also are looking for new uses for minerals in an effort to sustain growth.
In addition to silverware and jewelry, silver is being used in flat-panel televisions, solar panels, refrigerator handles, faucets and door knobs and anti-bacterial products, said Mitchell Krebs, a senior vice president for Coeur D’Alene Mines of Chicago.
Sponsored by the Colorado Mining Association, the conference is scheduled to conclude Thursday in Denver.
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