Mining industry is far perkier, mine labor is far tighter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 27, 2011 -- In recent decades, the demand for mining machinery and related parts is derived from the demand for 'mine-able' natural resources. Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials from the surface of the earth or from underground. In today's complex world, mined materials are widely used and seen as strategic in many sectors. By affording access to such materials, mining machinery occupies a central role in the value chain between mined natural resources and intermediate or final goods.

Top North American miners of gold, copper and iron ore all said this week that a sudden ramp-up of mining projects has begun to squeeze labor and mining equipment and before long will slow or delay projects.

Executives talking to Reuters at this year's Mining and Steel Summit said, skilled labor, especially geologists and mining engineers, were hard to come by and lead times on heavy equipment has been stretched out for weeks or months.

While none said their current plans were being stalled by shortages--the largest miners have lengthy planning processes and lucrative compensation packages to keep top talent--but, the day was not long off when projects would feel the crunch.

At the Prospectors and Developers Conference in early March in Toronto, junior miners and developers also said tight labor was rapidly worsening, and likely to accelerate costs, squeeze margins, and threaten some projects.

Cliffs got a taste of the crunch when it began to develop a new body of chrome ore.

'We asked five engineering houses to bid on our project. Three of them said, We have no resources. We can't,' she said.

Major Drilling (MDI.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), a mine driller specializing in difficult locations, was surprised by the rapid ramp-up of demand for its services so far this year, comparing it with the swift slowdown of late 2008.

Though Barrick Gold (ABX.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Aaron Regent did not think the recent pick up in mining projects was en par with the breakneck pace of 2008's boom, he said, 'It's obvious that things are heading up.'


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