WEF report identifies 9 countries with most to gain from mining

Finance

Publishing Date: 06 Feb 2012 10:09am GMT
Author: Mining Journal

A report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has identified a group of nine countries with the greatest potential for transformation based on their mining potential and current socio-economic development.

The nine identified with the most potential were: Angola, Bolivia, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Mongolia, Peru, South Africa and Tanzania.

To indicate the potential of responsible mineral development in various countries, the report showed an analysis of 30 mining economies, where mineral resource potential was gauged against current socio-economic development in those countries.

The nine countries are estimated to hold 28% of the total resource value of the 30 combined, but attracted only 12% of the foreign direct investment in 2009.

Released to coincide with this year’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town, the report is the second to be released under the WEF’s Responsible Mining Initiative, launched in 2010. The first report identified the main obstacles to responsible mineral development.

A total of 400 experts from NGOs, governments, and mining companies participated and its aim is to enable "developing countries to avoid the ‘resource curse’ and develop sustainably".