Speaking to Mining Journal Latin America editor Paul Harris on a Mining Agenda podcast on the sidelines of the 2017 Mining & Investment Latin America Summit, the Exploration Insights principal said majors had "outsourced" a lot of their brownfield and greenfield exploration out to juniors over the past decade or more. Small companies had led the surge in new exploration spending over the past 12-18 months in Ecuador, Colombia and other parts of the continent with a ‘use-it-or-lose' approach to turning over ground tenure.

Potential changes in Chile's mining laws aimed at opening up long-held tracts of unexplored country to explorers who've not been able to access the ground under the current system may lead to an influx of juniors and investment into greenfield exploration, Mazumdar says.

For more of his views on exploration trends in Latin America, listen to the podcast.

 

 

On the line this week...

Joe Mazumdar
Exploration Insights principal

An economic geologist and analyst at Exploration Insights, is a former senior mining analyst at Haywood Securities, then Canaccord Genuity. He was director of strategic planning, corporate development, at Newmont Minnig, and senior market analyst/trader at Phelps Dodge. Mazumdar also worked in technical roles for IAMGOLD in Ecuador, North Minerals in Argentina/Chile and Peru, RTZ Mining and Exploration in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Ecuador and MIM in Australia. He has a bachelor of science in geology from the University of Alberta, a master of science in geology and mining from James Cook University and a master of science in mineral economics from the Colorado School of Mines.

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