Canada’s Mining Sector Braces For Challenging Year In 2015.
MONTREAL – Canada’s mining sector is bracing for another challenging year in 2015 as slower growth in China is expected to continue to dampen selling prices for many metals.
Iron ore suffered the biggest drop in the past year, losing nearly half its value to reach the lowest price in more than five years. Some expect the price could fall further — perhaps to US$60 per tonne — on increased supply from Australia and Brazil by giants like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, outpaces demand.
Coal, silver, potash, copper and lead prices also weakened in the past year.
Not all metals and minerals suffered. Nickel was the big winner, with prices rising 17 per cent following Indonesia’s ban on exports. Other gainers were uranium, aluminum, zinc and diamonds.
Although mining is in a multi-year global slump, prices are significantly higher than they were a decade ago, said Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of Canada.
“It’s a cyclical industry and we have to weather this,” he said in an interview.
