PwC’s Mine 2015: Miner Values Continue to Fall, Despite Increased Production
PriceWaterhouseCoopers‘ Mine 2015 Report was good news for India, but cast a troubling picture of the overall global mining industry.
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Dry-fuel miner Coal India Ltd. (CIL) moved up from the 8th to the 6th slot on the list of the largest mining companies in the world in terms of market capital.
A second state-owned company, which was also the country’s top iron ore miner, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), also improved its ranking by coming in 21st, up three spots over the previous year.
What is Mine 2015?
Mine 2015 analyzed the financial performance of the world’s top 40 mining companies by market capitalization. The report said market values continue to fall, overall, in spite of improvements reported in the financial results of all top 40 companies.
Depending on which way you read it, in 2014, a collective $156 billion was eroded (about 16%) of the top 40 companies’ combined market value, but then again, that was only half of the 2013 slide. The collective market capitalization came in at $791 billion in 2014, which was the range miners held a decade ago.
The report said the world’s largest miners had reduced spending but stepped up production. The industry was also helped by lower input costs and currency devaluation. PwC did note, however, that weak commodity prices due to low demand hammered down revenues.
The Iron Ore Drag
The report said the downturn was largely driven by iron ore miners, particularly diversified companies with large exposure to shifts in commodity prices.
Last year, iron ore was the hardest hit, with prices dropping by half because of a supply glut and a negative short-term demand outlook, the report said.
On the coal front, coal miners in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) saw their values increase 19% over the period, regaining almost half of the value they lost in 2013.
In Asia, more industry consolidation was expected between key resource players from India and China in order to stem production overcapacity, the report said.
Chinese Production Still Surging
The coal companies of China made significant gains in the ranking of the top 40 mining companies, with three appearing in the this year’s top twenty.
China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd (Shenhua) topped the list, becoming the third most valuable mining company (based on market capitalization) after BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group. Shenhua moved up from fifth in 2013’s rankings.
Another company, China Coal Energy Co. climbed to 14th rank from 23rd in 2013, with a 30% increase in valuation, while Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co. jumped to 18th from 25th. Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. came in at 26th – up from 34th in 2013. Yanzhou also recorded a more than 30% increase in value over 2014.
US Miners Can’t Keep Pace
On the other hand, not many US coal-mining companies charted in Mine 2015. Consol Energy found itself at number 28. No other companies charted despite noted concern from US manufacturing execs about local resource supply.
Of the 40 companies, 15 miners saw their share values appreciate, while 25 witnessed a decline.
The average return on capital employed was largely below the minimum hurdle investment rate of 15 to 20% set by the companies themselves. Only 6 of the 40 passed the 15% benchmark: CIL (coal), OAO Norilsk Nickel (nickel), NMDC (iron ore), Randgold (gold), Shandong Gold (gold), and Newcrest (gold), according to the report.
Copper Still Stagnating
On the copper front, Mine 2015 noted that global copper production had gone up by only 2.8% last year, which was way below the 8.1% of 2013. PwC noted that the world’s largest copper producer, Chile, had faced problems increasing its production due to falling grades.
PwC’s general outlook for the global metals and mining market though remains dreary due to the continuance of a slower rate of economic growth, particularly in emerging markets, especially due to the cooling off of China’s growth rate.
In 2014, iron ore, coal and copper prices had fallen by 50%, 26% and 11%, respectively, according to the report.
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