It is no secret that South Africa’s construction sector is in an extremely perilous state. The decline in workflow and the squeeze on margins have left large and small construction companies struggling for survival. Some of the country’s biggest firms have applied for business rescue while others have sold or are planning to sell their South African general construction divisions to focus on global niche markets, such as mining, or infrastructure opportunities abroad. This unsupportive environment has been made all the more hostile, as several construction sites have become targets for criminality and violence. These difficulties are partially reflected in this Projects in Progress supplement, with very few new projects being featured. Amid the gloom, however, there are a few behind-the-scenes developments that, if successful, could offer hope.

The decision by number one iron-ore miner Vale, of Brazil, to halt 40‑million tonnes of production – equivalent to about one-tenth of its output – so that it can decommission tailings dams similar to the one that failed in January 2019, killing an estimated 300 people, will have major implications for the world’s iron-ore mining and steelmaking industries in the near term. Creamer Media’s Iron-Ore 2019 report provides an overview of the global iron-ore market currently, with particular emphasis on supply and demand, as well as trade and pricing. It also provides information on South Africa’s iron-ore market and its major producers, as well as an overview of the major global iron-ore producing companies and other significant producers.

Africa’s potential is immeasurable. While Africa initially gained a reputation for its gold and diamond resources, the African mining industry is now also being recognised for its copper, graphite, lithium, platinum group metals and potash resources. However, the continent is faced with a ‘resource curse’ – a term referring to an enduring theme of mining in Africa – the paradox of plenty, and how to manage it. This edition of Creamer Media’s Africa Mining Projects in Progress highlights some of the prospective projects on the continent that have been announced in some of these sectors, focusing on recent preliminary economic assessments, scoping, prefeasibility and definitive/bankable feasibility studies, as well as some of the projects that are already under way.

Canada is one of the leading mining countries and one of the largest producers of minerals and metals in the world. It produces about 60 different minerals and metals, and ranked in the top five countries in the global production of 13 major minerals and metals in 2017. Metals mines – such as those mining gold, copper, nickel and zinc – account for two-thirds of the value of major mining-related projects. In this inaugural edition of Creamer Media’s Canada Mining Projects in Progress, we present a selection of these mining projects announced over the past few months, including those in the preliminary economic assessment/scoping study phase, prefeasibility and bankable/definitive feasibility study phase.

Most of the high-economic diamond deposits in the world have been put into production or have even been depleted. Therefore, mining companies will either choose to expand their existing mines, which will impact on their economics, or acquire greenfield projects to maintain production. However, large-scale greenfield diamond projects have become a rare find and, as a result, miners are finding it difficult to replenish their depleting diamond resources. The potential impact of synthetic, or lab-grown, diamonds has attracted much interest, as they are almost indistinguishable from mined diamonds and are becoming cheaper to manufacture. Further, as a result of effective marketing by the lab-grown diamond industry, some consumers are willing to buy these diamonds, as many also consider them to be more environment-friendly and carry assurances that they are not conflict minerals. However, even though technology now allows for more gem-quality lab-grown diamonds to be produced, this still totals less than five‑million carats a year, compared with about 60‑million carats of gem-quality diamonds mined a year. Creamer Media’s Diamond 2018 report provides an overview of the world diamond market, including rough diamond production, supply and demand, imports and exports, and synthetic diamonds. The report emphasises diamond mining activities in South Africa over the past 12 months, and provides information on the country’s major and midtier diamond producers, junior diamond mining companies, explorers and developers.