Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Canada’s economy shrank 0.1% in August, the first drop in six months, driven mainly by depressed manufacturing and energy sectors, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
Hardest hit were mining and oil extraction operators, with the sector shrinking 0.7% Excluding oil and gas extraction, mining fell 2.8%. Metal ore mining declined 4.7% as a result of decreased output at copper, nickel, lead and zinc mines as well as at gold and silver ore mines.
Statistics Canada said scheduled maintenance affected metal ore output in August, while non-metallic mineral production fell 2.6% as a result of decreases in output at potash mines.
Oil and gas extraction declined 0.4%, as a drop in crude petroleum production outweighed an increase in natural gas extraction. Maintenance activities at some oilfields affected crude petroleum output in August, the statistics agency said.
Overall, StatsCan noted shrinking output in 10 out of 18 industrial sectors.
