International Mining has for some months been reporting on tight markets for both consulting and engineering expertise. Now CIC Energy, developing the Mmamabula Energy Project in Botswana notes: “The EPC market globally has continued to tighten in the last few months, and the sponsors have concluded that it will be difficult to enter into a turnkey EPC contract for this large scale project on terms and conditions that, until recently, were accepted by EPC contractors and would have enabled this project to be financed on a non-recourse project finance basis.” A cautionary tale perhaps for some who have not secured the engineering they need. This latest issue of International Mining Project News also contains significant nickel news from a number of companies, like Mincor and Focus Minerals, working in the Kambalda area of Western Australia. (more…)