Beneficiation research series unveiled

Molten rare earth metal Lanthanum is poured into a mould at Jinyuan Company's smelting workshop near the town of Damao in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region October 31, 2010. The near monopoly China has in producing 97 percent of the world's supply of rare earths has been well-known among industrial users for years.

Molten rare earth metal Lanthanum is poured into a mould at Jinyuan Company's smelting workshop near the town of Damao in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region October 31, 2010. The near monopoly China has in producing 97 percent of the world's supply of rare earths has been well-known among industrial users for years.

Published Jul 14, 2015

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Johannesburg - Eunomix Research, the South Africa-based research arm of strategic advisory firm Eunomix, on Tuesday launched its beneficiation research series.

The series seeks to contribute to policy by filling some of the current critical gaps in the beneficiation debate. The series includes a combination of publications, events and engagement with key parties.

Eunomix is an Africa-focused advisory. The company advises natural resource firms on economic development, sustainability and political analysis and works with governments and international donors to improve natural resource management and cultivate sustainable economic growth. Since its foundation, Eunomix has been providing insightful research on a range of political risk topics though its research arm, Eunomix Research. Eunomix has 15 consultants speaking 10 languages

Beneficiation policy, a key pillar of the African Mining Vision and other regional initiatives, seeks to localise mining investment and maximise the socioeconomic benefits of mining to the greatest extent possible, says Eunomix.

For many governments this principally means encouraging the downstream transformation of minerals, which have traditionally been exported raw, into higher-value products, it adds.

Often associated with controversial legislation and lengthy negotiations between government and the mining industry, beneficiation is a critically under-studied policy area, Eunomix says.

Eunomix Research’s beneficiation series includes both conceptual and empirical/case study work to be released on a regular basis. This first research series, to cover the second half of 2015, will include reports on:

- Mineral beneficiation policy in Zimbabwe

- The impact of developmental pricing on the scrap metal industry in South Africa

- An examination of Botswana’s beneficiation policy and lessons learnt from it

- A series of country case studies examining useful beneficiation policy lessons

- The role of the financial sector in mineral beneficiation in South Africa

The first report, entitled ‘Mineral beneficiation policy in Zimbabwe’, will be released in mid-August and followed by a summit in Harare. After that, Eunomix is looking to issue 4 projects by the end of this year.

It will release studies on Australia, Indonesia, Norway, Sweden, Canada and Chile as well as an in-depth case study on Botswana.

Eunomix explains these six countries have seen huge development amongst local-content industries related to the mining industry and therefore provide indications on how mineral beneficiation can add value to a country.

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