Mining Stock Outlook for 2017: Europe vs. the Americas
Deutsche Bank recently suggested that based on the continued strength of the US dollar vs the Euro and the Pound, the European mining sector is headed for a 20% drop. Copper has fallen 9% from its peak in Q1 2016, the USD has grown by more than 2%, and the European market has overperformed by 30%.
Mining Automation Dramatically Cuts Costs
Once the territory of science-fiction movies, recent large-scale adoption of automated heavy equipment is allowing mines to greatly reduce their labor costs. Trucks, loaders, boring and drilling machines and more are now available with remote or semi-autonomous capacity. Other upcoming automation advances, such as fully-automated long-haul trains (which are now being tested), will continue to expand the range of tasks that require few or no workers to be involved.