Emerging markets still look set to play significant role in the expected recovery for metals demand

摘要

After almost half a decade of being pampered by a global economic boom, not only were the country's miners and explorers forced to watch commodity prices plummet south on the back of the worldwide financial crisis, but they also had to face up to the fact that one of their key saviours was once again going to come in the form of foreign investment. The impact of the international financial meltdown, which was triggered by the collapse of the US banking system in September 2008, was immediately felt in Australia as domestic mining companies quickly dropped staff, rewrote contracts, downsized their operations and, in some instances, cut production quotas. Meanwhile, developments in the junior end of town were just as grim post the slide, with activities in the erstwhile buoyant equities markets coming to a literal standstill as IPOs and capital raisings virtually dried up overnight.