The latest research of S&P Global Market Intelligence found that due to the shutdown caused by regional lockdown measures, the actual investment expenditures of more than 400 mining companies surveyed in 2020 decreased by 8% compared with the previous year, which puts unprecedented pressure on the global supply chain .

At the beginning of 2020, these mining companies plan to invest US$162 billion, an increase of 9% from 2019. However, affected by the epidemic, these mining companies lowered their investment by 4% to US$156 billion, which is still higher than the 2019 level. As the epidemic worsened, these mining companies had to readjust their plans. The actual investment in 2020 was US$149 billion, which was a decrease of 8% and 4% from the adjusted forecast before and after the Covid-9 epidemic. It is also slightly lower than the expenditure reported by mining companies in 2019.

Standard & Poor's pointed out that the global economy is recovering, and GDP growth in 2021 is expected to reach 5.5%. As the world gradually emerges from the epidemic, investment spending will increase substantially.

It is estimated that the investment of these mining companies will reach 176 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, an increase of 18% over 2020. The estimation of this result is based on the delayed resumption of the project and the general rise in mining activities stimulated by the rising metal prices.

Leaders are prominent during the mining recovery period, and Chinese companies invest more than the 2020 plan. Chinese companies originally planned to reduce their investment by 8% in 2020 compared to 2019, partly because of the lockdown and restrictions adopted at the beginning of the year. However, signs of recovery appeared in the middle of the second quarter, and Chinese companies adjusted their investment plans for 2020, an increase of 8% over 2019. The actual investment reported by Chinese companies in 2020 has increased by 15% compared to 2019.

Before the epidemic, the precious metals company planned to reduce its investment in 2020 by 13% from the previous year, but the actual investment reported was basically the same as in 2019, mainly due to the recovery of investment from mining companies in Australia and China. In 2021, precious metals companies will increase by 1/3 on the basis of 2019, represented by Newmont and Gold Fields.

In addition, Standard & Poor's estimates that large mining companies with a market capitalization of more than US$50 billion have planned and actual investments higher than other companies. Before the epidemic, large mining companies planned to increase their investment in 2020 by 35% on the basis of 2019. However, with the outbreak of the epidemic, large mining companies adjusted their growth rate to 28%, while the actual growth rate in 2020 was 22%.

In 2021, the investment gap between large mining companies and the other three types of companies will further widen. Their investment is expected to increase by 51% compared to 2019, while the other three types of companies have a similar investment growth rate of 21% on average. Editor/Xu Shengpeng