A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Optimal capital scaling: a new feasibility for small scale mining
Summary The historical trend in mine development has been the adoption of larger and more capital-intensive methods of production. Such methods have profited from the relatively low costs of investment capital and the reduction in unit costs afforded by technical economies of scale. More recently, rising real rates of interest have increased the investment costs of these capital-intensive mining ventures, amplifying their inherent financial diseconomies of scale and decreasing their economic viability. This paper used an economic framework to analyse the effects of rising rates of interest on the optimal level of capital investment and ultimate scale of operation. The conclusion suggests that rising real rates of interest can cause financial diseconomies to dominate the technical economies of scale. Under such circumstances, those mineral deposits more amenable to smaller scales of mining will prove economically superior to larger scaled operations.
Optimal capital scaling: a new feasibility for small scale mining
Summary The historical trend in mine development has been the adoption of larger and more capital-intensive methods of production. Such methods have profited from the relatively low costs of investment capital and the reduction in unit costs afforded by technical economies of scale. More recently, rising real rates of interest have increased the investment costs of these capital-intensive mining ventures, amplifying their inherent financial diseconomies of scale and decreasing their economic viability. This paper used an economic framework to analyse the effects of rising rates of interest on the optimal level of capital investment and ultimate scale of operation. The conclusion suggests that rising real rates of interest can cause financial diseconomies to dominate the technical economies of scale. Under such circumstances, those mineral deposits more amenable to smaller scales of mining will prove economically superior to larger scaled operations.
Optimal capital scaling: a new feasibility for small scale mining
Masbruch, Thomas A. (author)
1985
Article (Journal)
English
Online Contents | 2016
Scaling-Up of Small-Scale Granular Sediment Transport Laws
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996
IN THE NEWS - Small-scale Mining a Killer?
Online Contents | 1999
Special Report: Mining in Ontario and Toronto - World's mining capital
Online Contents | 2012
Economic feasibility analysis of small scale PV systems in different countries
| British Library Online Contents | 2016