Industries · Energy and resources
Mining and metals
How a mine goes from exploration to metal, why ore grade and the cost curve decide profit, how commodity cycles work, why critical minerals matter for the energy transition, and how steel is made and sold.
Key takeaways
- A mine digs up rock that contains a small amount of valuable metal, then separates the metal from the rock.
- In a commodity market, a producer's profit is the gap between the market price and its own cost.
- Mining cases usually ask whether to build or buy a mine, how to cut cost per tonne, or how to secure supply of a critical mineral.
- Describe the mining value chain from exploration to refined metal
- Calculate metal output from ore grade and recovery, and cash cost per tonne
- Use a cost curve to explain where the price settles and which mines are at risk
- Explain commodity cycles, critical minerals and the two main routes to make steel
- Crack typical mining and metals cases, starting with the right driver
Lessons
How mining and metals works: from rock to metal
The steps from exploration to refined metal, the main products and customers, how miners make money, and the metrics they watch.
Mining economics and operations: cost curves, cycles, steel and the supply chain
Unit economics of a copper mine, how the cost curve sets the price, why commodity cycles happen, how steel is made, and how ore reaches the customer.
Mining players, trends 2024 to 2026, and how to crack the cases
Who the players are by region, critical minerals and other trends, regulation basics, typical prompts, traps and drills.
Worked cases in this module
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Key terms