Private Equity Investment Still Circling Mining Sector

The growth in private equity investment within mining and metals has provoked greater debate about its role as a driving force within the sector over the past year. However, private equity is selective about when and where it deploys capital; it cannot be viewed as an industry panacea.

"It's also fair to say that private equity funds usually approach the sector with a long-term perspective," Norton Rose Fulbright partner Janet Howard told Mining Weekly Online.

Howard specialises in mergers and acquisitions, corporate and securities law, with emphasis on the mining and natural resources sectors.

"Private equity firms view themselves as part of the team directed at problem solving," she said. "They might say: 'tell us what you think the potential problems are and we'll help you fix it'."