One Way, Or Another

Recent years have seen a number of mining projects exceed their original project cost budgets by significant margins, earning them the label of "overrun blow-outs". These have occurred with juniors developing their first properties and majors with large project portfolios and a history of successful mine development. Neither is immune.

Capital-cost overruns are not new to the mining industry. They have been a persistent fixture over the years, with overruns of 20% not uncommon. Anecdotal evidence, including headline 'blow-out' overruns, suggests the events are trending upward. One can speculate as to the reasons for this, perhaps the need to search in difficult, remote locations to find reserves, or to use complex technological processes to exploit those reserves.