Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Mining sector Impact - 04 August 2021

Globaldata's report on the impact of COVID-19 on the mining sector includes detailed coverage of the mining sector analysis, COVID-19 impact and sector insights among others.

COVID-19 has now spread to over 198 countries with a total of more than 194 million confirmed cases and over 4 million deaths. The number of confirmed cases is the US is over 34 million, with cases again rising after sustained period of declines. As in many other countries, most new cases are of the Delta variant, with hospitalizations also on the rise (97% of those admitted are unvaccinated). Total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered has now surpassed the total number of confirmed cases, with a total of over 2.9 billion single vaccine doses administered. China leads in the total number of vaccinations, while Canada leads amongst top economies in percentage of population that has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

A concrete summary of the impact of COVID-19:

• Hiring prospects appear to have been gradually improving since April 2021

• Nearly 45% of employees report an increase in productivity during WFH

• Most offices will return to at least 50% capacity in the next six months

• 3 in 10 employees prefer to visit their office daily after the pandemic

• Technology will continue to change the way we work over the next three years

• Artificial intelligence is driving change in working practices

• Most respondents continue to work from home full-time

Sector insight:

• Mining companies have been reporting significant revenue and profit growth for H1 2021 compared with H1 2020, helped by rising commodity demand, driven by increased construction and automotive output and rising prices for the likes of iron ore, copper and other base metals. Since the start of 2021 there has been a strong increase in the price of copper, which dipped slightly in June and July after passing $10,000/t whilst the iron ore price remained at over $200/t in July. For example, Anglo American reported revenue growth of 114% to $21,779m for H1 2021, Rio Tinto's sales revenues were 71% higher in H1 2021 versus H1 2020 at $33,083m and Vale's revenues were 102% higher in H1 2021 at $29,320m

• ICE Coal Futures prices rose over the course of July, up by 16.4% for the month and were US$149.75/t by month-end. Prices have been helped by rising demand from China and other parts of North Asia, as well as supply constraints. China's aversion to buying coal from Australia is also leading to high price increases for lower quality coal from markets such as Indonesia

• With rising inventories, the average copper price in July was 1.9% down on the June average although the price improved towards the end of the month, finishing at $9,747.5/t. Concerns over supplies from Chile, where production declined y-o-y in Q1, plus a threat of strikes and also higher mining taxes in Peru, may keep prices high over the remainder of 2021

Download our free report for more detailed insights on the impact of COVID-19 in the mining sector.