Mark Bristow, CEO of Barrick Gold Corporation, is quoted as saying that “No one made any real money during the last super-cycle” because as Jamie Polanski put it “the single-minded pursuit of production was destructive to margins and valuations.” AMC Consultants Principle Peter McCarthy said that “by second guessing the economic optimisation of the ore deposit, owners are obliged to pay for something greater and more expensive.” What followed the great commodity super-cycle was a lesson in austerity that now threatens the industry as “a reserve crisis in the gold industry now exists” according to Mark Bristow.

By emphasizing the primacy of the ore deposit this book unpacks the economic optimization of a mine so that mining teams can maintain capital investment discipline against consistent criteria. The temptation to pursue acquisitions or projects at any price is tempered by a fundamental understanding of an ore deposits economic capacity to deliver value. As Alfred Rappaport said: “The ultimate test of corporate strategy, the only reliable measure, is whether it creates maximum excess economic value for its shareholders.”

Craig Hutton, the author of this book, unpacks Mining Economics in a practical manner that is anchored in economic theory. The optimal size of any mining pursuit is ultimately measured by McCarthy’s “Hill of Value” formulation. Hutton has developed a robust tool to generate McCarthy’s “Hill of Value” in a fast yet detailed manner to test multiple production combinations saving on time and money to direct feasibility studies to optimal outcomes.

Neal Brewster, executive director at Elemental Economics commented that “ I found myself nodding along.” He went on to say that this book has the knack of translating theory into practical approaches alongside real world experiences from inside the mining industry, making it one of the more useful books on mineral economics that he has read.