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Role of Mining in National Economies: Mining Contribution Index (4th Edition)

29 October 2018

ICMM's Mining Contribution Index (MCI) synthesises into a single number – and an associated ranking – the significance of the mining sector’s contribution to national economies. This provides an indication of the relative importance of mining to the economic life of a country.

Summary

  • The MCI is designed to improve the understanding of the role of mining in national economies, and illustrate the importance of good mineral resource governance in ensuring that mineral wealth translates into broad-based economic and social progress.

  • The 2018 MCI confirms that many of the world’s most mining-dependent countries continue to rely on their natural resources as the primary driver of economic activity. This is despite continued falls in commodity prices.

  • All of the top 25 ranked countries qualify as resource dependent. This underscores the dependence of low and middle-income countries on mining and its significance in the economic life of these countries, a factor that has continued across all previous editions of the MCI.

  • Suriname rose 46 places to top the 4th edition of the MCI. This dramatic rise is partly due to large increases in mineral rents – up from 6.3 per cent in 2014 to 24 per cent in 2016 – and in metals and minerals production value (which doubled over the two years).

  • The results of the 4th edition of the MCI show some big changes at the top of the ranking. While 17 of the top 25 ranked countries also featured in the top 25 in the 3rd edition, new entrants have made significant gains in rankings. These include Suriname, Namibia, Guinea, Mali and Zimbabwe. Bolivia and Peru also experienced double-digit increases in their rankings.
  • The countries falling out of the top 25 between 2016 and 2018 comprise Ukraine, Rwanda, Mozambique, Jamaica and Chile. Mauritania also dropped 21 places but remains in the top 25.
  • 84% of the top 25 ranked countries are rated as weak, poor, or failing in NRGI’s Resource Governance Index. Getting the framework that governs mineral resources right is, therefore, increasingly important for governments to insulate their economies from vulnerability to the commodity cycle and ensure mineral wealth translates into broader-based economic and social progress.