Mining downturn a chance for governments to craft competitive policies: World Bank

Like other regions, Latin America has seen a slowdown in mining investment thanks to the global decline in commodities prices.

But however much it might hurt in the short term, the slowdown represents a chance for Latin American countries to rethink their strategies around mining and the industry’s strategic role in spurring economic development, says Paulo de Sa, practice manager with the World Bank’s energy and extractives global practice group (GEEDR).

“It’s an opportunity for governments to think about competitiveness of their industries,” he said at a World Bank sponsored forum on mining in Latin America during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in March.

While in previous commodity downturns, countries cut taxes to remain competitive in a “race to the bottom,” de Sa is hopeful that this time around, governments will explore other ways to achieve competitiveness.

“We believe there are many, many ways of continuing to be attractive to mining investment other than just reducing the taxes,” he said.

To give governments some ideas on how to do that, the forum heard from officials from several different jurisdictions inside and outside of Latin America.

Read the complete article at NorthernMiner.com/news/mining-downturn