It’s Hard To Stay Positive

I promised myself last month that I wasn’t going to talk about anything in a negative tone but damn it, it’s almost impossible during these depressing times to speak positively. Just hearing, reading and actually seeing what’s going on in the mining industry is really difficult and now that we’re almost half way through 2009, there’s still not a whole lot of good to say about the immediate future either.

In fact, the industry has just completed the worst first quarter of almost any year in recent memory and depending on who you listen to, the light at the end of the tunnel hasn’t come into sight yet. And for many, unfortunately, it hasn’t even been lit and quite honestly, it probably won’t be. Never, and I use the word ‘never’ with sadness, has the future looked so dark for some miners in Canada.

Even many of the ‘old timers’ I speak with agree they’ve never seen the industry in such rough shape. Mind you, many of them are just realizing the pinch now perhaps more than ever before because they’re paying closer attention to their dwindling income thanks to the hit being put on pensions and dividends.

After all, many of those investments are now the only sources of income for many people. Most salaries stopped years ago and now without a decent return on savings and investments, many lives and standards of living are hitting record lows. Much like the stock markets. No matter who you listen to, and regardless of what industry they’re in or have retired from, times are uncertain and in an increasing number of cases, truly sad and depressing.

There; now that I’ve aired my negative concerns over the current predicament we’re in, it’s time to focus on something more positive and talk about what’s in store for the future. As I’ve said here before, bad times can also be good times too, especially for management when it comes to finding reasons, or excuses, to regroup, clean house and restructure.

Mind you, these bad times are different from others because they’re not expected to be short term. Instead, they’ll require the gut-wrenching task of letting highly paid, senior personnel go as well as the obvious clearing out of the weaker juniors within the ranks. But then again, that’s not all bad because only the best, select few will survive and when the industry finally does return, there will be stronger teams on the playing fields.

Many of the people who will lead these teams are in most cases, relatively new to the industry but are better educated and more anxious to make things happen; sooner than later. That’s not to say that many of those currently in senior management positions aren’t just as smart and results oriented, it’s just that they’re probably a little complacent right now and are already thinking ahead to joining a few of the ‘older’ folks I alluded to earlier.

Not retire necessarily, but stepping aside somewhat and work closer “with” the up-and-coming teams instead of always taking the lead and having them work “for” them. Not only does this work in sharing the load and freeing up some well-earned time off, it also lets them gradually slide into those retirement years while at the same time keep an eye on things to hopefully ensure that when the time actually comes to take down their shingle, so to speak, their investments are in good hands.

Mind you, that’s probably what many of today’s retirees thought 10 or 20 years ago and look what they’re suffering through today. There are no guarantees in mining but one thing’s for sure; the industry is usually a pretty good place to make a living.

Unfortunately, it’s not “the place” right now!