The importance of the economic exploitation plan in the decision making process in mining.

Abstract

In general, investors evaluate several investment alternatives including, obviously, the possibility of money investment in the banking system. The mineral resource industry is just one of the several options of investment available in the financial market. To select this option, especially for the mining investments, investors require ever more projects with proven financial security and developed by renowned companies. The financial return or potential of the project must be significant to justify the risks inherent to the mining activities. To facilitate the financial analyses of mine projects, in this study is proposed a methodology based on an economic analysis of the Brazilian gold Berimbau mine through an Economic Exploitation Plan - EEP- where a sensitivity analysis of the project cash flow was performed and variations in the ore price, investments (CAPEX - capital expenditure) and operating costs (OPEX - operating expense) were applied. An orthodox scenario with an ore price (gold) of USD 900.00/oz was considered. The results, specific aspects and socioeconomic benefits have confirmed the project’s feasibility.