How Nevada Mining Companies Stayed Afloat During the COVID-19 Storm
The mining sector has always had a robust culture of disaster preparedness, safety and health awareness, given its familiarity with the volatility of the markets and its innate inelastic supply and demand. However, the coronavirus outbreak last year resulted in an unprecedented downturn in almost all economic activities, including mining operations.
A few weeks after the outbreak was declared a pandemic, market capitalization lost over a third of its value, and many speculated that a great depression would occur in the future.
Instead, a survey of Nevada’s mining sector shows that consequences of the coronavirus, which included decreases in the demand for commodities and mandated shutdowns, did not result in any significant production interruptions, personnel layoffs or human resource crises.
In fact, based on reports from the firms that were interviewed, the state’s natural resources sector benefited greatly from the cash flows that were generated from the increased demand for gold, which subsequently led to a surge in the precious metal’s price. In addition, the pandemic also helped create opportunities for mining-related companies to generate value by altering their business plans.
In a bid to be more prepared if this situation was to ever occur again, contractors, software/equipment suppliers and major mining companies in Nevada have shared some of the things they did in the past year that may help shed light on how they managed to not only stay afloat during this period but also benefit from it.
Most companies began preparing for the virus’ spread in early March. The presence of a higher level of safety-and-health-awareness culture and a strong infrastructure for market volatility in the natural resources sector helped facilitate the way mining companies approached the crisis. Halting unnecessary travel and moving all in-person communications to virtual meetings was also employed. This included business summits and sales expositions, with software providers and equipment vendors also going online to provide trainings and attend meetings.
Digital transformation in managerial and professional services took root without a hitch for most if not all companies. Employees appreciated the convenience and flexibility of remote working, and with no recorded decreases in productivity for remote workers, that option may be here to stay. Additionally, the heavily decreased business travel has given way to more family time for employees, which has also been welcomed.
All in all, a robust safety and health-oriented culture combined with more effective communication have enabled mining operations in the state of Nevada to continue with and improve their operations without the loss of jobs and a major interruption in their production cycle.
Fortunately for the U.S. mining industry, mining companies in other parts of the country, such as Colorado-based Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), also weathered the COVID storm.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/UUUU
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the MiningNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by MNW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.MiningNewsWire.com/Disclaimer
The mining sector has always had a robust culture of disaster preparedness, safety and health awareness, given its familiarity with the volatility of the markets and its innate inelastic supply and demand. However, the coronavirus outbreak last year resulted in an unprecedented downturn in almost all economic activities, including mining operations.
A few weeks after the outbreak was declared a pandemic, market capitalization lost over a third of its value, and many speculated that a great depression would occur in the future.
Instead, a survey of Nevada’s mining sector shows that consequences of the coronavirus, which included decreases in the demand for commodities and mandated shutdowns, did not result in any significant production interruptions, personnel layoffs or human resource crises.
In fact, based on reports from the firms that were interviewed, the state’s natural resources sector benefited greatly from the cash flows that were generated from the increased demand for gold, which subsequently led to a surge in the precious metal’s price. In addition, the pandemic also helped create opportunities for mining-related companies to generate value by altering their business plans.
In a bid to be more prepared if this situation was to ever occur again, contractors, software/equipment suppliers and major mining companies in Nevada have shared some of the things they did in the past year that may help shed light on how they managed to not only stay afloat during this period but also benefit from it.
Most companies began preparing for the virus’ spread in early March. The presence of a higher level of safety-and-health-awareness culture and a strong infrastructure for market volatility in the natural resources sector helped facilitate the way mining companies approached the crisis. Halting unnecessary travel and moving all in-person communications to virtual meetings was also employed. This included business summits and sales expositions, with software providers and equipment vendors also going online to provide trainings and attend meetings.
Digital transformation in managerial and professional services took root without a hitch for most if not all companies. Employees appreciated the convenience and flexibility of remote working, and with no recorded decreases in productivity for remote workers, that option may be here to stay. Additionally, the heavily decreased business travel has given way to more family time for employees, which has also been welcomed.
All in all, a robust safety and health-oriented culture combined with more effective communication have enabled mining operations in the state of Nevada to continue with and improve their operations without the loss of jobs and a major interruption in their production cycle.
Fortunately for the U.S. mining industry, mining companies in other parts of the country, such as Colorado-based Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), also weathered the COVID storm.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/UUUU
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the MiningNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by MNW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.MiningNewsWire.com/Disclaimer
