Vancouver-based executive search firm The Mining Recruitment Group polled 140 executives from small to top-tier explorers, developers and producers from around the world earlier this month.
Only 22% of respondents believed the mining industry would perform better in the second half of the year, with 41% predicting things to get worse.
Just 8% were bullish about the 6-12 month outlook for the mining industry, but that figure grew to 82% when the timeframe was extended out to three years.
The first quarter of 2013 is when 56% of respondents expected things to really look up, with 38% believing that will occur in the December 2012 quarter.
Just under two thirds of respondents expected this year to be the same or worse than 2011 for the mining sector but the same figure were confident their companies were well-positioned to outperform the broader market.
The Mining Recruitment Group president Andrew Pollard said the results showed that the industry was facing a challenging period.
“Lack of investment capital and volatility in commodities have already taken their toll on a great number of companies surveyed, though apparently, many of the tough decisions have already been made,” he said.
Those tough decisions included a reduction in overheads, with 71% already having done so.
A staggering 80% have scaled back exploration or development plans.
Just over a third have scaled back marketing and investor relation budgets, while a third have reduced or cut incentive payments.
“Though the short-term sentiment certainly appears to be pretty bleak, the most important and yet surprising finding is the level of optimism of those on the inside track and their confidence in the regained strength of the industry in the coming years,” Pollard said.
More than three quarters of executives indicated there would be no further lay-offs, but 60% do not expect to recruit before the end of the year.
Of those planning to recruit new workers, 71% indicated a need for geologists with half expected to require mining engineers.
This article first appeared in ILN's sister publication MiningNews.net.
