Key metals, strategic minerals, monopolies and off-loading: tracking change in the commodities markets is a weighty challenge, but a vital one for businesses intent on growing. Choosing where to invest and divest is a problem for decision-makers, especially as industrial needs change and environmental concerns come to the fore. The latest Deloitte mining trends report identifies ‘commodities of the future’ as one of the crucial challenges for the industry today, and in this issue we present the commodities likely to make a splash on the markets of the future, and those perhaps better left in the past.

And with China already in control of 85% of the world’s cobalt, we look at a prospective takeover that could turn the country’s stronghold into a monopoly, we profile the status of Cuba’s mining industry in light of improved relationships with the US, find out why BHP has left the World Coal Association and explore the technicalities of the self-bonding practice and whether it should be allowed to continue.

Plus, in technology, we hear about a new tool hoped to help miners predict and prepare for earthquakes. 

Join the conversation on Twitter: @MINE_Magazine.

Ceri Jones, editor