The heads of mining companies should not be complacent about higher prices and need to continue to run their operations as efficiently as possible, the chief executive officer of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) told Metal Bulletin.
Steve Din said during an interview on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa that the mining sector must avoid a tendency to become exuberant and lose its grip on the productivity gains that it has achieved since the global financial crisis. "Mining CEOs must not rest on their laurels - they can't rely on strong prices forever. They need to keep their operations efficient and at the right level in the cost curve. We have to stick to basics and think about our cost of production, our volume levels and our overall availability, and run a safe, efficient operation," he said. "I don't think that people have the luxury of flicking a switch on or off for costs, because as soon as prices go up, costs automatically...