Publications

January 2010
Background Note

In the Spotlight: The Market for Iron Ore

By: Aldo Musacchio, Tarun Khanna and Jenna Bernhardson

This note discusses the structure and functioning of the market for iron ore. This market has traditionally functioned using a benchmark pricing mechanism, in which large steel mills in Japan (now in China) negotiate the benchmark price with the largest of the big... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Mining; Price; Valuation; Business Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; China

November 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

MW Petroleum Corporation (A)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman, Peter Tufano and Barbara Wall

Amoco Corp. is negotiating to sell a wholly-owned subsidiary, MW Petroleum, to Apache Corp. MW owns large reserves of oil and gas comprising many properties at different stages of engineering, development, and production. The proposed acquisition is a large one for... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Subsidiaries; Mining; Cash Flow; Stock Options; Financing and Loans; Price; Negotiation; Production; Valuation; Mining Industry

May 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Case

The Offshore Drilling Industry in 2011

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Kenneth Corts and Joseph McElroy

After booming in 2007 and early 2008, the offshore drilling industry slumps in 2009. Lower oil prices lead oil companies to reduce drilling budgets, and rig utilization falls from essentially 100% to 70% in some markets. Day rates--the prices paid for a rig's... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Metals and Minerals; Demand and Consumers; Price; Industry Structures; Supply and Industry; Mining; Mining Industry; Mining Industry

28 Aug 2017
Research & Ideas

Should Industry Competitors Cooperate More to Solve World Problems?

Council on Mining and Metals has developed transparency principles for mining firms, and the Responsible Care program of the chemical industry has focused on outcomes ranging from employee safety to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Mining; Mining; Mining; Mining

1978
Book

Taxation and Mining: Non Fuel Minerals in Bolivia and Other Countries

By: L. T. Wells Jr., Malcolm Gillis and Meyer W. Bucovetsky

Keywords: Taxation; Mining; Metals and Minerals; Bolivia

10 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 10

from "real work." But when Google's people analytics team examined the value of managers, applying the same rigorous research methods the company uses in its operations, it proved the skeptics wrong. Mining data from employee... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1992 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc.

By: Jay O. Light

A New York-based money manager owns a sizable percentage of the common shares of Cleveland-Cliffs, a U.S. iron ore producer. The money manager would prefer that Cliffs pay out or otherwise return $100 million of "excess cash" to the shareholders. The management resists... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Mining; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry

January 2022
Article

The Private Impact of Public Data: Landsat Satellite Maps Increased Gold Discoveries and Encouraged Entry

By: Abhishek Nagaraj

How does public data shape the relative performance of incumbents and entrants in the private sector? Using a simple theoretical framework, I argue that public data reduces investment uncertainty, facilitates the discovery of new market opportunities and increases the... View Details

Keywords: Public Data; Maps; Gold; Microeconomic Behavior; Economics; Data and Data Sets; Private Sector; Market Entry and Exit; Mining

Read Now

January 1982 (Revised June 1983)
Case

International Drilling Corp. (A)

Details the moral conflict experienced by Don Taylor, a new high-level executive in an oil drilling firm, when he discovered that the firm was deceiving its investors. What should he do and how should he go about it? Presents the emergence of Taylor's suspicions about... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business and Shareholder Relations; Mining Industry

July 2021 (Revised October 2023)
Case

K.C. Li: The Tungsten King

By: Geoffrey Jones and Casey Verkamp

This case examines the business career of Kuo-Ching Li, who was born in China in 1892, and built a successful minerals trading business called Wah Chang in the United States during the interwar years. He acquired a prominent role in tungsten, the strongest natural... View Details

Keywords: Immigration Acts; Racial Bias; Globalization; Government and Politics; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; China; United States; Latin America

1993
Chapter

Minerals: Eroding Oligopolies

By: L. T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Mining Industry

January 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

AngloGold - Corporate Responsibility for HIV/AIDS (A)

AngloGold, a South African gold-mining corporation, faces a decision to provide its workforce, 30% of which is infected with HIV, with antiretroviral treatment. View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Mining Industry; South Africa

July 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Teaching Note

Restructuring Bulong's Project Debt (TN)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

Teaching Note for (9-203-027). View Details

Keywords: Mining Industry; Australia

April 1999 (Revised February 2001)
Background Note

Offshore Drilling Industry, The

After booming in 1997 and early 1998, the offshore drilling industry slumps in late 1998 and early 1999. Lower oil prices lead oil companies to reduce drilling budgets, and rig utilization falls from essentially 100% to 70% in some markets. Day rates--the prices paid... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Price; Supply and Industry; Mining Industry

October 1982 (Revised September 1986)
Case

Coal Strike of 1977-78 (A) (Condensed)

By: D. Quinn Mills

Keywords: Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Mining Industry

May 1991 (Revised July 1992)
Teaching Note

Amalgamated Aluminum Alloy Division, Teaching Note

By: Benson P. Shapiro and John A. Quelch

Keywords: Mining Industry

September 1988 (Revised February 1989)
Case

Amalgamated Aluminum Alloy Division

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Keywords: Mining Industry

1982
Appendix

Financial Aspects of Antarctic Mineral Regimes

By: James K. Sebenius

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Mining Industry; Antarctica

January 2021
Case

Rio Tinto Aluminum: Can Purpose Lead to Profit?

By: David Fubini and Agastya Muthanna

This case describes the tradeoffs Rio Tinto faces as it considers investments to ensure environmentally friendly, sustainability produced aluminum with the potential risks of competitive pricing and profit loses. View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Price; Competition; Profit; Cost vs Benefits; Mining Industry