On economic cycle and mining cycle

Cycles are an important feature of economic development in terms of time and space. Mining, as a fundamental industry in economic operation, cannot avoid being influenced by economic cycles and forms its own structural cycle. Starting from the general laws of economic cycles, discussing the general laws and features of mining cycles has important theoretical and practical significance. This paper sorts out and points out that economic cycle evolution is influenced by industrial cycle and industrial structure, financial cycle and financial regulation. Different economic entities have synergistic effects and differences in economic cycles. Mining cycles show cyclical fluctuations in mining market supply and demand, prices, and investment, and are influenced by different economic cycles such as macroeconomic cycle, capacity cycle, inventory cycle, industry cycle, and financial cycle. It is proposed that mining cycles have five basic characteristics of “economic driving, capacity dominance, inventory regulation, industry interference, and financial disturbance”, and that economic cycles have a scaled and structural impact on mining cycles. Mining cycles are dependent on economic cycles, but will produce internal mineral structural differences. Finally, based on the structural features of different mineral species, mining cycles are divided into energy mineral cycle, bulk solid mineral cycle, precious metal mineral cycle, and strategic emerging mineral cycle, and their cyclical features are discussed. It is found that the four types of minerals and different mineral species within the same category are affected by economic growth and structural changes to different degrees, and the degree of influence from different cycle categories also has differences. The impact of economic cycles on mining cycles has mineral species structural differences, and it is advisable to classify them and evaluate the mineral species cycle from the five characteristics, based on which policy and strategy adjustments can be made to reduce market risks and promote sustainable development of the mining industry.