Summary
China and India still have positive GDP growth in what has been one of the deepest recessions of the last fifty years. Much of that growth is attibuted to internal consumption as China's exports have declined 25%. When you consider that China and India may have as many as 2 to 3 billion people that consumption potential is easy to comprehend.
Analysis
China and India will continue to mine more natural resources as they continue to grow. This will not offset the declines seen in mining in other areas of the world. Mining was at a peak in 2008 as China prepared for the Olympics and much of the world was still having postive growth. Most areas of the world are in a recession with only weak prospects for growth in 2010. China and India continue to mine more of their natural resources, and the rest of the world has seen mining activity decline 25 to 50% depending on the region and the mineral type. The environmental impact in China and India is enormous and will be ignored for the most part. The world has been slow to respond to this mining upturn as permitting and enviromental regultions in other parts of the world are very stringent. Mining has huge potential for gains in the next economic upturn.
