The GT is a very different place now compared to the 1950s through the 1970s when the majors did their first pass through the region. At that time, the GT was hard to get to and harder still to explore. There was no road access to that part of the province, much less within the region. In short, the region lacked infrastructure during that first pass of exploration.
At that time, the rest of the world was opening up: Peru, Mongolia, Africa and Pacific nations like Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. All of those places leap-frogged over the GT, with successful exploration leading to the development of large scale mining operations.
The story has now gone full circle: Geopolitical tensions in many places have led the mining companies back closer to home. And the Golden Triangle has now opened up, with infrastructure that rivals any established mining district. In the next issue, we will outline the changes that make the GT an appealing place to develop mines… and the reasons why the majors are pulling back from Mongolia, Indonesia and even Chile.
