The mining cycle - booms and busts

From livewiremarkets.com

Unlike industrial companies such as Amcor or Transurban, mining companies' profits are inherently cyclical. The earnings from mining companies are subject to booms and busts, mainly outside the control of their management teams. This occurs as, ultimately, any company producing a commodity is a "price taker", not a "price maker", as there is no difference or brand premium between a ton of iron ore mined in Australia or Brazil. Due to the nature of the cycle, we see that mining stocks should not be viewed as buy and hold forever. Instead, investors should choose their entry points based on where they consider ... (full story)