The global asteroid mining market is expected to grow exponentially over the forecast period. The market growth is expected to be positively influenced by growing traces of metals, water, and fuel in the space along with increased emphasis of government on carrying out several space situational awareness programs. Space mining is projected to provide new growth opportunities particularly in the Middle East & Africa over the next few years. The market growth is also attributed to increasing R&D investments by the large players to deploy space mining processes. Space has ample water and metal resources, which is further likely to enable largescale exploration, thereby creating new avenues for market growth. However, the process is still in the prototype stage and is yet to be implemented.

The Dominican Republic's gold sector will experience muted production growth over the coming years, as a weak project pipeline limits growth. We forecast the country's gold output to edge higher from 1.1moz in 2018 to 1.4moz by 2027. The Pueblo Viejo mine, a joint-venture by Canadian miners Barrick Gold (60%) and Goldcorp (40%), accounts for the lion's share of the Dominican Republic's annual gold production. All-in sustaining costs at Pueblo Viejo will remain competitive, averaging an estimated USD540-560/oz.

The lifting of the ban on mining activities in 2009, coupled with profound structural reforms in the regulatory framework and a wide investor engagement campaign carried out by the government during 2016-2017, have spurred investor interest towards the underdeveloped mineral resources of Ecuador. As of December 2017, the government had granted 275 new mining concessions to 33 private companies, mainly from Australia, Canada and the US. Moreover, over 18 major players have entered the domestic mining sector through M&A deals and greenfield investments, including BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Codelco, Newcrest Mining, Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting.

蒙华铁路全线通车在即，作为我国唯一一条且是最后一条南北煤运专线，它的投运势必将对运输格局、煤炭及电力市场产生深刻影响。