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L. Fituni, I. Abramova Resource Potential of Africa and Russia's ...

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wealth. True, openness alone cannot <strong>of</strong>fer guarantees against inappropriate<br />

management <strong>of</strong> mineral resources, but it is nonetheless an<br />

important element <strong>of</strong> the corruption-fighting effort. Experts point<br />

out the importance <strong>of</strong> the Revenue Control Index <strong>and</strong> emphasize the<br />

fact that the oil <strong>and</strong> mining industries in the countries on the list account<br />

for 80% <strong>of</strong> their GDP. Russia has curiously moved to the third<br />

place in the world transparency ratings. The fact that Russia forms<br />

part <strong>of</strong> the leading troika in terms <strong>of</strong> transparency provides for certain<br />

preferences on the world market <strong>and</strong> is a signal that it is safe to<br />

invest in Russia. 39<br />

The above analysis <strong>of</strong> the exiting situation in the <strong>Africa</strong>n <strong>and</strong><br />

Russian mining sectors shows that the efficiency <strong>of</strong> the use <strong>of</strong> their<br />

natural resource bases for the purposes <strong>of</strong> development depends in<br />

the first place on domestic policies. The latter form the local business<br />

climate for the growth <strong>of</strong> the industry in the long run. In this<br />

respect, like in many others, Russian experience <strong>and</strong> the <strong>Africa</strong>n one<br />

are akin.<br />

The main factors substantially affecting the expansion <strong>and</strong> development<br />

<strong>of</strong> the two natural resource bases (NRBs) are:<br />

– the non-uniform distribution <strong>of</strong> reserves <strong>and</strong> mining/production<br />

targets within the territory <strong>of</strong> the country/continent;<br />

– the dependence <strong>of</strong> the efficiency <strong>of</strong> the NRB development on<br />

infrastructure;<br />

– the impact <strong>of</strong> market conditions on deposits development;<br />

– the concentration <strong>of</strong> most <strong>of</strong> the reserves <strong>of</strong> a great many<br />

minerals <strong>and</strong> their production in a small number <strong>of</strong> deposits;<br />

– the absence <strong>of</strong> the dem<strong>and</strong> for a great many large deposits;<br />

– the common remoteness <strong>of</strong> mining/ production targets from<br />

processing facilities <strong>and</strong> consumers.<br />

Very large <strong>and</strong> large objects generally play a crucial <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong>ten<br />

defining part in the formation <strong>of</strong> the natural resource base (reserves)<br />

<strong>and</strong> its development (production). This feature is less pronounced<br />

for more widespread natural resources as despite a great number <strong>of</strong><br />

their deposits/fields, which is typical <strong>of</strong> gold, crude oil, <strong>and</strong> natural<br />

gas, their medium <strong>and</strong> small deposits/fields play a relatively large<br />

role both in reserves <strong>and</strong> production.<br />

98

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