2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Competitive advantages of Anglo-Australian mining majors and Japan's demands for natural resources: An analysis based on Porter's 'five forces'

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23730320
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Economic history
Research Institution	Tohoku University
Principal Investigator	SUGAWARA Ayumu 東北大学, 経済学研究科(研究院), 准教授 (10374886)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2013
Keywords	資源企業 / リオ・ティント / ウラン / 鉄鉱石 / 銅
Research Abstract	The purpose of this research is to clarify why major mining companies have their competitive advantages based on a historical case study on a mining major, Rio Tinto. Particularly I have a hypothesis that a key to competitiveness of mining majors was cooperation with business counterparts or competitors such as buyers or suppliers of mining sites and verify it. As buyers of natural resources Japanese firms are focused on because Japan was a fact industrializing country in the 1950s and 60s. In conclusion,in all cases of uranium, iron ore, copper and cooking coke long term contracts were introduced by Rio Tinto and buyers and they supported Rio Tinto's huge amount of funds raising such as bank loans or bond issues. In the 1950s and 60s, cooperation with business counterparts or competitors made competitiveness of a miming major due to strong demands for natural resources from fast gwoth industrialized countries and demands for funds from mining companies to develop new mines.