Australia continues to struggle to recover from some of the worst flooding on record, which has had knock-on effects to the mining industry as coal export forecasts have been cut by 5.2 percent, which will be a damaging blow to Australia's economy.

Often located in some of the world’s most sparsely populated areas, developing mining projects in resource-rich areas more often than not means working in some of the most isolated regions known to man. From Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, operators face a common challenge: that of ensuring the local infrastructure is able to support the demands placed upon it by a profitable mining operation.

Ever since 33 miners were rescued from a Chilean mine last year, the spotlight has been firmly trained on the Latin American mining industry. And with it, a crackdown on illegal mining operations.

As the mining industry continues to wrestle with skilled and experienced workers, what does it mean for mining companies’ bottom line - particularly in Chile where copper mining accounts for 49 percent of exports?