It's a common conception there are no big resource discoveries left to be had.
And certainly not entirely new resource-rich districts.
But news from one emerging region the last few weeks suggests differently. Telling us that a whole new realm of potential may be opening up here.
In East Africa.
Of course, mineral and petroleum endowment here isn't a secret. We've known for decades that Africa's "other coast" had potential.
But the infrastructure and investor interest simply wasn't there to spur development. Until recently.
A surge of activity here is now yielding big finds. Such as recent drilling by BG Group in offshore Tanzania. Which announcements last week suggest may have found up to a trillion cubic feet of new gas reserves.
Even a few years ago, this mega-find would have been a failure. With a lacking market for gas here making the discovery essentially worthless.
But that's changed. Thanks to a push for LNG development by majors like BG. As well as a growing network of gas pipelines pushing northward from South Africa.
At the same time, the region is preparing to up its production of another commodity: coal.
Officials in Mozambique said last week they expect to open the brand new coal port of Nacala-a-Velha by this December. Upping the nation's export capacity by 18 million tonnes yearly.
That's a big step forward for Mozambique's massive coal reserves. Which up until now have seen their development constrained by under-built infrastructure.
All of which suggests the global resource sector is in the process of (re-)discovering this rich part of the world. A sensible move given its prime position in servicing key Asian markets.
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Watch for more opportunities here coming down the pipe.
Here's to the right coast,
By Dave Forest
