Junior Miner internationalisation in the globalising mining industry

Firm internationalisation is a key globalisation process. However, little is known about how 'junior' mining firms establish their operations overseas under industry-specific contexts. Here, we draw upon the economic geography and international business literatures to examine the case of Australian junior miners in the Latin American lithium and copper industries. Based on insights from 49 semi-structured interviews, findings show that the internationalisation of junior miners evolves through emergence, establishment, and maintenance stages in which the activities of firms, government and industry actors combine and are contingent upon external market conditions. As the objectives and internationalisation conditions of junior miners differ from those of larger firms, who expand seeking long-term establishment in developed markets, juniors' ephemeral timelines take divergent pathways. This study provides an alternative view on internationalisation, linking it to the emergence and growth of mining economic activities in regions with under-developed or developing market conditions. It also creates an understanding of the activities and external dynamics shaping junior internationalisation, informing investment attraction and regional development policy in mineral-rich nations where domestic capital for exploration is both scant and necessary for mining industry development.