Demand and metals has rebounded strongly since the middle of last year, driving prices sharply higher. But mining companies are reluctant to ramp up investment in new projects, which could lead to a supply squeeze.

The financial crisis has had a significant impact on the mining industry, but it's bounced back well. In terms of market capitalization the world's top forty miners finished last year returning to the heights of 2007.

However, despite the recovery the industry is still plagued with uncertainty about the future.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe has fueled fears that the biggest customer for Russian metals may be about to slip back into recession, with John Campbell, metals and mining leader from PricewaterhouseCoopers saying this is making Russia shift its export focus to Asia.

“Most of the Russian companies have been looking to shift their sales to the export markets, primarily to the European markets. And now that there is uncertainty in the European markets the question will be to what extent they will look to other markets for export and particularly to Asia. There is a number of indications that Russian companies are looking towards not just China but to Korea and Japan as potential export markets for metals and raw materials.”