yes Batman...........separation from the Communist Bloc has in...

yes Batman...........separation from the Communist Bloc has in many ways certainly helped. On a more local aspect ,locals like many of the ex-Russians partly miss the old days where they were looked after by the State and food generally was put on the table.
Even in Russia itself many wish for the old days. As always some get better through free commerce and others like mostly workers suffer with less wages and no Government support.

Very interesting on the Mining sector but...........while percentages may be up......….what are the actual tonnages/volumes?

Very small I think compared to non-European mining. So 50% increase on 10,000 t is only 5,000 t more and 15,000 t total.

I wonder how they go for permits, enviro laws etc.

No thanks I have learnt the hard way to stick to Australian, USA for mining stocks.

Yak52