Towards an Understanding of Project Finance in the Mining Sector in the Sustainability Context: A Scientometric Analysis

The purpose of this study is to analyze the extant literature on Project Finance (PF) with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends in the mining industry. Thus, this study utilizes a scientometric review of global trends and structure of PF and mining research from 1977 to 2020 using techniques such as co-author, co-word, co-citation, and cluster analyses. A total of 80 bibliographic records from the Scopus database were analyzed to generate the study's research through scientometric networks. The findings indicate a steady growth of the research field, which includes Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria. The most significant contributions have originated mainly from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The main research trends identified several issues related to risk, management, and financing concerns. This study provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends of ontology research within PF in the mining context and promotes further studies in this domain.