The golden age of the mining multinational in the 1950s and the early 1960s gave way to decline as a consequence of economic nationalism in many host countries in the late 1960s and 1970s. During the late 1980s, however, the mining multinational began to regain prominence in international mineral development. This paper reviews the historical evolution of the role of the mining multinational and then looks to the future. It predicts a period of greater cooperation between host governments and mining multinationals.