Mineral investment risk assessment of host countries based on a cloud matter-element model

The rapid development of the global economy has led to an increasing demand for resources. The disparity between the supply and demand of resources continues to be prominent and shows a situation of short supply. Resource investment projects with large amounts and long construction periods face many risks due to various unpredictable factors. Cultural, legal, economic and other environments vary between different countries. Therefore, comprehensive risk identification, under-standing, evaluation, and analysis are important prerequisites for the success of mineral investment. In this paper, the risk of mineral resources investment in host countries is identified. A risk evaluation index system is established to objectively evaluate the risk environment of the host country. The risk evaluation index system includes four first-level indexes: political and legal risk, social and cultural risk, economic and financial risk, and natural risk. The subjective weight was determined by sending questionnaires to experts and scholars in the industry and conducting data processing. The entropy method was used to determine the objective weight. Finally, the subjective weight and the objective weight were combined to obtain a group of scientific and accurate combined weights. The matter-el-ement theory was introduced into the cloud model and a risk assessment model based on the cloud matter-element theory was constructed with comprehensive consideration of the fuzziness and ran-domness of risks. Eight countries with relatively rich mineral resources were taken as cases to verify the model application. The research results provide a theoretical basis and decision-making methods for mineral enterprise investment.