In January 2009, Lara Smith bought a desk and a laptop and wrote a 185-page in-depth outlook on the lithium market. Although the endeavour was largely a personal challenge, the publication achieved unexpected success.

The report was published to wide acclaim, and companies began to request further commodity market insights. In June of the same year, Lara quit her job and registered Core Consultants- the first dedicated mining market intelligence company in Africa.

More than a decade later,  Core has completed more than 80 market studies on 5 continents and provided insight into over 30 commodity markets.

In 2017, Core Consultants leveraged their global database of mining professionals to offer high-quality PR and communications services for companies seeking capital or to increase their exposure in the industry.