Study
| EST. READ TIME 2 MIN.Saskatchewan 3rd most attractive jurisdiction worldwide for mining investment; Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Manitoba, and Quebec also in global top 10
Annual Survey of Mining Companies, 2023
- This report presents the results of the Fraser Institute's 2023 annual mining survey, which assesses the impact of mineral endowments and policy factors on attitudes toward exploration investment. The survey responses have been tallied to rank jurisdictions worldwide based on their overall investment attractiveness, the attractiveness of their mining policy, and their geological attractiveness.
- A total of 293 respondents participated in the survey this year providing sufficient data to evaluate 86 jurisdictions.
- The top jurisdiction in the world for investment based on the investment attractiveness index, which takes into account the impact of both policy factors and mineral endowment, is Utah, followed by Nevada (2nd), Saskatchewan (3rd), Western Australia (4th), Quebec (5th), Manitoba (6th), Arizona (7th), Northern Territory (8th), Newfoundland & Labrador (9th) and Ontario (10th).
- Some Canadian jurisdictions fail to capitalize on their strong mineral potential due to a lack of a solid policy environment. Yukon and the Northwest Territories, despite being among the top ten most attractive jurisdictions for mineral endowment, rank 28th and 45th, respectively, when considering policy factors alone.
- When assessing policy factors alone, Utah leads the ranking followed by Saskatchewan (2nd), Manitoba (3rd), Botswana (4th), Nevada (5th), Quebec (6th), Arizona (7th), Finland (8th), Wyoming (9th) and Alberta (10th).
- Nunavut (65th), Northwestern Territories (45th), Nova Scotia (36th), and British Columbia (32nd) are the Canadian jurisdictions with the lowest scores in terms of policy factors.
- Uncertainty surrounding protected areas, land claims disputes, and environmental regulations continue to hinder mining investment in various Canadian jurisdictions.
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Julio Mejía
Policy AnalystJulio Mejía is a Policy Analyst at the Fraser Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Government and International Relations anda Master’s degree in International Affairs from the Externado University of Colombia, and a Master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy from the University of Guelph. Prior to joining the Fraser Institute, Mr Mejia worked as the liaison between the Colombian and the United States armies and as coordinator for international cooperation for different universities in Latin America. His comments have appeared in the Financial Post, Halifax Chronicle Herald, Toronto Sun, and Colombia’s leading news publications, including El Tiempo and La Republica. He has been a regular guest at NTN24, WRadio, and other Spanish-language news outlets. Mr Mejia specializes in energy policy, with a focus on the mining and petroleum industries.… Read more -
Elmira Aliakbari
Director, Natural Resource Studies, Fraser InstituteElmira Aliakbari is Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Studies at the Fraser Institute. She received a Ph.D. in Economicsfrom the University of Guelph, and M.A. and B.S. degrees in Economics, both from the University of Tehran in Iran. She has studied public policy involving energy and the environment for nearly eight years. Prior to joining the Fraser Institute, Ms. Aliakbari was Director of Research, Energy, Ecology and Prosperity with the Frontier Center for Public Policy. She has presented her work at many academic conferences and has been published in the prestigious academic journal Energy Economics. Ms. Aliakbari’s research has been discussed in prominent media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, and her commentaries have appeared in major Canadian and American newspapers such as the Globe and Mail, Washington Times, National Post, and Financial Post.… Read more