Study
| EST. READ TIME 2 MIN.Saskatchewan ranks first in Canada and second worldwide in annual global mining survey; Ontario and B.C. slipping
Since 1997, the Fraser Institute has conducted an annual survey of mining and exploration companies to assess how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulation affect exploration investment. Survey results now represent the opinions of executives and exploration managers in mining and mining consulting companies operating around the world. The survey includes data on 122 jurisdictions worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica, including sub-national jurisdictions in Canada, Australia, the United States, and Argentina. Included in this year’s report for the first time are: Solomon Islands in Oceania; Central African Republic, Egypt, Lesotho, Mauritania, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda in Africa; Cambodia in Asia; and Hungary in Europe.
The most attractive jurisdiction in the world for mining investment this year is Finland. The other top 10 ranked jurisdictions are Saskatchewan, Nevada, Manitoba, Western Australia, Quebec, Wyoming, Newfoundland & Labrador, Yukon, and Alaska. Finland displaces Western Australia, which dropped to 5th overall. Saskatchewan moved up 5 spots to rank as the second most attractive jurisdiction in the world for investment. Manitoba moved into the top 10 this year, after ranking 13th last year. Greenland dropped out of the top 10 this year, moving down to 41st along with Sweden, which moved down to 12th. Meanwhile, Malaysia ranks as the least attractive jurisdiction in the world for investment. This is a significant drop for Malaysia which ranked 70th (of 112) in 2013. Also in the bottom 10 (beginning with the worst) are Hungary, Kenya, Honduras, Solomon Islands, Egypt, Guatemala, Bulgaria, Nigeria, and Sudan.
Many jurisdictions have considerable room for improvement. Papua New Guinea is the jurisdiction with the most room for improvement. Closely following it are Brazil, Argentina—Santa Cruz, Mongolia, and Indonesia. British Columbia is the Canadian province with the most room for improvement.
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Taylor Jackson
Independent ResearcherTaylor Jackson is an Independent Researcher and a former Senior Policy Analyst with the Fraser Institute. He holds a B.A. andM.A. in Political Science from Simon Fraser University. Mr. Jackson is the coauthor of a number of Fraser Institute studies, including Safety in the Transportation of Oil and Gas: Pipelines or Rail?, and the Fraser Institute's annual Global Petroleum Survey, and Survey of Mining Companies. He is also the coauthor of a book chapter on the past, present, and future of Canadian-American relations with Professor Alexander Moens. Mr Jackson's work has been covered in the media all around the world and his commentaries have appeared in the National Post, Financial Post, and Washington Times, as well as other newspapers across Canada.… Read more -
Kenneth P. Green
Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
Kenneth P. Green is a Fraser Institute senior fellow and author of over 800 essays and articles on public policy,published by think tanks, major newspapers, and technical and trade journals in North America. Mr. Green holds a doctoral degree in environmental science and engineering from UCLA, a master’s degree in molecular genetics from San Diego State University, and a bachelors degree in general biology from UCLA.Mr. Green’s policy analysis has centered on evaluating the pros and cons of government management of environmental, health, and safety risk. More often than not, his research has shown that governments are poor managers of risk, promulgating policies that often do more harm than good both socially and individually, are wasteful of limited regulatory resources, often benefit special interests (in government and industry) at the expense of the general public, and are almost universally violative of individual rights and personal autonomy. Mr. Green has also focused on government’s misuse of probabilistic risk models in the defining and regulating of EHS risks, ranging from air pollution to chemical exposure, to climate change, and most recently, to biological threats such as COVID-19.Mr. Green's longer publications include two supplementary text books on environmental science issues, numerous studies of environment, health, and safety policies and regulations across North America, as well as a broad range of derivative articles and opinion columns. Mr. Green has appeared frequently in major media and has testified before legislative bodies in both the United States and Canada.… Read more