Fraser Institute ranks Quebec top place for mining

The Fraser Institute’s annual survey of mining executives and managers has ranked Quebec the most attractive jurisdiction for exploration and development for the third year in a row.

Stable government policies that lower the risk of long-term mining projects are what make the Canadian province so appealing, according to the Fraser Institute’s vice-president of international policy research and the survey’s coordinator, Fred McMahon.

By contrast, the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia fell in popularity this year, with Ontario plummeting to 22nd place overall, down from its finish last year in 10th spot, and British Columbia tumbling to 38th, a 14-spot drop from its 24th ranking in 2009.

Canadian provinces took up six of the top 10 spots. New Brunswick finished second overall, an advance of four places over 2009. Alberta remained in fourth place with Saskatchewan ranking sixth, up three spots over the previous year.

Newfoundland & Labrador ranked eighth, a decrease from fifth last year, while Manitoba ranked ninth overall. In 2007, Manitoba was ranked first overall.

Internationally, Finland claimed third place overall. Others in the top 10 included Nevada in fifth place, Chile, the only jurisdiction outside North America that has consistently been in the top 10, ranked seventh; and South Australia was 10th.

Other highly ranked non-Canadian jurisdictions included Sweden (12th overall), Wyoming (13th), Utah (15th) and Alaska (18th). Botswana was the highest-ranked nation in Africa in 21st place, followed by Mali and Ghana in 27th and 34th, respectively.

At the bottom of the pack were Venezuela, Ecuador, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mongolia, Bolivia, Honduras, Guatemala and California.

In the category of mineral potential assuming current regulations and land use restrictions, the top 10 were Nevada, Chile, Quebec, Burkina Faso, Mexico, Saskatchewan, Botswana, Australia’s Northern Territory, Alaska and Mali.

From a purely mineral perspective, the five most appealing jurisdictions are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alaska, Quebec, Nevada and Chile. The least appealing jurisdictions are Ireland, Spain, Honduras, Washington and India.

The 670 mining executives and managers who were polled for this year’s survey also expressed greater optimism about the industry. Nearly twice as many mining companies said they would increase exploration budgets as those who said budgets would remain the same or decrease.

The majority of respondents also expect mineral prices to increase over the next two years, with 64% forecasting a moderate rise and 20% predicting substantial increases.

When asked about price peaks for eight mining products, 20% or more said they expected peaks for copper and gold; about 10% expected new peaks for silver, nickel, platinum, zinc and coal; and 3% predicted new peaks for diamonds.

The Fraser Institute’s survey of mining companies includes 72 jurisdictions worldwide except Antarctica.

Participating companies reported exploration spending of US$2.9 billion in 2009 and US$3.6 billion in 2008.