Saskatchewan ranked best mining jurisdiction in Canada, second best in the world

Western Australia is the best mining jurisdiction in the world, while Saskatchewan is a close second.

That is the conclusion of Canada’s Fraser Institute, which is released its annual Survey of Mining Companies on Tuesday. The survey, which collects feedback from countless mining professionals, tries to measure how resource potential and government policy affect mining purchase of 109 countries.

Not surprisingly, the study discovered that Canada, Australia and also the United States are all considered very attractive places to invest. States and provinces in those countries composed eight from the top 10 jurisdictions within the rankings, with Ireland and Finland filling another spots.

Ken Green, senior director of natural resource studies at the free-market-oriented Fraser Institute, noted that mining companies invest in the long run and are searching for stable fiscal and political regimes. Developing countries with volatile political situations tend to score poorly because they do not provide that reliability.

“We have every reason to consider laptop computer is extremely representative of reality,” he explained.

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But there have been still huge variations within some countries, notably Canada. While Saskatchewan scored mainly because of its competitive tax regime and clarity around land claims, Ontario and British Columbia ranked at 15 and 18, respectively, within the survey. Both provinces have experienced some difficulties between your mining industry and First Nations communities. And infrastructure constraints remain a specific problem in Ontario, where hardly any progress has been created in developing the “Ring of Fire” mineral belt, even though it is discovered more than eight years back.

“Ontario faces challenges getting its metals out,” Green said.

Nonetheless, both provinces increased within the rankings year-over-year his or her overall scores improved and other jurisdictions slipped back.

Quebec was ranked No. 1 overall if this survey premiered in 1997. But it fell back dramatically in recent years because the government made repeated changes to the mining tax regime.

However, Quebec moved back into the Top 10 in this edition of the survey, ranking eighth overall. Green noted that Quebec moved up as the government’s “Plan Nord” northern development plan went into action and its fiscal regime stabilized.

Argentina’s La Rioja province was ranked the only worst jurisdiction on the planet for mining. Three other Argentinian provinces ranked towards the bottom 10, which also included Greece, Venezuela and Honduras. Eldorado Gold Corp., a large Canadian gold miner, suspended the majority of its activity in Greece last month because of permitting delays and some outright government opposition.

pkoven@nationalpost.com

Twitter.com/peterkoven