Mining sector is the place to be

The flourishing Canadian mining sector could see almost $100 billion invested over the next decade, said Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention being held in Toronto this week, March 4-7.

According to the Canadian Mining Journal, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said that Canadian companies account for 40% of the world’s exploration expenditures, and their spending this year is expected to exceed $4.2 billion.

The PDAC convention is the largest mining event in the world, and this year it attracted a record 30,000 attendees.

Minister Oliver reiterated the Canadian government’s commitment to promoting growth in mining and mineral resources and said that it would be moving ahead with efforts to modernize the regulatory process, with the goal of having “one project, one review in a clearly defined time period.”

He assured his audience, that this regulatory streamlining will be done “while improving environmental protection and meaningful Aboriginal consultation.”

The Ontario Construction Secretariat took the occasion to issue its own statement about the “sparkling picture” that represents mining in Ontario, drawing attention particularly to the Ring of Fire in Ontario’s Far North.

“The mining industry in Northern Ontario is a bright light in our economy,” said Sean Strickland, Chief Executive Officer of the secretariat. “It has been and is forecasted to continue to be a major driver of construction projects in Ontario that are creating great opportunities for growth, expansion and job creation.”

At the same time, Strickland warned that the key issue for both the construction and mining industries in those areas is going to be finding the labour to do the work.