Malaysia worst global jurisdiction for mining – survey – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – February 25, 2015)

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Finland is ranked No. 1 for global mining investment, says the newly issued Fraser Institute survey.

The 2014 Fraser Institute Survey, which was made public Tuesday, ranks Finland, Saskatchewan, Nevada, Manitoba, Western Australia, Quebec, Wyoming, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Yukon, and Alaska as the top 10 jurisdictions for mining investment.

Five Canadian jurisdictions finished in the top 10 internationally, along with three US states, and the state of Western Australia.

Malaysia ranks as the least attractive jurisdiction for mining investment, followed by Hungary, Kenya, Honduras, Solomon Islands, Egypt, Guatemala, Bulgaria, Nigeria, and Sudan.

Six African countries ranked in the bottom 10 in the worldwide survey rankings in 2014. Kenya’s overall ranking plunged from 79th in the Fraser Institute’s 2013 survey to 112th in the most recent survey. The greater deterioration came from Nigeria which dropped from 75th in 2013 to 116th in 2014. Contributing to Nigeria’s decline was concerns regarding environmental regulations, trade barriers, regulatory duplication and the legal system.

At the same time, 2013’s lowest ranking jurisdictions all climbed out of the bottom 10. Niger, Argentina and its provinces Catamarca, La Rioja, Neuquén and Rio Negro, all improved their scores to move out from the bottom 10 ranking, along with Uruguay and Kyrgyzstan. In fact, the province of Catamarca moved up from 103rd in 2013 to 35th in 2014.

Among the African nations. Botswana ranked highest although it dropped two places from the 2013 favorable investment ranking of 24th in 2013 to 26th in 2014.

The survey also calculated a “room for improvement score” which subtracted a jurisdiction’s “best practices” mineral potential score from its “current practices” mineral potential score. The higher the score, the greater the room for improvement. With an overall score of 48, Papua New Guinea is the jurisdiction with the most room for improvement, followed by Brazil, Argentina—Santa Cruz, Mongolia and Indonesia—each earning scores of 47.

The Fraser Institute ranked Saskatchewan as the most attractive jurisdiction for Canadian mining investment. “In addition to being blessed with an abundance of mineral potential, Saskatchewan gets credit for having a government with a transparent and productive approach mining policy,” said Fraser Institute Senior Director of Energy and Natural Resources, Kenneth Green.

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