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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 hundreds of mining professionals, tries to measure how resource potential and government policy affect mining investment in 109 countries.
Not surprisingly, the study found that Canada, Australia and the United States are all viewed as very attractive places to invest. States and provinces in those countries made up eight of the top 10 jurisdictions in the rankings, with Ireland and Finland filling the other spots.
Ken Green, senior director of natural resource studies at the free-market-oriented Fraser Institute, noted that mining companies invest over the long term and are looking 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 think the survey is highly representative of reality,” he said. But there were still huge variations within some countries, notably Canada. While Saskatchewan scored well because of its competitive tax regime and clarity around land claims, Ontario and British Columbia ranked at 15 and 18, respectively, in the survey.
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