JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) has welcomed the launch of the federal government’s Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative (TTCI), which will include an allocation of up to $400-million in dedicated funding for transportation infrastructure in Northern Canada.
The acute lack of infrastructure in Canada’s remote and northern regions is inhibiting further sustainable mineral development owing to the high costs of exploring, building and operating in these regions.
A recent study co-authored by the MAC had found that it cost about two- to two-and-a-half times more to build a gold or base metals mine in northern Canada than in the south, as a result of the lack of infrastructure.
Northern communities are also dependent on carbon-intensive diesel power. Through the TTCI, $2-billion has been allocated over 11 years to invest in the critical assets that support economic activity and the physical movement of goods and people in Canada.
“The federal government has made a significant commitment to Northern Canada through the TTCI,” MAC CEO Pierre Gratton said on Tuesday.
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