Yukon Territory, which was the first Canadian territory to place in the top 10 on the survey’s policy potential index last year, continued to move up the ranks to No. 8 this year. When it comes to pure mineral potential, Yukon ranked second only to Mongolia.

“Good mineral endowment and government just seem to work like one would hope it would,” a consultant commented on working in the Yukon.

The policy potential index captures the opinions of the managers and executives of 742 exploration, development and mining-related companies on the effects of policies in jurisdictions with which they are familiar. These sentiments can serve as report card to governments on the policies in their jurisdiction.

Northwest Territories showed the best PPI improvement of Canada’s Far North jurisdictions, climbing from No. 48 to 29th place. Northwest Territories is considered the 16th highest ranking jurisdiction when it comes to mineral potential.

Despite the solid PPI gains made by Northwest Territories, one exploration manager wrote, “Too hard to get exploration permits on a predictable schedule and without excessive and overly expensive early-stage community consultation.”

Nunavut moved down one position from 36 to 37 on the PPI index. Mining executives ranked this territory 12th in terms of mineral potential, down from the 5th position it held a year ago.

“Nunavut is a territory that is in many ways in conflict. It wants investment and then creates a bureaucracy and commercial environment that is strongly negative towards any investment,” an exploration vice-president opined.

British Columbia’s PPI index position held steady at 31. The mineral potential of the westernmost Canadian province was ranked at 18 this year a six-position drop from 2012.

“I think that Canada and BC in general have a lot more potential for being the highest rated jurisdictions for mineral exploration, but politics (for the purpose of getting elected or re-elected) gets in the way of making the right policies in exchange for votes,” an exploration company vice-president commented.

The Fraser Institute said that the comments it received from miners seemed to suggest that while Canadian jurisdictions remain competitive globally, uncertainties with Aboriginal consultation and disputed land claims are growing concerns for some.

Responding to the survey, the vice-president of a producer with more than US$50 million wrote, “We need to find our way to a regulatory and cultural regime where First Nations can focus on holding companies to responsible behavior and opportunities for mutually beneficial business relationships –not percentages of projects (this includes a transparent and reliable approach to determining whether a First Nation should share in the royalty paid on minerals, not negotiating an additional financial payment).”

Alaska, meanwhile, demonstrated solid gains on the PPI index, moving up to six positions to No. 19. The Far North state, however, lost its top seat in terms of mineral potential, slipping to No. 5 behind Mongolia, Yukon, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

Despite ranking high in terms of mineral potential and having a state government that is considered friendly to miners, Alaska is seen as being burdened by weighty federal control.

The vice-president of a company with more than US$50 million commented, “While Alaska has great potential and the state government is welcoming, the federal government exerts incredible control over Alaska and thus it’s difficult to rate it high, given the federal intrusion.”