Alaska and the Yukon Territory continue to be perceived as among the best places in the world to seek and develop a mine, according to 449 mining executives who responded to the Fraser Institute’s Survey of Mining Companies 2015. This group of miners, explorers and consultants ranked these northern neighbors as two of the richest mineral jurisdictions on Earth, but found certain mining policies in each a cause for concern.
As a result, the mining leaders ranked Alaska sixth and Yukon 12th on the survey’s Investment Attractiveness Index, a measure that weighs miners’ perceptions of both the mineral endowment and mining policies of 109 jurisdictions around the globe.
British Columbia was ranked as the 18th most attractive mining jurisdiction on this encompassing index, up substantially from its 29th ranking a year earlier; Nunavut jumped to 23rd in the most recent survey from 34th a year ago; and Northwest Territories plummeted 20 spots to 35th place on this year’s investment attractiveness index.
Taking high marks for both its mineral potential and mining policies, Western Australia is now viewed as the most attractive place on the planet for mining investment, according to respondents in this year’s Fraser survey.
“Mines have been built from discovery to production faster than anywhere,” a president of a mid-sized development company commented on the permitting process in Western Australia.
Alaska’s PPI improves
Though there is still plenty of room for improvement, Alaska made healthy gains on the “Policy Perception Index” section of the Fraser survey.
Considered a report card on the mining policies of governments, the PPI is a compilation of responses on a broad range of policy topics important to miners.
In today’s globally competitive environment, this perception of policies could make the difference where a mining company chooses to invest its exploration and development capital – potentially even settling on a less mineral endowed project in a jurisdiction that fosters quicker and safer development.
“Despite a global downturn of commodity prices, governments worldwide can offer competitive, transparent, and stable mining policies to encourage exploration and investment,” said Kenneth Green, director of the 2015 Fraser Institute Survey.
Participants ranked Alaska 23rd globally on the survey’s “Policy Perception Index,” up from 38th the previous year.
While Alaska has room to rise to the level of its United States contemporaries – such as Wyoming at No. 2, Nevada at No. 5 and Utah at No. 10 – the Far North State is seen to have better mining policies than British Columbia and Canadian Territories.
Yukon’s PPI has been slipping in recent years, landing the westernmost Canadian territory in the 39th position this year; followed by British Columbia at 41st; Nunavut at 54th and Northwest Territories at 58th.
Ireland, which ranked as the fourth best mining jurisdiction overall, is considered by miners to have the best mining policies on the planet.
“Ireland has clear policies with regard to licenses,” one exploration company commented in its response to the Fraser survey.
EPA weighs heavy
For Alaska, environmental policies are an area of lingering concern for mining executives.
When asked about uncertainty concerning environmental regulations, the respondents ranked Alaska 59th, right below Zimbabwe. While less than ideal, this is a marked improvement compared to the 97th place perception of the Far North State last year.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to utilize its presumed authority under the federal Clean Water Act to proactively veto or place restrictions on permits needed to develop the world-class Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project seems to continue to weigh heavy on the minds of miners considering the regulatory climate in Alaska.
“The EPA’s effort to circumvent the law and stop Pebble at all costs has had significant negative ramifications on mining development in Alaska,” observed a mining manager responding to the survey.
Despite complaints about federal agencies, many feel that regulators at the state level somewhat offset their more antagonistic federal counterparts.
“Alaska’s Large Mine Permitting Team within the Office of Project Management and Permitting has the unique ability to bring federal and local permitting agencies to the table in order to avoid duplicative efforts in the permit process. Without this group in place, developers and operators would face an uphill battle in attempting to open and operate mining projects,” a mining manager commented.
At 52nd, Yukon eked into the top half of the jurisdictions in terms of certainty concerning environmental regulations. Northwest Territories (63rd), Nunavut (78th) and British Columbia (84th) all ranked poorly on this topic.
The Canadian province of Saskatchewan, on the other hand, was considered the best jurisdiction in the world in terms of environmental regulations certainty, according to the miners that responded to the Fraser survey.
“Saskatchewan has royalty regimes suited to each commodity, efficient and responsive regulatory process, environmental certainty arising out of end-of-mine legislation (The Reclaimed Industrial Sites Act), and a supportive government and opposition parties,” the vice president of a producing company responded.
Remote, rugged
Infrastructure, more specifically the lack thereof, continues to drag on miners’ perceptions of the remote and rugged regions of Alaska and Canadian territories.
Alaska, a state known as the Last Frontier for good reason, hosts several undeveloped world-class mining camps – such as the Pebble, Donlin Gold and the Ambler Mining District – that have yet to be tapped due partially to their remote locations.
Mining leaders ranked Alaska 76th when it comes to quality of infrastructure; Yukon at 81st; Northwest Territories at 95th; and Nunavut at 100th, meaning that miners considered only nine places in the world to be more remote than this northeastern Canada territory.
British Columbia, with its well-established road system and recently completed Northwest Transmission Line feeding industrial power to the northern half of the province, was considered to have the 39th best mining infrastructure in the world.
“The Northwest Transmission Line is a visionary and much appreciated infrastructure investment in BC that has given new hope to projects in the northwest corner of the province,” an exploration company vice president commented.
Mineral-rich North
Countering, and partially due to, the lack of infrastructure, mining leaders participating in the Fraser Survey identify Alaska, British Columbia and the Canadian territories as being among the top 20 percent of richest mineral jurisdictions on Earth.
Each year, the Fraser Institute asks mining executives to ignore current policies that may sway investment decisions and rank global jurisdictions strictly on their geological endowment. Referred to as the Best Practices Mineral Potential Index, this portion of the survey is meant to level the playing field in terms of policy and measure each jurisdiction’s pure mineral potential in the eyes of survey participants.
Alaska has always been a strong contender when it comes to its perceived mineral endowment. In the most recent Fraser survey, miners ranked the 49th State as the 2nd richest endowed mining jurisdiction on the planet, moving up one notch from 3rd last year.
Yukon, which was considered the richest mineral jurisdiction in the world a year ago, slipped to No. 4 in the eyes of this year’s survey participants.
Nunavut’s mineral potential is ranked at No. 8, up considerably from the 25th position of a year ago; Northwest Territories fell from No. 4 in this category last year to 21st in the most recent survey; and British Columbia fell three notches from 14 to 17.
Western Australia took the top spot on the best practices mineral potential index. This high regard for the Down Under region’s mineral potential, along with a strong 8th place showing on the policy perception index is why that jurisdiction is considered the best place to seek and build a mine in the minds of the mining leaders that responded to this year’s Fraser Institute survey.
