Canadian provinces rank among some of the top regions worldwide for mining, but B.C. is way down on the list.
According to the Fraser Institute’s annual mining survey, B.C. ranked as the 36th-friendliest jurisdiction for mining out of 79 regions worldwide.
That’s an improvement from a 38th-place ranking last year, but it’s nowhere near Alberta (1st), Saskatchewan (3rd), Quebec (4th) and Manitoba (9th).
Even though B.C. is home to more than 800 mining companies and 18 metal and coal mines, ongoing land security issues continually plague its placing in the annual survey.
Fred McMahon, the study’s co-author, said it’s difficult to determine if B.C. has improved at all in the last year.
“If you were looking at a poll and in one poll a political party got 40% and in another poll they got 41%, you [would] say, ‘Not much going on there.’ Frankly, I’d say that’s what’s happening with British Columbia.”
The survey represents the opinions of 494 exploration, development and other mining-related companies around the world.
McMahon said recent decisions such as the ban on mining in B.C.’s Flathead Valley hinder the province’s reputation with the global mining community. And one name is perennially mentioned in the survey: Windy Craggy.
The project, located in the far northwestern tip of B.C., was halted in the mid-1990s when the government created a park that enveloped the site.
“It’s the same old story with B.C. … people still remember Windy Craggy,” McMahon said.
“I keep expecting some year to get no comments about Windy Craggy, but this wasn’t the year … that tells you how long the memories are, and it’s a warning to government to get things right because people remember.”
Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of B.C., agreed that B.C. has ongoing land security issues, but he disagreed with its ranking on the survey.
“Objectively, factually speaking, we’re better than any other Canadian jurisdiction,” Gratton said. “It makes no sense.”
He pointed to favourable tax policies that support both explorers and producers, a skilled work force, cheap power, strong port, rail and road infrastructure and the province’s recently approved $404 million Northwest Transmission Line, which will deliver power to a number of highly prospective metal projects in northwest B.C.
“That’s where the problem has always existed with this survey,” Gratton said.
“It’s an opinion survey, not necessarily an informed opinion survey on all these issues. I’ve felt for a number of years B.C. gets short-shifted in this.”