Fraser Institute’s annual Survey of Mining Companies 2016 declared Saskatchewan as the most attractive jurisdiction for investment, followed by Manitoba on second place. Surprisingly, British Columbia dropped to 27th place from 18th.
Out of the top 20 jurisdictions for investment attractiveness, Canada claimed six spots. Those are for Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec along with Yukon at 15th, Newfoundland and Labrador at 16th and Ontario at 18th place.
The Fraser Institute’s Investment Attractiveness Index is based on two components: the geologic attractiveness of a region based on the actual mineral potential, and its policy attractiveness in terms of the effects of government policy on attitudes toward exploration investment.
The data was collected through an anonymous survey that was sent out to 350 mining and exploration companies to assess 104 jurisdictions worldwide to evaluate their mineral endowments and policy factors, such as taxation and regulation. This survey serves as a “Report Card” for governments to improve and evaluate their mining-related policies to bring in investments and grow their economic productivity and employment.
Competitive tax regimes, efficient permitting procedures and certainty surrounding environmental regulations and land-claims were among the reasons for the Saskatchewan’s top rating. Moreover, the province also offers high-quality geoscience information, high priority on collaboration with their stakeholders and an advanced Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan (MARS) system to help mining companies operate more efficiently in the province.
The common factors for the top 20 justifications were a stable and transparent government, stable politics and policies, and a stable and utterly predictable regulatory system. Whereas, factors such as volatility, uncertainty, crime, violence, legal hostilities with Aboriginals lead to the other end of the spectrum.
Based on the Policy Perception Index (PPI) — which measures 15 policy areas, including taxation regime and political stability — the Republic of Ireland came in first for the fourth year in a row. Saskatchewan came in second, moving up from fourth place. Whereas, the lowest ranking provinces in terms of policies were Nunavut and Northwestern Territories.
The Fraser Institute also released a separate study examining issues surrounding the exploration permitting process. Overall, Canadian provinces grant the necessary permits to explorers faster than in other international jurisdictions. However, North Western Territories and British Columbia are the slowest when it comes to waiting times, transparency of the permitting process, and the confidence that explorers have that they will receive their permits at all.
Source : http://www.northernminer.com/news/saskatchewan-best-place-invest-fraser-institute-says/1003784149/