With its world-class mineral potential and favorable mining policies, Western Australia reclaimed the crown as the best place to discover, permit, and build a mine, according to the mining executives that ranked 84 global jurisdictions for the Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies, 2021.

Each year, Canada-based Fraser Institute calls on mining executives from around the world to rank global mining jurisdictions when it comes to mineral potential and a broad range of issues related to mining policies. Averaging out the responses to this survey, the Canada-based think tank ranks each mining jurisdiction's "investment attractiveness index."

With respondents ranking Western Australia as the richest mineral province on Earth and the fourth-best in terms of mining policy, this important mining state beat out 83 other jurisdictions as the most attractive place to invest in mining.

Saskatchewan, a Canadian province that has surged in recent years, came in at a close second.

"The Fraser Institute's mining survey is the most comprehensive report on government policies that either encourages or discourages mining investment, and Saskatchewan remains not only the top choice in Canada, but second overall globally," said Elmira Aliakbari, director of the Fraser Institute's Centre for Natural Resource Studies and co-author of the mining survey.

Nevada, which held the top position last year, dropped to No. 3; Alaska, which always does well on the mineral potential side of the equation, moved up one position to No. 4; and Arizona, a Southwest United States neighbor to Nevada, dropped from No. 2 last year to No. 5 on the 2021 survey.

Mining executives that responded to the 2021 Fraser Survey had a more favorable view of all five North of 60 Mining News jurisdictions when compared to last year.

Yukon, which landed at No. 9, returns to the top ten most attractive jurisdictions for the first time since 2018. The Fraser Survey attributes this rebound to the territory's recent perceived policy improvements building off its foundational rich mineral potential.

"A sound and predictable regulatory regime coupled with competitive fiscal policies help make a jurisdiction attractive in the eyes of mining investors," said Aliakbari.

Rounding out the North of 60 Mining News jurisdictions, British Columbia moved up one spot to No. 16, Nunavut jumped 11 positions to No. 28, and Northwest Territories rebounded from No. 46 to No. 35.

Mineral-rich North

When it comes to mineral potential, there is little argument that North of 60 Mining News jurisdictions are some of the richest on Earth.

Whether it is Alaska's Tintina Gold Belt, British Columbia's Golden Triangle, Yukon's White Gold District, Northwest Territories' Lac de Gras diamond region, or the gold-rich greenstone belts in Nunavut, the North of 60 Mining region hosts the potential for company-making deposits of base, precious, and critical minerals.

Each year, the Fraser Institute asks mining executives to set aside any policy considerations and provide their views of the pure geological endowment of global mining jurisdictions.

Alaska always lands near the top on this section of the Fraser Survey, dubbed the "Best Practices Mineral Potential Index," and 2021 was no different. Respondents ranked America's Far North State as the second richest mineral province in the world, just behind Western Australia.

Rounding out the top five when it comes to perceptions of minerals endowment are Arizona, Saskatchewan, and Nevada.

Canada's Yukon came in at No. 6 on the mineral potential index, up from No. 12 a year ago; British Columbia fell one spot to No. 11; Northwest Territories gained an impressive 13 positions to land at No. 23; and Nunavut climbed three spots to No. 26.

Consistent policies needed

While all agree that Canada's territories, British Columbia, and Alaska are blessed with rich mineral endowments, all five North of 60 Mining jurisdictions could stand to improve their image when it comes to policy, an important factor to mining companies and their investors that understand rich mineral deposits have little meaning if a mine cannot be developed.

"Policymakers in every province and territory should understand that mineral deposits alone are not enough to attract investment," said Aliakbari.

The top five jurisdictions on the 2021 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies' "Policy Perception Index" are Republic of Ireland, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Western Australia, and Quebec.

Alaska, the top North of 60 Mining jurisdiction, held steady at No. 13; Yukon lands at No. 23, up significantly from 36; British Columbia is at No. 28, a jump from 41; Nunavut came in at No. 35, a 16-point climb from 51; and Northwest Territories dropped to No. 59, from an already dismal 54 the previous year.

"Regulatory duplication and inconsistencies, coupled with a lack of collaboration from regulatory authorities, are major areas of concern for investors," the manager of a mining company with more than US$50 million in assets commented on Northwest Territories' mining policies.

This is a topic that all the North of 60 Mining jurisdictions could improve upon, according to mining executives.

Yukon was ranked 21st globally when it comes to regulatory duplication and inconsistencies, followed by Alaska at 26th, British Columbia at 30th, Nunavut at 41st, and Northwest Territories near the bottom at 63rd.

An even bigger concern, however, is clarity on what areas are open to mineral exploration and mine development.

When it comes to certainty concerning protected areas, Alaska is ranked 32nd, Yukon is 55th, Nunavut is 60th, British Columbia is 64th, and Northwest Territories is 80th.

Venezuela, Democratic Republic of Congo, New Zealand, and Tanzania are the only place on Earth where mining companies are less certain about protected areas than in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Roads to better perceptions

As frontier jurisdictions at and beyond the north end of North America's road and rail network, North of 60 Mining jurisdictions are also hampered by a lack of infrastructure, a dearth that makes exploration and mining more expensive.

British Columbia, which happens to be completely south of the 60th parallel and better connected, ranked 33rd when it comes to quality of infrastructure.

Yukon, which borders BC to the north, came in at 50th; Alaska ranked a dismal 64th, falling between Tanzania and Mauritania; Northwest Territories came in right below Nicaragua at 69th; and Nunavut ranked 74th, leaving only 10 jurisdictions considered worse in terms of infrastructure.

From the Grays Bay Road and Port Project extending from Northwest Territories to the Arctic shores of Nunavut, to the Resource Gateway project in the Yukon and the Ambler Road project in Alaska, the lack of infrastructure needed for accessing mineral projects is being addressed across the North.

Fraser Institute

Completion of these projects could pave the way for mineral policy perceptions that come closer to the undeniable mineral riches across Alaska and Canada's North.

Author Bio

Shane Lasley, Publisher

Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.

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