Book Description

To review and assess Canada's international competitiveness for attracting mineral investment, a government/industry task force was formed in September 1991. The Task Force identified a number of issues, including the recent deterioration in Canada's cost competitiveness in key commodity areas of copper and nickel; halting and reversing the decline in Canada's base-metal ore reserves; developing new ideas, technologies, policies, and programs to stimulate more effective primary exploration for new world class ore deposits; reversing the ongoing shift of interest by mineral investors away from Canada and toward the countries of Latin America, Asia Pacific, and other areas of the developing world; and creating a public policy and regulatory framework more conducive to sustaining industry viability and stimulating investment in mineral exploration and development in Canada. This report summarizes the findings and views of the Task Force, describing the economic and geological basis of the Canadian mineral industry; the international status of Canadian mining companies; worldwide competition for mineral investment; and specific areas of concern, including the environmental regulation processes, land access and security of terms, and mineral taxation.