Strong and resilient: Canada’s Top 40 miners in 2021 and mining on the moon!

In this issue, we publish our much-anticipated annual ranking of Canada’s Top 40 miners (pages 25-31), which is based on financials from 2021. The mining sector continued to handle the impact of Covid-19 pandemic effectively. Mining was designated an essential service during the pandemic, and mining activities continued following provincial health regulations in case of any unfortunate events.

Our Top 40 ranking and total revenue numbers (page 27) show how strong and resilient the Canadian mining sector was in 2021. While it is true that miners faced a huge challenge in the last two years, including the costs of pandemic protocols and temporary suspensions, strong commodity prices were a good compensation, especially for gold, silver, and copper miners, who make up the vast majority of our Top 40. Also, the good news is that mining employment has increased since June 2020. In May 2021, employment was 28,800 in the western provinces of Canada (up almost 9%, year-over-year).

We need mining for our future, but does mining need a rebrand to deal with the issue of trust between the mining industry and its stakeholders? A feature article starts the discussion on rebranding mining (page 12). On page 44, Susan Eick argues that executive burnout rates are increasing in mining. Wait, what?!! No, they are not always on the golf course.

Also in this issue, we feature articles on conveyors, crushers and screens, as well as the Eskay Creek mine revitalization story on pages 37-43. And for the first time, our Law column discusses mining on the moon (page 11).

In response to the rising trends in mining in the last few years, I am also glad to announce to our readers that, starting this issue, we are adding new regular departments to the Canadian Mining Journal. The new departments will highlight recent advances in ESG (environmental, social, and governance), Technology, and Equipment. Several articles in this issue discuss new technology, for example, the innovative SGS mobile sample preparation units (MSPUs) are featured on page 48. Novel contributions to those departments, and other regular departments and sections, should be sent to the Editor in Chief’s email address.

Finally, we had our first in-person PDAC meeting in two years last June, and it was exciting to meet everyone in person. PDAC president Felix Lee joined Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan in the announcement of Canada’s list of critical minerals. He also welcomed 17,445 attendees from 120 countries, 1,293 investors, and 344 exhibiting organizations. The program this year included four short courses and 265 speakers. The next issues of CMJ will feature a series of interviews with executives and government officials whom I met when I attended my first PDAC.

On a personal note, since this is my first editorial as the Editor in Chief of the Canadian Mining Journal (my introduction and brief bio can be found in June-July issue), I would like to thank interim editor Marilyn Scales, and the publisher, Robert Seagraves, for their tremendous support during the last few months. I am grateful to all my colleagues for the support I have been receiving since I started in this position.