Mining a mainstay of Canada’s economy

Canada's new Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Joe Oliver, addressed the Toronto Board of Trade on Oct. 13, 2011. He assessed the contributions of the natural resource industries - mining, forestry and energy - make to Canada's economic wellbeing.

"The energy, mining and forestry sectors accounted for $140 billion in real GDP in 2010. They are supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in communities right across the country," said Oliver. "We all stand to benefit enormously when we develop our natural resources in a socially and environmentally responsible way."

The minister pointed up the importance of mining with the following words:

Today, Canada is one of the largest mining nations in the world producing more than 60 minerals and metals. Canadian mining companies are now located in more than 100 countries, involved in more than 10,000 projects, with assets outside of Canada worth over $109 billion in 2009.

In 2010 the mining and mineral processing industries generated over $35 billion in GDP, over $12 billion in capital investment and $18 billion in trade surplus.

During the same period, more than 308,000 Canadians are directly employed in mining, exploration and mineral processing, with many more in related industries.

The government has taken concrete steps to support the mining industry in Canada, including extending the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for another year, supporting the Targeted Geoscience Initiative and Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals program. As well, we are working to significantly improve our regulatory system for major projects to move towards one project, one review.

This support for the industry attracts investment and sharpens our global competitiveness.

As an example, for every dollar we spend on public geoscience, the industry invests, on average, five dollars in new exploration.

The exploration and mineral investment climate in Canada is on a positive trend and this is expected to continue as a result of increasing global demand for minerals and metals driven by the emerging economies, such as China and India.

We will continue to work closely with Canada's mining sector to boost competitiveness and support mining communities.

Read all of Minister Oliver's speech at www.RepublicOfMining.com/2011/10/18/creating-jobs-prosperity-canada-as-a-resource-superpower-speech-by-the-honourable-joe-oliver-p-c-m-p-minister-of-natural-resources-october-13-2011/