QUEBEC CITY – The
Quebec Mining Association (AMQ) looked back on 2016 and found that the slowdown continued to bite both juniors and seniors alike. The bright spot during the year was the opening of the province’s first diamond mine, Stornoway’s Renard mine.
"The year 2016 has been good for some and harder for others. But one thing is certain, overall, the slowdown was once again felt. Added to this is the decline in Quebec attractiveness globally, particularly because of regulatory uncertainty and the burden of administrative and governmental processes," commented Josée Méthot, president and CEO of the AMQ .
Despite a slight increase recorded recently, low iron prices have forced companies to make tough decisions in order to maintain their operations, said the association. However, the rise in gold prices has in turn stimulated the exploration and development of new projects such as Horne 5 owned by Falco Resources, Agnico Eagle’s Akasaba West and the extension of the Canadian Malartic mine.
Looking forward, the AMQ says that among the things to watch in 2017 are the adoption of new provisions to modernize the environmental approval process, the start of concentrate production from the Whabouchi mine belonging to Nemaska Lithium (which will allow greater diversification of the Quebec mineral sector) and the further development of the Plan Nord where success is intimately linked to a powerful mining industry.
"While the recovery of the mining sector is not expected in 2017,” said Méthot , “some development projects continue to progress towards putting them into production. … Innovation will continue for its part to occupy an important place to make mining operations ever more efficient and safe in order to prepare for the recovery that we hope as soon as possible."
Visit the AMQ website at
www.AMQ-inc.com.
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