NEWS RELEASE: National Mining Week, May 13–19, 2013

National Mining Week celebrates the important role that mining plays in the lives of Canadians. It is hard to imagine a life without minerals and metals – we use them and rely on them every day.

This year’s theme, Our Mineral Resource Advantage: Working for Canadians, highlights the essential role that Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) plays in helping raise awareness of the important contributions mining makes to Canadian communities and the national economy. NRCan is the Government of Canada’s voice on mining and a world-class centre of knowledge and technologies (e.g., the Green Mining Initiative) in mining environment and processing.

Our mining industry has been a cornerstone of Canada’s economy for generations, shaping our national identity with benefits in all regions. Over the next 30 years, the world will need to extract more resources to meet the demands of the growing middle classes in emerging economies. Canada will continue to be a reliable global supplier of these resources, as it has in the past.

The numbers tell the story. Canada produces more than 60 minerals and metals and is one of the world’s leading exporters. We are the world’s number-one producer of potash. We rank in the top five in aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, diamonds, nickel, platinum group metals, sulphur, titanium concentrates, tungsten, and uranium.

This is a good time to celebrate Canada’s international leadership in mining. Did you know that:

  • the value of mineral production exceeded $47 billion in 2012? (Source: Natural Resources Canada, “Annual Census of Mines”; Statistics Canada.)
  • Canadian-headquartered mining companies accounted for nearly 37% of budgeted worldwide exploration expenditures in 2012? (Source: Metals Economics Group, “Corporate Exploration Strategies.”)
  • Canadian exploration, mining, and allied industries now operate in over 100 countries around the world, with cumulative assets worth almost $147 billion outside Canada (2011)? (Source: Natural Resources Canada, “Canadian Mining Assets.”)
  • Almost 60% of the world’s public companies are listed on the TSX and Venture Exchange and 70% of the equity capital raised globally for mining companies is raised on the TSX and Venture Exchange? (Web Source: Toronto Stock Exchange, Global Leader in Mining).

For more fun mining facts, see: Key Mining Facts 2012.

Canadians are experts in all areas of mining from mine design, extraction, and processing to mine closure and rehabilitation.

Mining continues to be a vital part of Canada‘s economic recovery. It contributes over $53 billion to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). (GDP values are real GDP in 2007 constant dollars. Nominal values are still being calculated within each sector and will be available in the near future.) Mining is also an industry that offers exciting opportunities for employment. Over the next decade, the mining and mineral processing industries could potentially hire between 75 000 and 142 000 new employees! (Source: Mining Industry Human Resources Council, Canadian Mining Industry Employment and Hiring Forecasts 2011, August 2011.)

The Government of Canada is focused on responsible development of Canada’s natural resources to create jobs and economic growth, as well as future prosperity.

I invite you to explore this web site and learn more about the exciting world of Canadian mining.

Quiz: So you think you know mining?