Good evening everyone. I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Windsor Salt Mine and your round at the Canadian Salt Golf Challenge. Mining and golf, now there’s a tourism package in the making!
The mining industry is very important to Ontario’s prosperity. Our province is a major global player in mining and has produced $300 billion in metals over the last century. In 2007 alone, the value of mineral production in Ontario exceeded $10-billion.
Exploration spending this year is expected to exceed $600-million. Over 1,000 companies employ more than 22,000 skilled people in this province. Hundreds of Ontario companies supply the industry with everything from contract mining services to custom equipment design.
The expertise supplied by people in the Ontario mining industry supports economic growth across the province, throughout Canada and around the world.