Canada Mining Industry

Canada Mining Industry

Did you Know?

The Canadian mining industry is…

A major employer:

· The industry directly employs more than 373,000 workers across the country in mineral extraction, smelting, fabrication and manufacturing, and indirectly employs an additional 190,000.

· Mining is the largest private sector employer of Aboriginal peoples in Canada on a proportional basis, and employment is poised to increase.

· Canada has one of the largest mining supply sectors globally with more than 3,700 companies supplying engineering, geotechnical, environmental, financial and other services to mining operations.

· Those who work in mining enjoy the highest wages and salaries of all industrial sectors in Canada with an average annual pay exceeding $115,000, which surpassed the average earnings of workers in forestry, manufacturing, finance and construction by a range of $32,000 to $43,000 for those sectors.

An economic engine:

· Mining contributed $56 billion to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015.

· The industry accounted for 19% of the value of Canadian goods exports in 2015.

· Canada’s value of mineral production was $42.8 billion in 2015.

· The mining industry's payments to Canadian federal and provincial governments total $71 billion in taxes and royalties over the last decade (2003-2012).

A global leader:

· Thanks to its rich geology, Canada is one of the largest mining nations in the world producing more than 60 minerals and metals.

· Canada ranks in the top five countries in the global production of 13 major minerals and metals:

o First in potash

o Second in uranium, nickel and niobium

o Third in cobalt, aluminum and platinum group metals

o Fourth in salt, sulphur and tungsten

o Fifth in diamonds, graphite and gold

· 57% of the world’s public mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSX-Venture Exchanges. Together, the two exchanges accounted for 53% of the equity capital raised globally for mining in 2015, totalling $6.8 billion.

· Globally, Canada is recognized for its leadership in safety and sustainability. Mining companies in Canada were the first in the world to develop an externally-verified performance system for sustainable mining practices with the creation of MAC’s Towards Sustainable Mining initiative in 2004.