PDAC 2020/2021 Conferences
2019 review of the most and least favourable jurisdictions
One of the outcomes of the PDAC annual conferences is a review of the mining industry for which includes an assessment of the most and least prospective jurisdictions to explore and develop resources. This review is undertaken by the Fraser Institute an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organisation with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. In this study the Fraser Institute indicated that Western Australia is the most attractive global jurisdiction to explore and develop a resource.
world for mining investment followed by Finland (2nd) and the U.S. state of Nevada
(3rd), based according to the Annual Survey of Mining Companies.
Based on 76 jurisdictions ten most attractive 1) Western Australia 2) Finland 3) Nevada 4) Alaska 5) Portugal 6) South Australia 7) Republic of Ireland 8) Idaho 9) Arizona 10) Sweden
and the 10 least attractive regions are: 67) Nicaragua 68) Mali 69) Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) 70) Venezuela 71) Zambia 72) Dominican Republic 73) Guatemala 74) La Rioja, Argentina
75) Chubut, Argentina 76) Tanzania
2020 review of the most and least favourable jurisdictions
The top jurisdiction in the world for investment based on the Investment Attractiveness Index is Nevada, which moved up from 3rd place in 2019. Arizona, which ranked 9th in 2019, moved into 2nd place this year. Saskatchewan climbed eight spots from 11th in 2019 to 3rd in 2020. Western Australia ranked 4th this year after topping the ranking last year, and Alaska dropped a spot from 4th in 2019 to 5th in 2020. Rounding out the top 10 are Quebec, South Australia, Newfoundland & Labrador, Idaho, and Finland.
When considering both policy and mineral potential in the Investment Attractiveness Index, Venezuela
ranks as the least attractive jurisdiction in the world for investment followed by Argentina: Chubut, and
Tanzania. Also, in the bottom 10 (beginning with the worst) are Indonesia, Argentina: La Rioja, Bolivia, Argentina: Mendoza, Zimbabwe, Spain, and Michigan.
Geological potential and economic considerations are important factors in mineral exploration, but must be considered with a region’s policy climate. The Fraser Institute uses a Policy Perception Index (PPI) that is a composite measure pf the overall policy attractiveness of the 77 jurisdictions in their survey. The index is composed of survey responses to policy factors that affect investment decisions for exploration and mining. These factors include uncertainty concerning the administration of current
regulations, environmental regulations, regulatory duplication, the prevailing legal system and taxation regime, and includes uncertainty concerning protected areas and disputed land claims, infrastructure, socioeconomic and community development conditions, trade barriers, political stability, labour regulations, quality of the geological database, security, and the skills and availability of labour
Current ratings on the PPI score shows Idaho displacing Finland for top spot with the highest PPI score of 100 was followed by Wyoming in the second place, which moved from 16th in the previous year. The other top 10 rankings are are Finland, the Republic of Ireland, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Newfoundland & Labrador, Saskatchewan, and New Mexico.
The 10 least investment attractive jurisdictions based on the PPI rankings (starting with the worst) are Venezuela, Argentina: Chubut, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Argentina: Mendoza, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Indonesia, and Argentina: La Rioja.