mining in Canada

The history of mining in Canada goes back to the 16th century. In the 1570s, Martin Frobisher briefly attempted a mining operation on Baffin Island, although it was unsuccessful.{{Cite web|last1=Sandlos|first1=John|last2=Keeling|first2=Arn|date=2015-03-15|title=Mining|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mining|url-status=live|access-date=2020-10-22|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010234033/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mining}} In 1672, French settlers in Cape Breton Island detected coal deposits.{{Sfn|Cranstone|2002|p=2}} Matonabbee and Samuel Hearne sought after copper in the Hudson Bay region in the 1770s.

The first truly industrial mining operation in what is now Canada was an iron mine at Forges du Saint-Maurice near Trois-Rivières in Quebec, which remained a going concern from 1738 to 1883. Copper mining in Bruce Mines, Ontario—the first industrial-scale mine of a substance other than iron—followed in 1848.{{Sfn|Cranstone|2002|p=2}} The Canadian mining industry continued to expand nationwide through the 19th century, and became one of the world's largest by the 20th century, particularly following World War II.

Mills and Sweeney note that the staples thesis, which posits that the Canadian economy has developed primarily through the exploitation of the country's abundant natural resources, remains a viable model of Canadian political economy.{{Sfn|Mills|Sweeney|2013|p=10–11}}

In 2019, Canada was the 4th largest producer of platinum;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-platinum.pdf USGS Platinum Production Statistics] the world's 5th largest producer of gold;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-gold.pdf USGS Gold Production Statistics] the world's 5th largest producer of nickel;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-nickel.pdf USGS Nickel Production Statistics] the world's 10th largest producer of copper;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf USGS Copper Production Statistics] the 8th largest world producer of iron ore;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iron-ore.pdf USGS Iron Ore Production Statistics] the 4th largest world producer of titanium;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-titanium-minerals.pdf USGS Titanium Production Statistics] the world's largest producer of potash;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-potash.pdf USGS Potash Production Statistics] the 2nd largest world producer of niobium;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-niobium.pdf USGS Niobium Production Statistics] the 4th largest world producer of sulfur;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-sulfur.pdf USGS Sulfur Production Statistics] the world's 7th largest producer of molybdenum;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-molybdenum.pdf USGS Molybdenum Production Statistics] the 7th worldwide producer of cobalt;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-cobalt.pdf USGS Cobalt Production Statistics] the 8th largest world producer of lithium;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lithium.pdf USGS Lithium Production Statistics] the 8th largest world producer of zinc;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-zinc.pdf USGS Zinc Production Statistics] the 13th largest world producer of gypsum;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-gypsum.pdf USGS Gypsum Production Statistics] the 14th worldwide producer of antimony;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-antimony.pdf USGS Antimony Production Statistics] the world's 10th largest producer of graphite;[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-graphite.pdf USGS Graphite Production Statistics] in addition to being the 6th largest world producer of salt.[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-salt.pdf USGS Salt Production Statistics] It was the 2nd largest producer in the world of uranium in 2018.[http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf23.html World Uranium Mining]

Mining is a significant part of the economy of Canada. {{As of|2018}}, mining revenues totalled {{CAD|47}} billion.{{Cite web|date=2019-12-03|title=Minerals and the economy|url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/minerals-and-economy/20529|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819054144/https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/minerals-and-economy/20529|archive-date=August 19, 2020|access-date=2020-10-22|publisher=Natural Resources Canada}} In 2013, over 50% of the world's publicly listed exploration and mining companies were headquartered in Canada.{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Global Affairs |date=2013-06-25 |title=Canada’s Enhanced Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy to Strengthen Canada’s Extractive Sector Abroad |url=https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/topics-domaines/other-autre/csr-strat-rse.aspx?lang=eng |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=GAC}} Toronto is a financial centre for the mining industry: as of 2016, around 80 percent of the world's equity trades in mining stocks took place in Toronto's markets.{{Cite journal|last=Marques|first=José Carlos|date=June 2016|title=Private Regulatory Fragmentation as Public Policy: Governing Canada's Mining Industry|journal=Journal of Business Ethics|language=en|volume=135|issue=4|pages=617–630|doi=10.1007/s10551-014-2377-3|s2cid=154747575|issn=0167-4544}}

In 2021, Canada's GDP totaled to CA$1.8 trillion across all industries. $156.5 billion of this (7.9%) is due to mining.{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-01-31 |title=Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, monthly |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610043401 |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca}} Mining's contribution to Canada's GDP is separated into extraction ($36.1 billion), services ($12 billion), primary manufacturing ($17.7 billion), and downstream manufacturing ($25 billion).{{Cite web |title=Mining Association of Canada {{!}} 2023 Report |url=https://mining.ca/flippingbooks/mac-report-2023/6/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=mining.ca}}

The Canadian mining industry has experienced significant volatility in recent history. The 1980s and 1990s saw a "prolonged slump" in Canadian mining, whereas the 2000s and 2010s were largely boom periods.{{Sfn|Keeling|Sandlos|2015|p=2}}

Saskatchewan alone produces approximately 15 percent of the world's uranium.{{Cite journal|last=Haalboom|first=Bethany|date=November 2016|title=Pursuing openings and navigating closures for aboriginal knowledges in environmental governance of uranium mining, Saskatchewan, Canada|journal=The Extractive Industries and Society|language=en|volume=3|issue=4|pages=1010–1017|doi=10.1016/j.exis.2016.09.002}} The metal was first discovered in the province in the 1930s, and had become Canada's most valuable resource export by the 1950s. In Northern Canada, mining—particularly hardrock mining—has long been one of the most significant sources of economic development.{{Sfn|Keeling|Sandlos|2015|p=2}}{{Cite news|last=Last|first=John|date=2020-03-09|title=Canada plummets as place for investment in mining industry ranking|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/fraser-institute-mining-survey-2019-1.5491063|url-status=live|access-date=2020-10-22|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812162519/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/fraser-institute-mining-survey-2019-1.5491063}}

Canada taxes mining companies at a relatively low level by international standards. Alam identifies this as one way Canada has established itself an attractive place for mining companies to do business.{{Sfn|Alam|2011|p=3}}

International expansion of the domestic mining industry has been championed by the government of Canada, and one scholar describes Canadian mining operations as having "developed an extensive and indeed dominant global presence".{{sfn|Butler|2015|p=8}} Canadian mining investment abroad has been particularly significant in Latin America and African countries.{{Sfn|Lauzon|2018|p=146}}

• Coal mining in Saskatchewan
• Gold mining in Canada
• Lists of mines in Canada
• Uranium mining in Canada
• Canadian mining in Latin America and the Caribbean

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite journal|last=Alam|first=Shafiq|date=2011|title=Mineral Resources in Canada—An Overview on Mining and Metal Recycling|journal=Resources Processing|volume=58|issue=1|pages=3–8|doi=10.4144/rpsj.58.3|issn=1349-9262|doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite book|last=Butler|first=Paula|title=Colonial Extractions: Race and Canadian Mining in Contemporary Africa|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2015|isbn=9781442619951}}
• {{Cite book|last=Cranstone|first=Donald A.|url=https://www.mineralsed.ca/site/assets/files/3452/ahistoryofmining_mineralexplorationincanada-nrcan.pdf|title=A History of Mining and Mineral Exploration in Canada and Outlook for the Future|publisher=Natural Resources Canada|year=2002|isbn=0-662-32680-6|oclc=51736275}}
• {{Cite book|editor-last1=Keeling|editor-first1=Arn|editor-last2=Sandlos|editor-first2=John|date=November 2015|title=Mining and Communities in Northern Canada: History, Politics, and Memory|hdl=1880/51021|language=en|doi=10.11575/PRISM/34601|isbn=9781552388044|last1=Keeling|first1=Arn|last2=Sandlos|first2=John}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Lauzon|first=Jolane T.|date=2018|title=Araya v. Nevsun Resources: Remedies for Victims of Human Rights Violations Committed by Canadian Mining Companies Abroad|url=https://commentary.canlii.org/w/canlii/2018CanLIIDocs10660|journal=Revue québécoise de droit international|volume=31|issue=1|pages=143–69|doi=10.7202/1065030ar|id=2018 CanLIIDocs 10660|via=CanLII|doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Mills|first1=Suzanne|last2=Sweeney|first2=Brendan|date=March 2013|title=Employment Relations in the Neostaples Resource Economy: Impact Benefit Agreements and Aboriginal Governance in Canada's Nickel Mining Industry|journal=Studies in Political Economy|language=en|volume=91|issue=1|pages=7–34|doi=10.1080/19187033.2013.11674980|s2cid=153614206|issn=0707-8552}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Seck|first=Sarah L.|date=2011|title=Canadian Mining Internationally and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/cybil49&i=63|journal=Canadian Yearbook of International Law|volume=49|pages=51–116|doi=10.1017/S0069005800010328|s2cid=155412368|via=HeinOnline}}

Category:Economy of Canada