Ontario’s mining landscape has changed significantly since 1883 when a Canadian Pacific Railway employee’s rock samples led to the discovery of the world’s largest concentration of nickel sulphide ore. This breakthrough put Ontario on the global mining map.
While many things are different now in Ontario mining compared to the 1800s, exploration remains the backbone of our industry and, 140 years later, our province is still considered a top destination globally for mineral exploration and development investment. With Ontario’s 2022 mineral production valued at $13.5 billion, the province’s industry is once again among the top mining jurisdictions in the world. Last year, Ontario also reclaimed the top spot for exploration spending in Canada with $989 million invested to find the mines of the future.
Our government recognizes the importance of this job-creating sector, and that’s why we launched programs to invest in exploration and innovation through our Critical Minerals Strategy. Our strategy is focused on building an integrated supply chain from exploration right through to manufacturing electric vehicles. It simply cannot take 15 years to permit and build a mine if we are going to achieve our vision. Our government addressed this challenge by passing the Building More Mines Act, 2023 to cut red tape and improve timelines so government can operate at the pace of business.
The Critical Minerals Innovation Fund (CMIF) and the Ontario Junior Exploration Program (OJEP) were also launched to attract investment and use innovative concepts to develop critical minerals projects in Ontario. Through OJEP, we have invested $35 million to encourage junior mining companies to explore for the mines of the future. We also invested $5 million through the CMIF to incentivize companies to find innovative solutions to supply chain challenges facing Ontario’s critical minerals sector.
Currently in Ontario, there are about 300 active exploration projects. These projects are searching for commodities that include gold, base and rare metals, platinum group elements, iron, and chromite. Several of these projects benefited from the advice of experts and the available geoscience products provided by the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS).
Our OGS applications are world-class and provide key information to the mineral development community through government geological reports and maps.
Applications such as the new and improved version of GeologyOntario, which features geospatial and text search tools that allow clients to access and visualize Ontario geoscience tools and download digital data, information, and publications. The critical minerals focused Ontario Mineral Inventory geospatial product enables clients to search for critical minerals on OGS Earth to determine where these minerals can be found.
The OGS is a leading provider of reliable, credible, and accessible data used to attract and guide investment in minerals and make land-use planning decisions. To build a Made-in-Ontario critical minerals supply chain, we will need to leverage the data through the OGS to take advantage of the exciting opportunities in our mineral industry.
To learn more about how the OGS can help you, I invite you to register for the second Ontario Geological Survey Virtual Showcase, a comprehensive three-day event packed with information about our government’s latest geoscience activities and initiatives.
So, mark your calendars for November 28 to 30 because you don’t want to miss the opportunity to learn how geoscience information supports mineral sector decision makers. It can also help advance Ontario’s position as a global leader and supplier of critical minerals. Visit www.OGS-Virtual-Showcase-2023.eventbrite.ca to register for this free event.
We have exciting times ahead of us as we lead the way in mining innovation and work to cement Ontario’s reputation as the number one jurisdiction for mining globally.
