Despite Record-High Gold Prices, Mining Exploration in Canada's North Declines

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): For years, gold has been the focus of Canadian mining exploration spending: the financing that backs efforts to find, assess, and potentially develop mineral deposits into mines. These efforts have established Canada as a top gold producer worldwide.

And over the course of 2024, the price of gold shot up by 38 per cent, reaching historic heights. 

But a B.C. report says skyrocketing value didn't necessarily lead to more investment last year – it found overall exploration spending in the province was down 14 per cent from 2023, and exploration spending targeting gold dropped by 24 per cent.

"There are a number of factors that play into the level of exploration spend beyond commodity price," said Iain Thompson, a partner with EY Canada, the consulting firm behind the report.

He pointed to a number of projects in B.C. that are further along the development life cycle and global decline in exploration spending.  

 Updated data from Natural Resources Canada released Friday shows a varied picture on the impact of gold's meteoric rise. Preliminary data shows gold prices appear to have had mixed, if any, impacts on territorial industry. 

While several provinces reported exploration spending increases — including Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, which have consistently posted increases — the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, along with B.C., all experienced spending declines between 2023 and 2024. 

Despite its gold deposits and its status as one of Canada's top producers, exploration spending in the Yukon dropped by an estimated 9 per cent last year, which the Yukon Geological Survey attributed to ripple effects from the Eagle Gold mine failure. 

"It all comes down to certainty, and there's a lack of certainty in the Yukon," said Jonas Smith with the Yukon Chamber of Mines. "We've seen several legal challenges of projects that have followed the process, but still ended up in court for a variety of reasons."

Courtesy: www.msn.com