Canada as the Leader in the Resource Mining Industry
Lundin Mining Corp
Headquartered in Toronto, Lundin has mining sites in the United States, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, and other countries. The company specializes in nickel, copper, lead, and zinc production. It trades on the Swedish Nordic and Toronto Stock Exchanges and engages in development, exploration, and extraction. One of its sites, Neves-Corvo is located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal and consists of a zinc plant, copper plant, and underground mine.
Teck Resources Ltd
Teck Resources is the largest miner in Canada, based in Vancouver. The company specializes in oil, zinc, coal, copper, and gold production and specialty metals such as indium, germanium, and cadmium. Tech also produces indium powder, lead materials, gold, and silver. The company is focused on metal atomization, distillation, casting, and alloying. It has mines in Peru, Canada, the United States, and Chile and projects in Europe, Asia, Africa, and other places. Teck Resources trades on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchange.
Yamana Gold Inc
Yamana Gold is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and focused on the development and exploration of mining sites. It is a gold producer with operations in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Yamana also specializes in the production of zinc, copper, silver, and molybdenum. It operates 7 mines, has 2 development projects, and trades on NYSE and TSX.
Eldorado Gold
This gold miner has operations and development projects in South America, Europe, and Asia, including Greece, Romania, and China. Its shares are traded on TSX and NYSE. Eldorado has several mining sites: Kisladag, Turkey, Stratoni, Greece, Tanjianshan, China, Vila Nova, Brazil, and others. The company has exploration programs in Turkey, Greece, and other countries and engages in drill-testing and resource drilling. It is focused on brown fields exploration. Barrick Gold Corporation
The world’s largest gold miner is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and has operations in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Argentina, U.S., Chile, and other countries. Barrick Gold specializes in copper, silver, and gold production and has 1.05 billion ounces of silver and 140.2 million ounces of gold reserves. The company also has development and exploration projects in the U.S., Chile, Tanzania, and Argentina. About 42 percent of its total reserves are found in North America. Barrick Gold trades on NYSE and TSX under the ticker ABX.
Franco-Nevada Corp
The company has operations in Mexico, South Africa, Canada, and the U.S. and specializes in gas, oil, and platinum metals. Franco-Nevada pays dividends to investors and has a diverse portfolio of assets, including undeveloped properties, equity interests, and gas and oil royalties. It was traded on TSX until 2002 and is listed on NYSE under FNV.
Other Canada-based producers include IAMGOLD Corp, Detour Gold Corp, Argonaut Gold Inc, Nova Gold Resources, Nevsun Resources, and many others.
Industry Trends
Some 75 percent of the miners are headquartered in Canada and have overseas operations. The country is a leader in the mining industry, with exploration companies creating jobs in different regions around the world. At the same time, resource extraction and processing is associated with environmental pollution and disruption of local communities and economies. Mining and extraction require huge amounts of water. Moreover, hazardous waste contaminates the oceans, rivers, and lakes, with large amounts of waste dumped each year. On the positive side, Canada is to enforce disclosure requirements to increase transparency. Gas, oil, and mining companies will be required to disclose their payments to national authorities. This is good news because mandatory reporting will ensure that local communities hold their national authorities accountable, and royalties and taxes are invested in community projects.