General Information

 

May 2009

 Mineral Production

• Mining companies operating in the province placed Saskatchewan as Canada’s #1 mineral producing jurisdiction in 2008, with mineral production valued at a record $9.7 Billion.  Potash production accounted for approximately $8 Billion of this total with uranium contributing $1.5 billion.
• Mining companies operating in Saskatchewan produced 21.5% of Canada’s total mineral output.  Saskatchewan was Canada’s leading mineral trade exporter in 2008.
• Mining is a major contributor to Saskatchewan’s economy, directly contributing almost $2 Billion in revenue to the provincial government in 2008.  These revenues support government programs and services such as health care, education and infrastructure development.
• In 2009, mining companies are forecast to provide over $2Billion in direct revenues to the Government.  This accounts for 20% of the Government of Saskatchewan’s total budget revenues.
• Saskatchewan is a significant player in the global mining scene and is currently world’s largest producer and exporter of both potash and uranium.
• Canada supplies about one third of the world’s potash. Most of this production comes from Saskatchewan with a small portion coming from a PotashCorp mine in New Brunswick.
• Saskatchewan is Canada’s only producer of uranium accounting for 22% of world production in 2008, a decrease from 28% in 2005.
• Saskatchewan has the largest high grade reserves in the world for both potash and uranium .
• Saskatchewan coal, burned in thermal plants at Estevan and Coronach, accounts for about 60% the province’s base load capacity electrical power generation.
• Saskatchewan has over 25 operating mines
• Saskatchewan mines produce potash, uranium, coal, gold, salt, meta-kaolin, silica sand, sodium sulphate, clay and bentonite.
• In addition to potash, uranium and coal, Saskatchewan has a wealth of developing mineral resources including diamonds, gold, platinum & palladium, rare earth elements, copper, zinc, nickel, sodium and potassium sulphates and mineralized brines.
• The provincial mining industry is recognized as one of the most technologically advanced in the world.
• Saskatchewan’s mining industry spends more than $3 billion annually on wages, goods, services and many other taxes and fees.

 Mineral Exploration

• Exploration, considered as a key R & D (Research and Development) component of our industry, is the key to sustainability in the mining industry, ensuring that we identify new resources to replace those that have been mined out.
• The mining industry supports government investment in geoscience to ensure that we continue to attract new investment capital to the province.
• Exploration expenditures in 2008 were a record $474 million , well above the historical 10 year average of around $30 million.
• Exploration Expenditures in 2009 are expected to be reduced to approximately $244 million, reflecting the junior mineral sector’s difficulty in raising financing on the equity markets.
• In 2009 exploration for industrial minerals, including potash and coal, will overtake both uranium and diamonds to become the focus of mineral exploration in Saskatchewan.
• In the past 3 years, over $1 Billion has been invested in mineral exploration in Saskatchewan, primarily for uranium.
• The exploration cycle continues to get longer and it is now an average of 10 to 20 years (or longer) from the time of initial discovery until all the regulatory permits are in place and the property goes into production.

 Careers

• Saskatchewan’s mining industry creates direct and indirect employment for approximately 25,000 people.
• The Saskatchewan Mining Industry will require an additional 18,000 workers in the next 10 years. This includes 4000 tradespeople and over 500 engineers. 
• The average weekly salary of an employee in the mining industry is almost twice that of the average weekly salary of employees in other sectors.
• There are over 120 different occupations in the mining industry.
• Saskatchewan’s mining sector is a leading industry employer of aboriginal people.  In 2007, the northern mine sites averaged 1317 employees from northern Saskatchewan; 1125 of these employees were of aboriginal ancestry.
• One of the fastest growing career areas in the mining industry is information technology. 85% of the mining work force presently uses advanced technology.

 Safety

• Saskatchewan’s mining industry has a strong commitment to safety and consequently is one of the safest industries in the province. For the past 15 years the industry has averaged about one lost time accident (LTA) for every 200,000 hours worked [this would be equivalent to an individual working for 100 years before he has a LTA].
• The Saskatchewan mining industry is a safe industry – WCB statistics illustrate that the mining sector has a lower lost time frequency rating than either the health or government worker sectors.
• There are over 100 Safety professionals employed by the mining companies in Saskatchewan and an additional 1000 emergency responders trained at the minesites.

 Environment

• Environmental stewardship and sustainability are important to the mining industry.  Environmental practioners are an important part of the workforce at all mine sites.  The Saskatchewan mining industry directly employees dozens of dedicated environmental professionals at mine sites throughout the province.
• The Saskatchewan mining industry invests considerable human resources and millions of dollars every year in environmental stewardship activities, including the monitoring of environment stations at sites, prevention and mitigation of environmental impacts, and in decommissioning and reclamation efforts.
• The industry actively participates in research, development and implementation of new technologies to improve combustion efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase resource conservation and further reduce environmental impact.
• Mining and exploration are temporary uses of the land.  Saskatchewan’s mining industry has a very small footprint utilizing only 0.1% of available land in the province (less than the size of the city of Saskatoon).
• All new mining projects are required to incorporate reclamation and decommissioning plans as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment Statement that is submitted to Saskatchewan Environment when applying for a Mine Operating License.  Financial surety for decommissioning and reclamation costs is required from industry as part of the Mine Operating License. 
• Leading edge technology not only contributes to the cost efficiency and productivity of mines but also to their safety. Advanced technology is also applied by mines in areas of environmental responsibility.

 Conclusion:

• The future for the mining sector is very bright and our industry will continue to be a foundation for Saskatchewan’s growth.