Ontario’s push to accelerate mine approvals risks running into a shortage of skilled workers that could inflate construction costs and stall investment, executives from Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX, NYSE: AEM) and Vale’s (NYSE: VALE) base metals unit warned Wednesday.
Agnico’s underground mining school at Macassa in the province’s north drew 500 applicants within two weeks for 25 training places, while Vale sees billions of dollars in potential Ontario projects competing for a limited workforce, executives told a Toronto Region Board of Trade conference.
“We’re gonna run out of miners before minerals,” Jeff Gaulin, Vale Base Metals’ vice-president of corporate affairs, said. “We are not graduating enough mine engineers to meet our ambitions.”
The warnings expose a practical limit to Ontario’s effort to turn faster permitting into a mining expansion. More predictable approvals can help attract capital, but companies still need trained crews, competitive electricity and enough construction capacity to deliver projects on time and earn investors a return.
The discussion came two days after Ontario added Mayfair Gold’s (TSXV: MFG; NYSE-A: MINE) Fenn-Gib gold project to its One Project, One Process framework, making it the fourth development selected for coordinated provincial reviews. The designation aims to accelerate approvals; it does not itself authorize construction.
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