Saskatchewan remains Canada’s top-rated jurisdiction for mining investment, according to the Annual Survey of Mining Companies released in May by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. Utah is the top-ranked jurisdiction worldwide for mining investment in this year’s survey, followed by Nevada.

“The Fraser Institute’s mining survey is the most comprehensive report on government policies that either encourages or discourages mining investment, and Saskatchewan remains not only the top choice in Canada, but third overall globally,” said Elmira Aliakbari, director of the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Natural Resource Studies and co-author of the study.

This year’s report ranks 86 jurisdictions around the world based on their geologic attractiveness (minerals and metals) and government policies that encourage or discourage exploration and investment, including permit times. On overall investment attractiveness, Saskatchewan ranks in the global top three for the fifth time in six years (and in third overall for the second year in a row), followed by Quebec at fifth, Manitoba sixth, Newfoundland & Labrador at ninth and Ontario in tenth.