Report sketches optimistic outlook for BC mining sector
VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The mining industry in British Columbia is cautiously optimistic as prices of key metal and resource commodities either rose or stabilised in 2016, new analysis by professional services firm PwC Canada has found.
The trend continued into the first quarter, building on net mining revenues rising to C$7.3-billion in 2016, up from C$6.3-billion in 2015, boosted by an increase in gross mining revenue and a decrease in costs for smelting, refining charges and freight costs.
"The last year was another challenging year for the British Columbia mining industry due to the continued volatility in global metal and mineral prices. However, since the end of 2016, we've seen an upward trend in prices of the commodities that are key to British Columbia’s mining results. British Columbia mining companies continued to work hard to keep their costs under control," provincial mining leader and partner Mark Platt said in a press release.
According to the report, gross mining revenue increased to C$8.7-billion in 2016, from C$7.7-billion in 2015. Cash flow from operations and capital expenditures also showed encouraging improvement year-on-year. The price of global commodities, in particular coal and copper, started to pick up again towards the end of year and held their ground into the first part of 2017, which augurs well for the provincial mining industry in 2017.
Jobs are also slowly returning to the sector as mines advance, open or restart across the province. The report indicates the number of jobs directly related to the survey participants increased to 9 329 in 2016, up from 9 221 in 2015. Northern British Columbia was one of the bright spots with the reopening of two metallurgical coal mines and a third set to open this summer.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation