Australia’s Mining Investment Rankings Plummet in Latest Fraser Institute Survey

Australia’s reputation as one of the world’s best mining investment destinations has taken a big hit, with the country’s mining jurisdictions falling dramatically across the board in the Fraser Institute’s latest annual survey of mining companies.

Rated number one not long ago and fourth in the previous survey, Western Australia fell to 17th on the back of concerns of regulatory uncertainty and state and federal policy issues.

Queensland dropped from 13th to 39th, South Australia from 19th to 35th, the Northern Territory from 22nd to 38th, New South Wales from 34th to 62nd, Victoria from 48 to 63rd and Tasmania, which had the lowest ranking at 71, falling from 33rd.

A Dark Shadow

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) said the results cast a dark shadow over the Australian resources industry.

“For the first time in living memory, no Australian jurisdiction appears in the top 10; in comparison, the US has four jurisdictions in the top 10,” AMEC chief executive Warren Pearce said.

“Regrettably, many of the concerns raised, reflect what Australian industry has been saying for some time, primarily about increased uncertainty around land access and approvals [and] this is a timely reminder that we have to stay match fit if we want to keep winning international investment.”

Mr Pearce did concede that the federal and state governments had been actively working with the industry over the past year on many of the key issues raised.

“Federally, the Commonwealth has thrown out contentious nature positive reforms and started again, pursuing improvements to our environmental legislation that we hope will support a simpler and more certain process,” he said

Finland Ranked Top

The latest Fraser Institute survey rated Finland as the most attractive jurisdiction, followed by Nevada and Alaska, ahead of Wyoming and Arizona.

The least-attractive jurisdiction on the investment attractiveness index is Ethiopia, followed by Suriname, Niger, Nova Scotia, and Mozambique.

On policies alone, the Republic of Ireland ranks first, while Bolivia ranked last.

This year’s report ranked 82 jurisdictions around the world based on their geologic attractiveness (minerals and metals) and government policies that encourage or deter exploration and investment.