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Secure land tenure

Ontario's Mining Act provides security of mining land tenure and fair and transparent mining law, allowing your company to plan long-term growth.

In 2014, there were 235,000 active mining claim units in good standing in Ontario. Over the past decade, the annual number of claim units in good standing has remained above 200,000 in every year – underlining a strong desire of claimholders to retain their properties.

$11.0 billion and growing

Ontario's mineral production has shown solid growth over the past 10 years, with a total value of $11.0 billion in 2014, and is forecast to keep growing in the long term.

Ontario's real GDP is also expected to steadily grow. The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Canada the best country in the G7 in which to do business from 2014 to 2018.

In Ontario, you will find a diversified economy with a highly skilled workforce and abundant natural resources. Our economy has a proven record of weathering economic uncertainty in global markets, allowing you to focus on the future.

Purchasing claim maps

Mining claim maps are available for purchase from the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

Is your company where the action is?

Ontario offers highly competitive business costs that can boost your company's growth and profitability:

• on a global level, Ontario ranks among the top ten regions for both exploration spending and production of platinum group metals (PGMs), nickel and cobalt
• in 2014, mining companies in Ontario spent $500 million on over 300 exploration projects ranging from prospecting to advanced exploration
• Ontario produces more than $10 billion worth of mining supplies and services every year
• we attract more exploration spending and produce more minerals by value than any other jurisdiction in Canada

Ontario mining sites

Over 300 mineral exploration projects are currently underway in Ontario. A vast metal mining camp is opening up in the Ring of Fire in Ontario's Far North, where at least two major deposits are being developed, including North America's largest chromite deposit, the Black Thor, and the Eagle's Nest nickel-copper deposit.

The information you need

Need more specific information? We offer a comprehensive array of maps, surveys, reports and digital data to help you make an informed decision for your business operations. Contact us to find out more.

How Ontario compares

The global mining industry gets business done in Ontario. That means that you'll have access to markets and capital, whether you're in mining finance or looking for capital to grow your business.

• Approximately 1,500 mining companies are currently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX-V), including more than half of the public mining companies in the world.
• Capital investment and development in Ontario's mining industry has increased from $453 million in 2002 to 1.3 billion in 2014.
• In 2014, more than half of all new mining equity capital raised in the world took place on the TSX and TSX-V.

Grow with the right talent

If you are looking for the right people, Ontario offers a deep talent pool for sourcing mining, energy and infrastructure industry personnel, including managerial and technical staff. You will find one of the best mining education clusters in the world to support your company's growth.

Ontario has the best educated workforce in the G7. Over 68% of the population has a post-secondary degree.

Nineteen of Ontario's 20 universities and 24 colleges have world-class mining, geology and engineering programs. In addition, Ontario's mining industry is supported by an array of R&D institutes. Explore the map to see where our programs are located.

A record of safe mining operations

Our workforce also helps to ensure safe mining operations. Ontario is one of the safest mining jurisdictions in the world and continues to improve both the lost time injury rate and total medical injury rate.

• Ontario's 2013 lost time injury rate for total mining and contractors was 0.4 per 200,000 employee hours while in 2012 it was 0.5.
• Our 2013 total medical injuries for total mining and contractors was 5.3 per 200,000 employee hours while in 2012 it was 5.5.

Lower corporate tax rates

Ontario offers across-the-board savings on taxes:

• we offer a lower corporate tax rate than the U.S. average
• we also offer one of the most internationally competitive corporate tax rates for mining according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Report on Canadian Mining 2013
• our corporate income tax rate (CIT, provincial and federal combined) is lower than the average of G20 countries and lower than the average federal-state CIT rate in the United States
• we also provide an additional 5% tax credit on top of the 15% federal Mineral Exploration Tax Credit

The lowest overall business costs in the G7

In Ontario, you'll benefit from highly competitive business costs that can boost your company's growth and profitability.

Generous tax incentives

• Combined with federal R&D programs, Ontario's R&D tax program can reduce your after-tax cost of every $100 in R&D spending to about $61, or $37 for small businesses.
• Ontario mining companies spent just under $100 million on R&D in 2011, and $48 million in 2010. That's proof that if innovation is part of your business, Ontario is the right place to be.

Leverage government support

The Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation invests in research to assist mining companies in the areas of exploration, deep mining, integrated mine engineering, the environment and sustainability.

The Ontario Geological Survey provides electronic geological, geophysical and geological maps and data. OGSEarth allows you to view this data using geographic information programs such as Google Earth.

In 2015, the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate (NIER) Program was made permanent. The program will provide $120 million annually to support large industrial users in Northern Ontario, including several mining companies, reducing their electricity costs up to 25%.

The federal Mineral Exploration Tax Credit program provides investors in the flow through shares of mineral exploration companies working in Canada a 15% tax credit. Ontario provides an additional 5% credit for companies exploring in the province. This program allows tax deductions for exploration to be passed on to investors. In 2013, a $1,000 investment in flow through shares for exploration in Ontario cost just $408 after federal and provincial deductions.

Ontario has updated its Mining Act to provide more clarity and certainty to the mineral industry while respecting the rights of Aboriginal communities and private landowners. As part of its ongoing Mining Act Modernization (MAM) process, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) is moving to implement province-wide online claim staking and online mining claims management.