[CARTES] Of the 22 mines in Quebec, 20 are owned by foreigners

Only 2 of the 22 Quebec mines are owned by local companies, according to a review conducted Newspaper. In Ontario, however, local companies own about half of the province’s mines.

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As of 2009, Quebec companies own three of the five most promising mining projects in our territory: Canadian Malartic (gold), Canadian royalties (nickel) and Lock Bloom (iron). Today, all of these projects have become mines owned by companies outside of Quebec.

“It simply came to our notice then. It is a shame to see that we are developing mining projects in Quebec and will lose them at some point. But whether we like it or not, globalization has an impact, “said Eric Lemieux, a former mining analyst at Lawrence Bank and now a consultant in the field.

Ontario, China, Australia …

Canadian Malartic, now the largest gold mine in Canada, has been owned by Toronto-based gold companies Agnico Eagle and Yemeni Gold since 2014. Canadian royalties have been held by Chinese interests since 2009, but the Bloom Lake mine was owned by an American group and then by an Australian company.

Currently, only two mines in Quebec are owned by local companies, owned by Abtib Small Elder Gold Mines, Abcourt Mines, and Renard Diamond Mine Stornoway, which are controlled by Kaisse Depot and Investment Quebec after serious experience. Financial difficulties.

The Beaufort gold mine, owned by Montreal-based Monarch, is set to open later this year.

In Ontario, the picture is very different. Less than 17 of the 35 mines in the province are owned in whole or in part by companies headquartered there.

The situation is largely explained by the fact that the world’s largest gold-producing companies are based in Toronto and operate mines in Ontario.

“The Toronto Stock Exchange is a global player in the field of mining. There is a lot of trading going on, so it certainly does. Hub [centre d’affaires] Choice for big companies, ”said Maxime Guilbault, partner at accounting firm PwC and an expert in the mining sector.