The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is lobbying Ottawa to strengthen an exploration tax credit program and commit infrastructure dollars to support remote development projects.
PDAC released its list of priorities, Feb. 2, as part of a pre-budget submission to the federal government.
"With financing for exploration falling over 90 per cent since 2007, policy tools that encourage investment in exploration and ensure that the money raised is spent in Canada are extremely important," said PDAC president Rod Thomas in a statement. "To address this financing downturn, PDAC is calling for the increase of the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) to 30 said for a period of three years. This will provide much-needed predictability to investors and foster confidence that will help capital flow back to exploration companies."
The lack of investment capital for exploration has resulted in a prolonged slump in the junior mining sector.
PDAC said remote exploration projects cost up to 2.27 times more than non-remote projects, with extremely remote projects costing six times more, which hinder both exploration and economic development in these regions.
The PDAC further supports the government’s concept of creating an infrastructure bank and is lobbying for dedicated funds for resource development-related infrastructure projects in remote and northern Canada.
