Quebec underground mined by foreigners: our prized resources in Toronto and British Columbia

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Exploration companies in British Columbia and Ontario alone hold nearly as many mineral exploration rights as those in Quebec, according to our data analysis. Bureau of Investigation.

They hold 42% of active mining claims here. BC firms hold 26%, while Ontario firms hold 16%. 

Number of claims belonging to holders based elsewhere in Canada

Source: GESTIM, the mining title management system of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Data extracted 6 February 2023.

According to the experts we consulted, this can be explained, among other things, because the sums required for exploration are considerable. 

“In general, Quebec has less capital than the 'Ontario. There is perhaps one claim out of 500 which will give rise to a mine. You have to understand that the risk at the start is colossal. We are in a system in which we cannot develop venture capital of this type,” explains Michel Jébrak, professor emeritus at UQAM. 

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In 2021, there was $990 million in investment in mineral exploration in Quebec, according to a report by the Quebec Institute of Statistics published last year. 

Valérie Fillion, director general of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association, does not believe that it would have been possible to raise so much money in Quebec alone. 

EXPERTISE HAS MIGRATED

Professor Jébrak points out that, since the closure of the Montreal stock exchange, the expertise of the business world has migrated to the two Canadian stock exchanges, namely that of Toronto and that of Vancouver. 

The “[Vancouver Stock Exchange], one of its specializations is mining exploration companies,” notes Ugo Lapointe, of the organization Pour que le Québec a mieux mine. 

The big operating companies, those who will manage the active mines, are mainly based in Toronto, according to him. 

“It often happens that it is Quebecers who are in these companies. They will go and settle where there are skills,” says Michel Jébrak. 

Valérie Fillion is going in the same direction. She affirms that many Quebecers work in these companies. 

According to her, the fact of settling elsewhere than in Quebec is a choice that companies make to be closer to investors or because “the president of the company lives there”.

Claim Provenance

Quebec Canada International

Methodology

Source: GESTIM, the mining title management system of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests. Data extracted on February 6, 2023.

Our Bureau of Investigation analyzed all claim holders in Quebec, who held 281 243 active claims as of February 6, 2023. These represent 14.5M hectares of explorable territory. The nationality was determined according to the head office, the address of the main shareholder and the addresses present on GESTIM.

Several companies can jointly hold the same claim. We have calculated the number of titles and the area held by each owner in proportion to the rights they hold on each claim.

In the map, the color used represents the nationality of the owner who holds the largest part of the claim. In case of equal separation of the claim, a mixture of colors is used.