Friday, August 27, 2010

Botswana retains eighth place position in Mining Survey

source: Republic of Botswana TAUTONA TIMES of 15/8/2010
The Electronic Press Circular of the Office of the President
"Democracy, Development, Dignity, Discipline and Delivery"


C2) 11/8/10: Botswana retains eighth place position in Mining Survey

Botswana once more retained its top-10 position in the Fraser Institute's 2010 Midyear Survey of Mining Companies, which was released today in Toronto.

According to the influential survey Botswana's retains it eighth place ranking in the world and first position in the developing world as an attractive investment location among major mining jurisdictions. The country's overall score has also improved, climbing to 79.3 up from the previous survey's 77.8.

The top 10 jurisdictions besides Botswana were the Canadian Provinces of Alberta, Quebec, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland-Labrador, the US States of Alaska and Nevada, along with Chile and Finland.

In its focus on Africa the report took note of the continent's great potential but uneven performance and prospects, quoting one anonymous executive's observation that:

"Africa, having some of the world's most significant undeveloped resources, has one of the most attractive jurisdictions with respect to exploration and development- Botswana- and one of the worse-DRC."

The scores for major African mining jurisdictions were: Botswana (79.3), Ghana (54.4), Tanzania (52.9), Namibia (50.4), Zambia (47.1), South Africa (39.6), DRC (29.6), and Zimbabwe (14.2).

The biggest change from the previous survey among jurisdictions once considered mining-friendly was Australia, which saw a dramatic decrease in the rankings of all of its provinces, an outcome which was attributed to negative reaction to its government's proposed Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT). Although the tax was cancelled after the survey was conducted, the Institute notes that Australian miners still face significant tax increases:

The Institute's 2010 Mid-Year Update is based on feedback received from executives representing 429 mineral exploration and development companies focusing on the investment climate of 51 leading mining jurisdictions around the world.

This year's update is said to be especially significant in that it was conducted following the global recovery in commodity prices and the introduction of new regulatory hurdles and taxation in many jurisdictions.

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with ties to a global network of 75 think tanks. Its stated mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals. To protect its independence, the Institute does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research.

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