Taking Canada’s mining industry to the next stage of growth

Taking Canada’s mining industry to the next stage of growth

As I contemplate what the future holds for the Canadian mining industry, I can’t help but stop and think of all the ups and downs that I’ve seen over the course of my career: from $300/oz gold in the early 2000s to the move away from hedging and the rise to over $1,800/oz; from chasing increased production to the renewed focus on capital allocation; from transformative acquisitions funded by debt to significant impairments and balance sheet cleanup. It’s fair to say that the mining industry isn’t for the faint of heart.  

But as a nation gifted with tremendous natural resource wealth, Canada reaps major economic benefits from mining, not only in the far north and remote communities where many of these resources are located but also in the financial capitals of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. As noted by Natural Resources Canada in the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan released earlier this year, Canada is a global mining powerhouse.

With that in mind, I’m honoured to lead our passionate team of mining and metals professionals as the new National Mining Leader @PwC_Canada. Whether you’re looking to improve operational effectiveness, manage the convergence of information and operational technology, deliver value in a deal and post-merger integration or navigate risk and regulatory complexity, our dedicated team of industry professionals is ready to support you with transformative solutions.

As we move into the last quarter of 2019, we’re thinking about the year ahead and what it means for the mining industry. The current year has been an interesting one for mining companies, coming off a successful 2018 with hopes for more improvement in 2019. Mergers and acquisition activity has heralded a significant reshaping of an industry that has signalled that it’s moving past waiting for metal prices to return to prior highs. Even so, this year has been a good one on that front as economic worries have helped to push prices for a resource that has long dominated the Canadian industry—gold—to higher levels.

But as our recently launched global report on the mining industry showed, companies face a number of challenges even with the recent improvements in the business environment. With investors yet to buy into the sector’s renewed optimism, companies are still struggling to access the capital they need to replenish their reserves and position themselves for growth in the long term. To get over that hurdle, we believe the mining industry needs to focus on its brand.

In our look at the global report from a Canadian lens, we identified some of the opportunities for our industry to promote its brand. From boosting their profile through mergers and acquisitions to highlighting their success in promoting diversity to increasing awareness of their contributions to Canadian society and our economy, mining companies have many options for improving their brand in the eyes not only of investors but also their many stakeholders.

It’s an exciting time for the mining sector, which touches people’s lives in many ways. Whether it’s the lithium in the batteries powering electric vehicles or the royalties and taxes paid by the many players in Canada’s mining sector, the industry makes major contributions to our society. The challenge is for all of us to come together to help make people more aware of those contributions so mining companies can position themselves for success in a rapidly shifting business environment.

As PwC Canada’s National Mining Leader, I look forward to being part of those conversations with you. I urge you to take a look at our new report and am excited to discuss your goals and solutions to your business challenges with you. Please feel free to get in touch any time: kevin.t.chan@pwc.com.

Ken Su

Partner, Transaction Services, Deal Advisory | Team Lead Support, Rapid Response Team | KPMG Canada

4y

Congratulations

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Charlotte Blakeman CA, CPA

Strategic Finance Director | Sustainability & ESG Finance | Deals | ESG Reporting | Focused on advising private equity and businesses navigate complex problems to help unlock value

4y

Congratulations Kevin!

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Amy Cheng

Corporate and International Tax Advisor

4y

Congratulations!

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Bob Bosshard CPA,CA ICD.D

Chair - Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB)

4y

Kevin very many congratulations. A great choice

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