Survey says Nevada no longer atop mining list

For the first time in six years, Nevada fell out of top position in a survey of mining executives worldwide when they're asked to rate the best locations for their industry.

But no one including researchers at the Canadian think tank that conducts the survey thinks the change is anything worth worrying about.

The annual survey of mining executives by The Fraser Institute of Vancouver asks them about two aspects of the industry: The areas with best mineral deposits and the areas in which the political climate allows miners to work without fear of losing their investments or their lives.

The 333 mining executives who responded to the survey this year gave top marks to two Canadian provinces Manitoba and Alberta and ranked Nevada third.

But the differences between the top three places are so small that they're hardly worth worrying about, said Fred McMahon, a survey coordinator.

The survey gave Nevada's mineral deposits the top ranking of any in the world, up from second place a year ago, but survey respondents were slightly less enthusiastic about the political environment in the state.

That puzzles Russ Fields, the president of the Nevada Mining Association of mining, who notes that nothing noteworthy has changed on the state's political front in the past year.

And he notes that even though mining executives say they are a little more concerned about the state's political climate, they continue to pour millions of dollars into exploration around the state for deposits of gold and other minerals that they view as the most attractive in the world.

"I'm gratified that Nevada still remains among the very top, the elite in the world," Fields says.

None of the mining executives who responded said Nevada's political climate causes them pause. Seventy-three percent said the state encourages investment while 27 percent said state policies aren't a deterrent.

"Nevada (is) practical, known, stable," an exploration company president responded to the survey.

McMahon says changes in the survey's rankings become significant only if they persist over time or if they're dramatic.

In the past year, for instance, mining executives got considerably more nervous about doing business in Chile and dropped the South American nation from their top 10 down to 27th ranking among the 65 locations that were studied.

Political uncertainty is a major worry for the industry worldwide, the survey found.

"Above all, mineral exploration companies value stability and certainty when it comes to government policy," McMahon says.