Mining investment up in Québec in 2022

Notice of release

Québec, October 31, 2023. ‒ In 2022, total investment expenditures in the Québec mining sector were up 10.9% to $4,762 million. Mine complex development, capital, and repair and maintenance work expenditures increased by 16.5% to $3,848 million. Exploration and deposit appraisal work expenditures decreased by 7.7% to $914 million.

This information comes from the publication L’investissement minier au Québec en 2022 released today by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.

Mining expenditures up in the Nord-du-Québec and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions

Québec’s three main mining regions—Nord-du-Québec, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Côte-Nord—accounted for 94.3% of expenditures in Québec. In the regions of Nord-du-Québec and Abitibi-Témiscamingue, expenditures increased by 21.5% and 33.7%, respectively, in 2022. For the Côte-Nord region, mining expenditures declined by 24.0%.

Precious metals in high demand

Precious metals, particularly gold, remained the most sought-after commodities in Québec. They represented 64.1% of exploration and deposit appraisal work expenditures in 2022, for a total of $585 million. They were followed by base metals (19.5% for a total of $179 million). Graphite, lithium and rare earths, commodities used in new technologies, accounted for 12.0% ($110 million).

Québec companies accounted for a quarter of exploration work expenditures

In total, 88.2% of exploration and deposit appraisal work expenditures incurred in 2022 were attributable to Canadian companies: 25.0% were made by Québec companies and 63.2% by companies located elsewhere in Canada.

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