The Government of Saskatchewan has proclaimed May 26-June 1, Mining Week in Saskatchewan. This year, the annual event organized by the Saskatchewan Mining Association, will highlight the resilience of the industry that has continued to grow through challenging economic times.
"Steady exploration activity and industry expansions continue to reflect the positive investment climate in the province," Energy and Resources Minister Tim McMillan said. "Saskatchewan is unique, our world class mineral resources are found from border to border and generated more than $7.4 billion in sales for the province last year. The industry provides a multitude of jobs with more than 30,500 people directly and indirectly employed in the mining sector."
The government continues to make changes aimed at improving Saskatchewan's competitive advantage. In March, the Minister of Finance announced changes to the uranium royalty structure in the 2013-14 Budget. To encourage new mine and expansion opportunities, the royalty structure now recognizes actual costs incurred by industry.
Last year Saskatchewan introduced the Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan or MARS, an online claim staking system. Applications are up and processing times have been significantly reduced. The latest numbers show that 596 claims, covering more than 1.6 million hectares, have been issued since MARS was launched less than six months ago.
