As one of the largest users of Canada’s transportation sector, the mining industry’s success depends on its ability to move its products to market efficiently, at competitive prices and on modern infrastructure such as ports, roads and railways.
Mining is the largest rail shipper by both freight revenue and volume. It is also a leading customer of Canadian ports and accounts for a sizeable amount of the value of Canadian exports moved by ship to international markets. The industry also relies on all-weather roads and highways to ship goods by truck, which plays a smaller yet important role in moving mining products.
Power generation is also critical and the industry is currently facing some challenges at the mine-site level. Although advancements have made mines much more energy efficient than in the past, today’s older and deeper mines require more energy to extract the same amount of ore. Mines in northern Canada face a special energy challenge because of the lack of electrical grid capacity.
An efficient and effective infrastructure network is critical to the Canadian mining industry’s competitiveness and Canada’s ability to attract new investment. MAC continues to advocate for more government investment in the infrastructure the industry requires to operate and deliver its products to market.
