Western Australia has been ranked the world’s most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment, with South Australia also among the top-10, according to a global survey by the Fraser Institute.
The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research organisation which surveyed 290 people from August to November 2021 to evaluate and rank 84 mining jurisdictions.
Western Australia was previously ranked first in 2019 before falling to fourth in 2020, but has since risen back atop the table with a score of 90.21 to replace Nevada which fell to third.
Fraser Institute policy analyst Jairo Yunis explained what had kept Western Australia in the top-five jurisdictions for five consecutive years.
“A sound regulatory regime coupled with competitive taxes make a jurisdiction attractive to investors,” Yunis said.
South Australia fell almost five points to 81.7 to rank at number 10 in the world, followed in Australia by the Northern Territory (14th in the world) and Queensland (18th).
Victoria was the worst performing state of Australia with a score of 64.13 and a global rank of 39 out of 84.
New South Wales was marginally better in 33rd on a score of 66.48.
The Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable commended Western Australia but noted some room for improvement in Australia.
“Australia has again rated favourably against our competitors, with five states ranked inside the top twenty mining regions in the world,” she said.
“The report also notes that Australia continues to be the most attractive region in the world for mining investment based on an average of all states; however, it also highlights that all states experienced a deterioration in their ratings of policy perception.
“There is an urgent need for governments to address this slide.”
Australia was not the only region to report a fall in policy perception, with all others also falling from 2020 to 2021.