Namibia has been ranked 59th out of 84 jurisdictions surveyed in the Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2021, seen as a benchmark of a country or region’s attractiveness to mining investment.
The ranking is one of Namibia’s lowest ever and compares with 52nd out of 77 in 2020 and 68th out of 76 the year earlier.
Namibia’s highest ever ranking, 25th out of 91 was achieved in 2017.
However the survey also highlighted that Namibia is one of three African countries that did not see declines in their policy scores.
The index considers both policy and mineral potential and other metrics based on responses from companies operating and exploring in these jurisdictions.
“We received a total of 290 responses for the survey, providing sufficient data to evaluate 84 jurisdictions. By way of comparison, 77 jurisdictions were evaluated in 2020, 76 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 91 in 2017. The number of jurisdictions that can be included in the study tends to wax and wane as the mining sector grows or shrinks due to commodity prices and sectoral factors. This year’s survey includes an analysis of permit times, as did last year’s survey,” survey report reads in part.
The top jurisdiction in the world for investment based on the Investment Attractiveness Index is Western Australia, which moved up from 4th place in 2020. Saskatchewan continues to be on the podium, going from a rank of 3rd in 2020 to 2nd this year. Nevada, which topped the ranking last year, ranked 3rd in 2021. Rounding out the top 10 are Alaska, Arizona, Quebec, Idaho, Morocco, Yukon, and South Australia. The United States has the most jurisdictions (4) in this year’s top 10, followed by Canada (3), Australia (2), and Africa (1).
When considering both policy and mineral potential in the Investment Attractiveness Index, Zimbabwe ranks as the least attractive jurisdiction in the world for investment followed by Spain, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Mali. Also, in the bottom 10 (beginning with the worst) are Nicaragua, China, Panama, Mendoza, Venezuela, and South Africa. Latin America (including Argentina and the Caribbean) and Africa are the regions with the greatest number of jurisdictions (4) in the bottom 10. Asia, which features once again in our analysis for the first time since 2018, and Europe, both contribute with one jurisdiction each in the bottom 10.
“Botswana is no longer the highest ranked jurisdiction in Africa on policy, ranking 31th (of 84) this year after ranking 15th (of 77) in 2020. Botswana’s significant decrease in its PPI score—a 22 percent drop—reflects increased concerns over the uncertainty concerning protected areas (+63 points), its political stability (+38 points), its labour regulations/employment conditions (+38 points), and its taxation regime (+38 points),” the report notes.