• The annual overall production value of the Canadian mining, mineral-processing and metal-producing industries is approximately $50 billion.
• Canada ranks first in the world for the production of potash and uranium and in the top five for the production of nickel, asbestos, zinc, cadmium, titanium concentrate, aluminum, platinum group metals, salt, molybdenum, copper, gypsum, cobalt and diamonds.
• Canada is the world's third-largest producer of diamonds, providing 15 per cent of the world's supply.
• The Toronto Stock Exchange is the mine financing capital of the world, raising an average of $2.5 billion a year in new equity capital. It lists some 280 mining companies with a market capitalization of $80 billion.
• The growth of the mining industry has regularly been twice the rate of the Canadian economy. Economic indicators suggest that this rate of growth is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.
• As the average age of the minerals and mining industry workforce is higher than that of the Canadian workforce in general (Statistics Canada), about 40 per cent of the employees in the mining industry are expected to retire by 2018.
• Over the next decade, the mining industry will require some 92,000 new workers.
• The mining industry offers the opportunity for a wide range of careers. For example, as well as mining engineers, chemical engineers, environmental scientists, geologists and numerous other occupations directly associated with the industry, there are opportunities for financial analysts, lawyers, computer specialists, carpenters, blasters, welders, construction equipment operators and several other trades, as well as administrators and office support staff.

The mining industry is working hard to find workers with the needed skills because:

• Canada competes with the mining sectors in such countries as Australia, South Africa, Brazil and the United Kingdom in an escalating national and global talent war.
• The mining industry competes with the oil, gas, utilities and construction sectors, which require workers with similar skills.
• Legislation and regulations limit labour mobility, inter-provincially and internationally.
• The education system is producing too few graduates. Current projections indicate that fewer than 14,000 graduates will enroll in mining-related post-secondary programs in the next decade â€" far short of the anticipated 100,000 required.
• According to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers annual mining survey, mining is one of the highest paying industries in Canada.
• Check out www.acareerinmining.ca for more information on the mining industry and the opportunities on offer.