The total value of mineral production in Canada in 1991 decreased by 14.6%, or about $6 billion, from the 1990 level, Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (EMR) reports.
EMR said this decline was mainly the result of lower prices, although some commodities also recorded lower volumes of output. Decreases in the value of output were incurred by all four commodity groups: metals, non-metals, structural materials and fuels.
Significant declines in the average prices of crude petroleum and metallic minerals accounted for most of the decrease in the overall value of production.
Based on estimates prepared by EMR, the total value of production of all mineral commodities (metallics, non-metallics, structural materials and fuels) fell to $34.8 billion in 1991 from $40.8 billion in 1990. Excluding fuels, the value of production declined to $15 billion from $17.8 billion in 1990, a decrease of 15.9%.
The total value of metallic mineral production fell by 16.6% to $10.4 billion in 1991 from $12.5 billion in 1990, reflecting the general downward trend of metal prices throughout the year.
The most significant decline was recorded by zinc, with both a lower volume of production and much lower prices in 1991. Overall, the value of zinc production fell from $2.3 billion in 1990 to $1.4 billion in 1991, a decline of 40.6%.
Although gold prices fell in 1991, a 5.6% increase in production volume held the decrease in the value of gold output to 2.2%. This allowed gold to take over as the leading metal in terms of the value of production. Gold output was valued at $2.4 billion in 1991, followed by copper output valued at $2.1 billion. Although copper had claimed first place in 1990, it recorded a 13.5% drop in production value in 1991 as a result of lower prices. Of the leading metallic minerals, iron ore was the only commodity to achieve an increase in the value of output. With a 0.8% gain in the volume of production, the value of iron ore output rose to $1.3 billion, an increase of 3.9% over 1990.
The value of output for the non-metallics, which includes minerals such as asbestos, potash, salt and sulphur, declined by 9.7% to $2.3 billion from $2.5 billion in 1990. The structural materials group, which includes the production of sand and gravel, stone, cement and lime, fell to $2.3 billion from $2.8 billion, a decrease of 18.2 %.
Within the non-fuel sector of the mineral industry, the top commodities in terms of value of production in 1991 were: gold ($2.4 billion), copper ($2.1 billion), nickel ($1.8 billion), zinc ($1.4 billion), iron ore ($1.3 billion) and potash ($0.9 billion).
On a provincial basis, Ontario contributed the largest share of non-fuel mineral output, accounting for 33.2% of the total, followed by Quebec (19.6%), British Columbia (12.7%), Saskatchewan (7.9%) and Manitoba (6.9%). The other provinces and territories accounted for the remaining 19.7%.
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