The Conference Board of Canada says mining in northern Saskatchewan is expected to double by 2020.
The agency says real mining production is forecast to double from $190 million in 2011 to $388 million in 2020.
The conference board says gold projects in La Ronge and Goldfields, along with the new Cigar Lake uranium mine and the province’s first diamond mine, will contribute to this growth.
Employment for northern Saskatchewan residents is expected to double from 1,970 in 2011 to more than 3,500 in 2020.
However, the report’s author, Anja Jeffrey, cautions there are some challenges to these projections including questions around Aboriginal rights.
“The lack of skilled labour to realize this potential. The lack of infrastructure and also, sometimes, the lack of cooperation between Aboriginal populations and industry and government.”
She adds many corporations have to provide their own infrastructure for things like airstrips and feels this is an area where government could lend a hand to companies.