Ireland has the most attractive corporate taxation regime in the world for mining, according to a detailed survey of the industry by a respected Canadian think-tank.

The Fraser Institute has since 1997 conducted an annual survey of global mining companies about the regimes for mining and resource exploration around the world.

Ireland topped a list of 122 jurisdictions in the recently-released 2014 survey under the headings of tax, political stability and the industry’s perceptions of government policy in the area.

Ireland performed relatively poorly, however, when it came to the certainty of rules surrounding environmental protection.

Infrastructure

The State also scored 14th overall for the quality of infrastructure, coming in behind countries such as Spain, France and Portugal.

The country scored in the top 10 for most of the performance criteria, including for the quality of the legal system, the removal of trade barriers and security.

Ireland came in 11th overall on the list of the most attractive locations globally for mining. The top five spots were taken by Finland, Saskatchewan in Canada, Nevada, Manitoba and Western Australia. Ireland was the second-highest ranking European country after Finland.

Some of the anonymous comments submitted by survey respondents were critical of Ireland, however.

Criticism

One criticised the “extremely slow decision making”, presumably of officials, in this country. Another noted that Ireland needs to “ensure smooth procedures for drilling”.

The Irish mining industry is centred around zinc production, with a handful of companies also engaged in exploration for resources such as gold. The Border counties are particular hotspots for this type of activity.

An Indecon report in 2012 estimated the economic impact of mining in Ireland at about €810 million.