Hope this compliments Babjak's postings. Came from Casey Research.

Plan Nord: Overview

By Andrey Dashkov and Alena Mikhan

On May 9, Quebec Premier Jean Charest and ministers of the local government announced Plan Nord. The project is meant to attract a total investment of C$80 billion to the province economy over the next 25 years. C$47 billion of the total are planned to go into renewable energy development, the remaining C$33 billion into the mining sector, including infrastructure.

The plan states that the 1.2-million-square-kilometer territory it covers "produces all of Quebec's nickel, cobalt, platinum group metals, zinc, iron ore and ilmenite, and accounts for a significant portion of gold production. Lithium, vanadium and rare earth metals are also found there."

Plan Nord is clearly good news for the local mining industry. Quebec's authorities often claim they are pro-mining, and survey data prove they can deliver: Quebec is the fourth among the top 10 mining-friendly jurisdictions in the world, according to a report published by the Fraser Institute this March. In fact, it had been ranked number one for three years, but slipped to the fourth position after a mining duty increase announced last spring. The province has long been one of our favorites.

Once the plan starts to be implemented, investor perception of the local economy may change to the better. However, there are groups already opposing it, including some members of the indigenous population. The government assures that the First Nations bands will benefit from the plan, and it's hard to argue: the plan means jobs and better infrastructure at the very least. The natives, however, seem skeptical. Ghislain Picard, the Chief of Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, said that First Nations had not been consulted on the Nord Plan and their interests were not taken into consideration to the extent they had desired:

"First Nations do not wish to be involved just in the development of Northern Quebec, they insist on a co-development and a co-management of the territory. There's no question for First Nations to participate in a project without our titles, our rights, our interests and our aspirations being fully taken into account."

Quebec authorities are smart enough to know what they need to do to attract foreign investment, and Quebec is already among the best jurisdictions, globally. How the government and private agents implementing the plan deal with the claims of the indigenous population is crucial. A conflict or a misunderstanding between the natives and the miners always increases investment risk. All the stakeholders know this, so we expect great care to be taken to reach mutually beneficial and satisfactory arrangements.

We'll be keeping an eye on developments in this premium mining jurisdiction. For now, whatever its fate, the plan is certainly an indication that those in power in Quebec want to see more mining in the province, a very good thing.