Canada is located in the northern part of the North American continent and is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the north by the Arctic Ocean. Its neighbor to the south is the United States of America. With a total area of 9,984,670 km2, it is the second largest country in the world and has a population of 34,300,083 as of July 2011. The climate in the country varies from subarctic and arctic in the north to temperate in the south.
Canada’s natural resources are rich and varied. Nickel, iron ore, gold, silver, diamonds, coal, oil and much more are mined here.
Resource Overview
Canada is rich in mineral resources and the Canadian mineral industry is one of the major industries in the world. Canada’s mining sector attracts about $20 billion in investment annually. The extraction of natural gas and oil, coal and oil products was estimated at 41.5 billion. Doll. USA in 2010. Nearly 21% of Canada’s total merchandise export value comes from minerals. Over the past few years, Canada has been a top location for investment in exploration.
In terms of global resource production, Canada:
Metals
Canada’s main metal reserves are distributed throughout the country. But the main reserves are concentrated in the Rocky Mountains and coastal areas. Minor base metal deposits can be found in Quebec, British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick. Indium, tin, antimony, nickel and tungsten are mined here.
Major producers of aluminum and iron ore are located in Montreal. Much of Canada’s molybdenum exploration activity has taken place in British Columbia. In 2010 Gibraltar Mines Ltd copper-molybdenum mine. increased molybdenum production by 50% (approximately 427 tons) compared to 2009. Numerous exploration projects for indium and tin have been ongoing since 2010. Tungsten mining companies resumed mining in 2009 as demand for the metal increased along with rising prices.
Industrial minerals and gems
Diamond mining in Canada in 2010 reached 11,773 thousand. carats. In 2009, the Ekati mine provided 39% of all diamond production in Canada and 3% of the total diamond production in the world. Several preliminary diamond studies are underway in the Northwest region. These are the regions of Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Nunavut Territory, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Similarly, lithium mining research is underway in these regions.
Feasibility study and testing of fluorspar is carried out in many areas.
The mouth of the MacArthur River in Saskatchewan is the world’s largest and highest-producing uranium deposit, with an annual production of about 8,200 tons.
Fossil fuel
As of 2010, Canada’s natural gas reserves were 1,750 billion. m3, and coal reserves, including anthracite, bituminosis and lignite 6,578,000 tons. Alberta’s bitumen reserves could reach 2.5 trillion barrels.
Flora and fauna
Speaking about the natural resources of Canada, it is impossible not to mention the flora and fauna, since the woodworking industry, for example, occupies an important place in the country’s economy.
And so, half of the country’s territory is covered with boreal forests of valuable coniferous and deciduous species: Douglas, larch, spruce, balsam fir, oak, poplar, birch and, of course, maple. The undergrowth is full of shrubs with numerous berries blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and others.
The tundra has become a habitat for polar bears, reindeer and the tundra wolf. In the wild taiga forests there are many elks, wild boars, brown bears, hares, squirrels, badgers.
Fur-bearing animals are of industrial importance, including fox, arctic fox, squirrel, mink, marten and hare.
