B.C. Premier David Eby speaks at Teck Resources' Highland Valley Copper Mine, near Logan Lake, B.C., on Sept. 11, 2025.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
British Columbia Premier David Eby will address about 7,000 representatives of the mineral-exploration industry on Monday and although this isn’t usually an NDP-friendly crowd, he can expect a warm welcome at this year’s conference.
The mining sector is proving to be one of his government’s most important allies.
The Premier was in Prince George last week to announce a green light for the $400-million expansion of the Mt. Milligan gold and copper mine. That is the latest in a string of mine investments moving forward in B.C., and the project set a new pace for permit approvals – less than ten months since the proponents filed their applications last March 31.
These mining expansions follow two years of concerted efforts by the government to remove regulatory roadblocks and reduce costs for the sector.
Paul Tomory, president and CEO of Centerra Gold Inc., the owners of Mt. Milligan, was at Mr. Eby’s side for the announcement and was effusive.
“B.C. is probably the most prospective area for mineral development in North America,” he told a news conference.
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Just a few years ago, he was fielding questions about whether the province was a smart place to invest. That’s changed, he said.
“I would recommend to other jurisdictions to emulate what British Columbia just did with this permit and the transparency, the clarity and the efficiency with which it was executed.”
On the strength of B.C.’s new mining-friendly regime, he added, Centerra is now formally studying a reopening of its Kemess gold-copper mine, which has been shuttered since 2011. A restart would mean capital investments of another $1 billion.
In a province where NDP governments are often at odds with the business community, Mr. Tomory’s laudatory remarks stand out.
Michael Goehring, president and CEO of the Mining Association of B.C., has also appeared alongside Mr. Eby in recent months to applaud the government’s work.
It is an auspicious time for developing critical minerals in global markets, and the federal Liberal government has been similarly keen to get new and expanded mines across the finish line as trade instability has forced Canada to look for new sources of domestic growth.
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Mr. Eby jumped on this bandwagon well before U.S. President Donald Trump stirred up Canada’s urgent pursuit of critical minerals as a means to reduce the country’s dependency on trade with the United States.
Canada has identified 34 minerals and metals that are essential to the construction of modern technology, from solar panels to electric-vehicle batteries, that it is seeking to exploit. B.C. has at least 16 of those sought-after resources in the ground.
The provincial budget in 2024 signalled the NDP government’s intent to woo this sector, starting with tax relief and a break on hydroelectricity costs. In 2025, Mr. Eby promised to build a transmission line to support new investments in critical-mineral mines in the province’s northwest. And, the Premier staked his reputation on a promise to speed up regulatory approvals for mines.
Today, there are 24 mining projects in advanced stages of development in northern B.C., collectively worth $40-billion in investments.
In June, the province approved the Highland Valley copper-mine expansion and the $2.1-billion construction project is under way. In December, the board of Artemis Gold approved an expansion of its Blackwater mine, an investment of $1.4-billion. The proposed Red Chris mine expansion is now being considered by the federal Major Projects Office.
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New exploration is rising as well. The total investments in mineral exploration for the year 2025 will be released Monday, and after two years of decline, the numbers are expected to be up.
Todd Stone, president and CEO of B.C.’s Association for Mineral Exploration, said Mr. Eby isn’t facing a naturally friendly crowd on Monday, but the government’s willingness to tackle their issues is tangible.
“There will be lots of folks in that room who are just not wired to be generally supportive of this government. But on balance, we’re making progress on the right issues,” he said.
“We have not seen an alignment of support for getting minerals and rare metals out of the ground faster as we’re seeing right now.”
Not everyone is happy about speeding regulatory approvals for mines. First Nations have spoken against the government’s efforts to fast-track projects, fearing that their constitutionally protected rights will be trampled. And mining watchdogs have warned that shortcuts will lead to greater risks of environmental damage through water pollution and improper storage of mining waste.
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But the Eby government has made clear that tackling the government’s burgeoning debt is a priority. It has racked up huge deficits that have led to a string of credit downgrades for the province.
At the same time that another resource-sector mainstay, forestry, is mired in a historic downturn, the long list of “shovel-ready” mining projects offers a remedy.
Mr. Eby, speaking at the Mt. Milligan announcement last week, described growth in this sector as “foundational, wealth-generating opportunities” that will help Canada stand on its own two feet in a challenging global trade environment.
The trick of reducing approval timelines without cutting corners, he said, is to run different permit requirements concurrently, instead of consecutively.
“When we run them together at the same time, instead of waiting for one to complete before starting the next one, significant time savings have been realized,” he explained.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the construction cost of the Highland Valley copper mine expansion as $1.5-billion. This version has been corrected.