Global mining investment risk reached new highs in 2024, driven in part by spikes in a handful of jurisdictions, Mining Journal Intelligence’s (MJI) World Risk Report 2024 feat. MineHutte ratings showed.

The World Risk Report is a comprehensive evaluation of mining investment risk, featuring assessments of 117 jurisdictions globally. Our evaluations are based on 13 data-driven Hard Risk metrics and corresponding Perceived Risk scores, calculated from MJI’s World Risk Survey, in which 439 mining professionals participated.

New Environmental risk category

The 2024 edition saw the first major expansion of MJI’s risk methodology, with the addition of a sixth Environmental risk category to the existing five (Legal, Governance, Social, Fiscal and Infrastructure). Environmental risks/disputes were rated as the biggest threat to the industry in the World Risk Survey.

Three indicators were incorporated into the new Environmental category; Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval risk, based on scores provided by MJI’s partner MineHutte, Water stress, based on the World Resources Institute’s baseline water stress measure, and access to low-carbon electricity, based on the World Energy Council’s Energy sustainability metric, part of its Trilemma ratings.

Global risks rise

Average global risks rose to new highs in 2024, with the Investment Risk Index (IRI) – the report’s key measure of overall risk – slipping to 54.4, or a CCC rating, meaning moderate to high risk (lower IRI scores mean higher risk). The 2023 average IRI was 58.9.

Of the 97 jurisdictions assessed in both 2024 and 2023, just 14 saw scores improve, with 83 recording drops. The jurisdictions with the biggest falls in IRI scores included Burkina Faso, Panama, Mexico and Russia.

Canada was the lowest-risk region, with an average score of 70.8, or an A rating (low risk), across 11 provinces evaluated in 2024. Asia was the highest-risk region, with an IRI of 44.5, or a C rating (very high risk).

Ontario was the lowest-risk jurisdiction, scoring 74.2. The highest-risk jurisdictions were Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).