As it stands, the database features 408 projects with combined pre-production capex of US$170 billion.

The world’s best mining projects are revealed in a new report – with traditional safe-haven jurisdictions dominating the top spots.

Mining Journal Intelligence’s (MJI) Project Pipeline Handbook 2023 presents our pick of the 50 best mining projects globally, selected using a unique, objective scoring method.

Our evaluation process involves collecting information from economic studies – ranging from PEA to feasibility stages – as they are published and feeding data into our system, which calculates a score out of 100.

Projects are assessed across 13 metrics in six categories – Economics, Jurisdiction, Confidence, Financeability, Engineering/metallurgy, and Geology.

This year’s top scorer is Skeena Resources’ Eskay Creek, a gold project located in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Eskay Creek’s outstanding score of 90 is based on data from a 2022 feasibility study, which outlined a high-grade open pit operation generating a 50.2% post-tax IRR at US$1,700/oz gold prices.

Production will average 431,000ozpa gold over the first five years, with final environmental permits targeted in 2025.

Eskay Creek was closely followed by Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia, which is currently under construction, and scored 89.

Of the four projects which scored 88, three are in the traditional safe havens of Canada and the US.

The aim of the handbook is to identify quality, which can be a tough task for investors given the large volume of projects and more than 2,000 mining companies currently trading.

The report features profiles of the 50 top-scoring projects, spread over the precious metals, base metals, battery minerals, fertilisers, and bulks and other commodity classes.

The projects were the top-scoring assets in our database, which currently contains 408 projects with combined capex of US$170 billion (assets are removed when they begin production).

More than 150 studies have been added since last year’s handbook.

Companies with high-scoring projects are invited to present at the handbook’s sister events, Mining Journal Select and MiningNews Select.