At least that is the conclusion from a report released Thursday by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), which also warns of the possibility of seeing major exploration and mining investments flow offshore.

“Very simply, Canada is not as attractive as it used to be for mineral investment, and competition for those dollars is growing globally,” MAC President and CEO Pierre Gratton said.

Elimination of federal mining tax incentives, regulatory delays, uncertainty and major infrastructure deficits in northern Canada are all contributing to the country’s declining appeal.
The recent elimination of federal mining tax incentives, regulatory delays and uncertainty, combined with major infrastructure deficits in northern Canada are all contributing factors that can explain Canada's declining attractiveness, Gratton noted.

The report also highlights the policy areas that Canada needs to pay attention to in order to seize future growth opportunities and re-gain its leadership in mining.

Some of the figures included in the report are quite telling. In 2015, foreign direct investment into Canada’s mining industry dropped by more than 50% from the previous year. In contrast, the country’s resources sector direct investment abroad only experienced a 6% decline.

According the industry body, such imbalance proves that Canada no longer attracts the single-largest share of total global mineral exploration spending, a top place it lost to Australia in 2015. Further, MAC says, no new mining projects entered the federal environmental assessment stage in 2016.

If these trends continue, the association warns, there will be fewer discoveries made and fewer projects to become operational mines in Canada.

Despite the challenges, the sector remains a key contributor to the Canadian economy, employing more than 370,000 people across the country and being the largest private sector employer of Aboriginal people on a proportional basis.

In 2015, the mining industry accounted for $56 billion of Canada’s GDP and minerals and metals accounted for 19% of Canadian goods exports.

The measure, set out in a document issued by five ministry-level bodies, is aimed at stabilizing recently fast growing steel prices and further cutting the industry's overcapacity.

The document, jointly released by National Development and Reform Commission and other four ministries, said that although progress had already been made to cut overcapacity in the steel industry in recent months, the elimination of outdated capacity remains a major challenge.

Despite the rapid rise of spot and future prices for steel in the short term and the recent recovery in output and sales performance of steel companies, companies should carry out further efforts to reduce capacity to support economic growth, as the country's oversupplied steel sector has experienced years of plunging prices and factory shutdowns due to a sluggish economy, it said.

Analysts said despite the surge in steel price since the beginning of this year, the supply-demand situation has not changed and the government document aims to stabilize the market and prevent steel price from overheating and disproportionately rising.

According to Wang Guoqing, director of the Lange Steel Information Center, despite the surging steel prices, steel inventories remain high.

Figures from the center released that the total inventory of steel in 29 major cities in China exceeded 12.39 million metric tons as of Feb 10, a 35 percent increase compared with three weeks ago, surpassing the peak of 2016.

The construction steel saw the biggest growth, more than 8.31 million tons as of Feb 10, 50.8 percent higher than three weeks ago, it said.

The government needs to ensure that cutting overcapacity proceeds as planned, he said.

According to Huatai Futures, considering the current stable increase in steel output and off-season demand, the inventory for steel in 2017 is believed to exceed 18 million tons, the highest of the past three years.

China's crude steel output rose slightly last year, with crude steel production increased 1.2 percent year on year to 808.37 million tons in 2016, compared with a 2.3 percent decrease in 2015, according to the National Development and Reform Commission

China plans to reduce steel output by an additional 100 million tons to 150 million tons by 2020. Its 2016 target to cut 45 million tons was achieved ahead of schedule.

China will enact stricter rules for trimming steel overcapacity in 2017 after making significant progress in 2016, according to experts.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC, made the appeal at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Officials hope to collect about 650,000 dollars. They want to send cash to the families and help put their children up at school facilities.

They said that more than 70 percent of Mongolia is currently covered with snow, and the harsh weather has killed off many of the animals that herding families rely on for food.

The situation has been made worse by a summer drought that stunted the grasses that livestock feed on.

They said nearly 160,000 Mongolians have been seriously affected.

It's the second straight year that the landlocked Asian country has been hit by a severe cold spell. More than 1.2 million of the herders' animals died last winter.

IFRC officials warn that many of the herders may flood into the slums of the capital, Ulan Bator, seeking refuge.

The group is comprised of 59 affiliate companies in fields such as heavy machinery, construction and finance, which operate in more than 90 countries and territories.

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission says the group's total assets were worth 348 trillion won, or more than 300 billion dollars, in April 2016. The figure is the largest among the country's conglomerates.

The Samsung Group's exports are said to amount to 20 percent of the country's total.

Samsung Electronics is the core of the group. It has grown into a global company through sales of smartphones, semiconductors and home appliances. It has been competing fiercely for market share with Apple and other smartphone makers.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is 48 years old.

He has studied business administration at Japan's Keio University.

Lee has been involved in his company's expansion in the semiconductor and display businesses. He became vice chairman in 2012.

After his father, the company's chairman, fell ill with myocardial infarction in 2014, he has led management as a de-facto leader.

There's concern that Lee's arrest has tarnished Samsung's image and could affect its management, as well as the South Korean economy as a whole.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was arrested on Friday morning. Samsung is the country's largest conglomerate.

Lee is suspected of asking for support from the presidential office in connection with a merger of 2 Samsung affiliates.

He is also suspected of applying pressure through the presidential office on the Fair Trade Commission to secure favorable treatment for cross-shareholding within the group.

In return, he allegedly provided a massive amount of funds for President Park Geun-hye and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.
A court approved the arrest warrant requested by a special prosecutor investigating a political scandal involving President Park and Choi.

The court reached the decision after looking into the matter on Thursday through early Friday.

The prosecutor had provided the court with additional evidence after it rejected his request last month.

Observers say Lee's arrest could accelerate the investigation into the alleged bribery. They also say it may have an impact on the Samsung Group.

This EU funding supports the Mongolian Red Cross Society in delivering much-needed assistance through the provision of first aid kits and unconditional cash grants. The kits enable herders to maintain their physical well-being in particularly challenging conditions, while cash assistance allows beneficiaries to cover other immediate needs triggered by the extreme climatic conditions, following their own priorities. The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Vast swathes of Mongolia, particularly in the north, have witnessed an exceptionally cold winter and heavy snow fall over the past few months. The premature severe weather patterns have placed an estimated 157 000 people in 15 out of 21 provinces under high risk of the what is known as the “dzud” climatic phenomenon. The adverse conditions have hampered the capacity of herders to access town centres, where health facilities and other services are located, and threatened the survival of livestock. The Government of Mongolia in late December called for humanitarian assistance from the international community as the situation worsened.

Dzud, characterised by a prolonged summer drought followed by severe winter conditions, is not uncommon in Mongolia. The latest dzud in late 2015 killed more than one million heads of livestock and severely affected thousands of pastoralists whose livelihoods largely depended on animal husbandry. In response, the Commission had provided 420,000 EUR to its humanitarian partners in order to help alleviate the burdens of the most impacted households.

Son said the deal, announced by both sides Wednesday, will immediately contribute to his strategy for growth and complement his Softbank Vision Fund plan for investing in leading technologies including artificial intelligence and the "internet of Things," which links devices through the Internet.

"Fortress' excellent track record speaks for itself, and we look forward to benefiting from its leadership, broad-based expertise and world-class investment platform," Son said in a statement.

Tokyo-based Softbank has been aggressive in global acquisitions and has been seeking partners for its private fund for technology investments that it says may grow to $100 billion. Son appears determined to deliver on his promise to President Donald Trump to invest $50 billion in U.S. startups and create 50,000 jobs.

In buying New York-based Fortress, he is betting more on Fortress's wide ranging expertise and heft in global investment than on gaining any edge in the technology sector: the U.S. investment house has largely focused on finance and real estate, leisure industries, transport and other infrastructure.

Private equity accounts for nearly two-thirds of the company's investments.

Softbank's shares jumped 1.6 percent Wednesday in Tokyo trading. Shares in Fortress were up 6.5 percent late Tuesday.

Softbank also owns the U.S. wireless company Sprint Corp. and Britain's ARM Holdings, which is known as an innovator in the "internet of things," and in technology used in smartphones.

Fortress said its senior professionals will stay to keep up its fund performance.

Fortress co-chairmen Pete Briger and Wes Edens praised Son as "visionary." They said the companies have much in common, and the deal will benefit shareholders.

"We join a company with tremendous scale and resources, and a culture completely aligned with our focus on performance, service and innovation," they said in a joint statement.

Softbank, the first carrier to offer the iPhone in Japan, also sells the Pepper human-shaped companion robot. The company, founded in 1981, has within its investment empire financial technology and ride-booking services.

Last week, the company reported its October-December profit soared to about 40 times what it was a year ago.