“All this is bad news for an economy looking forward to recovery. With large 
numbers of exploration companies expected to go out of business and a vast majority of companies planning to curtail exploration and development investment in 2009, the world may face a shortage of raw materials and skyrocketing commodity prices as the world economy moves past the recession and into renewed growth…”
“Despite the overall gloom, industry executives give many of Canada’s provinces top marks for policies that encourage mineral exploration and development.”
“For the second year in a row, Quebec is ranked number one overall in the annual survey. Wyoming earns the number two spot, moving up from number eight spot last year, with perennial favourite Nevada dropping one spot to number three. Alberta is the second highest ranked Canadian province at number four overall.”
The Canadian picture
“Overall, seven Canadian provinces were ranked among the top 10 best jurisdictions in the world for mining policy: Quebec (1st overall), Alberta (4th overall), Newfoundland & Labrador (5th overall), New Brunswick (6th overall), Manitoba (8th overall), Saskatchewan (9th overall), and Ontario (10th overall).”
SwittersB & Exploring 