Canada's mining sector is going through dramatic change, but the industry remains bullish on growth, and miners increasingly believe innovation and advances in technology will reshape the industry.
According to Fitch Solutions, off-grid mines could benefit from reducing their dependency on diesel while taking advantage of the region's favourable climate conditions.
CEO Andrew Mackenzie said it was too early to say what impact the recent Vale tailings dam disaster will have on efforts to restart BHP and Vale's jointly owned Samarco mine, shut since November 2015 after a dam collapse killed 19 people.
The company says it has seen a significant improvement over the past year, with prices up about 20%, but believes conditions are not where they need to be to restart idled capacity.