Mining is one of the backbones of Canada’s economy – but the risks facing the sector are unlike those in any other industry.
Raul Munoz (pictured), industry leader, mining & natural resources – North America at Marsh, told Insurance Business that a lack of public awareness often obscures mining’s true weight in Canada’s economic landscape. With over 2,000 mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange, the sector supports an estimated 700,000 direct jobs and accounts for nearly a quarter of Canadian exports.
Yet the way mining companies face risk differs fundamentally from sectors such as automotive or financial services, Munoz stressed.
“If you’re in auto manufacturing or finance, you choose where you operate," he said. "In mining, you don’t get that choice – the ore body dictates your location, and you have to build the environment around it.”
That immovability means miners are exposed to whatever challenges the geography presents, whether it’s water scarcity, unreliable energy supply, limited infrastructure, or political instability. It also means global crises – from climate change to shifting trade regimes – hit mining operations in ways that are both sharper and harder to mitigate.
Few industries feel the impact of climate volatility as directly as mining. Unlike office-based sectors, mines are remote, outdoors, and heavily dependent on accessibility. Recent Canadian wildfires underscored this vulnerability, with several Quebec, Manitoba, and British Columbia sites forced to halt operations for weeks at a time.
“The losses don’t always come from physical damage to the mine itself,” Munoz said. “It’s often about access – staff can’t get to the site, or surrounding infrastructure is compromised. That translates into contingent business interruption risk.”
Flooding, extreme heat, and other weather extremes are increasingly contributing to shutdowns and operational slowdowns. Globally, extreme heat alone accounted for an estimated 700 billion lost labor hours in 2023 – roughly 2% of global GDP. Mining, being labor- and site-intensive, is particularly susceptible to such productivity losses.
Mining is also uniquely exposed to geopolitical forces. While trade wars and tariffs affect many industries, Munoz noted that resource nationalism and protectionist policies add an extra layer of unpredictability for mining companies.
“Other businesses can relocate to more favourable jurisdictions if trade rules shift,” he said. “In mining, you don’t have that option. You can’t pick up an ore body and move it somewhere else.”
That immobility makes miners especially vulnerable when governments impose sudden restrictions. Munoz pointed to the 2023 case in Panama, where the country’s Supreme Court overturned permits for a multibillion-dollar mine, forcing operations to shut down overnight. Similar scenarios have unfolded across Latin America and Africa, where national interests and local politics often dictate whether projects proceed or stall.
For Canadian miners operating abroad, this means the geopolitical calculus is far more complex than for most industries. Protectionist policies, shifting regulatory frameworks, and social license challenges can all translate into stranded assets or abrupt operational halts – risks that are difficult to model, insure, or mitigate.
Cyber risk and digital transformation present another set of challenges for miners – challenges that look quite different compared to other sectors. While banks or manufacturers can often integrate new technology seamlessly into established urban infrastructure, mines are remote, capital-intensive, and bound by finite lifespans.
Munoz explained that the mining industry has historically lagged behind others in adopting cutting-edge systems, but is now catching up rapidly. The biggest hurdle is the integration of advanced technologies, such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and AI-driven systems, with aging or legacy infrastructure.
Unlike downtown offices or factories, mining sites are usually located in remote regions, far from reliable networks. Building the 5G and digital infrastructure required to operate advanced systems is costly – and must be justified against the reality that a mine may only operate for 20 or 30 years. “It’s a completely different horizon than in other sectors,” Munoz said.
Despite those barriers, mining has emerged as one of the industries with the most to gain from digital adoption. Safety is a prime example: by deploying autonomous equipment and reducing direct human exposure to hazardous environments, operators can dramatically cut accident risks. “If you can reduce or completely eliminate human interaction in certain environments, imagine what that would do to the safety record of the industry,” Munoz said.
Technology is also transforming the exploration stage. On average, it takes nearly 17 years from the discovery of a mineral deposit to the start of production. New AI tools and predictive analytics are helping companies shorten that cycle, improving the accuracy of discovery and investment decisions.
Munoz described it as a “two-headed dragon” for the sector: the immense upside of safety and efficiency gains, set against the high cost and complexity of adapting infrastructure in remote, high-risk locations.
