Report on productivity trends in selected natural resource industries in Canada

The period of the 1960s therefore corresponds to the 1961-1973 period; the period of the 1970s corresponds to 1973-1981; the period of the 1980s corresponds to 1981-1989; and the 1990s corresponds to 1989-2000. [...] The benefits to society in terms of productivity growth of allowing the less productive mines to close may outweigh the costs in terms of the loss of the few jobs provided by those mines. [...] The difference between the 1960s and the 1970s lies in the fact that the real price of gold was virtually constant in the 1960s but increased sharply in the 1970s, by 10.7 per cent per year between 1973 and 1981. [...] This is evidenced by the sharp increase in Canadian gold output in the 1980s, as shown in Chart 4. The rebound of gold mining can hence be attributed to the eventual success of the exploration efforts of the 1970s in terms of locating new and higher quality reserves. [...] This was certainly the case in the 1980s, following the near collapse of the industry in the 1970s.