The World's Best Mining Jurisdictions Have Been Ranked Here's Where the Smart Exploration Money Is Flowing

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1. Disclosure for the quote from the John Newell article published on February 11, 2026

1. For the quoted article (published on February 11, 2026), the Giant Mining has paid Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, US$2,500.
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Where a mining company operates matters almost as much as what it finds. Political risk, regulatory unpredictability, tax policy, and infrastructure access can make or break a project — which is why the Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies, published every year since 1997, is one of the most closely watched benchmarks in the sector. The 2025 edition reached more than 2,300 senior executives and managers responsible for allocating billions of dollars in exploration capital worldwide, asking them to evaluate the jurisdictions they know best across factors including regulation, taxation, legal systems, political stability, and geological potential.

The results reshape how investors, companies, and governments think about exploration risk and opportunity. This year's top-ranked jurisdictions are Nevada, Ontario, and Saskatchewan — and exploration companies with projects in each of those regions are actively advancing work right now.

How the Rankings Work: Geology Plus Policy

The Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index combines two measures. The Best Practices Mineral Potential Index evaluates geological attractiveness assuming an ideal regulatory environment, while the Policy Perception Index captures how government policies actually influence investment attitudes on the ground. The combined index weights mineral potential at roughly 60% and policy factors at about 40%, reflecting how exploration executives actually prioritize capital allocation.

The survey serves as a global “report card” on mining investment climates. Governments use the results to benchmark their competitiveness; companies and investors use them to evaluate jurisdictional risk. The top ten jurisdictions in the 2025 edition were Nevada, Ontario, Saskatchewan, South Australia, Arizona, Western Australia, Botswana, Norway, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia — with the United States, Canada, and Australia each placing multiple jurisdictions in the top tier.

Nevada Ranks #1 Globally — Giant Mining Advances Majuba Hill Copper Deposit

Nevada claimed the top spot globally in this year's Fraser Institute rankings, and it is easy to see why: the state scored 100% on the Friendly Policies measure, reflecting one of the most mining-favorable regulatory and fiscal environments anywhere in the world.

It is in this jurisdiction that Giant Mining Corp. (CSE: BFG; OTC:BFGFF; FWB:YW5) is advancing its Majuba Hill Copper-Silver-Gold Project in Pershing County.

Majuba Hill is a large-scale copper system with a history dating back to the early 1900s, featuring underground production of copper, silver, gold, and tin. The property spans approximately 9,684 acres and has seen more than 89,000 feet of historical drilling. Giant Mining has been systematically building on that foundation through modern geophysical surveys, geological modeling, and its own drill campaigns.

The company recently received an independent technical recommendations report from RESPEC Company, LLC that offered a significant reinterpretation of the project's mineralization controls. RESPEC identified tourmaline breccia bodies as a key structural control on copper mineralization, suggesting that higher-grade copper and silver zones may be concentrated within distinct breccia domains — a finding that reshapes how the company will target future drilling. The report recommended reassessing historical datasets within the updated geological model before executing the next systematic drill campaign.

Giant has now engaged Big Sky Exploration, LLC to conduct its 2026 maiden core diamond drilling program, a two-phase campaign of up to 10,000 feet guided by the RESPEC analysis and the company's updated geological model. Funding for the initial phase has been secured. Previous drilling holes MHB-30 and MHB-31 were completed to depths of 800 and 1,086 feet, respectively, and have been logged and sampled at the company's secured core facility. Drone magnetic surveys totaling 322 line-kilometers and induced polarization and resistivity surveys covering 49.5 line-kilometers have indicated that sulfide copper porphyry mineralization trends northeast, while oxide copper mineralization remains open in multiple directions.

¹Technical analyst John Newell rated the stock a Speculative Buy at CA$0.30, characterizing Majuba Hill as a large porphyry-style copper system in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with years of systematic exploration behind it.

²Insiders and management hold approximately 15.1% of Giant Mining, with retail investors holding the remaining 84.9%. The company has approximately 102.5 million shares outstanding and a market capitalization of approximately CA$16.13 million. Its 52-week trading range spans US$0.0880 to US$0.3279.

Ontario Ranks #2 Globally — Dryden Gold Drills District-Scale Targets With CA$1.00 Analyst Target

Ontario ranked second globally in the Fraser Institute's 2025 survey and first among all Canadian jurisdictions, scoring 93.7% on Friendly Policies and 87.5% on the Best Practices Mineral Potential Index.

It is within this top-tier environment that Dryden Gold Corp. (DRY:TSXV; DRYGF:OTCQX; X7W:FSE) is pursuing what it describes as district-scale discovery potential in the Dryden gold district.

The company's 2026 exploration program is its most ambitious to date, backed by a fully funded exploration budget of approximately CA$11.0 million supporting around 32,000 meters of drilling. A regional gold-in-till survey identified multiple gold anomalies along the Manitou-Dinorwic deformation zone, with particularly strong results at the Hyndman project — anomalies that were stronger and more extensive than expected. Based on those findings, Dryden staked more than 5,200 additional hectares at Hyndman to capture the full extent of the corridor.

At the Gold Rock project, Drill Hole DGR-031 (Gap Hole 2) intersected 15 gold-mineralized structures across a 600-meter width, including mineralization at the Big Master and Pearl zones. At Big Master, the hole returned 2.64 g/t gold over 2.50 meters, including 10.80 g/t over 0.50 meters — the deepest drilling completed by the company at that target to date. Additional holes intersected high-grade intervals at the Treasure structure, and the results confirm continuity of multiple parallel mineralized zones along strike. CEO Trey Wasser described the results as expanding the scale of Gold Rock and demonstrating depth potential at Big Master.

Recent drilling at the Pearl zone confirmed significant mineralization in the footwall of the Elora shear, adding a new structural layer to the Gold Rock target area — a pattern of multiple stacked mineralized structures that analysts at The Gold Advisor described as reinforcing the broader scale of the system. Dryden's U.S. listing was also upgraded to the OTCQX Market in February 2026 to improve trading access for American investors.

Couloir Capital analyst Ron Wortel reaffirmed a Buy rating with a CA$1.00 target price in a February 13 research report, citing strong drilling results, new high-grade discoveries in parallel structures, and a fully funded 2026 exploration budget. Chen Lin of What Is Chen Buying? What Is Chen Selling? noted continued strategic support and suggested the stock could represent an attractive entry point for investors bullish on the gold sector.

²Strategic investors hold 54.68% of Dryden Gold, with notable positions held by Delbrook Capital Advisors at 10.76%, Alamos Gold at 10.50%, and Centerra Gold at 9.84%. Management and insiders account for 5.45%, and retail investors hold 39.87%. The company has 219 million shares outstanding, a market capitalization of CA$82 million, and a 52-week trading range of CA$0.105 to CA$0.48.

Saskatchewan Ranks #3 Globally — Denison Mines Takes Phoenix Uranium Mine to Construction

Saskatchewan moved into third place globally in this year's Fraser Institute rankings, cementing its status as one of the world's premier uranium and mining jurisdictions. The province scored 87.5% on Mineral Potential, 76.43% on Friendly Policies, and 93% on Political Stability — the highest political stability score among the top three jurisdictions. It is here, in the eastern Athabasca Basin, that Denison Mines Corp. (DML:TSX; DNN:NYSE.MKT) has just reached one of the most significant milestones in the company's history.

Denison's board approved a final investment decision to proceed with construction of the Phoenix in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mine — a decision that followed nearly a decade of development work and the receipt of all required regulatory approvals. Site preparation and construction are scheduled to begin in March 2026, with a build period estimated at approximately 24 months and initial uranium production projected for mid-2028. Phoenix would become the first ISR uranium mine in the Athabasca Basin.

The scale of the project is substantial. Phoenix is expected to produce approximately 56 million pounds of uranium over an estimated 10-year mine life, potentially ranking it among the more significant uranium operations globally. Updated capital cost estimates place the total initial project investment at roughly CA$600 million, incorporating inflation adjustments, contingency allowances, and design refinements, including large-diameter wells intended to improve operational flexibility during mining.

HoldCo Markets maintained a positive outlook on Denison following the FID announcement, raising its 12-month price target to CA$5.80 per share and increasing its long-term uranium price assumption. The firm noted that Denison's shares had outperformed peers in the large-cap uranium sector over the year. Looking beyond Phoenix, HoldCo Markets expects the Gryphon underground uranium project to follow in the development pipeline, with potential production beginning later in the next decade.

²Institutions hold 64.8% of Denison Mines, with Van Eck Associates as the largest institutional shareholder at 8.46%. Retail investors account for 34.81%, management and insiders hold 0.38%, and strategic entities hold 0.01%. The company has approximately 897.29 million shares outstanding, a market capitalization of CA$3.75 billion, and a 52-week trading range of CA$1.08 to CA$4.43.

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