Base metals price boosts EY mining index

Following a comparatively larger gain of 42% in the second quarter, financial services firm EY's Canadian Mining Eye index gained a modest 4% during the third quarter, which EY Canadian mining and metals leader Jim MacLean attributed to an increase in the price of base metals. “The earnings are accentuated by more production and lower all-in sustaining costs. As mining companies also start to embrace digital technologies to improve productivity, we're seeing costs come down even more,” noted MacLean.