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The Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster grew out of the province's rich mineral endowment and is a world leader in the production of minerals and Canada's top producer of nickel, gold, cobalt, copper, cadmium, selenium, barite and nepheline syenite. The Ontario mineral industry is a model industry - it is dynamic, high performing and progressive. Ontario's mineral industry commands an international lead in smelting and environmental technologies. New enterprises have emerged, producing new machinery and parts and equipment that provide a variety of supplies and services.
Clusters have become the new economic generators of income, jobs and export growth. As noted by Roger Martin, "Clusters produce global competitiveness, enhanced productivity and a rising standard of living wherever they exist."
Few companies have the capacity or expertise to design, develop and market new products and services on their own. Clusters, rather than single companies or industries, are the sources for income, jobs and export growth, providing a forum for collaboration and competition.
For the OMIC to be competitive and prevail in the new global economy, it must employ processes and produce products that provide greater utility at lower costs, reduce energy consumption, minimize adverse environmental, health and safety effects and use state-of-the-art technologies. Working in a cluster provides opportunities for co-operative alliances and partnerships with the public, workers, customers, suppliers and investors that will encourage the development of a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable mineral industry. A vibrant and more dynamic mineral industry cluster would provide a positive identity and a stabilizing economic force for the north while benefiting the province's economy as a whole.
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