Ottawa extends 15% tax credit for mining sector by 1 more year

The federal government says it wants to extend a tax credit for junior mining companies by an extra year, into next year's tax season.

At the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto on Monday, the government said it wants to extend the 15 per cent Mineral Exploration Tax Credit until March of 2016.

It's set to expire at the end of this month.

Since 2006, Ottawa says the tax credit, which targets investors in flow-through shares, has helped junior mining companies raise more than $5 billion to fund exploration and development.

Flow-through shares are investments that allow companies to pass on the tax credits they accrue from their expenses to investors who want them to offset their taxable income.

Last year's tax year, 250 companies issued flow-through shares eligible for the rebate to more than 19,000 individual investors.

In a statement, Finance Minister Joe Oliver says the tax credit is part of the government's effort to support the mining industry and the 380,000 jobs it creates.