Canadian mining CEOs have seen, on average, a 31% drop in bonuses this year, according to the just-released 2012 Mining Industry Salary Survey by Coopers Consulting and PwC.
The survey found that the average Canadian mining CEO’s base salaries has remained virtually unchanged this year at $490,000, compared with $486,000 last year.
But it identified that total compensation has dropped an average of 7% since last year to $767,000 due to a significant drop in volume and magnitude of bonuses paid.
The survey found that the average bonus paid in 2012 dropped 31% to $370,000 from $540,000. It also found that of the 97% of CEOs who reported being eligible for a cash bonus in 2012, only 76% actually received such a payment.
“CEO bonuses are performance driven,” said Michael Cinnamond, survey contributor and senior partner in PwC’s mining practice.
He noted that the current market is making it hard for CEOs to hit performance targets.
“Softer commodities demand and prices, investor risk aversion, the European sovereign debt crisis and slowdown in China’s economy resulted in lower profitability and market capitalization of many mining companies,” he said.
“This is affecting CEO performance metrics and compensation.”
