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Abitibi Greenstone Belt

Royal Nickel gets green light from Quebec for its Dumont mine (Canadian Press/CBC News Montreal – June 25, 2015)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal

Mine in northwestern Quebec will initially produce 52,000 tonnes of ore per day

Royal Nickel is hoping to begin construction early next year on one of Canada’s largest base metal mines after receiving the green light Thursday from the Quebec government.

The Dumont project in Abitibi in northwestern Quebec is expected to cost an initial US$1.2 billion and produce 52,000 tonnes per day of ore that is a key ingredient of stainless steel.

The total project will cost US$3 billion over the mine’s 33-year life, including US$900 million that will double its output in five years and US$900 million in ongoing capital upgrades.

Chief executive Mark Selby said the mine will be one of the world’s largest nickel mines and will benefit the region’s economy. The concentrate will be exported primarily to Europe and Asia.

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NEWS RELEASE: Royal Nickel Receives Main Environmental Permit for Dumont Project

http://www.royalnickel.com/

Commencement of Mine Construction Targeted for Early 2016

TORONTO, June 25, 2015 /CNW/ – Royal Nickel Corporation (“RNC”) (TSX: RNX) announced today that it has received the Certificate of Authorization for the Dumont Nickel Project from the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change. This authorization is the most significant permit for mining projects in Quebec and positions Dumont to proceed to construction upon completion of financing.

Mark Selby, President and CEO, commented, “The Certificate of Authorization is the most important milestone achieved to date for the Dumont project. Following the appointment of Swedbank as advisors for our contemplated US$600 million senior bond financing, we expect to build on this positive momentum in the coming months. Our objective is to complete the capital raising phase of the project in a timely manner to allow us to begin construction activities by early 2016.”

Once constructed, Dumont will be one of Canada’s largest base metal mines and will make significant contributions to the Quebec economy as a long-term and low-cost producer of nickel concentrate. Dumont is expected to employ an average of over 500 people in the Abitibi region over a 33-year project life.

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Junior mining firms turn to creativity in order to get ahead in sector – by Peter Koven (National Post – June 25, 2015)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

A pair of junior mining firms are turning to innovation to try to thrive in a rough bear market. And everyone seems to think it’s about time.

“The mining industry is really prehistoric in the way we do business,” said George Salamis, chairman of Integra Gold Corp.

Indeed. As the junior resource market collapsed over the past several years, many companies have hoarded their cash and done almost nothing to create value for investors. Predictably, stock prices have languished.

But over the last few weeks, a couple of creative ideas have been put into action in this sector. If successful, they will likely inspire more.

Vancouver-based Integra announced a “crowd-sourcing gold rush challenge” this week to try to find gold on its Sigma-Lamaque project in northwest Quebec.

Integra’s management acquired the past-producing mine out of bankruptcy last year. When they went through the old mine office, they found hard drives holding an astounding six terabytes of mining records dating back to 1933. That included data from about 30,000 old drill holes on the property.

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NEWS RELEASE: Integra Gold Corp. Launches $1,000,000 Crowd-Sourcing Gold Rush Challenge with the Objective of Finding Val-d’Or’s Next Big Gold Discovery (June 23, 2015)

Integra GOLD RUSH Challenge — crowdsourcing for the mining industry

Company hopes $1 million prize purse will attract “digital prospectors” to analyze unprecedented amount of data and direct it towards its next big gold find

VANCOUVER, BC: Integra Gold Corp. (TSX-V: ICG, OTCQX: ICGQF) (“Integra” or the “Company”) is giving the term “data mining” a whole new meaning with the launch of its Integra Gold Rush Challenge, a form of crowdsourcing it hopes will lead it to the next big gold discovery at its Sigma-Lamaque gold property in Val-d’Or, Québec.

The Data

In October 2014, Integra completed the acquisition of the Sigma/Lamaque Mine and Mill complex immediately adjacent to its Lamaque South project and in doing so became the owner of 6 terabytes of historical mining and exploration data in a digital format. The Company has spent the last 6 months compiling this information which, once completed, will be released to the public in one consolidated database. The data dates back to 1933 and includes over 30,000 historic drill holes, more than 50,000 gold assays, hundreds of kilometres of mined underground workings, other mining statistics and photos. Integra is in the process of verifying and digitizing additional information, which it expects to release to contestants in September via a special website.

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Abitibi Royalties Inc gets creative to find mining investment opportunities – by Peter Koven (National Post – June 11, 2015)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Ian Ball is trying to do something that is almost unheard of in the mining industry: use the Internet in a creative way.

Ball, the president of Abitibi Royalties Inc., launched an online platform this week called the “Abitibi Royalties Search.” The website invites cash-poor junior mining companies to submit data on their projects. If Abitibi likes what it sees, it will cover the cost of the claim fees and taxes on the project, which may be unaffordable for the struggling miners. In return, Abitibi receives a permanent royalty.

“We could provide royalty financing for a portion of the market that’s never qualified before, which (is) the junior explorers,” Ball, 33, said in an interview.

Abitibi is a tiny player in the mining royalty space, which is dominated by Franco-Nevada Corp., Royal Gold Inc. and Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. Those firms will always get first crack at the most promising royalties, and they have billions of dollars to spend on them. Abitibi only has about $35 million to play with, and needs to think creatively and target early-stage projects if it wants to find opportunities that the big players overlook.

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BNN Reporter Andrew Bell Interviews Agnico Eagle CEO Sean Boyd (June 10, 2015)

http://www.bnn.ca/ Toronto-based Business News Network (BNN) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel. BNN airs business and financial programming and analysis. BNN reporter Andrew Bell hosts the Commodities program. From aluminum to zinc and everything in between, BNN highlights the hot world of commodities and the companies that produce them, including interviews with mineral and …

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Five juniors, one deal, with Canadian heavy-hitters – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – June 10, 2015)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Osisko and Dundee factor large in a deal that will see five Canadian juniors join forces.

In a one-stop-shop style merger comprising five Canadian juniors, a group of leading mine developers in Canada hope to replicate past successes in Central Canada.

Five juniors – two struggling to advance existing projects and three with significant cash piles but little by way of exploration assets – are to join forces combining a trio of mid-stage gold projects in Quebec and Ontario and some $50-odd million in cash.

The deal involves Oban Mining taking over four other juniors, Eagle Hill Exploration, Temex Resources, Ryan Gold and Corona Gold.

John Burzynski, who chairs Oban and who also heads up project development for Osisko Royalties, will become the President and CEO of the combined-company, which is tentatively to be called New Oban. Sean Roosen, who heads up Osisko Royalties (formerly Osisko Mining before it was sold to Agnico Eagle and Yamana) and Ned Goodman, behind Dundee, will co-chair New Oban.

The aim of New Oban is “nothing short of creating the next great Canadian mining house,” Burzynski said during a conference call, who evoked Osisko Mining as the future he saw for New Oban.

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Oban Mining Corp brings consolidation to junior mining sector with five-way deal – by Peter Koven (National Post – June 9, 2015)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

The team behind Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. is bringing some much-needed consolidation to Canada’s junior mining sector by arranging a complicated merger of five different companies.

The deal brings the five unloved miners together into one entity that is well financed with $65 million of cash, has a well-regarded management team, and has a host of interesting gold projects in Ontario and Quebec. It is exactly the sort of transaction that investors have been clamouring for, as juniors need more scale, capital and trading liquidity if they hope to get noticed and develop their projects in the current rough market conditions.

“People have been talking about (consolidation). We decided to do it,” Osisko chief executive Sean Roosen said in an interview.

The focal point of the transaction is a junior called Oban Mining Corp., which was founded by members of the Osisko team. Oban will make friendly, all-stock offers to four tiny companies: Temex Resources Corp., Ryan Gold Corp., Eagle Hill Exploration Corp., and Corona Gold Corp. Osisko will invest up to $20 million in the company, and provide some management services.

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