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Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas

Doug Ford wants to ‘protect Ontario’ by digging up the Ring of Fire – by Jon Thompson (Ricochet Media – February 2025)

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But consultation isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s international law. And local First Nations want an equitable role in the process

In response to a serious question about municipal revenues during the Northern Leaders Debate last Friday, Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford touted the value of, “unleashing northern Ontario’s economic potential, and I’ll tell you where the potential is: their potential in the north is called the Ring of Fire.”

Ford had planned a northern victory lap to meet with industrial unions in Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay this week, following leaders debates on Friday and Monday. That trip was cancelled after a plane crashed in Toronto, but it was designed to cement Ford’s vision that developing the so-called “Ring of Fire” is somehow a patriotic duty of blue-collar workers.

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New claim-staking process an ‘existential’ threat to mining in B.C., lobby group warns – by Vaughn Palmer (Vancouver Sun – February 14, 2025)

https://vancouversun.com/

Government process adds months of consultation to process after 2023 court decision

VICTORIA — The NDP government’s new policy of consulting First Nations before registering mineral claims threatens the survival of the mining industry, says the Association for Mineral Exploration. The association issued the warning in a letter to Mines Minister Jagrup Brar as the province prepares to implement the new court-ordered consultation framework on March 26.

“The association and its board do not endorse the current mineral claims consultation framework,” association chair Trish Jacques wrote last week. “This is an existential crisis for our industry and has the potential to materially harm our members.

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How Canada supplied uranium for the Manhattan Project – by Peter C. van Wyck (CBC Documentaries – January 10, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/

Ore mined in the Northwest Territories was transported to Port Hope, Ont., then used to develop the bombs that

In the past couple of years, the public imagination has been taken up with all things nuclear — the bomb, energy and waste. The film Oppenheimer recasts the story of the bomb as a Promethean and largely American narrative, while the series Fallout depicts a post-nuclear world. Russia has repeatedly emphasized its readiness for nuclear conflict. Nuclear energy has been regaining popularity as a hedge against climate change.

And yet, the story of Canada’s nuclear legacy — and our connection to the bombs that the U.S. military dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands in an instant — is rarely told.

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First Nation near Sudbury to grow its presence in the mining sector – by Staff (Sudbury Star – February 13, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Atikameksheng Anishnawbek will receive $1 million from the federal government for two projects

A First Nation just west of Sudbury will receive a little more than $1 million in federal funding to strengthen its place in the mining industry and create new jobs.

Atikameksheng Anishnawbek will get $575,199 so its economic development corporation, Giyak Mashkawzid Shkagmikwe, can buy a new diamond drill. The drill will be owned by GMS and leased to its joint venture, Bagone’an JS Drilling Inc., for use in resource exploration and mine development.

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Opinion | In the fight against Trump, Canada needs First Nations people – by Robert Jago (Toronto Star – February 7, 2025)

https://www.thestar.com/

If you don’t want “O Canada” downgraded from an anthem to a land acknowledgement, then Canadians need to work with First Nations to fight back against Trump. Unfortunately, that’s not the approach that some on Canada’s political right are proposing.

While the proposed tariffs from the U.S. administration are on pause for now, the reaction to them was still revealing. Here’s how the National Post’s editorial board framed the problem: “Industries like mining and fishing […] are increasingly refashioned by governments into welfare and ‘reconciliation’ initiatives, repelling private investment that would have brought prosperity to the country as a whole.”

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Milestone agreement to strengthen Ring of Fire infrastructure – by Ashley Fish-Robertson (CIM Magazine – January 31, 2025)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

The partnership between Ontario and Aroland First Nation marks the first time agreements are in place to build roads along the whole route to the Ring of Fire region

A historic agreement was signed on Jan. 28 in Toronto by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon and Greg Rickford, Ontario’s minister of northern development and minister of Indigenous affairs and First Nations economic reconciliation.

The agreement will see the provincial government commit over $90 million to upgrading vital infrastructure in northern Ontario, which will both enable the mining of critical minerals in the Ring of Fire region—with improved roads facilitating the transport of materials to processing plants—and connect multiple First Nations communities to major highways.

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Will new claim staking rules put a chill on mineral exploration in B.C.? – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – Janaury 30, 2025)

https://www.biv.com/

First Nations likely to be deluged with claim referrals under upcoming Mineral Tenure Act changes

Twenty years ago, an NDP government triggered a flight of investment from mineral exploration and mining in B.C. that lasted more than a decade when, in 1993, it ring-fenced the massive undeveloped copper-cobalt Windy Craggy deposit with a new provincial park.

Windy Craggy, still a sore point for miners and prospectors in B.C., was invoked last week at the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference during a technical panel discussion on the new rules coming for claim staking.

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Ontario OKs $90M to upgrade Ring of Fire region – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – Janaury 29, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Queen’s Park and Aroland First Nation have signed a multi-million-dollar agreement to plan a transmission line in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire area in the province’s north. The deal also includes support for upgrades to Anaconda and Painter Lake Roads, which are important connections on the road, which is under study, to the Ring of Fire, the government said Tuesday.

The Ring of Fire, known for vast potential but only a few projects, lies about 540 km northeast of Thunder Bay. The hydro line is planned near Aroland First Nation, located at what is known as the “gateway” to the Ring of Fire, 60 km north of Geraldton on Highway 584/643.

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Shipments of uranium ore can resume under agreement reached with the Navajo Nation – by Susan Montoya Bryan (Associated Press – January 29, 2025)

https://apnews.com/

Shipments of uranium ore from a revived mining operation just south of the Grand Canyon are expected to resume in February after the Navajo Nation reached a settlement with the mining company, clearing the way for trucks to transport the ore across the largest Native American reservation in the U.S.

The agreement announced Wednesday settles a dispute that erupted last summer when Energy Fuels Inc. began trucking ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine to a mill site in Utah. Navajo authorities attempted to put up roadblocks but the trucks already had left tribal roadways.

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‘These divide-and-conquer tactics are destroying us’: Matawa First Nations reflect on Doug Ford’s Ring of Fire legacy – by Jon Thompson (Ricochet Media – January 29, 2025)

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The same day Premier Doug Ford called an early election, his government announced it had reached a $20-million deal with Aroland First Nation that will, “build roads along the entire route to the Ring of Fire.”

The Shared Prosperity Agreement includes $20 million for infrastructure and new energy transmission projects in Aroland. Ontario promises to upgrade existing roads to the community, located 60 kilometres north of Geraldton, and build a road from Aroland northward to Marten Falls First Nation. Ontario also made a vague commitment to support Aroland in vying for a smelter, and it intends to meet further over potential resource-benefit sharing.

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First Nation in Ontario signs $20M Ring of Fire deal – by Karyn Pugliese (APTN News – January 28, 2025)

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Aroland First Nation has signed a deal worth more than $20 million to develop the Ring of Fire, with the money set for community infrastructure projects related to mineral development, business development and community wellness. “Our line is pro-development,” said Chief Sonny Gagnon. “We have an opportunity with my community to attain the skills that we need to be self-sustaining, to get off government funding.”

Nestled in the remote expanse of the James Bay Lowlands, the Ring of Fire is a mineral-rich region, with long-term potential to produce chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum, critical to Ontario’s expansion into new economic development.

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Stay on schedule, show some cash, says Ring of Fire miner and province to Ottawa – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 27, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Province still waiting on feds for matching $1-billion infrastructure commitment as regional study begins

The launch of a federal Regional Assessment of the Ring of Fire has the backing of the region’s leading mine developer and a government in Queen’s Park that’s bullish on resource extraction.

But Wyloo Canada and Ontario’s mines ministry want the assessment process to stay on schedule and expect Ottawa to show a real financial commitment toward development. The Regional Assessment has moved at a snail’s pace since former federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson first called for one in February 2020.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario and Aroland First Nation Sign Historic Agreement Connecting Roads to the Ring of Fire (January 28, 2025)

For first time in Province’s history, agreements in place to build roads along the entire route to the Ring of Fire

TORONTO — Today, Premier Doug Ford, Greg Rickford, Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation, and Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon signed a Shared Prosperity Agreement to drive economic growth and build and upgrade infrastructure in Northern Ontario.

This agreement includes support for upgrades to Anaconda and Painter Lake Roads, which are important connections on the road to the Ring of Fire, as well as major new investments in infrastructure and energy transmission in the region. It also builds upon agreements that are in place with other First Nations partners along the entire proposed length of the roads to the Ring of Fire and helps set the stage for further potential partnerships.

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Ford government looks to tweak mining claims in Ontario – by Charlie Pinkerton (The Trillium/Northern Ontario Business – January 24, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The province’s online claims system, which First Nations have argued allows violations of their rights, wouldn’t be impacted by the proposed changes

As it looks for ways to expedite the extraction of Ontario’s natural resources, the Ford government has proposed changes to how prospectors secure lands’ mining rights.

Draft regulatory changes published by the province’s Ministry of Mines last week would tweak certain requirements and timelines that a claimant to a property’s mining rights must meet before the government confirms their claim.

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B.C.’s new mineral claims rules criticized by those most affected – by Akshay Kulkarni (CBC News British Columbia – January 23, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

First Nations say B.C. isn’t meeting its obligations, while prospectors worry about delays

Prospectors wanting to make a mineral claim in B.C. will soon have to consult with local First Nations under new provincial rules. But neither First Nations representatives nor prospectors are happy with them, and a mining professor says the rules could leave some community members feeling left out.

First Nations say the development of a new consultation framework — which goes into effect March 26 — was rushed, and its drafting didn’t meet the province’s obligations to consult under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).

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