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Canada Mining – North of 60

N.W.T. gov’t to review impact benefit agreements between mines and Indigenous groups – by Nadeer Hashmi (CBC News North – October 08, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Indigenous groups will have say over whether agreements should be renegotiated

The N.W.T. government says it’s aware some mining companies are not happy with uncertainty brought by changes to mining legislation — particularly when it comes to their impact benefit agreements with Indigenous governments and stakeholders.

The forthcoming Mineral Resources Act may require these companies to pay more to communities and Indigenous groups affected by mining operations.While the act was passed back in 2019, the government is still working on developing regulations. An initial draft is expected to be released by the end of the year or in early 2025.

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N.W.T.’s mining future could be in gold or lithium, say companies – by Jocelyn Shepel (CBC News North – October 2, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Exploration efforts steady among resource sector

While the price of gold has been climbing steadily, now selling for more than $2,600 USD per ounce, one mining CEO says financing is still hard to come by.

The future of the N.W.T.’s mining industry remains far from certain. Current exploration projects are focused on gold and lithium. Both had company representatives in Yellowknife this week for presentations and to strengthen community relationships.

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Burgundy Diamond Mines pauses plan for critical Ekati expansion (CBC News North – September 25, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Company also asking N.W.T. gov’t to reduce burden of ‘onerous’ mining regulations

The company that owns the Ekati diamond mine in the N.W.T. has paused a plan to develop an underground project at one of the mine’s pits — a plan it previously said was critical to Ekati’s future.

Burgundy Diamond Mines notified the Wek’èezhìı Land and Water Board Tuesday that it would be withdrawing its application for the Sable Underground development. It previously said its entire business could hinge on that project, and without it, Burgundy “risks the financial viability and sustainability of the business.”

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The pressing need to invest in, and protect, our Arctic territories – by Jesse Kline (National Post – September 25, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

If we hope to prevent our adversaries from encroaching in the North, Canadians will have to start taking the region far more seriously

As southern Ontario’s hot, sticky summer starts to wind down, the last thing on most people’s minds is the vast, frozen tundra of Canada’s Far North. But on Sept. 18, a group gathered in downtown Toronto to hear a broad range of experts discuss Arctic sovereignty and security.

Granted, the Far North has always been a very niche area of interest in Canada, which is curious for a country that prides itself on being a northern nation. But perhaps that’s to be expected when 90 per cent of our population lives within 160 kilometres of the U.S. border, many in cities such as Vancouver and Toronto that have relatively temperate climates.

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Grays Bay road and port could be $1B project, proponent estimates – by Jeff Pelletier (Nunatsiaq News – September 18, 2024)

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GN, West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. sign MOU at Nunavut Trade Show

The estimated cost of the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, which would connect resource-rich western Nunavut to the rest of Canada, has nearly doubled according to its proponent.

Brendan Bell, CEO of West Kitikmeot Resources Corp., provided a new cost figure to Nunatsiaq News after signing a memorandum of understanding to continue support for the project at the Nunavut Trade Show in Iqaluit on Wednesday. “I would estimate that it’s at least a billion-dollar undertaking at this point,” Bell said.

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Yukon appeal court hears case over approval of Kudz Ze Kayah mine project – by Jackie Hong (CBC News North – September 16, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Lawyers representing Kaska Nation maintained Thursday that proper consultation did not happen

A major mining project in southeast Yukon, and whether Kaska Nation was properly consulted on it, was back in court last week — this time, in front of the Yukon Court of Appeal.

Lawyers representing Kaska Nation maintained Thursday that proper consultation did not happen on BMC Minerals’ Kudz Ze Kayah project and that a ruling from a lower court that found otherwise should be tossed. Lawyers for the attorney general of Canada, the Yukon government and the company, meanwhile, argued Friday that Kaska Nation’s appeal was without merit.

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Eagle mine cleanup efforts hit stumbles after Victoria Gold put into receivership, former top engineer says – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – September 16, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Efforts to clean up a massive cyanide spill at the Eagle gold mine in the Yukon have faltered after the receivership of Victoria Gold Corp., potentially posing new threats for the environment, a former top engineer at the company says.

Four million tonnes of cyanide-laced rocks collapsed at the company’s outdoor gold-processing facility in late June, causing massive damage to mine infrastructure and contamination. About two million tonnes of contaminated materials broke through the company’s containment zone and spilled into the local environment, killing fish and raising concerns about groundwater pollution.

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Port Radium and the atomic highway – John Sandlos (Canadian Mining Journal – September 11, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Gilbert LaBine is one of the most celebrated heroes in Canada’s mining history. He began his career prospecting around Cobalt, the Porcupine and Kirkland Lake, but his success was limited. Everything changed, however, when LaBine found pitchblende near Great Bear Lake in 1930, a discovery that cemented his legend as a plucky explorer, willing to brave the harshest northern environments to strike paydirt.

LaBine created a company, Eldorado Mines, to develop extremely valuable radium mines at Cameron Bay (later re-named Port Radium). This first mining development in the Northwest Territories (NWT) created a huge amount of excitement within the government and the industry about the potential of mining north of the sixtieth parallel.

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Diamond finds could extend NWT’s Misery mine ‘well past 2026,’ Burgundy says – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – September 10, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Results from summer drilling at Burgundy Diamond’s (ASX: BDM) Ekati mine in the Northwest Territories could help extend production at the underground Misery mine much longer than expected, the company says.

Out of 710 metres drilled across six holes in July, the crew found a fancy yellow diamond about 25 metres below the last planned mine level. Drilling that targeted Misery’s main ore body confirmed the company’s belief that there’s a larger body at depth.

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Protest concert in Carmacks, Yukon, calls for a ban on heap leaching – by Caitrin Pilkington (CBC News North – August 27, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Headliners included Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Love and a .38

First Nations across the Yukon are coming together in support of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun following the Eagle Gold mining disaster. On Aug, 24, crowds from across the Yukon gathered in Carmacks for a concert series — called Cyanide in the Water —in support of the First Nation, and to protest heap leach mining facilities in the territory.

The idea for a concert came to Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation Chief Nicole Tom in the weeks following the heap leach failure on June 24, which saw hundreds of millions of litres of cyanide-contaminated solution escape containment at the mine site.

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[Yukon’s Eagle gold mine disaster] Troubled water – by Julien Greene (CBC News – August 24, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/

In June, Yukon’s Eagle gold mine saw what the territory’s mines minister is calling a “catastrophic failure”: the release of hundreds of millions of litres of toxic cyanide solution into the environment. For many local residents, it’s a wake-up call about the risks and costs of large-scale mining in the territory.

Steve Buyck walks a forest path framed by highbush cranberries, rosehips and Siberian Aster. Slung over his shoulder, a rifle. The bullet in the chamber is large enough to down a moose.

These days, however, hunting the animal doesn’t come so easily for him. Not far away from Buyck’s home, along the banks of the Stewart River in central Yukon, is the Eagle mine, the site of a “catastrophic” heap leach pad failure and cyanide spill in late June.

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Yukon government curbs expectations of sale of contaminated Eagle gold mine – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 24, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Yukon government is curbing expectations about a sale of the contaminated Eagle mine, saying that environmental remediation of the site is the main priority.

The open pit gold mine in central Yukon was placed into receivership earlier this month after an Ontario judge ruled that operator Victoria Gold Corp. wasn’t moving with enough urgency and lacked funding to remediate a major cyanide spill.

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Gahcho Kué diamond mine life extended to 2031 – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – August 22, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The latest update reveals the plant at the Gahcho Kué mine will be recovering diamonds into 2031, a year later than earlier estimated. The mine, located 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, NWT, is a joint venture of De Beers Canada (operator and 51% owner) and Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX: MPVD) (49%).

The update follows engineering work to steepen the walls of the open pit. This change will allow additional kimberlite to be captured within the mine plan and represents an increase of 2.7 million tonnes at 2.0 c/t or 5.5 million carats in the resource.

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Agnico, New Gold, Iamgold seen as possible buyers for shuttered Eagle Gold mine – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 22, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Stakeholders are hoping for a restart of the contaminated Eagle gold mine, but experts say finding a buyer isn’t guaranteed, and creditors are likely to take a major haircut regardless of the outcome.

Toronto-based Victoria Gold Corp. was placed in receivership last week, its management ejected and its shareholders wiped out after an Ontario judge ruled it wasn’t moving with enough urgency and lacked sufficient funding to remediate a major cyanide spill in central Yukon.

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Victoria Gold CEO regrets silence during crisis, suspects cyanide spill caused by fluid buildup – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 16, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Victoria Gold Corp. chief executive officer John McConnell says he regrets staying silent while the company was in crisis, and suspects June’s catastrophic cyanide spill at its Yukon mine was caused by an uncontrolled buildup of fluid.

Four million tonnes of cyanide-laced rocks collapsed at the outdoor heap-leaching facility on June 24 and half of that spilled into the local environment beyond the company’s containment zone. The scale of the environmental damage is unknown, but the local First Nation fears the spill could devastate salmon fisheries, hunting grounds and groundwater. Dozens of dead fish were recently found in a creek near the mine and groundwater in the vicinity of the mine will have to be monitored for toxic cyanide for years to come.

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