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Canada Mining – North of 60

Indigenous groups lead the renewable transition in northern Canada – by Jesse Chase-Lubitz (Yahoo News – February 28, 2023)

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/

A solution to climate change is emerging in one of the regions most affected by it. In Nunavut — the northernmost territory of Canada — a coalition of Indigenous communities is transitioning the region away from diesel and toward renewable energy.

In 2018, Nukik Corporation, which was formed by individuals in the Indigenous Inuit population, started planning the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, a set of electricity and fiber-optic transmission cables. The link would connect the vast regions of rural northern Canada to a southern Canadian renewable energy grid in the province of Manitoba.

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Companies look to government for help turning N.W.T. projects into mines – by Richard Gleeson (CBC News North – February 28, 2023)

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

‘We are operating in a very, very difficult capital market regime right now for mining companies’

Mining companies hoping to transform exploration projects in the N.W.T. into producing mines are looking to tap into the billions of dollars the federal government announced last year to spur the development of the country’s critical minerals industry.

The federal government earmarked $3.8 billion in funding for critical minerals development in its 2022 budget. In December it released a strategy that set out broad goals for how that money will be spent.

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B2Gold takeover sidelines Sabina’s Chinese shareholder – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – February 15, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

B2Gold Corp.’s plan to acquire a project in Nunavut for $1.1-billion is blocking expansion plans at one of China’s largest gold producers, the latest in a series of Canadian setbacks for Chinese resources companies.

Vancouver-based B2Gold launched a friendly takeover bid for Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. on Monday aimed at winning control of properties 520 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife that contain some of the world’s highest-grade undeveloped gold projects. Sabina, also based in Vancouver, forecasts its first mine will open in 2025, at a cost of $750-million, and produce gold for 15 years.

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Vancouver’s B2Gold to buy Sabina with eye on Nunavut deposits – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – February 13, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

Deal gives miner control of mineral-rich Back River gold project

Vancouver-based gold miner B2Gold Corp. has inked a $1.1 billion deal to acquire Sabina Gold & Silver Corp., a miner that’s developing a project in Nunavut, as the global gold sector continues to consolidate.

Although B2Gold has its headquarters in Vancouver and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, it doesn’t currently produce any gold in Canada. It mines in Mali, the Philippines and Namibia and is exploring projects in Uzbekistan, Finland and Colombia.

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Yukon asks public to weigh in on Gold Rush-era mining laws – by Meribeth Deen (CBC News North – February 9, 2023)

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

Yukon’s Quartz Mining Act and Placer Mining Act date back to the days of the Klondike Gold Rush, and haven’t been updated much since. Peter Johnston, Grand Chief of the Yukon Council of First Nations, says these outdated laws have led to chaos.

“We do not need to get into a history lesson to understand the negative impacts that we’ve felt here in the territory over 125 years when it comes to not only open access, but also having limited legislation that’s guiding proponents in a proper, safe, and environmentally conscious way,” he said.

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Li-FT Power eyes Yellowknife for continent’s next big lithium resource – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – January 23, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Yellowknife was founded on gold mining, and now lithium holds the potential of opening a new chapter for the Far North’s second largest city. Just a short drive east of Yellowknife and off the paved, all-season highway the Ingraham Trail, Vancouver-based explorer Li-FT Power (CSE: LIFT) is preparing to turn its drills on 13 targets it calls the Yellowknife Lithium Project.

“When you talk about the potential, it’s just really easy to see because the pegmatites stick out of the ground and you can fly over them, they go for 1.8 km, and you just see almost 100% exposure,” Francis MacDonald, CEO Li-FT said in an interview with The Northern Miner.

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Abandoned mines among most expensive territorial contaminated sites – by Emily Blake (Canadian Press/Toronto Star – January 22, 2023)

https://www.thestar.com/

Environmental advocates say costly cleanups of former non-renewable resource projects in the North show the need for better planning.

YELLOWKNIFE – Environmental advocates say costly cleanups of former non-renewable resource projects in the North show the need for better planning.

Three of Canada’s top five most expensive federal contaminated sites are abandoned mines in the North: Giant Mine in the Northwest Territories at an estimated $4.38 billion and the Faro and United Keno Hill mines in Yukon at $1 billion and $125 million, respectively.

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Agnico invests $90M in exploring Nunavut – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – January 19, 2023)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Continuing a tradition of robust investments to unlock the enormous gold potential on its Nunavut properties, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. budgeted more than US$90 million on exploring this politically attractive and stable jurisdiction in Canada’s Far North during 2022.

Going into the year, Agnico already had an aggressive US$60.2 million exploration campaign budgeted for its three gold mine and regional exploration properties in Nunavut. Given the success of this work, by mid-year the company had decided to allocate another US$30 million to build resources and reserves in the territory.

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‘Smoke and mirrors’: Northern miners call for more support for critical minerals – by Emily Blake (Canadian Press/CTV News – January 17, 2023)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

YELLOWKNIFE – Mining companies with projects in the North say more federal support is needed following the release of Canada’s new critical minerals strategy, while some environmental advocates are wary of the potential impacts.

Several projects in the North focus on critical minerals — so-called because they are considered critical to Canada’s economy and strategic industries like clean technology — including zinc, copper, cobalt, bismuth, tungsten, uranium, and nickel. Canada’s first rare earth elements mine, Nechalacho mine owned by Vital Metals subsidiary Cheetah Resources, opened in the Northwest Territories in 2021.

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Assets from Yukon’s bankrupt Wolverine Mine up for quick sale – by Anna Desmarais (CBC News Canada North – January 4, 2023)

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

Mine in southeastern Yukon operated from 2011 to 2015

Bits and pieces of the Yukon’s defunct Wolverine Mine are now up for grabs, as the company that owns the assets prepares for a quick sale.

Welichem Equipment, a B.C. biotech company, owns most of the mine’s assets, including a zinc mill, 10-megawatt diesel plant and a turnkey mine camp for 250 workers. Welichem rented the mining equipment to Yukon Zinc Corporation, the company that operated the mine before abandoning it.

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Yukonomist: The past, present and future of mining and the Yukon economy – Part 2 – by Keith Halliday (Yukon News – December 11, 2022)

https://www.yukon-news.com/

Last week, Part 1 of this column looked at the past and present of Yukon mining as well as two game changers that could be powerful tailwinds for the Yukon’s biggest private-sector industry: geopolitics and climate change.

Allies from Berlin to Washington are clamouring for secure supplies of critical minerals from locations that are secure, stable and blessed with high environmental and social standards such as the Yukon.

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Yukonomist: The past, present and future of mining and the Yukon economy, Part 1 – by Keith Halliday (Yukon News – December 4, 2022)

https://www.yukon-news.com/

The Geoscience 50th Anniversary conference recently took place at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. Chatting with old friends and meeting new ones was a lot of fun. It was fascinating to hear about new mining technology and mineral discoveries made since the last in-person Geoscience way back in the before times.

And it was heartwarming to meet the children and grandchildren of Yukon geologists, diamond drillers and mining lawyers who are now starting their own careers in the business. I’d last seen some of these young Yukoners on the minor soccer fields of Whitehorse. They are now, literally, the future of Yukon mining.

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How the Natural Diamond Industry Supports Canada’s Last Frontier – by Grant Mobley (Only Natural Diamonds – November 28, 2022)

https://www.naturaldiamonds.com/

Diamond miners in Canada are prioritizing giving back to the community

Jonas Sangris remembers a time before diamonds were discovered in Canada. He was the Chief of the Dene First Nation, an indigenous group in Canada’s far north. It was the early 1990s, and metals mining was the prevalent industry that was soon to disappear, leaving a substantial economic void in the community.

Jonas recalls approaching the community elders at that time and expressing concern for the impending economic issues, to which the elders calmly replied, “don’t worry, something will come up.” A year later, diamonds were discovered. This discovery would transform the Northwest Territories of Canada.

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Lithium exploration near Yellowknife could begin next year – by Sidney Cohen (CBC News North – November 29, 2022)

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

Li-FT Power Ltd. proposes drilling near Hidden Lake and Bighill Lake

Lithium exploration near two Yellowknife-area lakes popular with hikers and paddlers could begin in 2023. On Nov. 23, Vancouver-based Li-FT Power Ltd. announced it had amalgamated with 1361516 B.C. Ltd. to acquire the Yellowknife Lithium Project. The project comprises 13 mineral leases, including properties near Hidden Lake and Bighill Lake.

Li-FT Power’s CEO, Francis MacDonald, says the company aims to begin drilling as soon as it gets its permits and water license, carries out community engagement, and hires drill contractors.

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Ottawa sends clear message on environment and Indigenous rights by rejecting Baffinland’s iron ore expansion plans in Arctic – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 17, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government has blocked Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s plans for a massive production increase in Nunavut, sending a strong message to the mining industry that any future large resource development in the Far North must be offset by sufficient environmental damage mitigation and proper consultation with the Inuit.

Baffinland, based in Oakville, Ont., had hoped to double its production of iron ore at its Baffin Island mine in Nunavut to 12 million tonnes a year, from six million tonnes.

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