Twitter

Canada Mining – North of 60

The afterlife of Pine Point – by John Sandlos (Canadian Mining Journal – December 13, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The gravel highway leading east from Hay River, Northwest Territories, features a relatively uniform (some might say monotonous) landscape of flat, spruce and jack pine forest. About 40 kilometers outside of the highway’s terminus at Fort Resolution, a few rock piles near the side of the highway stand out in bold relief.

A quick left turn on an unmarked paved road, and one enters a grid of streets, sidewalks, and parking lots — but there are no buildings anywhere. Travel around the site, and it is not hard to stumble on one of the many large open pits that have filled with water, often coloured a brilliant azure blue.

Read more

Opinion: Instead of joining the U.S., Greenland should join Canada in an economic union – by Bart Edes (Globe and Mail – Janaury 13, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Bart Édes is a professor of practice at the Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University, and a distinguished fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. He is the author of Learning from Tomorrow: Using Strategic Foresight to Prepare for the Next Big Disruption.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is apparently in an expansionist mood. Coercing Canada to become part of the United States through “economic force” is not the only such threat he has made. Mr. Trump has also revived his idea of taking over the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland, which during his first term he had mused about buying. On Jan. 7, Donald Trump Jr. travelled to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, to bring attention to his father’s expressed wish to take over the world’s largest island.

Read more

Looking ahead in B.C. and Yukon – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – December 16, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Recent strong gold and metal prices have many mine-makers looking to western Canada for opportunity

Seemingly, North Americans look to the west for opportunity. And when we in Canda look left, we see British Columbia and Yukon. Opportunities abound there for miners, so let us jump in. Where better to begin than with one of the world’s largest copper, gold, and silver resources all wrapped up in the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) project belonging to Seabridge Gold.

With reorganization and a new focus on gold, the company bought what is now the KSM project from Placer Dome in 2000. The property is located 65 km northwest of Smithers, B.C. Exploration began in earnest in 2006, and by 2010 a prefeasibility study (PFS) was released estimating there were 8.5 million oz. of gold, 7 billion lb. of copper, and 133 million oz. of silver in the ground.

Read more

Premiers push Ottawa to build Northern infrastructure after Arctic foreign policy – by Nick Murray (Canadian Press – December 15, 2024)

https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/

OTTAWA – Canada’s Northern premiers are pitching the federal government to dip into its defence budget as a way to bolster Arctic infrastructure and help meet the NATO spending target in the process.

The calls come after Canada released its new Arctic foreign policy earlier this month, which committed to promoting investment in a wide range of sectors — including critical mineral development, transportation and energy — but didn’t specifically make funding commitments in those areas.

Read more

Opinion: When resource companies leave a toxic mess, First Nations are stuck with the consequences – by Tanya Talaga (Globe and Mail – December 14, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation Elder Jimmy Johnny no longer fishes in the waters that generations of his family members have relied on since memories are remembered.

This past summer, 68 dead fish were found in beautiful Haggart Creek, downstream from the site of an environmental disaster that occurred on June 24 at Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle Gold mine, on the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun traditional territory, near Mayo in central Yukon.

Read more

Obituary: Diamond hunter Chris Jennings played a key role in finding Diavik deposit in Northwest Territories – by Matthew Hart (Globe and Mail – December 12, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

On Nov. 12, 1991, the Australian minerals giant BHP issued a spare, eight-sentence press release that dropped like a bomb on Canadian mining. At a tiny lake 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, the company and its Canadian partners had discovered microdiamonds.

Canada would become a major diamond producer, but at the time the news stunned the mining community. Diamonds in the Arctic? A group of men and women who had spent their lives ransacking Canada for minerals gathered for a late-night meeting in Toronto as they tried to understand the news.

Read more

Mining continues to power Nunavut’s economy – by Darrell Greer (Nunavut News – November 29, 2024)

https://www.nunavutnews.com/

Rapid industry expansion has led to the territory being first in Canada in economic growth

Mining continues to play a pivotal role in Nunavut’s economy and that isn’t about to change anytime soon, according to Annie Cyr-Parent, director of minerals and petroleum resources for Nunavut’s Department of Economic Development and Transportation.

Cyr-Parent said a mixed economy is characterized by relatively large mining and public sectors, while other industries hold great potential for growth, such as fisheries, the arts and tourism.

Read more

Regulatory ‘overkill’ a barrier to new mines, CEO says – by Devon Tredinnick (NNSL.com – November 2024)

https://www.nnsl.com/

There’s plenty more gold buried near Yellowknife — whether any of it gets mined is still up in the air

Regulatory “overkill” surrounding mine remediation can guarantee two things: a mine is absolutely going to get remediated and, in the last few decades, no new gold mines have come on stream in the NWT, pointed out Dave Webb, president and CEO of 60 North Gold Mining.

And that’s despite gold climbing to more than $2,750 an ounce recently and Yellowknife having a long history of producing the precious metal.

Read more

Opinion: The future of mining in Canada depends on Northern infrastructure investment – by Richard Burguess (i-Politics – November 19, 2024)

https://www.ipolitics.ca/

In an era of increasing demand for critical minerals and clean energy, strategic investments in northern infrastructure will be essential for securing Canada’s position as a global leader in sustainable mining.

Mining is set to play a pivotal role in Canada’s economic future. As outlined in the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan (CMMP) and the Critical Minerals Strategy, the sector is key to building a low-carbon economy. But, without significant investment in northern infrastructure — especially in energy — Canada’s mining potential will remain untapped, putting the country at risk of stagnation in a sector critical to both our economy and climate goals.

Several projects are aimed at addressing the North’s energy challenges, but none are as advanced as the Atlin Hydro Expansion Project (Atlin). As the government prioritizes reducing carbon emissions, fostering Indigenous participation in the resource sector, and ensuring Canada’s mining industry remains globally competitive, Atlin represents the type of solutions we must pursue.

Read more

FPX outlines Baptiste-like nickel in Yukon – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – November 14, 2024)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Surface sampling outlines a zone of awaruite mineralization that is comparable in size and grade to B.C. nickel mine project.

FPX Nickel Corp. Nov. 14 reported that its summer sampling program at its Mich property in the Yukon has outlined a nickel zone that is comparable in size, grade, and style of mineralization as Baptiste, an advance-staged exploration project in central British Columbia that shows the potential of being a significant future supply of low-carbon nickel and cobalt, both of which are used in lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy.

Baptiste has the distinction and advantage of hosting a specialized nickel mineral known as awaruite, which is a nickel-iron alloy formed when sulfur is not present during mineralization. Nickel concentrates produced from mining awaruite do not require smelting or high-pressure acid leaching.

Read more

B2Gold hits bonanza gold at Goose; eyes extended mine life in Nunavut – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – November 14, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Drill results from B2Gold’s (TSX: BTO; NYSE: BTG) Goose project in Nunavut, which is under construction and expected to yield first gold next year, may point to a longer mine life and bigger resource base, the company said Wednesday.

Drill hole 24GSE-683Z1 at the Nuvuyak deposit at Goose cut 28.8 metres at 6.39 grams gold per tonne from 982.2 metres. It had a higher-grade interval of 23.49 grams gold over 6.5 metres from 1,005 metres depth. This extends high-grade mineralization by 150 metres to the north-northwest.

Read more

GDP drop in N.W.T. last year shows territory’s economy ‘stagnating,’ researcher says – by Nadeer Hashmi (CBC News North – November 14, 2024)

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

N.W.T. was 1 of 2 jurisdictions in Canada to see its Gross Domestic Product drop between 2022 and 2023

New economic data from Statistics Canada show that the N.W.T.’s economy is “stagnating,” according to one Yellowknife economist.

And Graeme Clinton, owner of the research firm Impact Economics, says it’s not a big surprise, as the territory’s diamond mines are past their peak production and are preparing for closures. “There’s not a lot of activity coming in behind them, such that we can expect significant growth going forward,” Clinton said.

Read more

Pine Point Mine Ltd. and Town of Hay River sign agreement in hopes of restarting mining project – by Carla Ulrich (CBC News North – November 7, 2024)

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

Pine Point mining project is located about 90 kilometres from Hay River, N.W.T.

The Town of Hay River and Pine Point Mining Limited have signed an agreement with the goal of ensuring that residents and businesses will benefit from future mining operations in the area. Mayor Kandis Jameson and Jeff Hussey, the CEO of Pine Point Mining Limited signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday.

The Pine Point lead and zinc mining project is located about 90 kilometres from Hay River. There hasn’t been an operational mine at Pine Point in almost four decades, when the former mine and neighbouring community closed down and were abandoned.

Read more

The transition to closure: The Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories is approaching closure in early 2026, but Rio Tinto aims to leave a positive legacy – by Ailbhe Goodbody (CIM Magazine – October 28, 2024)

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

Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories is set to close in approximately 18 months after almost a quarter of a century of operations. Over 144 million carats of rough diamonds have been recovered at Diavik through a combination of open-pit and underground mining since it entered commercial production in 2003, and the mine is a major contributor to the economy of the Northwest Territories, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the territory’s gross domestic product.

The current mine plan anticipates that operations will cease in the first quarter of 2026, followed by a transition to closure activities from 2026 to 2029. However, the mine was designed with closure in mind from the outset, and Rio Tinto hopes to leave a lasting beneficial impact in the region after its closure activities end in 2029, while limiting its carbon footprint at the same time.

Read more

Times of ‘Wild West’ in mining are over: Agnico Eagle – by Arty Sarkisian (Nunatsiaq News – October 28, 2024)

Homepage

People remain suspicious of resource extraction even though more regulations are in place, says company director

Many Nunavummiut have misconceptions about mining, says Pujjuut Kusugak. Kusugak is the director of Nunavut affairs for Agnico Eagle, which operates multiple gold mines in Nunavut. “People still remember how mines used to operate — Wild West do whatever you want, no safety concerns,” he said in an interview with Nunatsiaq News at the Agnico Eagle office in Rankin Inlet.

People assume that the company still “does whatever it wants,” he added, but today Nunavut has some of the strictest regulations that protect the environment using both territorial and federal laws. Meliadine mine would have been “shut down” very quickly if it was operating the same way mines used to operate, Kusugak said.

Read more