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Canada Mining – North of 60

Osisko Metals to acquire Pine Point zinc mine in NWT – by Trish Saywell (Northern Miner – January 8, 2018)

Northern Miner

Osisko Metals (TSXV: OM) is expanding its zinc footprint to northern Canada in a $35 million deal to acquire Pine Point Mining (TSXV: ZINC) and its Pine Point project near Hay River in the Northwest Territories.

Pine Point – once Canada’s most profitable zinc-lead mine – produced nearly 64 million tonnes of ore from 52 deposits between 1964 and 1987. Another 46 deposits on the property were identified but never put into production.

The acquisition, combined with Osisko Metal’s 50,000-hectares of zinc properties in New Brunswick’s Bathurst Mining Camp, gives the junior exploration and development company control over two world-class past-producing base metal camps.

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2017 brought cash, more big names and good news to Yukon miners – by Dave Croft (CBC News North – December 22, 2017)

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

Several of the biggest gold producers in the world have a staked a claim on Yukon’s mineral wealth

People in Yukon’s mining industry are optimistic about the future after increased spending and other developments over the past year. Companies spent about $90 million on mineral exploration in the territory in 2017, according to Scott Casselman, the territorial government’s head of mineral services. That’s up 57 per cent from 2016, he said.

Spending on mines in the development stage was $68 million — mostly at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Gold mine north of Mayo — up from $8 million in 2016. Casselman said as of early November, placer miners had reported production of 67,000 ounces of gold, worth $87 million.

Majors bring cash and stability

“You know, I think in general it’s nice to see we’ve stopped that downward slide over the last few years. We’ve started the uptick, and hopefully we can continue on with that,” said Casselman. “It’s attributable primarily to the interest of the major mining companies that have come into the territory, over this year and last.”

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Sabina gets final project certificate, major investment for Nunavut gold mine – by Walter Strong (CBC News North – December 21, 2017)

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

Formal approval comes day after company announced it had secured a $66M investment

A day after Sabina Gold and Silver announced it had secured a $66 million investment from a Chinese backer, the company was able to report it had received its final project certificate from the Nunavut Impact Review Board for its Back River gold mine project.

On Monday, Sabina announced Zhaojin International Mining was investing in the project through a share purchase. Once the deal is complete, the Chinese company will hold 9.9 per cent of the company, with the option to increase that holding to 19.9 per cent through future financing.

With the final project certificate in hand, the only regulatory permits remaining are two water licenses for mine construction and operation, and other less significant permits. With $38 million in cash and equivalents on hand and $66 million coming from Zhaojin, the company still has some work to do in financial markets. Sabina pegs capital expenditures to build the mine at $415 million.

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First Nations, Yukon and Canadian governments sign document to ‘reset’ YESAA relationship – by Crystal Schick (Yukon News – December 20, 2017)

On the tail of Bill C-17 becoming law, self-governing Yukon First Nations and the territorial and federal governments have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the Yukon Environment and Socio-economic Assessment Act, marking a fresh start on how all parties will handle future YESAA projects.

Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Peter Johnston, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Chief Steve Smith, Yukon Premier Sandy Silver and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett made the announcement Dec. 15 following the Intergovernmental Forum in Whitehorse.

“Today was a very good day,” Johnston said during a press conference, noting that it follows several other wins for Yukon First Nations this year, including the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on the Peel watershed planning case and a moratorium on a federal policy that saw Ottawa clawing back money from self-governing First Nations with their own revenue sources.

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NEWS RELEASE: SABINA GOLD & SILVER ANNOUNCES 9.9% STRATEGIC INVESTMENT BY ZHAOJIN INTERNATIONAL MINING CO., LTD.(December 19, 2017)

http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com/

Vancouver, BC – Sabina Gold & Silver Corp (SBB.T), (“Sabina” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that Zhaojin International Mining Co., Ltd. (“Zhaojin International”) has agreed to purchase 24,930,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $2.65 per share for a total investment of approximately $66,100,000 in a private placement (the “Financing”).

Upon completion of the Financing, Zhaojin International will own approximately 9.9% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis. Zhaojin International is a subsidiary of Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. Ltd. (“Zhaojin”), which is a leading Chinese gold producer and one of China’s largest gold smelting companies.

“We are very excited to welcome Zhaojin, a leading Chinese gold producer, as a strategic investor. Zhaojin’s investment represents a significant milestone for Sabina and is a strong endorsement of the work completed to date at our world class Back River project. This financing with Zhaojin provides Sabina with a cornerstone investor that has financial and technical resources to assist us in advancing the project to production.

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NEWS RELEASE: Osisko Metals Announces Friendly Acquisition of Pine Point Mining (December 18, 2017)

https://www.osiskometals.com/en/

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC and TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Dec. 18, 2017) –

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Osisko Metals Incorporated (“Osisko Metals”) (TSX VENTURE:OM)(FRANKFURT:0B5) and Pine Point Mining Limited (“Pine Point”) (TSX VENTURE:ZINC) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive arrangement agreement dated December 15, 2017 (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which, among other things, (i) Osisko Metals has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Pine Point, and (ii) a newly formed company (“Spinco”) will be created to hold all of the assets and liabilities of Pine Point, with the exception of the Pine Point project located in the Northwest Territories (the “Pine Point Project”), all of which is to be completed by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the “Arrangement”).

The Arrangement will result in Osisko Metals acquiring the Pine Point Project in furtherance of Osisko Metals’ stated strategy of consolidating and developing base metal assets at the mining district scale.

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Ottawa says yes to Back River gold mine in western Nunavut (Nunatsiaq News – December 11, 2017)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Canada’s federal government believes the Sabina Gold and Silver Corp.’s controversial Back River gold mine project should go ahead, Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said last week in a letter to the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

This clears the way for the review board’s issuance of a project certificate to Sabina by Jan. 4, following a teleconference workshop with stakeholders they hope to hold on Thursday, Dec. 14.

And today, Sabina said in a statement that the Nunavut Water Board has started looking at the company’s Type A and Type B water license applications for the Back River project, and that they hope to get those licences by the end of March 2018.

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Back River gold mine could break ground this spring in Kitikmeot – by Sara Frizzell (CBC News North – December 07, 2017)

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

Minister Carolyn Bennett has given Sabina Gold and Silver the go-ahead for Back River project

Sabina Gold and Silver announced Wednesday it had received approval from Carolyn Bennett, minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, to build a gold mine approximately 400 kilometres southwest of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.

The minister’s decision follows approval of the Back River gold mine project from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) in July, after previously rejecting the project in 2016.

“The government of Nunavut and the Inuit associations have acknowledged for some time that resource development is an important part of their potential future, so they are always cautious about industrial development, including mining, but at the same time they’re very supportive,” said Matthew Pickard, Sabina’s vice president of environment and sustainability.

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NEWS RELEASE: Sabina Gold & Silver Reaches Major Milestone to Advance Back River Gold Project with Positive Decision from Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada

http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com/

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (TSX:SBB.T), (“Sabina” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received a positive decision from the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (the “Minister” or “INAC”) that the Back River Project (the “Project” or “Back River”) may move forward to the regulatory and licensing phase which would include completion of all necessary permits to commence mine construction.

In July 2017, the Nunavut Impact Review Board (“NIRB”) completed its review of the environmental assessment of the Project and recommended to the Minister that the Project should be given approval to obtain the required permits and licenses for mine construction and operation.

In a letter dated December 5, 2017, the Minister on behalf of the five responsible federal Ministers, accepted NIRB’s recommendation. The NIRB will now work towards issuing a Project Certificate for Back River, which will attach the terms and conditions for mine development, construction, operation and eventual closure.

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Commentary: SCC decision on Peel watershed in Yukon another win for First Nations – by Bill Gallagher (Northen Miner – December 6, 2017)

http://www.northernminer.com/

First Nations have just won an important lawsuit at the Supreme Court of Canada on account that the Yukon government had tried to do an end-run on their land claim settlements.

Readers who have followed my tracking of the native legal winning streak in Canada will be familiar with my preferred wording of “Land Rights” as the catch-all phrase whereby natives typically win in the resources sector since they have constitutionally-protected land rights that the rest of us don’t.

My message to government and industry is always the same: realize that natives are resource gatekeepers in Canada and work them into the project as the key local players that they are.

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Excitement is hard to share, mines chamber says – by Chuck Tobin (Whitehorse Star – December 4, 2017)

http://www.whitehorsestar.com/

Yukoners should pay close attention as land use planning goes forward in the future, says the executive director of the Yukon Chamber of Mines. With Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision, the amount of land unavailable to pursue mineral exploration in the territory is now up over 50 per cent, he pointed out.

Samson Hartland said today the mining industry is very competitive around the world, and investment dollars are already tight to come by. The Yukon needs to be careful it doesn’t push itself out of that marketplace by closing the door on the industry, he suggested during an interview.

He said with several more regional land use plans still to be hashed out – Dawson City, Mayo, Whitehorse, Teslin – it’s certain there will be more land withdrawals. Land withdrawals, Hartland said, are the number one concern for the mining sector, and the industry pays attention to them.

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Supreme Court’s Yukon land ruling welcomed as new chapter for territory (Victoria Times Colonist – December 1, 2017)

http://www.timescolonist.com/

The Canadian Press: OTTAWA — First Nations, environmental groups and Yukon Premier Sandy Silver welcomed a Supreme Court of Canada ruling on wilderness lands Friday as a victory for the northern territory.

The unanimous high court ruling is likely to ensure ecological protection of much of the Peel Watershed, a swath of unspoiled terrain that covers an area the size of Ireland. The Supreme Court said the Yukon government “thwarted” the land-use process by improperly rewriting a plan for the watershed, which features rugged mountains and taiga forests.

Although Yukon lost the case that has been winding through the courts for years, the premier, who became leader only last December, hailed the ruling as an important step toward finalizing a plan that reflects a shared vision.

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Canadian Zinc hopes to start production at Prairie Creek mine in 2020 – by Randi Beers (CBC News North – December 1, 2017)

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

The Canadian Zinc Corporation believes production could start at Prairie Creek Mine by August 2020. This is according to results of a feasibility study commissioned by the company, which was released Oct. 31.

The study, put together by mining consulting firm AMC Mining Consultants, estimates the Prairie Creek mine could pull in $1.2 billion over its 15-year mine life and create 330 full-time jobs in the Dehcho region.

All of this is dependant on two major things, according to Alan Taylor, chief operating officer of Canadian Zinc. The company must get final approval to build an all-season road to the mine — which is at an advanced stage of construction already — and it must raise the money needed to both build the road and revive the mine.

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New estimates could double diamond potential for Nunavut mining project (CBC News North – November 30, 2017)

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

Kimberlite pipe at site now estimated to be 540 metres deep, was previously estimated at 260 metres

A diamond mining project in Nunavut may have just gotten a whole lot bigger, as Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. says a kimberlite deposit at its Chidliak site is twice as deep as it previously estimated.

Peregrine has been exploring the Chidliak site, which sits 120 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit, since 2005. In a release issued Tuesday, the junior mining company announced that one of their most promising kimberlite pipes — named CH 6 — extends a total of 540 metres below the ground, 280 metres deeper than initially announced.

“We’ve got the potential to double the number of diamonds contained,” said Tom Peregoodoff, the president of Peregrine Diamonds. “If they can be extracted economically, we potentially have added significantly to both the mine life and eventual economic outcome of the project.”

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For mining companies, hiring Indigenous workers ‘about nation-building’ panel hears – by Lori Fox (Yukon News – November 27, 2017)

‘Profit is not a dirty word’

Mining companies in the Yukon can attract and maintain a First Nations labour force by employing “intelligent job design” to accommodate traditional values, says one expert.

Hector Campbell, chair of the board of directors for the Nacho Nyak Dun Development Corporation, was part of a panel on Indigenous business at the 2017 Geoscience Forum and Trade Show Nov.21.

In response to a question about “capacity problems” facing mining companies, Campbell said that the typical structure of a fly-in camp can be a deterrent for First Nations workers. Fly-in camp culture creates “tremendous family stress” and “makes it really difficult for employees at that camp to live their traditional lifestyle,” he said.

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