Junior Exploration Sector – Page 2

Abitibi Metals drills 3.5% copper in Quebec – by Colin McClelland (Mining.com – February 29, 2024)

February 29, 2024

https://www.mining.com/

Abitibi Metals (CSE: AMQ) says its first two drill holes at the B26 polymetallic deposit in northern Quebec bode well to earn most of the project from the provincial government and develop an open-pit mine.

Drill hole 1274-24-293 intersected 22.7 metres grading 3.5% copper, 0.7 gram gold per tonne, and 6.6 grams silver from 120 metres depth including 10.6 metres at 5.4% copper, 1.3 grams gold and 9.6 grams silver, Abitibi reported on Thursday. Drill hole 1274-24-294 cut 34 metres at 3% copper, 1.5 grams gold and 6 grams silver from 135 metres depth, it said.

Canadian gold miner agrees to sell itself to Chinese company in possible test of Ottawa policy – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – February 26, 2024)

February 29, 2024February 29, 2024

https://financialpost.com/

Yintai Gold to buy Osino Resources for $368 million

Ottawa’s policy of preventing Chinese companies from investing in Canadian-listed firms may be put to the test after Vancouver-based Osino Resources Corp. agreed to be bought by Yintai Gold Co. Ltd. for $368 million.

Yintai’s main interest in Osino seems to be the latter’s gold project in central Namibia. The Twin Hills Gold project is expected to have a 13-year mine life with average gold production of more than 169,000 ounces per year, according to a third-party study. The project is expected to generate about US$1.5 billion with a relatively low cost of about $365 million to build the mine.

Canada’s SRG Mining plans move to the Middle East to avoid national security review – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – February 26, 2024)

February 29, 2024February 29, 2024

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada’s SRG Mining Inc. is planning on moving to the Middle East in an attempt to skirt a Canadian national security review into a key financing deal with China-based Carbon ONE New Energy Group Co. Ltd.

Last summer, when Montreal-based SRG announced that China’s C-One was buying a 19.4-per-cent stake for $16.9-million, it warned the deal would be scrutinized by Ottawa on national-security grounds. Late in the year, SRG flagged that it was looking at redomiciling the company, and on Monday said in a press release that it plans on relocating to the United Arab Emirates, where it will have “expanded strategic optionality.”

Northwest First Nation wants to bring a stop to mine road construction – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 23,2024)

February 26, 2024

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Cat Lake seeks injunction to halt First Mining Gold’s access road, pending judicial review

A northwestern Ontario First Nation in close proximity to First Mining Gold’s Springpole Project is heading to court, seeking to stop construction of an access road to the proposed mine site.

Cat Lake First Nation imposed a mining moratorium in 2023 on all mining-related activity within its traditional territory, which includes the Vancouver mine developer’s open-pit project.

Optimism for metals clashes with reality for juniors ahead of PDAC – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining.com – February 18, 2024)

February 20, 2024

https://www.mining.com/

Increasing funding for battery metal and uranium projects versus gold brings home the global energy transition but big financing deals for preproduction companies have almost disappeared, new figures show ahead of the country’s largest mining showcase.

The data, from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) which holds its 92nd annual convention Mar. 3-6 in Toronto, shows just how much junior miners are struggling, despite a growing international recognition of mining’s importance.

Plans to build mineral processing plants in Timmins by 2027 ‘a bit of a stretch,’ says expert – by Aya Dufour (CBC News Sudbury – February 9, 2024)

February 12, 2024

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

Canada Nickel announced plans Thursday to build ‘biggest nickel processing facility in America’

Laurentian University professor Jean-Charles Cachon isn’t convinced Canada Nickel will succeed in its plans to build two new processing facilities and begin production by 2027.

“The company has yet to produce any profits,” he said. “At this point in time it is a small company that has expenses related to exploration.” Canada Nickel is currently advancing the Crawford nickel project, a proposed open-pit nickel-cobalt mine located some 43 kilometres north of Timmins, Ont.

Canada Nickel Co. introduces plans for new processing facilities, but funding remains uncertain – by Matthew McClearn (Globe and Mail – February 9, 2024)

February 12, 2024

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada Nickel Company Inc. announced plans Thursday to build two large processing facilities near Timmins, Ont., whose output would be directed partly to North America’s rapidly growing market for electric vehicles.

The company said its wholly owned subsidiary, NetZero Metals Inc., intends to build a nickel-processing facility it described as North America’s largest, as well as a stainless-steel and alloy plant it said would be Canada’s biggest.

‘The wind just died down’: Lithium miners try to hold on as prices slump – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – February 6, 2024)

February 6, 2024

https://financialpost.com/

Falling prices hurting investor appetite and threaten to crush exploration

Miner Paul Cowley decided two years ago to shift his focus to lithium from gold when his company acquired the mineral rights for multiple small claims containing the light metal in central Alberta.

Given lithium’s skyrocketing prices and investors pouring money into companies associated with the metal needed to power electric-vehicle batteries, the chief executive of TSX Venture-listed Indigo Exploration Inc. thought it was the perfect time to make the move.

Quebec’s increase in mining claims, including under people’s homes, is causing anxiety – by Jacob Serebrin (CTV News Montreal/Canadian Press – February 5, 2024)

February 5, 2024

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/

When Ellen Rice-Hogan discovered that someone had bought a mining claim under her farm, she was shocked. “There’s no mining around the Township of Low, Que., about 40 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, where she raises sheep and cattle.

“It was shocking, surprising, all of the above,” she said. “We’re a small community. The potential of this is huge and it’s going to have a huge negative impact, I feel, on our territory.” There is a boom in mining claims in Quebec as prospectors anticipate explosive demand for minerals used in electric batteries.

Rural communities push back as mining claims surge – by Andrew Cruickshank (Cottage Life – January 31, 2024)

February 1, 2024

https://cottagelife.com/

Approximately 60 kilometres north of Ottawa, a small Quebec municipality is taking a stand against mining exploration in the area. After hearing feedback from locals, the municipality of Low, Que., decided during a January 8th council meeting to support its population in resisting mining development.

The decision came after the municipality noticed a “proliferation of mining claims on private land as well as on public land, on the territory of the Municipality of the Township of Low and neighbouring municipalities,” council said.

First Nations mull legal action, plan protests over Ontario’s online mining claims system – by Brett Forester (CBC News Indigenous – February 1, 2024)

February 1, 2024

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/

Provincial government rejected request for pause in 2022, won’t say if position has changed

First Nations leaders say they’ll up their protests and consider legal action if the Ontario government refuses to address their concerns with the province’s online system for staking mining claims. A 2018 move to digitize this process, which previously had prospectors physically hammer posts in the ground, has prompted an “unprecedented” and overwhelming surge in claims, the Chiefs of Ontario said last week.

The organization, which advocates for 133 First Nations province-wide, outlined demands for a one-year moratorium on new claims in a letter sent to provincial leaders.

White Cliff receives licence approval for Nunavut project – by Jane Bentham (Global Mining Review – January 30, 2024)

February 1, 2024

https://www.globalminingreview.com/

White Cliff Minerals Limited has announced that it has received a positive conformity determination for its licences from the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) for the high-grade Coppermine project.

This critical regulatory approval marks a major step in the permitting process and allows the company to now appoint contractors for 2024 exploration initiatives and complete the logistical planning phase. This approval also ensures that any proposed activities align with regulatory expectations and underscores White Cliffs’ demonstrable commitment to responsible resource development with local, territorial, and federal stakeholders.

‘The mining rush for green energy’: Why Ontario chiefs are asking for a moratorium on claims – by Matteo Cimellaro (National Observer – January 29, 2024)

January 30, 2024

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

Today, anybody can make a mining claim on the Ontario government’s website as long as they have a few minutes, a computer and $50. The mineral claims process happens in an electronic heartbeat, and claims are marked on a digitized map.

The result is a flood of claims on First Nations territories, huge administrative pileups and frustration among First Nations that say they are not being consulted and have no capacity to deal with the sheer volume of mineral claims.

Ontario First Nations want a year-long pause on mining claims. Will the Ford government listen? – by Emma McIntosh (The Narwhal – January 24, 2024)

January 25, 2024

The Narwhal

Thousands of online mining claims are being made on the territories of First Nations without their consent — and often they aren’t even told about it

The notices usually pour in on Sunday. One by one, they pile up in the email inbox of Cat Lake First Nation Chief Russell Wesley, each one about a mining claim someone has staked on his community’s territory. Sometimes, he receives up to 20 in a single day.

As the nation’s main point of contact for mining companies, ideally he’d be able to review them — make sure that if prospectors were to come in and start searching for minerals on the sites, the claims wouldn’t overlap with sites that are culturally important to Cat Lake or used by members of the remote, fly-in community in northwestern Ontario for hunting or gathering medicines.

Glencore licenses Horne 5 operations to Falco Resources – by Staff (Mining.com – January 24, 2024)

January 25, 2024

https://www.mining.com/

Falco Resources (TSXV: FPC) has entered into an operating license and indemnity agreement (OLIA) with Glencore Canada allowing Falco to use part of Glencore’s lands. Falco intends to develop and operate its wholly owned Horne 5 copper-zinc mine at Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.

The agreement includes the creation of a technical committee consisting of two nominees from Glencore and two from Falco to ensure that operations of Glencore’s Horne copper smelter are not adversely affected. A similar strategic committee will also be created. Glencore will appoint one nominee to Falco’s board of directors.