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Junior Exploration Sector

Western Quebec township backs ‘resistance’ to mineral exploration on its land (CBC News Ottawa – January 21, 2024)

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

Low, Que., calling for designation exempting land from exploration

A township in western Quebec is taking steps to prevent mineral exploration on its lands amid a big increase in recent claims in the Outaouais. At a meeting earlier this month, councillors for the Township of Low voted 5-1 in favour of supporting its population “in its resistance to mining development,” according to the resolution.

Low is located about 60 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. There’s currently “a proliferation of mining claims on private land as well as on public land,” according to the council.

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Junior miner shows more nickel to be had in the Sudbury basin – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 19, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

SPC Nickel posts maiden mineral estimate on West Graham Project

An emerging Sudbury nickel mining company has posted a first-time mineral estimate of its deposit in the Sudbury basin. SPC Nickel released a maiden estimate of its West Graham Project on Jan. 17, one of two deposits on its Lockerby East nickel and copper property in an area which has seen previous mining operations.

The company said in the news release that West Graham has the potential to be developed quickly as a low-cost, open-pit operation in its initial stages of mining. But with more exploration, West Graham has huge mineral upside at depth.

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Alamos Gold to acquire Quebec-focused junior Orford Mining in all-share deal – by Bruno Venditti (Northern Miner – January 15, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI; NYSE: AGI) announced on Monday that it will acquire Quebec-focused junior Orford Mining (TSXV: ORM) in an all-share transaction valuing the company at $24 million or 10¢ per share.

Alamos already owns 27.5% of the company’s shares. If the acquisition is approved by Orford shareholders at a meeting scheduled for March, they will receive 0.005588 of an Alamos share for each Orford share held.

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Ontario chiefs seek halt to online mining claim-staking – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 3, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Chiefs of Ontario resolution calls for year-long moratorium pending review

Indigenous leaders in Ontario are calling for a moratorium on the virtual staking of mining claims while they review the process to ensure that impacted First Nation communities are being properly consulted.

In a resolution passed last November during the organization’s annual fall assembly, the Chiefs of Ontario say the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) puts pressure on First Nations to participate in potential mineral development opportunities while also reducing the amount of land available for land claim settlements that are already underway.

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Two approaches we could take here at home to ease the world’s critical mineral shortages – by David Olive (Toronto Star – January 3, 2023)

https://www.thestar.com/

Canada is the world leader in financing mineral exploration across the planet. It’s just that about 57 per cent of that money, or $10.5 billion in 2022, was invested abroad, David Olive writes.

It’s commonly assumed in Canada that we are laggards at critical mineral production. There are a couple of new approaches we could take in helping the world ease its critical mineral shortages.

They are a new continental “corridor” extending from Canada to Chile of critical mineral producers that share common values. And second, we need a new model of financing the junior mining companies that make up most of Canada’s mining sector, account for most mine discoveries — and are starved for capital. First, though, Canada is not, in fact, a laggard.

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Can beaten-up junior miners fight illegal short-selling? – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – December 18, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Terry Lynch began to notice unusual price movements in Power Nickel (TSXV: PNPN; US-OTC: PNPNF)’s stock (then called Chilean Metals) years ago. The shares consistently traded down at the end of the day, regardless of news, with late day trades often made anonymously.

Now the stock is stuck in a range of 25¢ to 30¢ — despite a recently released initial nickel-sulphide resource for the company’s optioned Nisk project in Quebec, and a staged deal with battery and defence supplier CVMR to fund engineering studies.

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Mining claims have jumped 30% in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire area since 2022 – by Sarah Law (CBC News Thunder Bay – December 11, 2023)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

More than 31,000 mining claims are now registered in the area, data shows

Mining claims staked in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire area have risen by 30 per cent since last year, according to online mining data from the provincial government. The crescent-shaped mineral deposit in the James Bay lowlands has been eyed as a critical source for Ontario’s burgeoning electric vehicle battery industry for years.

But surrounding First Nations say there hasn’t been proper consultation about mining projects on their territories. A number of rallies have been held at Queen’s Park in Toronto this year by members of the First Nations Land Defence Alliance, calling out the province’s free-entry mining system and demanding a meeting with Premier Doug Ford.

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Area covered by mining claims in Ontario’s ‘Ring of Fire’ increased by 30 per cent in one year – by Krista Hessey (Global News – December 4, 2023)

https://globalnews.ca/

The so-called ‘Ring of Fire’ in Ontario’s far north is expanding in size as mining claims spike in the area. More than 31,000 mining claims have been registered to date, an increase of 28 per cent in a year, according to analysis by Wildlands League, a non-profit conservation group.

The rise in the number of mining claims coincides with more land being taken up by surface rights owners. The claims now cover 626,000 hectares of the remote northern landscape, up 30 per cent from September 2022. The area is now nearly 10 times the size of the City of Toronto or double the Greater Sudbury area, the group says.

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Canadian critical minerals miner Foran raising $200-million, a rare financing for a junior company – by Tim Kiladze (Globe and Mail – November 28, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Foran Mining Corp., a Canadian company with a promising copper and zinc project in Saskatchewan, is raising $200-million to fund its next stage of development, a rare financing for a junior miner in a tough market for share sales.

Foran, which is based in British Columbia, is selling up to $190-million worth of new shares at $4.10 apiece through a private placement, as well as $10-million worth of “flow-through” shares that carry a special tax treatment.

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Mining company takes BC government to court over permitting delays – by Rachael Lesosky (Hamilton Spectator – November 16, 2023)

https://www.thespec.com/

Taranis Resources Inc. has been waiting 15 months for a decision on its mining exploration permit application for its Thor project near Trout Lake, in Ktunaxa traditional territory northeast of Nakusp. The Canadian mining company believes that First Nation consultation is holding things up, and has filed a petition with the British Columbia Supreme Court.

“We believe the government is unwilling to do its legal duty [to grant the permit] because of First Nation pressure,” said Taranis President and CEO John Gardiner in an October 16 press release.

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Proposed northern Sask. uranium mine, mill one step closer to becoming reality – by Cole Davenport (CTV News Saskatoon – November 10, 2023)

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/

A major uranium project in northwestern Saskatchewan has cleared a significant regulatory hurdle. NexGen Energy said Thursday that its proposed uranium mine and mill to be built on the Athabasca Basin north of La Loche known as “Rook I” was granted full approval after an environmental assessment carried out by provincial officials.

“Throughout the rigorous [environmental assessment] process, the Government of Saskatchewan recognized the unparalleled value and future opportunities the Rook I Project will provide for local communities, Saskatchewan, and Canada,” NexGen CEO Leigh Curyer said in a release.

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B.C. First Nation challenges claim-staking procedure – by Peter Best (Financial Post – November 7, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

Last month, Australians were allowed their say on a constitutional amendment that proposed giving Indigenous groups a new lever of control over the country’s federal institutions. Called “The Voice,” it would have empowered a native assembly to make representations directly to parliament to promote Indigenous political objectives.

Although it was claimed The Voice did not entail a veto or effective control over government decisions, the referendum’s foundational document asserted that native sovereignty “co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.” In effect, The Voice was to be a parallel source of authority alongside traditional Western-style democracy and law-making.

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Market uncertainty creates major challenges for critical mineral exploration – by Aya Dufour (CBC Sudbury – November 6, 2023)

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

Some companies are at risk of going under as commodity prices sink

Many in the mining world are used to the cyclical nature of the industry. But prospectors and the smaller junior exploration companies that carry out most of the work to find critical minerals are particularly vulnerable to the whims of the market. Unlike their larger counterparts, most juniors cannot rely on production revenues and depend entirely on the stock market and investors for the money they need to advance projects.

These companies cannot wait for more favourable market conditions before making a move as they must do a certain amount of exploration work every year to hold on to their claims. This is why the current economic slowdown is creating major obstacles for critical mineral exploration.

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Alaska Energy Metals stock rises on drill results at Nikolai nickel project – by Staff (Mining.com – October 30, 2023)

https://www.mining.com/

Alaska Energy Metals’ (TSXV: AEMC) stock rose on Monday after releasing results for two additional diamond drill holes from its 2023 exploration program at its 100% owned Nikolai nickel project.

The Nikolai project is possible host to disseminated nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE mineralization analogous to the Crawford deposit in Canada and the Norilsk mine in Russia, according to the company’s website.

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B.C. junior miner goes to court over permitting delays – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – October 17, 2023)

https://biv.com/

Company takes issue with mine minister’s statement on aboriginal ownership of land

A junior exploration company with a proposed mine project near Revelstoke is taking the province to court over permitting delays that the company says may be related to a mischaracterization by the Mines minister on the extent of aboriginal title in B.C.

A judicial review filed by Taranis Resources Inc. (TSX-V:TRO, OTCQB:TNREF) may end up as a legal test of the limits of the “consent” provisions in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA.)

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