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Manitoba Mining

Remote Manitoba First Nations declare state of emergency due to lack of winter road access – by Sarah Petz (CBC News Manitoba – February 06, 2024)

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

Chiefs say they’re not able to bring in hundreds of loads of essential supplies

The chiefs of four isolated First Nations in northeastern Manitoba say this year’s unusually warm weather has made it impossible to bring in hundreds of loads of essential supplies to their communities, via the province’s winter road system.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, the chiefs from the Island Lake region — which is comprised of the Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point, Red Sucker Lake and Garden Hill First Nations — said they are declaring a state of emergency as a result.

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Manitoba mining industry looks to the future – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – January 16, 2024)

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

Access to potential mineral deposits, partnerships with First Nations vital

A number of new mineral exploration drilling projects have begun this winter, including what is likely the largest lithium exploration project in the province, as Manitoba continues to lag other provinces with similar geologies in exploration activity.

At least two companies are starting lithium exploration work close by the Tanco lithium mine near Lac du Bonnet, the oldest lithium producer in the country and only the second operating mine. New Age Metals Inc. has commenced a 15,000 metre program, funded by is joint venture partner, Mineral Resources, an Australian company that is the fifth largest lithium producer in the world.

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1st batch of newly minted Canadian coins bearing King Charles’s image unveiled (Canadian Press/CBC News Manitoba – November 14, 2023)

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

Small number of 2023-dated coins to circulate in early December

The first Canadian coins featuring the face of King Charles were unveiled in Winnipeg on Tuesday, the King’s 75th birthday.

“Since 1953, the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth has graced the obverse of Canadian coins. Today, 70 years later, a new chapter in Canadian history begins,” mint president and CEO Marie Lemay said during a news conference at the Royal Canadian Mint plant that produces circulation coins.

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Solid NDP win cements Kinew as 1st First Nations premier in Manitoba history – by Bryce Hoye (CBC News Manitoba – October 3, 2023)

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

New Democrats emerge with enough seats to form majority government

The NDP sailed to victory Tuesday night with a solid win that cements leader Wab Kinew as Manitoba’s first First Nations premier and also nets the party enough seats to form a majority government. NDP Leader Wab Kinew led his party with a projected win in Fort Rouge, and while results continue to come in, the New Democrats will come away with at least the 29 seats needed to form a majority government.

“This is a great victory for all of us in Manitoba,” Kinew said to thunderous applause at NDP campaign headquarters Tuesday night. “We can do amazing things when we stand together as one province.” Kinew’s win makes Manitoba the first Canadian province to elect a First Nations premier.

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Major lithium exploration announced for Manitoba – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – September 6, 2023)

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

In the coming year, New Age Metals is planning to undertake the largest lithium exploration program ever in Manitoba. The company has just announced $7 million in exploration, teaming up with the Australia company Mineral Resources Ltd., one of the top five lithium producers in the world.

The exploration project will include 15,000 metres of diamond drilling as well as all sorts of geophysical surveys including soil and rock geochemical sampling grids and mapping/prospecting. New Age is looking to capitalize on the current high level of interest in lithium development in Canada, something that most believe is essential for the development of a North American supply chain for the coming dominance of the electric vehicle.

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Hudbay’s Snow Lake discovery could stretch mine life past 2038 – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – July 28, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

The first discovery in a decade at Hudbay Minerals’ (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HBM) Lalor mine in Snow Lake, Man., has given it a run at finding another anchor deposit to extend the life of its operations beyond 2038.

The company’s winter drilling program had uncovered a trove of new mineralized zones, Hudbay said late Thursday in a news release. One drill rig exploring a geophysical anomaly northwest of Lalor has yielded strong results outlining a series of base metal and copper-gold zones, including a high-grade copper-gold-silver zone. The find indicates the potential to enhance near-term production and significantly extend the mine’s life.

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Manitoba open for business with new critical minerals strategy, premier says (CBC News Manitoba – July 25, 2023)

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

Six-pillar strategy includes a focus on Indigenous involvement

The province is open for business in the critical mineral sector, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said Tuesday. Manitoba’s critical minerals strategy, unveiled during a news conference, outlines ways to get new mines open faster, expand the industries associated with mining, attract new investment, advance Indigenous involvement and create jobs across the province.

“Manitoba is like the Costco of critical minerals — if you need it, we have it,” said Stefanson. “Gold, diamonds, nickel, lithium, potash, and the list goes on.” Manitoba is home to 29 of 31 minerals on Canada’s 2021 critical minerals list. These include lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements, which are the six minerals recognized as having the greatest opportunity for economic growth, a news release from the province said.

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Hudbay, Japanese miner reach deal on Flin Flon exploration – by Eric Westhaver (The Reminder – July 12, 2023)

https://www.thereminder.ca/

Hudbay has reached a deal with a Japanese mining company that could lead to multiple years of mineral exploration near Flin Flon’s existing mine processing facilities.

Hudbay has reached a deal with a Japanese mining company that could lead to multiple years of mineral exploration around the Flin Flon area.

Hudbay announced July 6 that company representatives had signed a memorandum of understanding with Marubeni Corporation for “a multi-year exploration partnership focused on the discovery of new deposits within trucking distance of Hudbay’s existing processing facilities in Flin Flon.”

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Chinese owner of Manitoba mine wants to drain lake to extract more cesium from one of world’s few deposits – Bartley Kives (CBC News Manitoba – July 6, 2023)

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

The Chinese owner of the Tanco mine in eastern Manitoba has revived talk of partly draining a lake in order to extract more cesium from one of the world’s few deposits of the critical mineral.

Sinomine Resource Group is musing about a long-term redevelopment of its mine it purchased in 2019 along the shore of Bernic Lake, a small Canadian Shield body of water located between Whiteshell and Nopiming provincial parks. The goal is to reach cesium that can not be mined right now because it’s embedded in vertical columns that hold up the roof of the underground mine.

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China’s Sinomine eyeing major expansion at Tanco mine in Manitoba to boost critical minerals production – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 17, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

About 180 kilometres from Winnipeg, below Bernic Lake in eastern Manitoba, sits one of the world’s last remaining minable deposits of cesium. The soft silvery gold-coloured metal is housed in otherworldly giant pillars that hold up the roof of the Tanco underground mine.

For stability reasons, it can’t be accessed safely, but the owner of the mine, Beijing-based Sinomine Resource Group, has potentially figured out a way to get around that: a partial drainage of the lake above, and the construction of an open pit mine.

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Northern Manitoba First Nation says deal with mining company Alamos is golden opportunity (CBC News Manitoba – June 15, 2023)

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

Deal means mining company and Marcel Colomb First Nation will share revenues as well as other benefits

A northern Manitoba First Nation hopes to reap the benefits of a golden opportunity after signing a deal with a Canadian mining company.

Marcel Colomb First Nation officially signed what’s called an impact benefit agreement on Wednesday with Alamos Gold Inc. on the Lynn Lake gold project — a gold mining project that consists of five near-surface deposits that are in the traditional territory of Marcel Colomb, according to Alamos Gold’s website.

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Chinese mining company Sinomine planning Manitoba lithium refinery, eyeing Korea’s LG as joint venture partner – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 6, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Chinese mining company Sinomine Resource Group Co. Ltd. is considering building a lithium refinery in Manitoba, and is looking at teaming up with Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd. in an attempt to assuage any national-security concerns on the part of the federal government.

Last year, Beijing-based Sinomine put its Tanco lithium mine into production in Manitoba. It currently ships unrefined lithium concentrate from the site to China for use in the country’s electric-vehicle industry. China dominates the processing of lithium, with roughly a 60-per-cent share of the global market.

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Tensions with China not impacting this Chinese-owned lithium mine in Manitoba – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – June 1, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

The Tanco mine, one of Canada’s two lithium producers, hopes to expand against the odds

Ottawa surprised the mining world with its decision in November to bar three Chinese companies from buying stakes in Canada’s lithium businesses due to national security concerns.

Since then, investments from Chinese miners into Canadian companies that own properties containing minerals, such as lithium, copper or nickel, that are in high demand and needed for the energy transition away from fossil fuels have been unheard of.

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NDP leader aims to boost critical mineral development if he becomes Manitoba’s next premier – by Steve Lambert (CBC News Manitoba – May 2023)

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

Manitoba Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew promised an economically-focused, fiscally responsible government if his party wins the Oct. 3 election, although his outline to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce was short on details and costs.

An NDP government would balance the budget within a first term, Kinew told chamber members at a luncheon Tuesday, while also expanding child care and promoting immigration. Kinew also promised to enhance the mining sector by boosting critical mineral development.

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Federal budget could have big implications for Manitoba mining industry – by Jon Hendricks (CTV News Winnipeg – March 28, 2023)

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/

With an insatiable demand for lithium around the world, new tax incentives unveiled in the 2023 federal budget could have big implications for Manitoba’s mining industry. Lithium – the rare earth material that is a critical component in electric car batteries – can be found here in Manitoba.

“The projections for electric vehicle demand are through the roof, and there’s not enough lithium supply on the planet right now to supply it,” Dave Peck, with Grid Metals Corporation, told CTV News. It’s working with Sagkeeng First Nation to develop the new mines which it estimates are about two years away from being able to extract the material.

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