Manitoba Mining – Page 12 – Republic of Mining

NEWS RELEASE: Carlisle Signs Exploration Agreement With First Nation

February 9, 2015

TORONTO, Feb. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Carlisle Goldfields Limited (“Carlisle” or the “Company”) (TSX:CGJ) is pleased to announce that it, together with its Lynn Lake Joint Venture (the “LLJV”) partner AuRico Gold Inc. (“AuRico”), has entered into a comprehensive Exploration Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Marcel Colomb First Nation (“MCFN”) and the Marcel Colomb Development Corporation (“MCDC”).

The Agreement states that “…the MCFN is committed to principals of economic sustainability and growth for its members, environmental stewardship and self-determination in respect of MCFN lands and resources and wishes to establish a cooperative and respectful long-term relationship with both AuRico and Carlisle.” Further, “the LLJV recognizes and respects the Aboriginal and Treaty rights and interests of MCFN, together with their constitutional and other legal rights and desires to maintain open and friendly, cooperative, on-going communications and a positive working relationship,” and further that “this Exploration Agreement is not in derogation of abrogation of any inherent treaty, aboriginal, title or like right of MCFN.”

The Agreement also states that “…the parties agree that it is their common objective to assist MCDC and MCFN members to benefit from business opportunities associated with Exploration Activities undertaken by the LLJV…” and that…”assuming the Feasibility Study is positive, the Parties commit to make best efforts to develop an Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA) consistent with this Exploration Agreement.”

Chief Andrew Colomb of the Marcel Colomb First Nation stated that “We are pleased to have signed this Agreement with Carlisle and AuRico. Carlisle has proven to be a supportive and engaged partner of the Marcel Colomb First Nation over the years.

My Take on Snow Lake – by Marc Jackson (Thompson Citizen – December 24, 2014)

January 5, 2015

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000. editor@thompsoncitizen.net

Former Snow Lakers abound at mining convention

Walking the exhibition floor at the annual Manitoba Mining and Mineral Convention is just like old home week for a Snow Laker. A wide variety of people who have either lived here, or had extended visits, were around every corner, or in some cases working a booth on the convention centre’s massive exhibition floor.

This was indeed the case for several gents clustered on one of the central avenues of the floor looking to drum up interest in their “prospective” properties.

Dan Ziehlke, representing his company Strider Resources Ltd., was welcoming, conversational, and partaking in something he called “the miner’s breakfast” (a bag of popcorn from the kettle maker set up on the convention floor) when we happened upon him. Dan firmly believes – and he can back it up with the geology, prospecting and geochemical work – that he has another Nor-Acme type deposit on the east side of Wekusko.

Jim Parres was set up immediately to the left of Ziehlke and promoting his Jiminex Properties: Misehkow River near Pickle Lake; Northern Eagle near Hemlo; and the Parres and Parres Two near Osborne Lake.

Editorial: Friendly Manitoba, slow Manitoba – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – December 10, 2014)

December 11, 2014

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry. Editor John Cumming MSc (Geol) is one of the country’s most well respected mining journalists. jcumming@northernminer.com

One of the hottest topics on the sidelines of the recent Manitoba Mining and Minerals Convention in Winnipeg was the provincial lawsuit launched by two prospectors against the Manitoba government for allegedly failing in its “duty to consult” with the Manto Sipi Cree First Nation community near the duo’s mineral claims, which effectively ruined their business.

The statement of claim filed in October by Manitoba prospectors James Campbell in Winnipeg and Peter Dunlop in The Pas may stem from a bureaucratic nightmare that directly impacts only a handful of people, but it’s the kind of conflict that is becoming all too common across Manitoba and Canada.

For that reason, the plaintiffs say they have drawn sympathy and moral support from mining industry professionals and associations across Manitoba and beyond.

The lawsuit centres around Campbell and Dunlop’s Godslith lithium claims in the Gods Lake region of northeastern Manitoba. While the ground had seen earlier exploration by companies such as Inco, Dunlop staked the ground in 1988 and transferred it to Campbell in 2004, who in turn optioned it to Golden Virtue Resources (formerly named First Lithium Resources) in 2009.

Prospector suing Manitoba government for $5 million – by Kristin Annable (Winnipeg Sun – December 3, 2014)

December 5, 2014

http://www.winnipegsun.com/

A local mining prospector is suing the provincial government for $5 million after five years of waiting for consultations with First Nations communities cost him key investors.

Jim Campbell set out in 2009 to develop and explore the Godslith Claim, a lithium deposit approximately 365 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

According to Campbell, the Ministry of Mineral Resources left the company in the lurch for five years as they waited for permit approval, forcing their investors to pull $1.3 million they intended to invest in the project.

The land sits on the ancestral land of the Manto Sipi Cree Nation, who staunchly oppose the development. According to court documents, consultation with the First Nations is still ongoing.

Campbell blames the ministry for being unable to reach an agreement with the First Nations community. “We haven’t really told any reason, other than their consultations (with First Nations) have not concluded, which is of course their duty to consult with the First Nations — but they haven’t after five years,” he said. All allegations have yet to be proven.

Northern chief expresses opposition to Mining Advisory Council – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – November 28, 2014)

November 28, 2014

The chief of Manto Sipi Cree Nation (MSCN) at God’s River in northeastern Manitoba told attendees of the Mining and Minerals Convention in Winnipeg that he opposes the role of the provincial government’s Mining Advisory Council in mining exploration and development in Northern Manitoba.

“When I heard the presentation by the minister’s Mining Advisory Council, I had to speak out because the impression I got was that the advisory council was representing the voice of all First Nations and setting the stage how First Nations will conduct consultation and resource development in their territories,” said Chief Michael Yellowback in a Nov. 20 press release. “I had to set the record straight that Manto Sipi Cree Nation for one will not agree to any decision of the advisory council and the Province of Manitoba on matters of policy, processes or any agreement on resource development.”

Yellowback said Manto Sipi Cree Nation believes that any legislation, regulation, government policy or arrangement that affects First Nation rights is subject to Crown-First nation consultation. The Mining Advisory Council announced and signed a declaration of priorities at the Mining and Minerals Convention on Nov. 19 that included guidelines on consultation, resource development and engagement, establishment of a First Nation Economic Development Corporation and a revenue-sharing mechanism.

Callinex to target high-grade copper- and zinc-rich VMS deposits in Manitoba (MiningWeekly.com – November 21, 2014)

November 24, 2014

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

HANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed CallinexMines has adopted an aggressive new strategy to discover and develop high-grade copper- and zinc-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits.

The company has identified its Flin Flon and Pine Bay projects as the focus of future exploration based on potential to host the Flin Flon mining district’s nextVMS deposit. Both projects are located within 20 km by road to Hudbay Minerals’ processing facility in Flin Flon, Manitoba, which is projected to require additional ore in the coming years.

President and CEO Max Porterfield said: “I am eager to lead the renewed exploration focus on VMS deposits within the Flin Flon mining camp. Prior to the 2011 spinout from Callinan Mines, the company has benefited from several VMS discoveries based in its project portfolio, including the Callinan and 777 mines.

“Additionally, existing infrastructure and Manitoba’s favourable permitting environment can be leveraged to significantly reduce capital costs and lead times to production.”

He added that the strategic shift in focus “comes at a time when the zinc market faces a medium-term supply deficit and copper continues to have positive long-term fundamentals”.

Gold rush hits in backrooms of Manitoba – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – November 15, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

With metal prices on the way down virtually across the board and mineral exploration companies scrambling to stay afloat there is a surprising amount of backroom wrangling over a handful of Manitoba properties.

After more than five years of working the four former gold mines at Lynn Lake, Carlisle Goldfields Ltd. now has two suitors keen to sink millions of dollars into the properties.

One of them — a Russian gold mining company called Nordgold — wants to buy the entire company and is willing to pay a 140 per cent premium to Carlisle shareholders right now.

The other deal Carlisle is considering — and has already closed — is a joint venture with AuRico Gold, a Toronto-based mid-tier gold producer with a producing mine called Young-Davidson 60 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake, Ont.

The question now for Carlisle’s board and its shareholders is whether to take the money and run with the Nordgold offer or work through the joint venture with AuRico. The latter deal includes a representation from AuRico it will spend up to $30 million over the course of the next three years to produce a feasibility study for the Lynn Lake property that would be the precursor to a producing gold mine.

My Take on Snow Lake II: Ribbon cut at Reed – by Marc Jackson (Thompson Citizen – October 3, 2014)

October 3, 2014

Prior to Sept. 16, Hudbay Minerals had opened a total of 26 mines in the province of Manitoba; staying true to that prolific nature, the company opened two more on this historic afternoon. A mere two hours after they cut the ribbon on the massive Lalor Project, Hudbay and VMS officials had the scissors out and were doing it all over again 80 kilometres down the road at the Reed Mine!

As the snow swirled outside, close to 100 people gathered in the welcome warmth of Reed’s surface shop to break bread, and toast the province’s newest mine.

As he did previously in the day, Hudbay Manitoba business unit vice-president Rob Winton very capably acted as emcee and after smudging the gathering place with sage and sweetgrass, Opaskwayak Cree Nation elder Nathan McGillivary once again delivered wise words and a welcome prayer.

To bring any mine to production involves a long list of those who were key through a variety of stages. Thanking them is no small feat, but acknowledging their contributions is certainly one of the ways this is accomplished. Mr. Winton did this in thanking Steve West (now retired) head of the environment department, as well as environmental lawyer Sheryl Rosenberg for their tireless work on the environmental licensing and in putting the Reed Mine on the map. He praised them for the high standards that had been set and met at the site. Steve Polegato was also commended for bringing the mine in on time and budget.

Thompson, Manitoba Vale Emission Agreement – by John Barker (Soundings John Barker.com – September 25, 2014)

September 26, 2014

http://soundingsjohnbarker.wordpress.com/

Agreement-in-principle reached with federal government on environmental sulphur dioxide (SO2) airbone emission standards that will allow Vale’s Manitoba Operations smelter to stay open until 2018, mayoral candidate Luke Robinson and USW Local 6166 president Murray Nychyporuk say

Vale has reached an agreement-in-principle with the federal government that will allow it to continue to operate its 53-year-old smelter in Thompson until sometime in 2018, say mayoral candidate Luke Robinson and USW Local 6166 president Murray Nychyporuk. Pending environmental sulphur dioxide (SO2) airborne emission standards that were due to come into effect in a few months, as applied to Vale’s Manitoba Operations, would have required its closure if Vale couldn’t meet the standards. The new standards would require a reduction in airborne emissions of approximately 88 per cent from current levels at the Thompson operation, Vale has said previously.

More than 30 per cent of Vale’s production employees in Thompson work in the smelter and refinery. Employees hired before Oct. 1, 2011, have the option to transfer to the mill or underground to the mines from surface operations when the smelter and refinery close under the company’s transition plan.

The announcement that the smelter and refinery would close was originally made on Nov. 17, 2010, with Vale saying at the time it was “phasing out of smelting and refining by 2015” in Thompson. Mining and milling operations are slated to continue.

Lalor and Reed mines officially opened – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – September 19, 2014)

September 19, 2014

NDP Mineral Resources Minister Dave Chomiak attended official opening ceremonies for Hudbay’s Lalor and Reed mines in the Snow Lake area Sept. 16, saying the projects would create 373 jobs and pour millions of dollars into the local and regional economy.

“Mining has been an important part of Manitoba’s economy for decades and these new mines will produce real benefits for local communities including employment for more than 370 workers,” said Chomiak in a news release. “These are good jobs that will help improve living standards and create significant economic growth.”

The Lalor mine is 13 kilometres west of Snow Lake and contains gold, copper, zinc and silver and is expected to be in production until 2030 and beyond. The total budget for construction of the mine is $441 million and its ore will be processed at the refurbished Snow Lake concentrator, which now has a capacity of 2,700 tonnes per day.

The Reed copper mine, which was approved on Sept. 24 last year, is in Grass River Provincial Park, 45 kilometres south-southwest of Snow Lake, and is a joint venture between Hudbay and VMS Ventures Inc., 70 per cent owned by Hudbay. Chomiak said the copper reserves at the Reed Mine have an estimated value of $800 million. Highway 39.

New HudBay mines expected to create hundreds of jobs (Winnipeg Free Press – September 16, 2014)

September 17, 2014

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

The opening of two new mines by Hudbay Minerals in northern Manitoba is expected to create more than 370 permanent jobs, the province says. Tuesday marked the official opening of both the Lalor and Reed mines.

Hudbay’s Lalor mine, located 13 kilometres west of Snow Lake, contains gold, zinc, copper and silver. Mineral Resources Minister Dave Chomiak said it is quickly evolving into one of the most significant base-metal discoveries in a generation in Manitoba. Total mine construction budget is $441 million.

The Reed copper mine, located in Grass River Provincial Park, 45 kilometres west-southwest of Snow Lake, is a joint venture of Hudbay and VMS Ventures Inc. Copper reserves associated with the project have an estimated value of $800 million, Chomiak said.

In 2013, capital expenditures on mining and petroleum development in Manitoba totalled an estimated $1.4 billion and the industries accounted for approximately seven per cent of provincial GDP and 8.7 per cent of total exports.

Chomiak credited the effectiveness of Manitoba’s mineral regulatory process for getting the mines on stream quickly. The process from discovery to production took less than seven years.

Manitoba looks to jump into potash industry, develop mine (CBC News Manitoba – July 23, 2014)

August 5, 2014

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

The Manitoba government is hoping to develop a significant potash deposit in the western part of the province near Russell, Man. Chris Radford, Mayor of Russell, said having the potash industry present would be great for his community.

“Well this would be fantastic news for our area,” said Radford. “It’s something that obviously we’ve been looking forward to for a long time. There have been a lot of times that they have talked about this in the past and we certainly hope that this time things will be able to move forward.”

The province-owned Manitoba Potash Corporation has acquired the rights to a vast deposit of the mineral, used as a key ingredient in fertilizer. It has bundled together the mineral rights to much of the potash in the province.

The next step will be to ask major players in the industry to do a feasibility study on developing a mine, said Manitoba’s Minister of Mineral Resources Dave Chomiak

“We’ve gone to the market and asked people to look at it and see if they are interested in doing a feasibility, which if proved positive, would lead to a potash development,” he said.

Chomiak said It could take up to a decade to develop a potash mine, but it could generate as many as 600 jobs and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties for the province.

$3-million Mineral Exploration Assistance Program (MEAP) will support 22 new projects – by John Barker (Thompson Citizen – July 18, 2014)

July 18, 2014

Manitoba Mineral Resources Minister Dave Chomiak said June 23 the Mineral Exploration Assistance Program (MEAP), which delivers financial assistance to companies carrying out mineral exploration in Manitoba, would invest $3 million in 2014-15 to support 22 new projects, doubling 2013-14 funding levels. MEAP provides assistance in the form of a partial refund of approved exploration expenditures.

“Doubling our investment will have a positive effect on mineral exploration and development in Manitoba,” said Chomiak. “We are attracting new companies exploring here for the first time, creating good jobs for Manitobans, especially in northern communities.”

The companies are exploring for a variety of commodities including a number of projects for gold, copper, zinc and nickel. There is also one project each for graphite and uranium. Base metals and gold represent 92 per cent of the proposed MEAP projects. Twelve of the projects (54.5 per cent) are exploring for gold; five projects (22.7 per cent) are looking for copper and zinc; and three projects (13.6 per cent) are exploring for nickel.

There are 22 companies involved in 23 projects – 22 of them which are new projects – and three of the companies have been attracted in part by MEAP’s financial assistance to explore in Manitoba for the first time, Chomiak said.

Big boost for fights, leaders say – by Carol Sanders (Winnipeg Free Press – June 27, 2014)

June 27, 2014

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

Ruling upholds need for firms to get consent: chief

First Nations leaders in Manitoba fighting for their fair share of the land hailed Thursday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision as a victory. “This landmark decision only bolsters what we’ve been saying,” said Chief Arlen Dumas of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation.

In 2013, the First Nation issued stop-work orders to HudBay Minerals Inc. to stop the mining on band territory at Lalor Lake and Reed Lake and blockaded the road to the Lalor site. The First Nation, formerly known as Pukatawagan, issued a public declaration to all resource companies that its consent is required for any activity in its territory. On Canada Day, it issued a moratorium against all resource extraction in its territory to both the federal and provincial governments.

“We’re going to reissue stop-work orders and issue a declaration to HudBay and everyone else who’s operating illegally in our territory and remind them they are in violation of a Supreme Court decision and legalities need to be adhered to,” Dumas said by phone from the First Nation. “We’re going to continue to put pressure on them.”

HudBay later won a court injunction to stop aboriginal protesters from blocking access to two of its remote mines. The high court’s decision could have a huge impact in Manitoba for the Dakota and Sioux, who don’t have treaties and for Treaty 1, 2 and 3 First Nations, says a University of Manitoba law professor with 10 years’ experience in aboriginal law.

San Gold Corp’s new chief Greg Gibson sees smaller mines as key to survival – by Peter Koven (National Post – June 11, 2014)

June 11, 2014

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

San Gold Corp.’s new chief executive faces a straightforward challenge: mine much less gold, and make it profitable.

Greg Gibson was named CEO of San Gold on Tuesday, a formerly high-flying company that has fallen into a cycle of losses and liquidity problems like many other small gold miners. He said in an interview that his mandate is to shrink output to where it should have been in the first place.

“I see a small producer that always had ambitions to be a big producer. And when you take small mines and try to make big mines out of them, they don’t work,” Mr. Gibson, 52, said.

Winnipeg-based San Gold is one of many small gold miners operating in Canada that emerged last decade, when gold prices were going up every single year. In order to attract investors and capitalize on rising prices, some of these firms set aggressive production targets. San planned to churn out more than 100,000 ounces a year from its Rice Lake mine in Manitoba.

“When you went to see the fund managers, the more ounces you could tell someone you were going to discover, the bigger the cheque you got,” Mr. Gibson said.