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Manitoba Mining

Canadian Ingenuity: Kate Rice canoed, hunted and prospected – by Susanna McLeod (Kingston Whig Standard – May 8, 2019)

https://www.thewhig.com/

Wherever she went, Kate Rice always had a particular item with her. It wasn’t a locket, it wasn’t a wallet, nor medication. The item was something every prospector girl needed when working by herself in the wilderness. It was a rifle.

Kathleen (Kate) Creighton Starr Rice, born Dec. 22, 1882, thrived in the outdoors. Her love began with canoeing, camping and hunting trips with her father, Henry Lincoln Rice. While her mother read bedtime fairy tales to her young daughter, Kate’s father ignited the child’s imagination with tales of adventure and nature.

Fine-featured, pretty and nearly six feet tall, Kate Rice was regarded by friends and family as eccentric and independent, with a stern “don’t mess with me” personality. The family living in St. Mary’s in southwestern Ontario was upper middle class. Henry Rice operated St. Mary’s Milling Company, the firm inherited by his wife, Charlotte Carter.

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Hissing snakes and ‘predatory schemes’: How the fight for Hudbay Minerals descended into name-calling – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – April 17, 2019)

https://business.financialpost.com/

So far, investors appear to love the fight

The battle for the future of one of Canada’s oldest mining companies, Hudbay Minerals Inc., has spilled into the courtroom, and turned into a mud-slinging contest as the company and one of its largest shareholders lash out at each another.

So far, investors appear to love it: The company’s stock has nearly doubled in the past six months, soaring from $5.17 on Oct. 1 to $10.01 on the Toronto Stock Exchange near close on Tuesday.

That surge began the same day mining-focused private equity firm Waterton Global Resource Management, which controls 12 per cent of Hudbay’s shares and has been leading a campaign to replace most of the board and the chief executive, filed a lawsuit accusing the company of depicting it as “snakes” in a circular sent to other investors.

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Hudbay plans to spend $124 million to refurbish mill and double Lalor mine gold production (Thompson Citizen – February 20, 2019)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

While recent news about the Northern Manitoba mining industry has mostly focused on ontraction and closures in Thompson and Flin Flon, Hudbay Minerals Inc. announced Feb. 19 that it expects gold production from its Lalor mine near Snow Lake to more than double by 2022 after it reopens the New Britannia mill, which will allow it to recover greater quantities of the precious metal from the ore.

Hudbay said in a press release that the refurbished New Britannia mill – a project the company will spend about $124 million on – is expected to achieve gold recoveries of 93 per cent from the copper-rich Lalor ore compared to current recovery rates of about 53 per cent at the stall Mill.

Hudbay intends to spend $10 million this year on the New Britannia mill, which will eventually be equipped with a copper flotation and dewatering circuit as well as a pipeline to direct the tailings to an existing facility.

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My Take on Snow Lake: New exploration of previous mine site yields promising results – by Marc Jackson (Thompson Citizen – January 18, 2019)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Mining is the industry that drives the economy in the Snow Lake area … it has for over 100 years. All of the mines the industry is based on have been in the ground since the Earth was formed; however, it was only when technology allowed mine finders the ability to locate orebodies that they were able to exploit them. As technology continually advances, many of those occurrences mined or explored in decades past are now getting a second look.

This was the case with the Lalor Mine (Chisel Lake Basin) and the Snow Lake Mine (New Britannia and Nor-Acme), but it is also playing a part in the resurrection of exploration on several lithium properties on the east side of Wekusko Lake (Thompson Brother Cluster and the Sherritt Gordon Cluster), as well as the mine that originally brought pioneers to the area early in the 20th century – Herb Lake’s Rex/Laguna.

Back in the 1930s and ’40s, Herb Lake, Manitoba was a prosperous mining town. It hummed with activity and even though it couldn’t be accessed by anything other than boat and a winter road, it was home to between 600 and 700 people.

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Alistair Ross stepping down as head of Vale Canadian mining operations, including those in Thompson – by Kyle Darbyson (Thompson Citizen – December 13, 2018)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Vale’s management structure in Canada continues to change with the company recently announcing that Alistair Ross will step down as the director of North Atlantic mining operations by the end of the month when his contract expires. According to a Dec. 11 Vale memo, Mike McCann, who has worked for the Brazilian mining giant in Sudbury for the last six years, will replace Ross Jan 1.

“Mike has done a superb job leading processing operations across the North Atlantic and Asia, delivering value projects and achieving production and safety improvements in a number of areas across our business,” said Ricus Grimbeek, chief operating officer for Vale Base Metals, in that memo. “I have every confidence that Mike will continue his track record of success leading our mining and milling operations.”

This move is the latest change to Vale’s Thompson management, which began back in July when Manitoba Operations vice-president Mark Scott’s position was eliminated. Ross was given the responsibility of overseeing Vale’s Canadian operations in Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador at that time.

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Exploration deals move Manitoba mining into modern era – by Bill Redekop (Winnipeg Free Press – December 10, 2018)

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

First Nation inclusion in the mineral exploration process is still in the dark ages in Manitoba and the mining sector has suffered as a result, says a Toronto lawyer who specializes in such contracts.

Kate Kempton, who negotiated two recent contracts in Manitoba where mineral exploration crosses traditional First Nation land, says there are hundreds of such contracts across the country already, but Manitoba’s just getting started.

“Frankly, it’s about time,” Kempton said in a phone interview. “First Nations were getting completely left behind.” Kempton, who is with Toronto law firm Olthuis Kleer Townshend, recently completed a “mineral exploration accommodation agreement” for lithium between New Age Metals and Sagkeeng First Nation in southeastern Manitoba.

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Hudbay Minerals’ exit from historic Manitoba mining town puts 800 jobs in peril – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – November 30, 2018)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Hudbay Minerals Inc. says it will close its mine in Flin Flon, Man. in 2021, ending hopes it would maintain a threadbare workforce in the town where it employed more than 800 people.

In a memo this week, Robert Assabgui, vice-president of Hudbay’s Manitoba Business Unit, told employees the company had hoped to keep the zinc plant operational, but can’t find enough ore to make it feasible.

“Despite a lot of work over the past few years, the most likely scenario is that mining operations will cease in Flin Flon in 2021,” Assabgui wrote in the memo, also sent to the Financial Post. “As a result, the Flin Flon mill will also cease operations.”

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[Manitoba Mining] Flin Flon’s only mine slated to close by 2021, future of 800 jobs uncertain – by Ian Froese (CBC News Manitoba – November 28, 2018)

https://www.cbc.ca/

A mining operation in Flin Flon that employs 800 people will leave the community in three years. The closure of Hudbay’s 777 mine — the only mine in the northern Manitoba city — has long been forecasted, but employees learned this week through an internal letter that the company’s attempts to find a replacement for the mine have fallen short.

The mining city’s largest employer will also close its mill in Flin Flon, 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, and will “most likely” cease operations at its zinc plant by 2021.The closures will inevitably result in job losses, though the company expects to transfer some positions to nearby mine and mill operations in Snow Lake, Man.

“We have to be honest: after mining for 90 years in the Flin Flon area, we now know that we won’t have an anchor mine to replace 777 and sustain operations in Flin Flon the same way they are today,” said the internal letter, which the company supplied to CBC News on Wednesday.

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Rockcliff Metals drills historic gold mine in Manitoba – by Staff (Mining.com – October 29, 2018)

http://www.mining.com/

Rockcliff Metals (TSX.V: RCLF) announced that it is about to kick off a first phase drill program on its high-grade Laguna Gold property located in Snow Lake, Manitoba.

The Laguna Gold Property hosts the past producing Rex-Laguna Mine that was Manitoba’s first and highest-grade gold mine. The 2,500-metre drill program marks the first drill program on the property in over 70 years.

In a press release, the Toronto-based miner explained that gold mineralization on Laguna is controlled by thrust faults attributed to the major regional Crowduck Bay Fault which crosses the entire length of the property.

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Commentary: Mining industry in Manitoba is near collapse – by Steve Fletcher (Northern Miner – October 23, 2018)

Northern Miner

Steven Fletcher is Leader of the Manitoba Party and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the Constituency of Assiniboia. He was a federal Member of Parliament for 11 years and a federal Cabinet Minister for five years in Stephen Harper’s government. He worked in the mining industry before an automobile collision with a moose left him a quadriplegic.

Mining in Manitoba is vanishing like an early morning fog. The mining industry is near collapse in the keystone province, while I continue to raise the mining crisis in the provincial legislature to no avail. The Manitoba government’s policy on mining is confused, if it exists at all.

Before entering politics, I worked in the mining industry as an engineer in training. My education as a geological engineer provided me with unique opportunities to see most open-pit and underground operations in Manitoba.

Since 2008, poor public policy has exasperated the demise of the mining industry in Manitoba. Yes, low commodity prices have played a significant role, but the nail in the coffin to mining in Manitoba has been government ignorance of the important role that mining has played in our history.

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Vale still keen on nickel, at least in the long term – by Staff (Sudbury Star – October 25, 2018)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Vale said Wednesday it remains optimistic about the long-term prospects for nickel. The short-term, however, is another matter.

The company’s third quarter “results represented a tipping point for the Base Metals business,” Eduardo Bartolomeo, executive officer for Vale’s Base Metals division, said in a release. “We are undergoing an important restructuring process led by our new management team with the focus on optimizing our operations, stabilizing our cost structure and reviewing mine plans.

“We are creating the basis for the nickel business to generate strong cash flows in any price scenario, while keeping the optionality to capture the upside of emerging demand for nickel in electric vehicles.” Part of that restructuring has led to mine closures and job cuts in Sudbury and Thompson, Man.

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Hudbay Investor Seeks Changes to Miner’s Board – by Scott Deveau (Bloomberg News – October 17, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

An investor in Hudbay Minerals Inc. wants to meet with the Toronto miner to discuss replacing members of its board, as well as to seek assurances it won’t pursue acquisitions or joint venture without consulting shareholders, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Waterton Global Resource Management has expressed its concerns to Hudbay Chairman Alan Hibben, telling him that it would reserve the right to do anything it deemed necessary to improve the company’s performance, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public.

Waterton — which has been building its position in Hudbay — now holds about 7 percent of its shares, up from 4.8 percent, this person said.

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NEWS RELEASE: Rockcliff Identifies Gold Along a 10-Kilometre Long Horizon at the SLG Gold Property, Snow Lake, Manitoba (October 18, 2018)

For original news release and maps: http://rockcliffmetals.com/news/2018/10/18/rockcliff-identifies-gold-along-a-10-kilometre-long-horizon-at-the-slg-gold-property-snow-lake-manitoba

Toronto, ON – October 18, 2018 – Rockcliff Metals Corporation (“Rockcliff” or the “Company”) (TSX.V: RCLF) (FRANKFURT: RO0, WKN: A2H60G) is pleased to announce that geological prospecting has identified the “McLeod Gold Horizon”, more than a 10-kilometre long mineralized corridor associated with gold and copper mineralization on the Company”s SLG Gold Property.

President & CEO of Rockcliff, Ken Lapierre commented: “This strategic property hosts multiple historical gold-rich zones along several regional structural fault splays. The McLeod Gold Horizon has never been drill tested, yet hosts numerous historical gold showings. Rockcliff”s grab samples confirmed the presence of high-grade gold and copper mineralization. In 2019, we plan to advance this gold asset with additional surface work in preparation for a drill program focusing on top priority gold targets.”

The SLG Gold Property is immediately adjacent to three former gold producers with total production of over 1.4M ounces and a 2,000 tonne per day gold mill facility.

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Electric vehicles could increase demand for Thompson, Manitoba nickel, says North Atlantic mining director – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – October 11, 2018)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Increasing demand for battery-powered vehicles could be the key to increased demand and prices for nickel, Vale’s director of North Atlantic mining operations told Thompson Chamber of Commerce members Oct. 3 while he was in town for Manitoba Operations’ annual open house.

But achieving price stability is a key to convincing the company’s board to invest in further developing Thompson’s mines to take advantage of that growing market, said Alistair Ross.

“We believe that society is on a path that they will not deflect from at least in the next 10 to 20 years and that is we’re not going to continue with internal combustion engines,” Ross said. “The answer to no more ICE – internal combustion engines – is battery electric.”

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Manitoba government response incoming on mining protocols – by Eric Westhaver (Flin Flon Reminder – October 2, 2018)

https://www.thereminder.ca/

New rules could soon be coming for Manitoba mining companies hoping to work with First Nations groups.

A formal response from the provincial government regarding the Manitoba-First Nations Mineral Development Protocol is due to come later this month, according to previous provincial statements.

In June, the provincial government and the Ministry of Growth, Enterprise and Trade announced a report from the project’s co-chairs – Ron Evans, former chief of Norway House Cree Nation, and Jim Downey, former deputy premier and MLA – that detailed the set of protocols. “A formal response is currently being finalized,” said a provincial spokesperson.

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