Archive | Ontario Mining

The Red Lake resurgence: Miners and explorers seek ever more gold from this busy Ontario district – by Greg Klein (Resource Clips – September 16, 2019)

September 17, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining, Red Lake

http://resourceclips.com/

A new gold producer on the way, attention-grabbing assays from a well-financed junior and high hopes for the price of gold—could that in any way explain the current excitement at Red Lake? A region that’s produced 30 million ounces since its first rush in 1926 still has more gold to mine and, explorers believe, more mines to find.

Just as Newmont Goldcorp TSX:NGT was considering the sale of its Red Lake operations, Pure Gold Mining TSXV:PGM began building Madsen Red Lake, billed as Canada’s highest-grade gold development project. But, as far as juniors are concerned, the district’s biggest newsmaker has been Great Bear Resources’ (TSXV:GBR) Dixie Lake property.

While focused on British Columbia’s Golden Triangle in 2017, Great Bear optioned Dixie from Newmont, also getting decades of data from over 160 historic holes. Given the succession of companies that drilled and departed, the data might have seemed more encumbrance than encouragement. Continue Reading →

Book celebrates 100 years of Kirkland Lake – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – September 11, 2019)

September 13, 2019 in Books, Art, Music and Photography About Mining and Northern Topics, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Kirkland Lake, Northern Ontario History, Ontario Mining

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Mayors and reeves, renowned strongmen and multi-million-dollar lottery winners are among the cast of colourful characters in a newly published book celebrating the centennial of the Town of Kirkland Lake.

Authored by Bill Glover, Gold for a Mad Miner is an anthology of 18 stories celebrating the town’s history, quirks and legends, printed in time to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the town’s founding in 1919. Glover, who was born and raised in Kirkland Lake, said he’s always been interested in storytelling, and this marks the fifth book he’s written.

Though he’s retired now, he spent close to six decades in the mining industry, first working in Sudbury at Frood and Stobie mines, before establishing his own consultancy firm, which took him to Asia, Europe, South America, the U.S. and beyond. Continue Reading →

First Nations need to take the lead on Far North development: Yesno – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 12, 2019)

September 13, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Eabametoong chief regards “nation building” as key to developing local economies

Harvey Yesno wants Eabametoong to take the initiative when it comes to development in their traditional territory instead of constantly reacting to it. The respected former grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) was elected chief of the remote Far North community in mid-June, succeeding Elizabeth Atlookan.

“What has happened in our region is we’ve just been responding to what’s going on,whether it’s one permit and one explorer, or the Ring of Fire,” said Yesno. “I’d like to be in a position where we are engaging.”

Eabametoong, a remote Ojibway community of 1,500, is located 350 kilometres north of Thunder Bay on the Albany River system. It’s one of the nine-member Matawa First Nations tribal councils and one of the five remote communities closest to the Ring of Fire mineral belt. Continue Reading →

Century Project, lookout nearing completion, and more updates from Porcupine Gold Mines – by Maija Hoggett (Timmins Today – September 11, 2019)

September 12, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Goldcorp Inc., Newmont, Ontario Mining, Timmins

https://www.timminstoday.com/

All-electric Borden Mine almost ready to open

From a public lookout of the open pit to the Newmont acquistion and where the Century Project is at, everything was on the discussion table for Marc Lauzier today.

Lauzier is the general manager of Newmont Goldcorp’s Porcupine Gold Mines and was the featured speaker at the Timmins Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly Inside Their Business event. Earlier this year, the $10-billion merger of Newmont Mining Corp. and Goldcorp was completed, creating a new company – Newmont Goldcorp.

The local operations involved are the Porcupine Gold Mines, which includes the Hoyle Pond underground mine and Hollinger open-pit. Borden Lake near Chapleau is opening this year and is an all-battery-electric mine. The Century project is also still in development. Continue Reading →

City mining for gov’t funds to repair headframe – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – September 12, 2019)

September 12, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Northern Ontario History, Ontario Mining, Timmins

https://www.timminspress.com/

The city’s iconic McIntyre headframe is in dire need of repairs. The total cost could exceed half-a-million dollars. But the money isn’t in this year’s budget.

Timmins council on Tuesday approved some repairs to the external layer of the structure — a job which is expected to cost about $15,000 — with the plan is to complete the full repairs next year.

Mark Jensen, the city’s director of community and development services, told council there is a chance the project could qualify for government funding covering up to 75% of the cost. However, there is no guarantee the city will receive financial support from upper-tier governments. Continue Reading →

Excerpt from Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise – by Charlotte Gray (September 11, 2019)

September 11, 2019 in Books, Art, Music and Photography About Mining and Northern Topics, Canadian Mining History, Gold and Silver, Kirkland Lake, Northern Ontario History, Ontario Mining

To order a copy of Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise: https://bit.ly/2lHTbYt

Charlotte Gray is one of Canada’s best-known writers of non-fiction, specializing in history and biography, and her books have been nominated for or won most major non-fiction literary prizes. Murdered Midas is her eleventh book, and her second study of a great gold rush. In 2010, she published Gold Diggers: Striking it Rich in the Klondike which was the basis for both a PBS documentary and a Discovery Channel mini-series. She lives in Ottawa and is an adjunct research professor at Carleton University and a Member of the Order of Canada.

Excerpt from Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise 

Had Harry Oakes once again arrived too late for a big strike? In Toronto in the spring of 1911, the thirty-six-year-old stared at the geological charts and topographical maps in Ontario’s Department of Mines, noting the extensive grid of prospectors’ claims superimposed on the region north of North Bay, bang in the centre of the immense expanse of Canada.

On paper, Northern Ontario looked as though government surveyors had already outlined its features and its potential. By now, the provincial bureaucrats suggested, the land had been “tamed.” Oakes traced with his stubby, stained finger the settlements strewn across the grim monotony of forest, rock, water, and muskeg swamp.

The charts recorded only mining camps; the cartographers had ignored the numerous Indigenous communities, although their presence showed up in the Ojibwa or Cree names of several features, such as Lake Temagami. Most of the network of links connecting mining camps consisted of rough, winding trails, but there were also newly laid railway tracks, punctuated at regular intervals by stations. Continue Reading →

Ontario to work with First Nations to unlock Ring of Fire – by Jean Lian (Northern Miner – September 2019)

September 11, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Global mining news

Rick Gregford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Minister of Indigenous Affairs, announced in August that the province would work directly with First Nation communities to develop infrastructure that unlocks the mineral-rich region in northern Ontario.

Establishing bilateral agreements with individual First Nation communities to replace the previous Liberal government’s collective-negotiations approach under a 2014 framework agreement with nine Matawa First Nation communities will expedite the building of a north–south corridor to the Ring of Fire.

Noront Resources (TSXV: NOT) — which says it holds 85% of all claims staked in the Ring of Fire — and Marten Falls First Nation released a statement in late August applauding the provincial government’s move. Continue Reading →

Pre-election goodies for First Nation bridges, clean water projects – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – September 10, 2019)

September 11, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Mining Railway, Road and Other Infrastructure, Ontario Mining

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Ahead of a federal election, Ottawa was rolling out funding and breaking ground on First Nation community infrastructure projects across Northern Ontario. Nipissing First Nation, west of North Bay, received $3.3 million to build a new road between the on-reserve communities of Yellek and Duchesnay.

The construction involves building a 2.1-kilometre paved road with shoulders, walkways and culverts. Local MP Anthony Rota said on Sept.6 that the road gives members “better access to critical services” and will improve community safety.

The province is chipping in $808,650 for the project while Nipissing First Nation is contributing $294,225. “In 2015, our citizens identified this linkage as a priority to address safety concerns stemming from both communities having only one access point,” said Chief Scott McLeod in a press release. “This critical new infrastructure will also open up land for development and lead to more centralized services to improve quality of life for our citizens.” Continue Reading →

McEwen Mining grows Black Fox complex in Ontario – by Trish Saywell (Northern Miner – September 6, 2019)

September 10, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

Global mining news

Two years ago, McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) purchased the Black Fox mine complex in northeastern Ontario for US$35 million. The complex, 70 km from Timmins and about 9 km from Matheson, included the Black Fox underground gold mine, a 2,400-tonne-per-day mill, a tailings facility, the past-producing Stock gold mine, and two development projects — Grey Fox and Froome.

The acquisition from Primero Mining also came with US$150 million in tax pools the company could use to shelter future income. (Those tax pools are currently worth about US$197 million.) The Toronto-based mining company thinks the deal was a steal.

Primero had purchased the property from Brigus Gold in 2014 for more than $300 million and assumed liabilities of about $140 million. It then spent another $120 million on capex and exploration, McEwen Mining says. Continue Reading →

Canada’s highest grade gold development launched (Resource World Magazine – September 9, 2019)

September 10, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://resourceworld.com/

Pure Gold Mining Inc. [PGM-TSXV; LRTNF-OTC] said Monday September 9 that it has started construction at its flagship Madsen Red Lake Mine in northwestern Ontario.

“Today we hit yet another milestone on our road to near term cash flow,” said Pure Gold President and CEO Darin Labrenz. “I am incredibly proud of our team for what they have accomplished over the last five years.”

The announcement comes after Pure Gold recently completed a US$90 million project financing package with Sprott Resource Lending Corp. That followed an equity raise of $47.5 million that was backed by Eric Sprott and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. [AU-NYSE; AGG-ASX; ANG-JSE]. AngloGold currently owns approximately 14.3% of Pure Gold on a non-diluted basis. Continue Reading →

[Kirkland Lake Gold] Canada’s TSX 60 to gain a gold miner, lose an energy player – by David Milstead (Globe and Mail – September 10, 2019)

September 10, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The index of Canada’s biggest stocks has welcomed a gold company and said goodbye to an energy player, but the changes that weren’t made are even more notable.

S&P Dow Jones Indices said it will add Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. when it rebalances the S&P/TSX 60 on Sept. 23 and remove Husky Energy Inc. to do so. Kirkland Lake is up about 75 per cent this year, while Husky has declined by about one-third.

Often loosely described as a blue-chip index, the S&P/TSX 60 is not simply composed of the 60 best-performing stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange, however, nor is it the five dozen most valuable companies. Instead, there are a handful of complex rules governing membership, and one of them, regarding sector balancing, suggested that the committee might have added Air Canada to the ranks – and delete either Bombardier Inc. or SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. to do so. Continue Reading →

Cobalt 27 faces investor outcry amid accusations it’s selling ‘crown jewel’ assets at a loss – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – September 7, 2019)

September 7, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Cobalt Town, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Junior Exploration Sector, Nickel, Nickel Laterites, Ontario Mining

https://business.financialpost.com/

Proposed buyout has some shareholders feeling like the company bought high and sold low as it tries to steer investors from cobalt to nickel

Toronto-based Cobalt 27 Capital Corp., which billed itself as an investment in the electric vehicle revolution, is facing outcries from some of its largest shareholders as it tries to sell its most valuable assets during a market low-point.

The company roared into the market in mid-2017 with an initial public offering, ultimately raising hundreds of millions of dollars to stockpile and acquire royalties on cobalt, an essential metal used in lithium-ion batteries. Within about a year the price of cobalt had hit a five-year peak, only to crash in the latter half of 2018 and never fully recover.

Now the company wants to steer its investors into nickel and to sell its main cobalt assets to its largest shareholder, Pala Investments. Other shareholders would receive $3.57 in cash, plus equity in Nickel 28, a new company that would hold the remaining assets including a stake in a nickel mine in Papua New Guinea. Continue Reading →

The Tories are dissolving the Ring of Fire agreement. So what comes next? – by Jon Thompson (TVO.org – September 3, 2019)

September 4, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.tvo.org/

TVO.org speaks with people close to the issue about why it’s proved so divisive — and what the future may hold for Indigenous-government relations in the north

Greg Rickford, Ontario’s minister of northern development, mines and energy, and Indigenous affairs, last week issued a 90-day notice to Matawa chiefs that the province is dissolving the Ring of Fire regional-framework agreement.

“Frankly, to this point, it’s been a little complicated and lengthy,” Rickford told reporters in Sault Ste. Marie. “It has not necessarily met the timelines that the market should expect a project to come on board.”

The Ring of Fire, a large mineral belt discovered in 2007, comprises 5,000 square kilometres in the James Bay lowlands. According to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, establishing a mining development there could create as many as 5,500 jobs and more than $9 billion in economic activity over the course of a decade. Continue Reading →

Ring of Fire negotiation model has failed – by Ian Pattison (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – September 1, 2019)

September 2, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/

THIS TIME nine years ago the potential of the Ring of Fire mineral belt in Northwestern Ontario was being realized. More than 30 mining exploration companies were digging around the James Bay lowlands and finding immense evidence of mineral deposits, chiefly chromite — the main ingredient in stainless steel.

People salivated over the economic impact and potential job creation. Then-premier Dalton McGuinty called the project key to Ontario economic recovery. His northern development minister, Thunder Bay’s Michael Gravelle, began the first of many meetings with First Nations in the region.

Initially, few in the business world took seriously the need to consult with First Nations before putting development plans in motion. This led to protests by those communities and eventually to a whole new legal framework ensuring such consultation would precede any development. Continue Reading →

Leo Gerard, retired president of United Steel Workers: ‘No one believed more in workers’ – by David Shribman (Globe and Mail – September 2, 2019)

September 2, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Sudbury History

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/

Canadian labour activist Leo Gerard recently retired after 18 years as international president of the United Steel Workers (USW) – the largest industrial union in North America. The onetime smelter worker devoted his career to battling the wealth gap.

Mr. Gerard faced numerous headwinds as a labour leader. He has grappled with declining rates of union membership. He has taken on leaders of both U.S. political parties, whose free-trade orthodoxy collided with his members’ concerns about imports of steel and other products. And he has struggled with members of his own union who have little in common culturally with U.S. President Donald Trump, but are nonetheless drawn to the Manhattan tycoon because of his populist approach and his nationalistic rhetoric.

The discord roiled Mr. Gerard’s union and placed him in a difficult political position. He argued just after the Trump triumph that the new President was elected “by stealing our agenda.” Continue Reading →