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Ontario Mining

Is Ontario holding back the Ring of Fire? Federal natural resources minister says so – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 8, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Accused of stalling Far North mineral development, province says it waits on $1-billion commitment from Ottawa

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Ottawa offered a $40-million sweetener to entice Queen’s Park for a formal sit-down to discuss how to make progress in the Ring of Fire. So far, Wilkinson said, they’ve been rebuffed by the province.

“To date, Ontario has not taken us up on that, but I continue to urge Ontario to do that. I think it’s an important conversation, but there are really important issues to be addressed before we actually talk about mines.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Wyloo and Metalshub Partner for Green Nickel Transparency (October 1, 2024)

Wyloo and Metalshub have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve transparency of the carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials, pricing and provenance in international nickel markets.

Wyloo intends to use Metalshub for the sale of its low-carbon nickel and nickel concentrate products following a re-start of its Kambalda, Western Australia nickel operations. The collaboration also aims to develop a price index for low-carbon nickel concentrate and nickel sulphate, to be referenced in future sales contracts.

Wyloo CEO, Luca Giacovazzi, said the collaboration would set a new global standard for sustainably produced nickel products and enable greater transparency of low carbon nickel pricing.

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Mining the Northwest: Ottawa drops $14 million to help move critical minerals to market – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 7, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Four northwestern Ontario mining proponents snag funding for road, transmission line and engineering work

Four copper and lithium mine developers in northwestern Ontario, collectively, will be pocketing almost $14 million in federal funding to build access roads and power lines into their future mine sites.

Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson delivered the news in Thunder Bay, Oct. 7, that $13.8 million is earmarked for five mining-related projects – including two with Sudbury’s Frontier Lithium – that will facilitate the mining and movement of these critical minerals for processing and eventually to the electric vehicle supply market.

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Sagamok Anishnawbek takes the plunge into underground mining – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 3, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Z’gamok Enterprises acquires majority ownership of Sudbury contractor Legend Mining

New ownership is at the helm of Legend Mining. Z’gamok Enterprises Inc. (ZEI) has acquired a 51-49 per cent controlling interest in the Sudbury mining contractor. The deal, a year in the making, was finalized Sept. 4.

Diving into underground mining services had been something the organization has been thinking and strategizing about for a decade. ZEI, an economic development organization owned and operated by Sagamok Anishnawbek is located south of Massey on the north shore of Lake Huron. It runs three businesses that collectively employ 130.

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Wyloo CEO makes Timmins stop to talk Ring of Fire – by Maija Hoggett (Timmins Today – October 3, 2024)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

Efforts to get the province to the table to talk about conservation planning processes remain at a stand-still

TIMMINS – With a nickel mine in Ontario’s Far North aiming to be in production in six years, the Timmins business community had a chance to learn more about the project. Wyloo CEO Kristan Straub talked about the ongoing work at the proposed nickel and chromite mine in the Ring of Fire today (Oct. 3) at the Timmins Chamber’s State of Mining series.

The proposed Eagle’s Nest Mine is located 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay in a minerally enriched area of the James Bay wetlands.

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Industry leaders converge in Sudbury for annual mining conference – by Staff (Sudbury Star – September 29, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Several big companies planning to launch or expand operations in city

Sudbury’s role as a vital mining hub was highlighted during a three-day conference last week, and the city was proud to be part of it. “The conversations we’ve been having this week at MINExpo confirm what we’ve always known – Greater Sudbury is a critical player in the global mining industry,” said Mayor Paul Lefebvre in a release. “Hearing first-hand from these industry leaders that we are vital to their expansion plans is a testament to the strength of our community and the sector.”

Lefebvre and city representatives met with a number of key industry leaders, including original equipment manufacturers, potential national and international investors, as well as local organizations, to explore collaboration and expansion opportunities.

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Inside the Fight for the Ring of Fire – by Laura Trethewey (MACLEANS Magazine – September 30, 2024)

https://macleans.ca/

In Ontario’s hinterlands, a battle is brewing between First Nations, prospectors and the provincial government over a multi-billion-dollar motherlode of metals

Coleen Moonias grew up in the 1980s in Lansdowne House, a tiny Ojibwe community in northwestern Ontario. In winter, when the temperature plunged to 50 below zero, the interior walls of her home glittered with frost. Her parents hung blankets as insulation.

In summer she foraged with her cousins for berries, fending off swarms of mosquitoes that rose from the surrounding peatlands. The nearest neighbouring community was nearly 100 kilometres away; Coleen’s entire world was this small place bound by blood and marriage. But Lansdowne House was sinking into Attawapiskat Lake, and so, when Coleen was eight years old, its residents moved to a new location nearby, which became Neskantaga First Nation, home to about 400 people.

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MineConnect casts a wider net across Ontario – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – September 25, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Regional mining supply association expanding to become province-wide presence

A Northern Ontario mining supply group is expanding its membership reach across Ontario. MineConnect Supply and Services Association announced at the MINExpo International Conference in Las Vegas this week that it plans to broaden its membership base across the province, calling it a “significant milestone in the organization’s growth journey.”

MineConnect, which has an office presence in Nevada, said in a news release that the expansion to include Ontario members will enhance the group’s market presence and should boost domestic and international partnership opportunities for the both organization and its members.

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‘There will be nobody … monitoring the land’: Grand chief urges Ontario to meet – by Maija Hoggett (Timmins Today – September 20, 2024)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

‘Despite our best efforts to work with the province of Ontario, we have yet to see meaningful signals of their willingness to work with us’

If Ontario doesn’t come to the table soon, years of work to protect the land and water of the Far North are at risk. Mushkegowuk Council Grand Chief Leo Friday issued a statement today urging Premier Doug Ford to meet with their chiefs. They want the province to agree to immediately protect the coast of Western James Bay and southwestern Hudson Bay, and the North French River.

The ask isn’t for money, in 2022 the federal government committed $800 million to create up to four Indigenous-led conservation areas, including Mushkegowuk.

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Sudbury students with ‘rocks in their blood’ get together after 50 years – by Hugh Kruzel (Sudbury Star – September 16, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Laurentian geology graduates from 1974 gather in Wahnapitae to share memories and renew friendships

You may have attended a high school reunion; the reasons may be complex and often include renewing lost friendships or just bringing back youthful memories. For some, it is a reoccurring annual, five-year or even decade theme on the map of life.

What if it was your university graduating class? The program that set you off on a career and shaped your life? It was a cool wet day off the backroads of Wahnapitae, but it didn’t quench the spirit of the event. Dwayne Car, who hosted the get-together, had set up a tent and fire pit to chase away the chill.

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BACK ROADS BILL: Mitigating a catastrophe at a legacy mine – by Bill Steer (Timmins Today – September 13, 2024)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

Go to Charles Dube’s website for a well documented historical account of the Steep Rock Lake Mine: https://tinyurl.com/af8f93nj

Bill tells us about a not-so-well-known, long-term environmental solution in the making

A recent back road trip led me to discover the current progress of the provincial government in trying to mitigate an inherited contaminated area. If ignored, it would become a long-term catastrophe. It’s called a lake, Steep Rock Lake, but it isn’t, really.It now looks a little like the setting of a Waubgeshig Rice dystopian novel or Last of Us the raging HBO hit.

There are cautionary and explanatory signs and fenced off areas everywhere. Over time the former asphalt access roads are now well pitted and cracked with emerging plants. The same with the railway over/underpasses. The original galvanized guard rails are coated with a tinge of red iron ore dust.

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Magna Mining makes a bold $33-million move in Sudbury – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 12, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury mine developer will put its local knowledge to the test in asset deal with KGHM

Magna Mining, a fast-moving Sudbury mining startup company, has taken a giant leap forward by acquiring a working copper mine in the Sudbury basin along with a raft of promising properties from Polish-headquartered miner KGHM International.

Magna, known locally for its redevelopment of the former Crean Hill mine, has signed an agreement to acquire the operating McCreedy West copper mine and a stable for exploration and development properties across the Sudbury basin in a $33.3-million cash-and-share deal.

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Mining the Northwest: Red Lake’s Great Bear project could be a beast of a mine – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 11, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Kinross Gold paints an open pit and underground mining picture worthy of 500,000 ounces a year

Once the Great Bear project gets rocking and rolling in 2029, Kinross Gold projects its future Red Lake mine can be a 500,000-ounce-a-year producer.

The Toronto gold company released a preliminary economic study (PEA) on Sept. 10 of Great Bear showing a 12-year operating life that will churn out 5.3 million ounces of gold over that span. In the PEA, Kinross paints a picture of mining high-grade material via open pit and underground methods, concurrently.

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Fulcrum Metals wants to turn Kirkland Lake tailings into treasure – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 10, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The UK-based exploration company sees multi-billion-dollar opportunity to extract gold, clean up mining legacy sites

Gold-enriched tailings piles left behind by two historic mining operations outside Kirkland Lake has attracted a United Kingdom-based company promoting the idea of sustainable mining.

Fulcrum Metals wants to dive into the tailings piles of the historic Teck-Hughes and Sylvanite mines to extract gold contained in the granular waste piles on the surface and eventually remediate the sites.

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Taking down Vale stacks in Copper Cliff will be slow and not exciting to watch – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – September 7, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

But it will be expensive — perhaps as much as $100 million by 2030, top executive says, as they must be taken down almost brick by brick

Sudbury’s tallest structure is slated to come down, and when it does the moment will be bittersweet not only for residents and workers but even the mining brass who have concluded it can no longer stand. The Superstack “has been with the city for more than 50 years, and there are emotional attachments to landmarks,” acknowledged Gord Gilpin, head of Ontario base metals with Vale.

“It’s internationally recognized with Sudbury, with the company, and with the mining industry.” Many older residents recall when the 1,250-foot cloud-tickler was erected and “we have our own stories of the history behind it,” said Gilpin.

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