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Ontario Mining

IAMGOLD digging for funds to finish Gogama open-pit mine project – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 9, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Toronto mining company weighs financing options while aiming for early 2024 production start

IAMGOLD is scrounging for funds in order to push its Côté open-pit mine project across the construction finish line. The Toronto gold company made the admission in releasing its third quarter financial and production numbers this week, reporting revenues of US$343.3 million, a net loss of $108.3 million and its highest quarterly gold production in two-and-half years from its other mines in Burkina Faso, Suriname and Canada.

At the end of September, the Côté project was 64 per cent complete as activity heads into a peak construction period with approximately 1,500 workers at the site. The company is aiming for a first gold pour and the start of mining at Côté early in 2024. So far, everything is on schedule.

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Sale of Red Lake mine could begin this week – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 8, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Many bidders could show interest in shuttered Red Lake mine should court approve sales process

Pure Gold Mining could have the ‘For Sale’ sign out for its Red Lake mine as early as Thursday. The insolvent Vancouver gold company, now under creditor protection, heads to a B.C. court Nov. 9 to petition for the sales process to begin immediately of its underground mine, processing mill and 4,600 hectares of gold property.

According to recent court documents, the company is asking for a stay of proceedings until Jan. 27, 2023 and permission to start the sales and investment solicitation process (SISP). National Bank Financial will be the sales agent.

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Magna plans drilling at Denison nickel-copper project after ‘considerable’ resource estimate – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – November 8, 2022)

Global mining news

Magna Mining (TSXV: NICU) says its first resource for its Denison nickel, copper and platinum group metals project in Ontario’s Sudbury basin shows “significant potential.”

Magna is exploring the restart of a past-producing underground mine and the development of an open-pit operation to the site, also known as Crean Hill. As well, Magna owns the advanced-stage Shakespeare, a similar project in the same region. Denison’s indicated resource for both underground and open pit totals more than 31 million tonnes, Magna said.

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Ontario to apologize to miners forced to use McIntyre Powder – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – November 9, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury MPP Jamie West wins agreement from Ontario Legislature to apologize to miners who were forced to inhale McIntyre Powder as part of their job

At the end of this month, the Ontario legislature is expected to become united for a few moments as all members of all parties at Queen’s Park will offer an apology to a select group of miners, their widows and their families.

On Nov. 8, Sudbury MPP Jamie West held a news conference at the Miners’ Memorial in Bell Park to announce the Ontario legislature would offer a formal apology to a generation of miners who were forced to inhale a substance called McIntyre Powder, a substance that new research shows caused some of those miners to develop Parkinson’s disease.

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From mine site to pollinators paradise – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – November 7, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Jenny Fortier and Northern Wildflowers plying their expertise to help regenerate mine sites

Jenny Fortier’s booth at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference got a lot of double takes last June.Nestled in amongst the technology experts and equipment manufacturers at the Toronto mining tradeshow, Fortier’s display stood out for its distinctly un-mining-like look and messaging.

A butterfly landing on a purple coneflower, with the company name, Northern Wildflowers, emblazoned across its promotional banner, doesn’t exactly scream “mining.”

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Ontario-focused Frontier Lithium aspires to become Canada’s ‘lithium champion’ – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – November 7, 2022)

Global mining news

Frontier Lithium (TSXV: FL; US-OTC: LITOF) reports progress towards completing a resource update and prefeasibility study for its PAK project in northwestern Ontario by the first quarter of 2023. The prospective lithium pegmatite project is 170 km north of the famed Red Lake Gold Camp in an emerging lithium mineral district in the Canadian Shield dubbed the ‘Electric Avenue.’

Having already outlined one of the largest and highest grade spodumene resources in North America, the project has the potential to crystalize the vision of Frontier becoming Canada’s ‘lithium champion,’ as owner, president and CEO Trevor Walker tells The Northern Miner in an interview.

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Cochrane-area cesium explorer willing to stand its ground against Ottawa – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 4, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Power Metals and Hong Kong partner plan to appeal federal divestment order

A junior miner searching for cesium and lithium in northeastern Ontario said its Hong Kong financing partner intends to appeal a Canadian government order to pull its investment from the critical minerals exploration project.

In the meantime, it’s business as usual Power Metals said of its ongoing exploration drilling at its Case Lake Project site, 80 kilometres east of Cochrane, near the border with Quebec.

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Ontario Mines Minister Pirie targets red tape for Ring of Fire – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – November 4, 2022)

Global mining news

Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie, a 35-year mining industry veteran before his election in June, says he plans to consider cutting project red tape “fairly shortly” while encouraging more federal investment in the Ring of Fire.

Pirie, who served as head of Placer Dome Canada in the years before of its acquisition by Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) in 2006, says Ontario has potential to displace the foreign output of some minerals needed in the multi-trillion-dollar global transition to clean energy. But projects can’t take 12 to 15 years for approval.

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Beijing accuses Canada of ‘suppressing Chinese companies’ – by Steve Chase and Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 4, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Beijing is accusing Canada of “suppressing Chinese companies” by forcing three of its state-controlled corporations to sell their stakes in Canadian critical minerals businesses.

On Wednesday, Ottawa ordered Chinese state-owned companies to immediately divest their interests in three Canadian critical minerals companies. The federal government had faced an avalanche of criticism earlier this year for allowing too much investment from the Asian superpower in Canada’s domestic mining sector.

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Pure Gold’s Red Lake mine poised to go on the selling block – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 2, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

CCAA court documents show mine supply and service companies owed $16 million

With only a $260,000 cash balance at the end, insolvent Pure Gold Mining has started the process of finding a new buyer or deep-pocketed investor for its Red Lake mine and mill operation.

Facing an “imminent” cash crisis, unable to raise any outside financing, and plagued by “operational challenges,” the Vancouver mining company called a halt to operations Oct. 24 and was granted creditor protection by the B.C. Supreme Court under the Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act on Oct. 31.

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Mining company Glencore plans for new furnace in Sudbury, Ont. (CBC News Sudbury – November 3, 2022)

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

The current furnace was built in 1978 and one of the oldest of its kind in the world

Mining giant Glencore plans to have a new furnace at its Sudbury operations by 2026. The project is expected to cost more than $100 million.

The company’s current electric furnace was built in 1978, which makes it one of the longest-running furnaces of its kind in the world, according to Peter Xavier, vice-president of Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ring of Fire Metals Progresses Sustainable Mine Studies (November 1, 2022)

Ring of Fire Metals (RoF Metals) has commenced two studies exploring the use of wind power and atmospheric carbon removal as part of planning for a net zero emissions mine in Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire.

Stephen Crozier, RoF Metals VP Sustainability, said the findings from a study of the wind energy resource conducted by global renewable energy company Windlab earlier this year were promising.

“Our primary focus in the development of Eagle’s Nest is to implement low emissions technologies throughout the operation, wherever possible,” he said.

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Timmins nickel explorer sees big tonnage potential at Shaw Dome Project – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 1, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

EV Nickel envisions “clean nickel” mining and processing operation to supply the electric vehicle makers

A little bit of Mark Selby and Canada Nickel appears to be rubbing off on an exploration startup company in the Timmins mining camp. EV Nickel hopes to replicate the marketing success of Canada Nickel’s Crawford Project by proving up a low-grade, large-tonnage nickel resource at its Shaw Dome Project, 25 kilometres southeast of the city.

The Toronto company recently released some promising early assay results from last summer’s drilling program that show a new zone of nickel mineralization at the CarLang area of its enormous 30,000-hectare exploration property.

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Vancouver miner Pure Gold seeks creditor protection after suspending operations for lack of money – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – October 31, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Ontario mine plagued with problems since production began last year

Vancouver-based Pure Gold Mining Inc. has applied for creditor protection a week after suspending its underground mining operations in Ontario.

The miner on Monday said it had applied for an initial order under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act from the Supreme Court of British Columbia, adding it was considering “all available transactional and restructuring options” for the company.

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Mining the Northwest: Charged up lithium explorers move toward mine production – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – October 26, 2022)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Green Tech Metals buys out partner, Rock Tech Lithium firms up European supply chain

A pair of lithium junior miners in northwestern Ontario are making moves to consolidate ground and firm up its supply chain to feed the downstream electric vehicle manufacturers.

Australia’s Green Technology Metals is dissolving a joint venture partnership with Ardiden to acquire the remaining 20 per cent stake in its Ontario lithium properties. The deal worth (Australian) $18.5 million gives Green Tech full control of three lithium holdings including Seymour, located just outside of Armstrong, that the company is touting as a mine development.

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