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Ontario Mining

Government funding expected soon to complete Temiskaming refinery build – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 3, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Electra Battery Materials ponders Quebec invite to build refinery in Becancour

Electra Battery Materials fully expects government funding to roll in shortly to finish its incomplete cobalt and nickel refinery expansion in Temiskaming. The Toronto company issued a Dec. 29 news release that it expects government funding “very early in 2024” to resume construction that was brought to a halt last year.

Electra is short US$60 million to finish its refurbishment and expansion of the former Yukon refinery located between the town of Cobalt and Temiskaming Shores.

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Ontario chiefs seek halt to online mining claim-staking – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 3, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Chiefs of Ontario resolution calls for year-long moratorium pending review

Indigenous leaders in Ontario are calling for a moratorium on the virtual staking of mining claims while they review the process to ensure that impacted First Nation communities are being properly consulted.

In a resolution passed last November during the organization’s annual fall assembly, the Chiefs of Ontario say the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) puts pressure on First Nations to participate in potential mineral development opportunities while also reducing the amount of land available for land claim settlements that are already underway.

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Agnico Eagle invests $23M for 12% of Canada Nickel – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – January 2, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) made a $23.1-million investment in the recent flow-through offering from Canada Nickel Company (TSXV: CNC; OTCQX: CNIKF). Agnico acquired 19.6 million units at a price of $1.18 per unit for a total consideration of slightly more than $23.1 million. This gives Agnico a non-diluted equity interest in Canada Nickel of 12% or 15.6% on a partially diluted basis.

Canada Nickel raised a total of $34.7 million. Each unit consists of one flow-through share and 0.35 of one flow-through share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase an additional common share at a price of $1.77 any time prior to Dec. 29, 2026, or the expiry date.

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Northeastern Ontario nickel miners not threatened by flood of the metal from Indonesia – by Kate Rutherford (CBC News Sudbury – January 03, 2024)

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

Environmentally sound production increasingly important factor in sourcing the critical mineral

Low nickel prices partly attributed to a flood of the metal coming onto the market from Indonesia aren’t deterring nickel miners in northeastern Ontario from moving forward in the coming year.

The price of nickel per pound was hovering around $7.42 US on January 1, 2024 compared to just under $14 a year prior. Paul Fowler is vice president of Magna Mining which owns the Shakespeare mine near Espanola and the Crean Hill mine near Whitefish.

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How reconciliation is tied up in the Ring of Fire – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – December 31, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In remote Ontario, Marten Falls First Nation hopes to move past more than 100 years of subjugation, as it opens the door to critical minerals development and an all-season road that will change their lives

As crazy hectic as your life may be, it likely doesn’t hold a candle to that of Bruce Achneepineskum. He is chief of Marten Falls First Nation, an extremely remote Anishinaabe community on the banks of the Albany River in Ontario’s far north, about 400 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. As chief, Mr. Achneepineskum wears many hats. He oversees his council. He’s a mentor, a spiritual figure, an artist and a fire marshal. He’s a father of two grown children from his first wife, and of a 17-month-old boy with his current partner.

The needs in Marten Falls are immediate and stark. There is a severe shortage of homes. A boil-water advisory has been in place for 18 years. There are endemic social problems that never seem to go away – youth suicide, alcoholism and opioid addiction.

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Mining the Northwest: Ottawa went too far on regulating mining, infrastructure projects: experts – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December 21, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Legal experts say ball’s in Ottawa’s court to revamp and make legal Canada’s Impact Assessment Act

The Canadian government’s environmental assessment process is in disarray. On Oct. 13, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a 5-2 decision that most of Ottawa’s controversial Impact Assessment Act (IAA) was unconstitutional and far outside the government’s authority to assess and make decisions on major resource and infrastructure projects

Only 10 out of 188 sections in the Act — passed in 2019 — were deemed valid. And that was a narrow section of the IAA concerning projects on federal land and that are federally financed.

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March: Updates on critical mining in northern Ontario – by By Norm Tollinsky (Canadian Mining Journal – December 21, 2023)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

When George Pirie, Ontario’s mines minister, closes his eyes and imagines what a resurgent northern Ontario mining industry will look like five years from now, he might see new nickel mines in Sudbury and Timmins, a battery industrial park in Cobalt, haul trucks transporting nickel concentrate on the recently completed road from the Ring of Fire, and multiple lithium mines and processing facilities in northwestern Ontario.

It is a good bet that much of the scenario will indeed materialize. The drills are confirming that the resources are there, the environmental assessments are progressing, and meetings with battery manufacturers and the automobile industry are resulting in offtake agreements.

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Argonaut Gold cashes up to build ounces at Dubreuilville mine – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 15, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Toronto gold company raises $85 million in share raise to fund future expansion

Toronto’s Argonaut Gold has raised $85 million to fund future expansion at its Magino Mine, outside Dubreuilville, and another mine in Nevada. The financing was done through a public offering of more than 223,000 common shares that closed on Dec. 12.

In a news release, the company said the proceeds are earmarked to “fund development and optimization” at Magino and its Florida Canyon Mine in Nevada. The company didn’t specify how much will be individually allocated between Magino and Florida Canyon.

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Greenstone Gold mine offers glimpse into commissioning process – Austin Campbell (Northern Ontario Business – December15, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

After recently announcing construction is 96 per cent complete at the Greenstone Gold mine, the mine is looking to ramp up hiring, with a focus on local employment.

GREENSTONE — Things are set to heat up quite soon for the Greenstone Gold mine project just outside of Geraldton. Equinox Gold, the Vancouver-based gold producer that acquired Premier Gold in 2020 along with their interest in the mine project, recently announced that construction at Greenstone Gold mine is 96 per cent complete and that pre-commissioning activities are well underway.

Development of the mine project is a joint venture between Equinox Gold and Orion Mine Finance. The mine is set to pour its first gold in the first half of 2024.

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Newbies to Superior’s north shore can help fill the ranks of the mining industry – by Austin Campbell (Northern Ontario Business – December 11, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Confederation College’s Mining Potential program will offer free entry-level training for newcomers, women, youth

A new program is opening doors for underrepresented groups in the Marathon area of northwestern Ontario. Confederation College, in partnership with Northwest Employment Works, is offering a free training opportunity aimed specifically at women, youth, and newcomers to the mining industry.

The Mining Potential program focuses on developing learners’ non-technical skills, knowledge, and confidence in order to achieve meaningful employment, with the ultimate goal being to provide employers with a safe and well-educated workforce to draw from.

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Mining claims have jumped 30% in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire area since 2022 – by Sarah Law (CBC News Thunder Bay – December 11, 2023)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

More than 31,000 mining claims are now registered in the area, data shows

Mining claims staked in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire area have risen by 30 per cent since last year, according to online mining data from the provincial government. The crescent-shaped mineral deposit in the James Bay lowlands has been eyed as a critical source for Ontario’s burgeoning electric vehicle battery industry for years.

But surrounding First Nations say there hasn’t been proper consultation about mining projects on their territories. A number of rallies have been held at Queen’s Park in Toronto this year by members of the First Nations Land Defence Alliance, calling out the province’s free-entry mining system and demanding a meeting with Premier Doug Ford.

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Northwestern Ontario lithium miner paints a picture to production – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December 7, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Green Technology Metals meets with strategic investors to fund $1.2-billion lithium development

A key economic study posted this week by Australia’s Green Technology Metals “validates” their potential to become a large-scale lithium player in northwestern Ontario and Canada. With a proposed two-mine lithium operation valued at $1.2 billion in the works, the hunt is on to secure both private and government funding to make the mines and a Thunder Bay lithium refinery a reality.

Green Tech gave investors and stakeholders a better idea of what their mining and processing operations could look like with the release of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), Dec. 7.

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Newmont pours 8,000th gold bar at Musselwhite mine – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – December 6, 2023)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The world’s largest gold miner, Newmont has announced another milestone at its Musselwhite mine, in Ontario – 5 million ounces of precious metal production

The world’s largest gold miner, Newmont (NYSE: NEM; TSX: NGT), has announced another milestone at its Musselwhite mine, in Ontario, where it has poured the 8,000th gold doré bar since the operation started with commercial production in 1997.

The mine, one of the world’s largest producers of the metal in Canada and globally, has churned out more than five-million ounces of gold in the last 25 years.

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Science North CEO says changes made to manage capital projects after audit of Go Deeper project – by Kate Rutherford (CBC News Sudbury – December 08, 2023)

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

Provincial auditor general says cost of model mine project has tripled from original $5 million

The CEO of Science North said changes have been made at the science centre to take into account recommendations from the provincial auditor general’s probe of their Go Deeper project at Dynamic Earth.

Ashley Larose wants the public to know that while the budget has grown, the project is not operating at a deficit and all policies were followed in the development of the model mine at Dynamic Earth in Sudbury, Ont. Larose said the auditor’s report is based on information provided by the organization.

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Area covered by mining claims in Ontario’s ‘Ring of Fire’ increased by 30 per cent in one year – by Krista Hessey (Global News – December 4, 2023)

https://globalnews.ca/

The so-called ‘Ring of Fire’ in Ontario’s far north is expanding in size as mining claims spike in the area. More than 31,000 mining claims have been registered to date, an increase of 28 per cent in a year, according to analysis by Wildlands League, a non-profit conservation group.

The rise in the number of mining claims coincides with more land being taken up by surface rights owners. The claims now cover 626,000 hectares of the remote northern landscape, up 30 per cent from September 2022. The area is now nearly 10 times the size of the City of Toronto or double the Greater Sudbury area, the group says.

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