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First Nation in Ontario signs $20M Ring of Fire deal – by Karyn Pugliese (APTN News – January 28, 2025)

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Aroland First Nation has signed a deal worth more than $20 million to develop the Ring of Fire, with the money set for community infrastructure projects related to mineral development, business development and community wellness. “Our line is pro-development,” said Chief Sonny Gagnon. “We have an opportunity with my community to attain the skills that we need to be self-sustaining, to get off government funding.”

Nestled in the remote expanse of the James Bay Lowlands, the Ring of Fire is a mineral-rich region, with long-term potential to produce chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum, critical to Ontario’s expansion into new economic development.

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Stay on schedule, show some cash, says Ring of Fire miner and province to Ottawa – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 27, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Province still waiting on feds for matching $1-billion infrastructure commitment as regional study begins

The launch of a federal Regional Assessment of the Ring of Fire has the backing of the region’s leading mine developer and a government in Queen’s Park that’s bullish on resource extraction.

But Wyloo Canada and Ontario’s mines ministry want the assessment process to stay on schedule and expect Ottawa to show a real financial commitment toward development. The Regional Assessment has moved at a snail’s pace since former federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson first called for one in February 2020.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario and Aroland First Nation Sign Historic Agreement Connecting Roads to the Ring of Fire (January 28, 2025)

For first time in Province’s history, agreements in place to build roads along the entire route to the Ring of Fire

TORONTO — Today, Premier Doug Ford, Greg Rickford, Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation, and Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon signed a Shared Prosperity Agreement to drive economic growth and build and upgrade infrastructure in Northern Ontario.

This agreement includes support for upgrades to Anaconda and Painter Lake Roads, which are important connections on the road to the Ring of Fire, as well as major new investments in infrastructure and energy transmission in the region. It also builds upon agreements that are in place with other First Nations partners along the entire proposed length of the roads to the Ring of Fire and helps set the stage for further potential partnerships.

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Discovery Silver is the new owner of Timmins’ Porcupine gold complex – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 28, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Tony Makuch returns to familiar stomping grounds following US$425-million deal with Newmont

Newmont has finally sold its Porcupine operations in Timmins to Discovery Silver Corp. of Toronto for US$425 million.

Promising to invest heavily in the northeastern Ontario gold camp is one of the city’s native sons, Tony Makuch, the former CEO of Lake Shore Gold, who now steers this growing upstart company. The deal is expected to close some time during the first half of this year.

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Excerpt from Windfall: Violoa MacMillan and her Notorious Mining Scandal – by Tim Falconer (January 24, 2025)

Click Here to Order Book: https://shorturl.at/dMsqN

Tim Falconer spent three summers on mineral exploration crews, worked in two mines and studied mining engineering at McGill University for two years before switching into English Literature. He is the author of five previous non-fiction books and a veteran magazine writer. His last two books—Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music and Klondikers: Dawson City’s Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey—made the Globe and Mail’s Top 100. He lives with his wife in Toronto.

Viola MacMillan, who was one of the most facinating women in Canadian business history, was the central character in one of the country’s most famous stock scandals. MacMillan was a prospector who’d gone on to put together big deals, develop lucrative mines and head a major industry association – all at a time when career women were a rarity.  Early in July 1964, shares in her company, Windfall Oil and Mines, took off. In the absence of information about what Windfall had found on its claims near Timmins, rumours and greed pushed share prices to a high of $5.70.  MacMillan stayed quiet. Finally after three weeks of market frenzy, Windfall admitted it had nothing. When the stock crashed, so many small investors lost money that the Ontario government appointed a Royal Commission to examine what had happened. Meaningful changes at the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Ontario Securities Commission followed. Windfall is biographical history at its finest: the unlikely story of the trailblazer who, although convicted and imprisoned, would later receive the Order of Canada.

EXCERPT: PINK PENTHOUSE

Viola MacMillan hadn’t intended to rent a downtown apartment, let alone a penthouse. But in 1954, she realized she needed more room because she and her staff could barely move in her Yonge Street office. She found what she was looking for in the Knight Building, a fancy new brick-and-aluminum tower at 25 Adelaide Street West, which offered her more room and a prestigious new address. After she leased suitable office space, she discovered that there was a penthouse apartment on the thirteenth floor with a fifteen-metre wall of glass that offered a view of Lake Ontario.

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Ford government looks to tweak mining claims in Ontario – by Charlie Pinkerton (The Trillium/Northern Ontario Business – January 24, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The province’s online claims system, which First Nations have argued allows violations of their rights, wouldn’t be impacted by the proposed changes

As it looks for ways to expedite the extraction of Ontario’s natural resources, the Ford government has proposed changes to how prospectors secure lands’ mining rights.

Draft regulatory changes published by the province’s Ministry of Mines last week would tweak certain requirements and timelines that a claimant to a property’s mining rights must meet before the government confirms their claim.

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Ottawa finally rolls out its Ring of Fire assessment plan – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 21, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

With an election looming, feds and First Nations to study the pros and cons of Far North mine development

Almost five years after Ottawa called for a Regional Assessment of the Ring of Fire, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) and 15 First Nations have defined a purpose and a plan.

In what the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change called a “milestone” for sustainable development in a Jan. 20 news release, the terms of reference have been finalized to begin the process of assessing the potential cumulative impacts of industrial development in Ontario’s Far North.

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Mattagami chief empowering the next generation – by Marissa Lentz-McGrath (Timmins Today – January 21, 2025)

https://www.timminstoday.com/

‘It’s important, I think, in the north, especially, for women, to have a space to have their voices heard, because a lot of times there isn’t a lot of opportunity for that,’ says Chief Jennifer Constant

TIMMINS – Leadership is deeply rooted in Jennifer Constant’s family. The Mattagami First Nation Chief spoke at a virtual leadership lunch on Monday (Jan. 20), sharing her experiences, her vision for sustainable and inclusive mining practices, and her commitment to community empowerment.

The event, hosted by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce and Trimeda Consulting, brought together industry and community stakeholders. Constant, recently recognized as the 2024 Indigenous trailblazer at the Sudbury Women in Mining Awards, discussed her leadership journey.

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Sudbury could be part of massive mining merger – if it occurs – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 19, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc have held merger discussions, news agency says, although they are not currently active

Could some of Sudbury’s mining operations be part of another mega-mining deal? Bloomberg News reports that Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc have held early-stage talks about combining their businesses to create a behemoth to rival longstanding industry titan BHP Group.

The discussions took place as recently as late last year but are not currently active, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

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Province needs to cast the net wide on Ring of Fire consultation, says Marten Falls chief – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 17, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Bruce Achneepineskum looks for new regional discussion table and more involvement from Ottawa

Doug Ford’s full-speed-ahead approach to build a Ring of Fire road and mine more critical minerals compelled a council of northwestern Ontario chiefs to tap the brakes on the premier’s enthusiasm.

The Matawa Chiefs Council outlined their stance in a news release this week that more relationship-building with Indigenous communities needs to be done before any industrial development takes place in the James Bay mineral belt.

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IAMGOLD sees a lot of ways to grow in Timmins – by Amanda Rabski-McColl (Northern Ontario Business – January 17, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

‘I think we have a much better understanding of the capacity in the region, and now we’re established,’ says president and CEO

Youth have a bright future at a gold mine south of Timmins. With IAMGOLD looking to invest in community and education, Bryan Wilson, the general manager of its Côté Gold site near Gogama, about 90 minutes south of the city, says education in the trades is the ticket for Timmins.

“We’ll keep working with Timmins; it’s a mining mecca,” said Wilson, at the Timmins Chamber’s state of mining event on Jan. 15. Situated halfway between Timmins and Sudbury, the open-pit mine went into commercial production in 2024.

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Excerpt from Windfall: Violoa MacMillan and her Notorious Mining Scandal – by Tim Falconer (January 17, 2025)

Click Here to Order Book: https://shorturl.at/dMsqN 

Tim Falconer spent three summers on mineral exploration crews, worked in two mines and studied mining engineering at McGill University for two years before switching into English Literature. He is the author of five previous non-fiction books and a veteran magazine writer. His last two books—Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music and Klondikers: Dawson City’s Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey—made the Globe and Mail’s Top 100. He lives with his wife in Toronto.

Viola MacMillan, who was one of the most facinating women in Canadian business history, was the central character in one of the country’s most famous stock scandals. MacMillan was a prospector who’d gone on to put together big deals, develop lucrative mines and head a major industry association – all at a time when career women were a rarity.  Early in July 1964, shares in her company, Windfall Oil and Mines, took off. In the absence of information about what Windfall had found on its claims near Timmins, rumours and greed pushed share prices to a high of $5.70.  MacMillan stayed quiet. Finally after three weeks of market frenzy, Windfall admitted it had nothing. When the stock crashed, so many small investors lost money that the Ontario government appointed a Royal Commission to examine what had happened. Meaningful changes at the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Ontario Securities Commission followed. Windfall is biographical history at its finest: the unlikely story of the trailblazer who, although convicted and imprisoned, would later receive the Order of Canada.

EXCERPT: THE QUEEN BEE

Viola MacMillan had been so successful selling houses on the side that she decided to leave her job as a stenographer at Rodd, Wigle & McHugh to start her own real estate agency. The move turned out to be ill-timed. By the end of the 1920s, Windsor was no longer booming, and then the Great Depression followed the stock market crash of October 1929. George hadn’t had a job in a while, so they moved to London, Ontario, where she sold Christmas cards wholesale. They kept the place in Windsor and filled it with boarders while taking in more roomers in the home they rented in London. She also tried to sell houses on the side, but that proved a tough go.

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Province announces funding for Timmins critical minerals companies – by Lydia Chubak (CTV News Nothern Ontario – January 15, 2025)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario/

As Ontario braces for U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff order expected next week, it’s ramping up its investment in the critical minerals sector. It’s funneling more than $7 million through the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund to 17 projects.

“Our natural resources are essential to the execution of the AM CAN Plan,” said Stephen Crawford, associate minister of mines. “That is another reason why the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund is so important.”

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Matawa tribal chiefs not so keen on Fortress Am-Can – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – Janaury 16, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Indigenous leaders warn province to think again about granting access to Ring of Fire without proper consent

Fortress Am-Can might be Premier Doug Ford’s plan to expedite critical minerals production in the Ring of Fire, but the majority of chiefs with Matawa First Nations tribal council are pushing back that it certainly isn’t theirs.

In a Jan. 16 news release, the leadership warned that, as they are the inherent, treaty and Aboriginal rights holders to the area in and around the undeveloped Far North mineral belt, the Ontario government’s ability to grant access to critical minerals “within our traditional homelands is precarious.”

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Premier wants critical minerals production accelerated – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 14, 2025)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Ford promotes more robust cross-border trade with U.S. as threat of tariffs loom

Expect a major announcement on the north-south road to the Ring of Fire during the PDAC mining convention in March.That was the word from Premier Doug Ford and Mines Minister George Pirie during a Jan. 13 press conference in Toronto to promote Fortress Am-Can, touted as a new strategic alliance between Canada and the U.S. that involves a plan to fast-track critical minerals production.

Critical minerals and the untapped potential of the Ring of Fire received frequent mention by Ford, Pirie and Northern Development and Indigenous Minister Greg Rickford.

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