NEWS RELEASE: Juno and Marten Falls First Nation Sign Exploration Agreement (March 7, 2024)

TORONTO, March 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Juno Corp. (“Juno” or the “Company”) and Marten Falls First Nation (“MFFN”) are pleased to announce a new cooperation agreement to foster economic participation opportunities and advance exploration and potential mining partnerships in Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire. The Exploration Agreement (the “Agreement”) was signed on March 6, 2024, in Toronto, Ontario between Chief Bruce Achneepineskum and Jacob McKinnon, President & COO of Juno.

Chief Achneepineskum of Marten Falls First Nation said, “Marten Falls First Nation Chief and Council are pleased to announce with Juno an exploration agreement on Marten Falls First Nation traditional territory. It is the start of a productive and beneficial agreement that fosters goodwill and open engagement on exploration initiatives and issues.”

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PDAC: Faster permitting key to advancing critical mineral projects, panel warns – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – March 6, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Governments must help cut permitting and production timelines if Canada is to produce enough minerals to reach net zero goals by 2050, says the CEO of Ring of Fire project developer Wyloo Metals Canada.

“There are a lot of projects near to approval. The big ask is the shortening of the time frame,” Kristan Straub, CEO of Wyloo Metals Canada said on Monday at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto.

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Two First Nations sign Ring of Fire agreement as another launches court battle – by Jack Hauen (The Trillium – March 5, 2024)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

Simultaneous press conferences outlined the promise of, and frustration with, Ontario’s mining boom

Four subway stops away from each other, three First Nations highlighted two very different experiences. At Queen’s Park Tuesday morning, Chief of Cat Lake First Nation Russell Wesley held a press conference to draw attention to an injunction his community has secured to prevent the commencement of road construction for a First Mining Gold project in its territory.

The community has initiated an Anishinaabe-led impact assessment on the project, which it expects will take a year, but the government wouldn’t wait and authorized the mining company to construct the road. Cat Lake First Nation won a temporary injunction to halt the project while its case alleging the government failed in its duty to consult the First Nation can be heard.

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Ontario poised to become community builders in the Ring of Fire – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – March 5, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Province doubles down on Far North roads, infrastructure during PDAC week

The Ontario government is prepared to jump into the community infrastructure construction business for those First Nations already on board with mine development in the Ring of Fire. Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations signed a Community Development Agreement with the province at the PDAC mining show in Toronto, March 5.

No monetary figures were included in a news release but a general list of “shovel-ready infrastructure projects” deemed eligible to receive provincial support included health and training facilities, recreation centres, grocery stores, upgrades to nursing stations, commercial buildings and labour force development programs.

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PDAC 2024: First Nations manage tricky work of Indigenous consultation on Ring of Fire road – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – March 5, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Consultations continue with northern Ontario First Nations who are opposed to mining activity in the remote Ring of Fire region. The Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations are the only two in the region to voice support for road and mining projects, while others such as the Neskantaga, Grassy Narrows, Wapekeka, and Big Trout Lake First Nations oppose the projects due to environmental concerns.

“We need community support and for us to be ready for mining development and large projects in our area,” said Marten Falls First Nation chief Bruce Achneepineskum on Tuesday at a Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) seminar. “It’s all part of what we call meaningful participation and taking the lead on these large scale projects. (In the past) we were treated as minorities without significant say on our traditional lands.”

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Passing though the Ring of Fire: Recent developments – by Atherine Hercus (Canadian Mining Journal – March 2, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

According to the Wildlands League website, a non-profit conservation group, the number of mining claims in the Ring of Fire has increased by over 28% since September 2022. The claims now cover approximately 626,000 hectares, nearly 10 times the size of the city of Toronto.

As of December 2023, there were 33,074 mining claims in the area according to the Ontario ministry of mines. As of September 2023, Juno Corp., a Toronto based mining company is the largest claim holder with more than 17,000 mining claims covering approximately 333,000 hectares. The company holds exploration drilling permits at two sites.

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‘The mining rush for green energy’: Why Ontario chiefs are asking for a moratorium on claims – by Matteo Cimellaro (National Observer – January 29, 2024)

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

Today, anybody can make a mining claim on the Ontario government’s website as long as they have a few minutes, a computer and $50. The mineral claims process happens in an electronic heartbeat, and claims are marked on a digitized map.

The result is a flood of claims on First Nations territories, huge administrative pileups and frustration among First Nations that say they are not being consulted and have no capacity to deal with the sheer volume of mineral claims.

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Neskantaga First Nation works to uplift community since suicide crisis 10 years ago – by Liam Casey (Toronto Star – January 30, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

NESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, ONT. – Small, white crosses dot a graveyard just outside Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario. Some graves are marked with white picket fences, flowers have been placed at others. Most have no names or ages, but some do. A 16-year-old girl rests in one plot, a 13-year-old in another. Suicide brought them there.

Ten years ago, Neskantaga First Nation – a remote community with a population of about 450 – declared a state of emergency after four suicides and several attempted suicides by teens. The state of emergency officially remains, but the community quietly spoke about a small milestone this past summer: no one had killed themselves in Neskantaga in three years.

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Ontario First Nations want a year-long pause on mining claims. Will the Ford government listen? – by Emma McIntosh (The Narwhal – January 24, 2024)

The Narwhal

Thousands of online mining claims are being made on the territories of First Nations without their consent — and often they aren’t even told about it

The notices usually pour in on Sunday. One by one, they pile up in the email inbox of Cat Lake First Nation Chief Russell Wesley, each one about a mining claim someone has staked on his community’s territory. Sometimes, he receives up to 20 in a single day.

As the nation’s main point of contact for mining companies, ideally he’d be able to review them — make sure that if prospectors were to come in and start searching for minerals on the sites, the claims wouldn’t overlap with sites that are culturally important to Cat Lake or used by members of the remote, fly-in community in northwestern Ontario for hunting or gathering medicines.

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OPINION: End the runaround on the Ring of Fire – by Editorial Board (Globe and Mail – January 25, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

More than 16 years have passed since a small mining company discovered a rich nickel deposit in a remote part of northern Ontario and christened the region with a name that has stuck: the Ring of Fire.

Successive governments and companies have touted the potential of the region, entranced by optimistic estimates of tens of billions of dollars of minerals – including those critical to electric vehicle battery production – buried in the wetlands.

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Ring of Fire Metals CEO provides update – by Austin Campbell (SNnewswatch.com – January 24, 2024)

https://www.snnewswatch.com/

Businesses and organizations from Thunder Bay and throughout the North heard a presentation from Ring of Fire Metals CEO Kristan Straub at the Italian Cultural Centre on Jan. 23.

THUNDER BAY — Kristan Straub provided an update on the proposed Eagle’s Nest mining project on Tuesday at the Italian Cultural Centre. The chief executive officer of Ring of Fire Metals delivered a presentation describing how far the project has come.

Ring of Fire Metals is the Canadian subsidiary of Australian company, Wyloo Metals. One concern about the Eagle’s Nest project is the fact that it is being built on treaty-protected lands, meaning any development in the region needs to happen in consultation with and approval from surrounding First Nations communities.

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Ford says Northern Ontario mines will help create economic boom – by Staff (Sudbury.com – January 24, 2024)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Premier addresses municipal leaders at the annual meeting of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he is counting on the Northern Ontario mining industry to help build Ontario into an economic powerhouse for the battery electric vehicle (BEV) industry.

Ford was speaking Jan. 23 at the annual conference of the 2024 Rural Ontario Municipal Association(ROMA) when he spoke about the importance of the Ontario critical minerals strategy for the future of EVs in Ontario.

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Wyloo Metals CEO gives update on Ring of Fire mining projects, though First Nations resistance continues – by Michelle Allan (CBC News Thunder Bay – January 23, 2024)

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

Some First Nations still opposed to development as need for critical minerals grows

As the demand for critical minerals grows, the CEO of the main company involved in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire says it’s developing a nickel deposit that could be producing minerals for two decades.

Wyloo Metals CEO Kristan Straub gave the update Tuesday in a speech to business leaders in Thunder Bay, where he outlined the company’s plans for the Ring of Fire and discussed how his company is engaging with First Nations in the region now and into the future. “[Eagle’s Nest] is Canada’s best opportunity for a new nickel sulphide deposit,” Straub said.

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These Ontarians rely on roads made of snow and ice. But what happens when winter is too warm? – by Joy SpearChief-Morris (Toronto Star – January 15, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

Winter roads crucial for getting supplies to First Nations communities

OTTAWA — Higher than normal winter temperatures are sparking concern among remote First Nations communities in northern Ontario that rely on winter roads made of ice and snow to transport food, fuel and building supplies.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations communities across the province, includes 29 communities that depend on winter roads. As of Jan. 8, it said only one road was fully open to traffic — leaving some to use roads that haven’t been officially opened, and others scrambling to make their own snow.

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Comparison of Attawapiskat, Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations in Ring of Fire – by Stan Sudol (RepublicOfMining.com – January 10, 2024)

This column first appeared on the website LAW360 Canada which gives news and analysis on legal developments including litigation filings, case settlements, verdicts, regulation, enforcement, legislation and corporate deals. https://www.law360.ca/ca/

Columnists representing Attawapiskat, on Ontario’s James Bay coast – 500 kms north of Timmins – have recently written some op/ed pieces on the Ring of Fire. These columns that have left out some basic facts about the mineral-rich region, whose traditional territories the nickel/copper/chromite deposits are on, and previous industrial developments that might be considered inconvenient truths.

The Hudson Bay Lowlands is about the size of Norway and without a doubt plays a key role in capturing carbon emissions. Roughly 10, 000 people live in small First Nations communities like Attawapiskat, Fort Albany and Kashechewan or regional service towns like Moosonee and Churchill, Manitoba. During the 1930s, two railroads were constructed to Moosonee and Churchill, while their collective and cumulative impacts on the ecosystem was insignificant.

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