First Nations, mining firm partner on Minago site

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This article was published 19/02/2022 (1682 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Norway House Cree Nation and three other First Nations in Northern Manitoba have signed cooperation agreements with a mineral exploration company hoping to develop a new nickel mine that could mean hundreds of jobs in the region.

The mine in question, called Minago, has been the subject of exploration interest for more than a decade.

The mine – which is being conceived as an open pit mine that will eventually require hundreds of millions of dollars of investment to become a reality — is a long way from production.

Dan Oosterman, the CEO of Flying Nickel Mining Corp. which owns the property, said, ‘We don’t see this project moving forward without First Nations involvement, period.”

Norway House Cree Nation chief Larson Anderson said future economic development opportunities for his community of 8,000 people is always important.

“When you do a bit of give and take there is always a deal to be had,” he said.

A feasibility study done on the project in 2010 by its former owner included an Environment Act licence that permitted a 10,000 tonne per day operation that would require a workforce of about 400 people to operate.

Both the feasibility study and the environment permit are no longer valid and would need to be updated.

Flying Nickel raised more than $7 million late last year and Oosterman said he is in discussions with the TSX to have the company listed on the TSX Venture exchange and hopes that will happen by the end of the month.

The current demand for nickel — that has seen prices prices rise from about $8.00 a year ago to $11.10 today — is being driven by the electric vehicle revolution. Nickel is a key component of the batteries used in electric vehicles.

“We are riding that wave,” Oosterman said. “We are confident when we update the feasibility study bring the project current… we can then go to market and find strategic investors interested in nickel.”

Oosterman noted that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has invested in a nickel play in Minnesota as an example of the kind of interest that’s out there.

He also believe Minago will become attractive in that the plan is for it to be a green nickel mine with a very low CO2 footprint. The fact that the site is located close to highway 6 – about 270 kilometres south of Thompson — and close to Manitoba Hydro power lines, will be an attractive feature to the project.

But the project has been part of the exploration process for several years and has still not attracted investment necessary to bring it to production.

Chris Beaumont-Smith, a mining consultant who works on several projects in Manitoba, said that one of the things that may have kept the project back is that its nickel concentrates are very low.

The low concentrates necessitate that it be designed as an open pit rather than as an underground mine. But it does create the opportunity of a significant limestone quarrying operation.

Talks are already underway for a partnership with Norway House for which the band would become the managing partner of.

Asked how he squares support for a project with the potential environmental degradation of a massive open pit mine within Norway House’s traditional territory, Anderson said, “Let me put it to you this way. We see our people right now dying from alcoholism and drug addiction. We see people suffering from homelessness and over-crowding, people who are uneducated and unemployed. You can have the most beautiful yard in the world but the people in the yard are starving and dying. When do they become a priority?

“To be quite honest, the environment is very crucial and critical for the people of Norway House,” he said. “But the environment has to include the people in it.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca