Welcome back to your weekly mining news recap, where we catch you up on some of the news you may have missed. This week’s headlines include Canada’s ambitious goal to slash oil and gas emissions by 2030, Inomin mines and Sumitomo Metals pairing up on the Beaver-Lynx nickel project and Manitoba announcing its new critical minerals strategy. 

Teck Resources, Kaminak Gold founder John Robins and the Canadian Malartic Exploration Team will be among those honoured at PDAC’s awards event at its annual convention in March. The awards celebrate outstanding contributions to the global mining industry and recognize achievements in mineral exploration, sustainability, Indigenous leadership and more. 

The Norway House Cree Nation (NHCN) has acquired the Minago nickel project in Manitoba from Flying Nickel Corp. for $8 million, which makes it the only Indigenous community in Canada to fully own a mineral project. The site is comprised of 94 mining claims spread over 192 square kilometres, two mining leases spread over 4.25 kilometres, and a core storage and management facility located in Grand Rapids. Permitting for the project is almost finished, although no official construction start date has been announced yet.  

Equinox Gold has kicked off commercial production at its flagship Greenstone mine, which is near Geraldton, Ontario. The mine, which has an initial 15-year mine life, is expected to become one of Canada’s largest and highest-grade open pit gold mines when operating at full capacity.  

The federal government shared draft regulations on Nov. 4 that propose capping the oil and gas sector’s greenhouse gas emissions at 35 per cent below 2019 levels by the end of the decade, as reported by Reuters. The regulations would establish a cap-and-trade system to offer incentives to companies that perform well, while encouraging higher-polluting companies to develop cleaner production processes. The final version of the regulations are expected to be released next year, following consultations this fall. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said that the province will challenge the regulations. 

Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. has signed an earn-in and joint venture agreement with Inomin Mines that will see Sumitomo commit a minimum of $8 million to advance exploration activities at Inomin’s Beaver-Lynx nickel project in southcentral B.C. The agreement gives Sumitomo the option to earn up to an 80 per cent interest in the project once funding is complete.  

The Manitoba government unveiled its new critical minerals strategy on Nov. 4. The plan includes creating a critical minerals office, investing in provincial infrastructure and creating a revenue-sharing model with Indigenous communities. The province will also invest up to $2 million into the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund and update its mineral exploration guidelines to help meet the increasing demand for critical minerals. 

Calibre Mining reported its third quarter results this week, and included a construction update on its Valentine gold mine in Newfoundland and Labrador. The project is on schedule for gold production to begin in the second quarter of 2025. The company shared that the site’s tailings management facility is complete and ready to receive water, and that construction of the carbon-in-leach (CIL) leaching area tanks, reclaim tunnel, and coarse ore stockpile are moving forward, with pre-commissioning in progress. 

Osisko Metals has commenced a feasibility study for its Pine Point zinc-lead project, located near Hay River in the Northwest Territories, and it is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025. The company is collaborating with Appian Capital Advisory in a joint venture, called Pine Point Mining (PPML), to progress the project.  

Magna Mining has secured $21.85 million through a private placement to support exploration and development of its projects in the Sudbury Basin, as reported by Northern Ontario Business. Magna is focused on reviving several formerly active mines in the area within the next five years, including the McCreedy West, Levack and Crean Hill mines, and there is a possibility that the company will also revive the Podolsky mine.  

At the BEV In-Depth: Mines to Mobility conference that was held in Sudbury earlier this year, panelists from Sandvik, Epiroc, and MacLean Engineering explored the benefits and challenges of implementing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in underground mines, as reported by Ailbhe Goodbody for the September/October issue of CIM Magazine. Panelists emphasized the importance of securing buy-in from all levels at a mine site, along with proper training and peer-to-peer learning of the technology, to ensure successful BEV adoption.  

That’s all for this week. If you’ve got feedback, you can always reach us at editor@cim.org. If you’ve got something to add, why not join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram pages?