Mining Life and Exploration News - Fall 2023 by Mining Life & Exploration News

Promoting interest, understanding and investment within the mining industry.

Fall Issue 2023 PM 40022702 Northern Ontario’s Mining Voice Since 1994

NORTHERN

MINING REPORT Photo: Côté Gold mine

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Publisher Glenn Dredhart As another calendar year comes to a close, we at Mining Life & Exploration News and Canadian Trade-Ex stand on the threshold of yet another invigorating year for the mining industry, particularly in the heartland of northern Ontario. The year 2024 heralds not only the advancement of our sector but also the bolstering of our community, historic partnerships with First Nations, a renewed economy, and technological frontiers. The Canadian Mining Expo, slated for June 5th and 6th in Timmins, is more than just an event; it is a global confluence where ideas, technology, and ambition coalesce. Here, the industry’s brightest minds will converge, bringing with them innovations that promise to redefine our operations and sustainability efforts. It is where the world comes to explore, and rightly so, as we have much to showcase. Following suit, the CEN CAN Expo on September 11th and 12th in Thunder Bay will mark another monumental occasion. It’s an open invitation to join the mining boom, a boom that is not just about profitability but also about progress, inclusivity, and responsible stewardship of our planet’s resources. The forthcoming months are abuzz with the development of new mines and the expansion of existing ones. These strides represent more than economic growth; they signify a future built on the solid foundation of Canadian expertise and resilience. Each shovel in the ground and each new facility is a testament to our collective commitment to excellence. The search for critical minerals has never been more imperative. These resources are the keystones of a green and technology-driven future, and northern Ontario is poised to be at the forefront of this quest. By harnessing these elements, we are not merely extracting minerals; we are cultivating the seeds for a sustainable future and prosperity for all. Amidst this surge, the need for a skilled workforce is paramount. The industry beckons not only miners but also visionaries, environmentalists, engineers, and leaders. This is a clarion call to those who wish to forge a career that melds the rigours of the field with the rewards of innovation and community development. We are particularly proud of the burgeoning indigenousled mining projects and partnerships. These collaborations 4

are emblematic of a new era in mining, one that is anchored in respect, shared prosperity, and the honoring of traditional lands and wisdom. Canadian Trade-Ex, through Mining Life, stands as a bulwark, supporting these ventures and providing platforms for dialogue, learning, and networking. Our publications and expos are not just about reporting growth; they are about nurturing it, celebrating it, and sharing it with the world. Together, we step into 2024 with optimism, ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities that lay before us. This is more than a period of economic activity; it is a renaissance of mining in northern Ontario, and we invite you all to be a part of this historic journey.

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MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

EDITORIAL INDEX

Ontario’s Mines Minister hailing Thunder Bay as Ontario’s next great mining city ............................................6 IAMGOLD: Technology at the Root of its Operations .............10 Greenstone Mine construction in final stretch with pre-commissioning activities underway ...........................16 Galleon Gold making bold near-term predictions....................24 McEwen’s Black Fox Mine on pace for longer life ...................28 Argonaut Gold Declares Commercial Production at the Magino Mine ..................................................................30 Ottawa “All-in” with massive $1.5B Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund .......................................34 Class 1 Nickel, Alexo-Dundonald Project................................36 Wahgoshig Resources Inc. Expands Mining and Exploration Services.........................................................38

PUBLICATIONS AGREEMENT NO: 40022702 Return Undeliverable to CIRCULATION DEPT.: P.O. Box 490, Schumacher, ON, P0N 1G0 Tel. (705) 264-2251 Fax: (705) 264-4401 Email: info@canadiantradex.com Publisher: Glenn Dredhart Editor: Kevin Vincent Editorial Consultant: Andrew Autio Marketing & Sales: John Goulet, Rhonda Larochelle, Larry Sutton Circulation: Audrey Guindon

Alamos Gold on pace for record year operationally & financially .......................................................42

ADVERTISERS INDEX

Positive initial drill results support expectations of expanding current mineable resources and reserves at Bradshaw .........46

A.R. Thomson Group .................. 29 After Market Parts ........................27 Agnico Eagle Mines .................... 55 Air Separation Technologies........83 AME Drill Supply & Services ...... 46 Argonaut Gold ..............................31 Barrick Hemlo ............................112 Brandt ...........................................11 CAB Products ..............................87 Canada Nickel Company .............23 Canadian Mining Expo ...............105 Carpenters Union Local 1669 ........5 CGIS.................Back Inside Cover CIS Carriere Industrial Supply ...107 D&D Training & Consulting ..........81 Driving Force ................................67 DSI Underground Canada ...........12 Dueck’s Mechanical Inc./ Diamond Shelters ...... Back Cover Dumoulin Trucking .......................37 Dynapro Pump .............................51 ECS Electrical Cable Supply .......93 EllisDon Industrial ........................77 Equinox Gold Greenstone Gold Mine.................19 Equipment North. .........................79 Evolution Mining Red Lake ..........75 FKC Lake Shore .......................... 64 Fracht Canada Freight. ..................3 Frontier Lithium ............................73 G4 Drilling. ...................................33 Galleon Gold Corp. ......................26 GFL Environmental. .................... 49 Gillis Custom Containers ......................... Front Inside Cover Gowest Gold ............................... 48

Moneta Gold’s Tower Gold Project One of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Canada ......50 Agnico Eagle Mines calls Northern Ontario Home Now and for the Future ............................................................54 Magna Mining Planning to be Sudbury’s Next Nickel Producer ...............................................................58 Thunder Bay: The Beating Heart of Canada’s Transportation System .............................................................62 International Lithium looking for big lithium returns from small town Ontario ...........................................................66 Avalon Advanced Materials gaining national attention ...........68 Ontario’s Largest Lithium Resource ........................................72 Pepco: Fueling Success ..........................................................74 Generation Mining on track to green light Marathon Palladium-Copper Project .......................................76 Palladium One methodically pursuing massive targets north of Hemlo ...............................................78 Metal Energy’s Source Rock Lithium Brine Project ................80 For West Red Lake Gold Mines the goal line is in sight! .........84 Kinross aims to make a positive and lasting impact in the Red Lake region ............................................................90 Goldshore PEA imminent for Moss Lake ................................94 Wesdome looking to boost production at Eagle River and Kiena Mines ..............................................96 Newmont Musselwhite - a Pretty Exciting Place to Work .......98 IBA’s have given way to True Partnerships ...........................102 The Way Forward - Webequie First Nation ...........................106 Indigenous Partnerships For Prosperity ...............................108

Haver & Boecker Niagara ............15 Hole Products ............................. 96 Hy-Tech Drilling. .............................4 International Lithium Corp. ..........67 ISCO-AH McElroy ........................12 J.H. Fletcher & Co. .......................25 JTR Custom Works. .....................21 Kinross Gold ................................91 Komatsu Canada ...........................1 Loctite ...........................................97 Magna Mining...............................61 Newmont Musselwhite ................ 99 Newmont Porcupine.......................9 Norpro Security. ...........................47 NT Camps ....................................45 Pepco Corp. .................................41 Redpath Canada ..........................13 Richwood .....................................51 Robert Rubino & Sons Trucking ..17 Rodren Drilling ...............................7 Seven Generations Education Institute .....................107 Sling-Choker Mfg. (Thunder Bay) 69 Smart Modular Canada............... 65 The Bucket Shop Group ............. 43 Thunder Bay CEDC .......................2 Town of Kirkland Lake ................ 53 UBC Millwrights, Millwright Regional Council Canada ........... 89 Wahgoshig Resources / Black Diamond Drilling ............... 39 Walker Panels .............................71 West Red Lake Gold Mines ........85 Windigo Community Development .............................104 WSN Construction ......................57

Rock Tech Lithium and Red Rock First Nation sign MOU ....110

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

MINING REPORT 2023

Ontario’s Mines Minister hailing Thunder Bay as Ontario’s next great mining city By Kevin Vincent

he battle between environmental groups, governments, and the federal justice system hit a speedbump in early October when the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruled against the federal government’s environmental assessment legislation. The 2019 Impact Assessment Act, gave Ottawa the power to assess major industrial projects, including new mines and oil developments. The federal law fueled anger over perceived federal overreach and was challenged in court by the Alberta government. Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, claimed victory following the court decision. “This should cause the federal government to rethink the many other areas where it is overstepping its constitutional competence, 6

like electrical generation and oil and gas production,” said Saskatchewan premier Doug Moe on social media. For its part, the Ontario government is shining the spotlight on the Ring of Fire. In an October 24 news release, Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey was unequivocal. “In the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada’s October 13 opinion which held the vast majority of the federal government’s duplicative Impact Assessment Act was unconstitutional, our government is taking immediate legal action to bring certainty so that we can get shovels in the ground on infrastructure projects without delay,” wrote Downey. “Ontario is growing at an unprecedented speed, putting unprecedented pressure on our infrastructure. With gridlock costing our economy

upwards of $11 billion each year, it’s never been more important for us to build roads, bridges, highways, and public transit. We need shovels in the ground on the infrastructure that helps get more homes built and the energy infrastructure needed to power our growing economy,” added Downey. “Affirming the Act’s unconstitutionality by applying for judicial review will ensure that federal decision makers can no longer impede desperately needed infrastructure projects under a law that the Supreme Court of Canada has held to be unconstitutional. This includes bringing legal certainty to projects like Highway 413, the First Nationsled process to build all-season roads connecting the Ring of Fire region, Ontario Place, housing-enabling in-

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

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frastructure projects and new and refurbished energy generation and transmission projects, including new nuclear reactors,” added the Attorney General. For his part, Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie underlined the government’s vision for the Ring of Fire during a passionate speech at the Central Canada Resource Expo in Thunder Bay in September. “I want to make sure everybody realizes the future that Thunder Bay has in northwestern Ontario. It’s truly a place of the future,” said Pirie. “All of the metals and minerals that are going to be required to transform our economy are right here in Thunder Bay. It is the hub of the economy in northwestern Ontario.” Pirie sees the northwest as a major contributor to Ontario’s green economy. “Our government has a game plan to seize this opportunity to fuel the technologies of tomorrow, today. From investing in exploration and innovation to cutting red tape, our government is supporting a strong, made-in-Ontario supply chain for this sector, securing our supply chain.” Pirie says everyone is aware of the geopolitical tensions that exist in the world today – underlining the importance of home-grown solutions. “We have the opportunity to secure our supply chain here in Ontario. That’s absolutely critical,” he told the packed audience. The Minister says he sees Thunder Bay becoming a mining powerhouse like Timmins and Kirkland Lake. “I don’t know that Thunder Bay has ever been known as a gold site as opposed to places like Timmins or Kirkland Lake, but Thunder Bay will be. This is how we will reach our goal of making Ontario the number one mining jurisdiction in the world and generate prosperity for all communities in our great province, communities in southern Ontario, communities in northern Ontario, and especially indigenous communities. 8

And it all starts with mining right here in northern Ontario and right here in Thunder Bay.” As the world shifts towards sustainable transportation and cleaner energy sources, the demand for critical minerals has skyrocketed, presenting both challenges and opportunities for the mining industry. This transition hinges on a secure and sustainable supply of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements. These minerals are essential components in EV batteries, electric motors, and other key technologies that

power the electric vehicle revolution. As the demand for electric vehicles continues to surge worldwide, the mining industry plays a vital role in meeting this demand. Exploration efforts throughout Ontario and the world are intensifying, as companies seek new sources of critical minerals to ensure a stable and diversified supply chain. This pursuit presents a unique opportunity for innovative exploration techniques, sustainable mining practices, and collaborative partnerships that prioritize environmental stewardship and community engagement.

Thunder Bay was host to the 2nd Annual Central Canada Resource Expo (CEN CAN Expo) which was the largest gathering of Natural Resource sector stakeholders in Central Canada. There were over 4,000 guests that took part in the three-day event. The expo displayed mining industry drivers from the region. Technology and innovation were also on display with over 300 companies showing off their product wares at Fort William Gardens. The dates for the 2024 event have been announced. Thunder Bay is set to host the Central Canada Resource Expo Sept. 11-12.

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

IAMGOLD: Technology at the Root of its Operations

AMGOLD’s Côté Gold mining project is soon to become a household name in Northern Ontario. The company is currently fully operating two mines. One of those operations is the Essakane mine, located in Burkina Faso, West Africa, which is 90% owned, and the other is the Westwood mine located in Northwestern Quebec. The two operations combined produce just over 450,000 ounces of gold annually. Once in full production, the Côté Gold mine will almost double those gold production numbers. The Côté Gold project is currently in early-stage operation and is stockpiling the ore which will be processed in the new plant on-site in early 2024. It is expected that the mine will have over 5,000,000 tonnes of ore stockpiled and ready to feed the processing plant. The first gold pour is expected in Q1 of 2024. The current life of the mine is set at 18 years with the first six years producing roughly a whopping 500,000 ounces of gold annually. “Once we get into the life of mine and as they get deeper, the head grade will go down and, at that point, the annual gold production is expected to level off at 400,000 ounces of gold production annually for the remaining life of mine,” stated Francis Letarte-Lavoie, Operations Manager of Côté Gold. Francis was a guest speaker and addressed a full house of delegates that attended the Canadian Mining Expo’s ‘’Projects in the Pipeline’ conference this past spring in Timmins. 10

“There are plenty of growth opportunities within the process plant and the property and we do anticipate that we will be able to extend the life of mine substantially and increase the resources so that the head grade goes back up and we are able to maintain that 500,000 ounces of gold annually that we are targeting.” Francis’ presentation was focused heavily on innovation in the pit and within mining operations. His presentation titled “Technology at The Root of Its Operations” can be seen today on Mining Life Online YouTube channel with the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9JYY_VJLPE IAMGOLD, is committed to maintaining their culture of accountable mining through high standards of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. At Côté Gold, they work tirelessly to support the sustainable development of their host communities and Indigenous partners as they collaborate with them to monitor and manage their social and environmental impacts through joint committees. Zero Harm is the vision that guides all operations and activities undertaken by IAMGOLD. Letarte-Lavoie’s June presentation highlighted two main cutting-edge technology applications – the mine’s autonomous system and its advanced processing plan. He explained the company’s rationale behind unmanned haulage. “Since 2018, we’ve been working with Caterpillar and Toromont. The idea is that we wanted to have a fully autonomous fleet of trucks by the first day of operation. MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

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We have achieved that, so right now we’ve got 14 trucks that have been commissioned. They are CAT-793, 220 tonne trucks being fully operated from a control room, making Côté Gold the first greenfield mine in North America to operate with a fully autonomous haulage system.” “There are other mines that are doing it, but it’s a bit of a mix between manned operation and autonomous operation. All of our trucks are autonomous.” In addition, Letarte-Lavoie offered advice to other early-stage mining operations considering similar plans. “We wanted to do that at an early stage because we didn’t want to do change management later. We didn’t want to start with a manned operation and then start removing it and going autonomous, so we’ve done it from the get-go. That makes things much easier for the operation.” Letarte-Lavoie further explained the Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) used on-site which includes Autonomous Haulage and Autonomous Drilling. The operation applies advanced technology to everything they do which helps increase productivity while keeping everyone safe. He said, “There is no autonomous knowledge in Ontario. There’s none in Quebec, so if you go east of Alberta, there’s no such thing. It was new for also the regulatory bodies, so we made sure to involve them very early. We’ve been talking with the Ministry of Labour for years so that they do understand what we’re implementing and the functionalities, so they’re MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

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Francis Letarte-Lavoie, Operations Manager of Côté Gold (left) receives prestigious award during the Canadian Mining Expo’s, Canadian Trade-Ex & CIM Porcupine Branch Gala Dinner and Awards Night held in Timmins. On the Right is Rick Harper, Manager - Mining Brandt and moderator for the evening.

comfortable with what we’re putting in place.” Using the pre-production mining period has helped the mine focus on the AHS implementation without affecting the process plant set-up. The AHS/Crusher Interface will be the final element of the process. Letarte-Lavoie, added, “Once the truck gets out of the automated zone, it’s driven by millwrights, for instance, when it is required for maintenance. You get an entire system of computers, sensors, GPS that allows that system to operate autonomously.” “Then that connects to the critical infrastructure to simplify its highspeed and redundant wireless communication system. There’s a GPS tracking for every single equipment that enters the pit. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pickup truck, if it’s a grader, if it’s a shovel. At the control room, operators are making sure that we stick to the plan, that if there’s an issue, they can investigate and cor14

rect if needed. All of it is tracked in real time.” “The other big question we get asked often is, is that safe?” he said. “We’ve had no incidents so far, and we’ve hauled a few million tons of rock, but when you look at the numbers from Caterpillar, as of right now, they’ve hauled 5.5 billion tons of material without a loss time incident. Basically, it’s a bunch of layers of control to make sure that everything remains safe and efficient.” The autonomous knowledge system layer goes through the MineStar™ system, which is Caterpillar technology, that goes through Côté Gold’s corporate network then it goes through their wireless network. That’s the route selected to ensure that cyber security is robust. In the pit, every single equipment is tracked in real time for different reasons. The trucks will always know where the other equipment is and will take action if needed. The shovel, or the

loading unit will control basically what happens. It’s going to control spot location, it’s going to control traffic in the pit, so the shovel operator dictates what the truck will be doing. “On top of that, there’s another layer of protection. Anyone that goes in the pit is going to carry what we call an A-stop, which is a device on a separate network that provides an extra layer of protection. Whenever that person types on that button, he or she stops every truck in a 300-meter radius. Drilling has very similar technology in the pit. Côté Gold purchased Epiroc, 231 Pit Vipers. We now have 4 units in operation. It does a full drilling cycle, auto-propels, levels, drills, de-levels, and back to navigation. There is no human intervention at any point. Once again, there is a lot of protection. There is a control room operator always monitoring activity, and there’s a number of systems on that drill, cameras, proximity detection, so the drill will never fall, it will never hit the berm. Just as with the autonomous haulage zone, everyone that gets near the drills has a proximity tag. If the drill notices someone, it will take actions based on distance. “For the process plant, we will try to implement the latest technology and make sure that Côté Gold further enhances precision and operational excellence by fostering a culture of technology and continuous improvement.” In recognition of the mine’s technology leadership role, LetarteLavoie received the Canadian Mining Expo “Northern Innovators Award”, which recognizes a mine or mining company that has made an extraordinary effort to apply technology or improve processes in innovative ways, above and beyond mandatory requirements, aimed at improving sustainability and mine worker safety and health.

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

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Greenstone Mine construction in final stretch with pre-commissioning activities underway

quinox Gold is a growth-focused gold producer operating entirely in the Americas, with seven operating mines in the USA, Mexico and Brazil. As part of its vision to be a million-ounce gold producer, in April 2021 Equinox Gold bought a 60% interest in the Greenstone Mine in Ontario, Canada, with the remaining 40% held by Orion Mine Finance Group. Greenstone Mine will be one of the largest open-pit gold mines in Canada and will be Equinox Gold’s flagship asset when it commences production in 2024. Construction of the Greenstone Mine is in the final stretch with the Project over 90% complete and precommissioning activities underway. The Project remains on track to achieve its first gold pour in the first half of 2024. At the Plant Site, almost all equipment has been installed and the piping, electrical and instrumentation teams are focused on the final connections, terminations, and programming. All conveyors are erected, the large retaining wall at the primary crusher (MSE wall) is complete and cladding on the geodesic ore storage dome is nearing completion. Pre-commissioning ac16

tivities have started in various areas of the crushing circuit. A major milestone was the recent commissioning of the Power Plant, which will be the primary source of power for the site. The plant is run by 6 natural gaspowered piston engines. Thermal energy will be recovered from the engines and a glycol distribution loop will provide heat to the process buildings and the Truck Shop. The Commissioning team has ramped up and is working closely with both the Construction and Operations teams in their planning. The focus is now shifting to pre-

commissioning and wet commissioning activities at the Process Plant in preparation for hot commissioning in Q1 2024. The team achieved a key offsite infrastructure milestone during the summer with construction completion of the new segment of Highway 11, spanning 4.7 km. Construction of the new Hydro One Geraldton Operating Centre is underway with work on the building foundation progressing. Mine pre-production activities continue to meet the planned tonnage, with 13.6 million tonnes mined

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

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to date. Ore stockpiling will begin in Q4 2023, with 800,000 tonnes of stockpile planned for start up and 2 million tonnes by the end of H1 2024. The Effluent Water Treatment Plant (“EWTP”) continues to treat water from the MacLeod High Tailings, underground workings from historical mining activities and surface contact water. The EWTP has treated and discharged just over 1.52 million m³ of water to date this year. All of this work has been achieved through the dedication of Greenstone Mine employees and contractors. Greenstone Mine’s safety culture is based on trust, collaboration and an understanding that achieving our goals requires focused effort. The Finish Strong 2023 Campaign highlights the importance of staying focused on working safely as we near the finish line. Statistically, there is often an increase in incidents during the final phase of a project as people start to think about their next job and, in this case, the approaching holiday season. The Finish Strong Campaign highlights the importance of keeping our eyes and minds on the task at hand, focusing on positive behaviors and ensuring we work together to ensure the safety of our workforce. The Finish Strong Campaign rewards workers for tasks completed safely and looks for areas for improvement, empowering workers to understand the 18

hazards and how to work as a team to get into the mindset of “what if something goes wrong.” Workers are our strongest asset when it comes to assessing the work as it happens in the field, rather than envisioned in the office. Work fronts change and we must trust and empower our workforce to be adaptable to those changing conditions and successfully complete the job without incident. Since the start of Project construction, we have achieved over 5,000,000 hours worked with only 1 Lost Time Incident. Protecting the health and safety of our workforce and local communities continues to be paramount as we finalize the construction and ramp up operations at the Greenstone Mine. We will continue to achieve this by complying with applicable health and safety laws and regulations, investigating all near misses and safety incidents and sharing those outcomes in our toolbox meetings, while continually monitoring and assessing safety practices. Greenstone Mine will produce on average 400,000 ounces of gold per year for the first five years and more than 5 million ounces of gold in total over an initial 14-year mine life, with expansion and mine-life extension potential from both underground and near-mine open-pit deposits. At its peak, Greenstone Mine will employ more than 550 direct workers. MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

Canada Nickel’s “Bankable” Crawford Project on Track to Produce by 2027 By Kevin Vincent

CRAWFORD 2023 BFS HIGHLIGHTS • Robust economics After-tax, $2.5 billion NPV8% and 17.1% IRR; increasing to $2.6 billion NPV8% and 18.3% IRR with projected Carbon Capture and Storage tax credits

eek by week, month by month, Timmins is a step closer to being a major player in Canada’s nickel industry thanks to Canada Nickel Company’s (CNC) Crawford Project. CNC touts Crawford as the world’s second largest nickel reserve. Once in production, it is also expected to become one of Canada’s largest carbon storage facilities and be a net negative contributor of CO2 over the project life. The company released a muchanticipated Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) in mid-October and the numbers are both staggering and encouraging. “This bankable feasibility study is a significant milestone for Crawford and a major step forward in demonstrating the value of our Timmins Nickel District and its potential to anchor a Zero Carbon Industrial Cluster in the Timmins-Cochrane region,” said Mark Selby, CEO. “Crawford is poised to be a leader in the energy transition through the large-scale production of critical minerals, including nickel and cobalt, and is expected to become the sole North American producer of chromium, while also supporting Canada’s climate objectives through industrial-scale carbon capture and storage.” Selby continued, “I am very proud of our team for accomplishing this milestone in a very short period of time. Just four years ago, Crawford had only five drill holes. 20

• Large initial mineral reserve anchored by significantly larger mineral resource Proven & Probable reserves of 3.8 million tonnes contained nickel from 1.7 billion tonnes ore grading 0.22% nickel make Crawford the world’s 2nd largest nickel reserves. Reserves are hosted in a Measured & Indicated resource which increased by 74% (compared to the 2022 resource estimate) to 6.0 million tonnes. With additional Inferred mineral resources of 3.7 million tonnes contained nickel, Crawford is the world’s 2nd largest nickel resources. • Large scale, low cost, long-life - Annual average nickel production of 83 million pounds (38k tonnes) over a 41-year life, with production of 48 ktpa nickel, 0.8 ktpa cobalt, 13 koz palladium and platinum, 1.6 Mtpa iron and 76 ktpa chrome over 27-year peak period - Net life-of-mine C1 cash cost of $0.39/lb nickel (by-product basis) place Crawford in the first quartile of the cost curves. The net AISC cost, on a by-product basis, is $1.54/lb nickel - Projected revenue exceeds $48 billion, or more than $1 billion annually over project life. • Significant improvement in recoveries from PEA: - Nickel: 10% improvement life-of-mine (41% versus 37% used in PEA), and a 23% improvement in Phase I/Phase II compared to PEA (46% versus 37% in the PEA) - Improvements to life of mine recovery for Iron: 46%, Cobalt: 38%, and Chrome: 5% • Significant earnings and free cash flow generation - Projected annual EBITDA of $810 million and FCF of $540 million over peak period, annual EBITDA of $667 million and FCF of $431 million over project life • Minimization of carbon footprint - Minimal carbon footprint of 4.8 tonnes CO2/ tonne of nickel in concentrate,2.3 tonnes CO2/tonne of nickel equivalent 4(“NiEq”); largely due to electrically powered mining fleet, including trolley-assist trucks, that are expected to reduce diesel consumption by over 40% compared to diesel powered equipment. - Implementation of the Company’s proprietary IPT (In-Process Tailings) Carbonation process is anticipated to allow capture and storage of 1.5 million tonnes CO2 annually during 27-year peak period, the bulk of which will be sold to third parties. - Anticipated net negative carbon footprint from carbon capture and storage capacity of 30 tonnes CO2 / tonne of nickel after accounting for project footprint

MINING REPORT 2023

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Today, we believe it is a worldclass project with tremendous momentum. We are fully focused on pursuing our next milestones of obtaining permits, developing a financing package, and moving towards a production decision by mid-2025, with a goal of first production by the end of 2027.” The company, led by Selby, has dominated the Timmins mining landscape for up-and-coming producers with a steady series of milestones that check all the boxes for it becoming a major player in the burgeoning global demand for the production of carbon neutral electric vehicle minerals. CNC also successfully completed its carbon storage pilot plant, demonstrating the value of its novel carbon storage process, In-Process Tailings (“IPT”) Carbonation. “Our successful pilot plant results, coupled with this study, con-

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

firm the significant value potential of the Company’s IPT Carbonation process,” said Selby. “The potential demand for more than 20 million tonnes annually of CO2 storage is well in excess of the 1 million tonne capacity for Crawford, which supports our company’s belief that our Timmins Nickel District can anchor a Zero Carbon Industrial Cluster in the Timmins-Cochrane region.” The company processed more than 7 tonnes of tailings and confirmed the engineering design parameters for IPT Carbonation for incorporation in the Integrated Feasibility Study (“IFS”). The pilot plant also was utilized to successfully apply the IPT Carbonation process to material from a third party’s project, demonstrating the potential to commercialize the process for other projects including the Company’s regional nickel properties in the Timmins Nickel District.

MINING REPORT 2023

In addition, a study by a leading strategy house confirms that the Canada Nickel Crawford project could reasonably expect in excess of C$25 per tonne of CO2 in storage fees from its IPT Carbonation process based on publicly known storage fees and given communicated carbon price & policy status. The study also confirmed the potential requirement for more than 20 million tonnes of annual storage capacity of CO2, given communicated carbon price & CCUS ITC status, from a population of approximately 150 potential emitters, with approximately 50 emitters concentrated in four distinct clusters in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto and Sarnia. “As we rapidly advance Crawford towards production, the company continues to build its team to ensure we can maximize the value from our project. I am very pleased that Adam Schatzker, has agreed to join the

team as Vice-President Corporate Development focused on unlocking the value of our IPT Carbonation process and the potential for a Zero Carbon Industrial Cluster in the Timmins-Cochrane region. The company continues to target receipt of permits by mid-2025 with construction to follow. Permitting remains on-track and good progress is being made through the second stage of the federal permitting process.”

IPT Carbonation Process Canada Nickel’s Crawford Project is hosted in ultramafic rock, which naturally absorbs and sequesters CO2. Canada Nickel has developed the novel IPT Carbonation process which involves injecting a concentrated source of CO2 into tailings generated by the milling process. This simple process captures CO2 geologically in the tailings while they are still in the processing circuit, rather than after they have been finally deposited.

multiple large multinational companies pursuing carbon storage solutions further supports the company’s belief that the mineral sequestration utilized by the company may be considered an effective carbon storage approach that would meet Environment and Climate Change Canada requirements.

Carbon Capture, Utilization Storage and Tax Credit The company believes that the successful incorporation of IPT Carbonation could potentially allow a portion of the company’s project capital expenditures to become eligible for the carbon capture and storage refundable investment tax credits of 37.5% to 60% for years 2022-2030 and 18.75% to 30% for years 2031-2040, as announced in the 2022 federal budget. The interest received from 22

MINING REPORT 2023

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The Next Generation of Nickel Anchored by our flagship Crawford Project in the heart of the emerging Timmins Nickel District. Advancing nickel-sulphide projects targeting production of NetZero Nickel™.

We're working on it.

canadanickel.com | TSX-V:CNC

Galleon Gold making bold near-term predictions By Kevin Vincent

s west Timmins on the verge of another gold producer? Galleon Gold has both oars in the water as the company makes the leap to advanced stage exploration. If the impending bulk sample goes as planned, the company expects to put money in the bank to help self-finance the next stage of development. Critical permit applications are in motion and the company expects to bring contractors on site to kickstart Timmins newest gold mine in 2024. “We are entering the final stretch for completion of the detailed engineering design and documentation required for submission of our bulk sample permit application,” said David Russell, President and CEO in a late summer statement. Galleon sits in the shadow of Pan America’s West Timmins gold mine, on trend with the region’s historic gold mineralization and has benefitted from Eric Sprott’s support since 2019.

What’s next for the project? “The underground sample is designed to produce 86,500 tonnes @ 8.13 g/t Au for 22,600 ounces of gold - prior to recoveries. At gold prices above US$1,900 / ounce, we expect gross revenue of C$50 million for this stage of development,” said Russell. “Moreover, work from the test mining will feed into pre-feasibility work and at the same time we will have opened the underground for further development and drilling. The extent of work required to move a project from exploration to advanced stage exploration is significant and the 24

Galleon team has been steadfast in their support of this strategy. We look forward to receiving permits, awarding construction contracts and breaking ground.” Earlier this year, Galleon continued to shine a spotlight on Zone #9 with impressive gold showings. “Results continue to confirm the impressive grade continuity of Zone #9, while also highlighting the growing importance of the nearby South Area mineralized zones,” said Russell. “Our focus over the next several months will be on permitting and preparation for the Zone #9 Bulk Sample. In addition, exploration programs to help delineate the resource potential of the South Area will be designed using both surface and underground drill programs.” The bulk of the Galleon’s detailed design work is nearing completion. The final plans are being readied for inclusion in the permit applica-

tion documents, and contract bidding process for site preparation, underground ramp construction and ore extraction. The company has been working with Hydro One to outline the power needs for the project. Hydro One has completed their initial assessment and have commenced detailed engineering for a planned connection in 2024. Area residents and stakeholders can expect to be invited to public meetings any day where Galleon will outline the company’s closure plan. The Closure Plan is one of the key permit applications that must be approved by the Ontario Ministry of Mines before advanced exploration can commence. The Closure Plan contains an outline of how Galleon will remediate the site once it has completed mining activities. Much of the detailed engineering work being completed is feeding into the Closure

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Plan. Plans to rehabilitate any site disturbances from the bulk sample are specifically being addressed in the Closure Plan. The company is targeting a fall submission of the Plan, followed by a 45-day consultation period before formal approval. In addition to the Closure Plan, the company is also compiling its permit applications for Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) for industrial sewage works and air and noise and Permits to Take Water (PTTW) for surface water and dewatering underground workings - as well as the various construction permits for the development of the property. The company has been providing regular updates to nearby First Nations communities and public consultations and inter-ministerial meetings will be conducted in advance of the submission of the Closure Plan.

TSX.V:GGO

Advanced Exploration in the Timmins Camp

MINING REPORT 2023

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McEwen’s Black Fox Mine on pace for longer life By Kevin Vincent

he Timmins region’s most unassuming mine continues to show signs of an extended shelf life. Late this summer, McEwen Mining quietly released some high-grade drill results at its Stock Township Black Fox Mine complex that suggest the complex can be significantly expanded. In fact, the company has announced that construction of a ramp to Stock West will begin this December. “The significance of this mineralization is the prospect of very early mining and cash flow, making the development of the Stock ramp partially self-funding,” said the company in an early October statement. The company says drilling continues to encounter good grades and widths at shallow depths, in proximity to the surface entrance portal of the ramp that will be driven to access the Stock West deposit. “The drill results are also important since it demonstrates that the mineralized system at Stock West is present well outside of the current resource model and continues deeper,” said the company. The new assay results from the Stock Property, part of the Fox Complex indicate a potential impact of a shorter payback yet longer mine life. Geological investigations have identified two principal plunge directions controlling mineralization at Stock with both appearing to originate at the “Ramp Portal Zone”. Results from 21 diamond drillholes were favorable and reported three key target areas at the Stock West 28

Longitudinal section looking North, extending from Stock West to East of the historical Stock Mine headframe, referencing key target areas: “Ramp Portal Zone”, “Shallow Plunge” and “Steep Plunge”

Project: “Ramp Portal Zone”, “Shallow Plunge” and “Steep Plunge”. In addition, there are two intriguing results which suggest other directions for the Stock resource to grow. Three of the drill holes were particularly impressive including; 21.6 g/t Au over 5.1m, 38.5 g/t Au over 7.4m and 98.8 g/t Au over 0.9m.

Intriguing Results The first intriguing assay is located deep into the footwall of the Stock West resource within a Timiskaming-aged sedimentary wedge and returned 98.8 g/t Au over 0.9 m in drillhole S23-281. Because the orientation of the sedimentary wedge is well defined by more than 100 holes drilled since 2019 that were only selectively sampled based on visual cues, a staged resampling project is now warranted for these particular sediments. This result is significant because it now demonstrates the potential for narrow, high-grade gold values within a unit that was generally not considered to carry significant mineralization at the Stock property. Timiskaming-aged sediment is known to carry gold mineralization elsewhere in the Timmins camp, such as at Newmont’s Pamour mine. The second result is also located in the footwall of Stock West with drillhole S23-293 returning 3.0 g/t

Au over 5.3 m approximately 250 meters down-dip and down-plunge from Stock West. This result is also important since it demonstrates that the mineralized system at Stock West is present well outside of the current resource model and continues deeper. An updated mineral resource estimate for the Stock deposit is expected to be complete by year’s end. Overall, McEwen seems to be pointed in the right direction. The Fox Complex performed well during the third quarter and is on track to slightly exceed the midpoint of their guidance range. Fox has achieved 738 days without a lost time injury as of September 30th. Mining at Froome is on track and the Stock mill continues to increase average throughput. McEwen Mining was pleased as they saw great exploration drilling results at their Stock Complex including the ‘Ramp Portal Zone’, which may represent an early mining horizon for their upcoming Stock West project. The Fox Complex produced 11,200 Gold Equivalent Ounces (GEO) in the third quarter and up to date has produced 32,200 GEO. The Fox Complex is on track and forecast to produce 45,500 GEO for the full year 2023 which was within their guidance.

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Argonaut Gold Declares Commercial Production at the Magino Mine By Kevin Vincent

rgonaut Gold has a bounce in its step these days as the company holds the distinction of being Canada’s newest gold producer. Argonaut poured its first gold bar in June while announcing process plant ramp-ups. Argonaut Gold declared commercial production at the Magino Mine on November 1st, 2023. The Magino is Argonaut’s first Canadian operation and is located in Dubreuilville, Ontario. “The Board of Directors and Management would like to thank the Magino team for their hard work to achieve the commercial production milestone and celebrate the dedication of all employees, contractors, and community partners that have supported construction of the newest gold mine in Canada as we work to achieve our vision of becoming a low-cost, mid-tier North American gold producer that delivers value to all stakeholders,” stated Richard Young, President and Chief Executive Officer. “With the first gold pour milestone behind us, we are now focused on completing commissioning and ramping up the mill to steady state. In addition, we are looking to further 30

grow our flagship gold mine as we commence a reserve development drilling program intending to increase reserves in combination with studies to expand and optimize mill throughput, both scheduled to begin later this summer. Plant commissioning and ramp-up proceeded largely on plan from June through August, ramping up from approximately 50% of nameplate capacity to 80%, placing the plant on track for commercial production in September. However, 20 days of unplanned downtime in September, delayed the ramp-up. This was the result of two events, the first centered on the Ball Mill motor drive and inching system and the second involved the SAG Mill motor. The EPC contractor, equipment suppliers and specialized contractors were mobilized to assist the site team in facilitating equipment repairs and addressing the various causes of the unplanned downtime. During commissioning, the greatest plant reliability issues centered on the process control system, which is comprised of several disparate systems. As a result, we are systematically centralizing all control functionality. The plant has

been largely operating at nameplate capacity since the beginning of the quarter,” stated Marc Leduc, Chief Operating Officer. Third quarter consolidated production was 53,911 gold equivalent ounces (“GEOs”), including precommercial production of 10,693 GEOs from the Magino Mine. Full year production for the Magino Mine will not meet the guidance set out at the beginning of the year due to the slower than planned ramp-up to commercial production. However, the Company remains on track to meet its full year consolidated production and all in sustaining cost guidance set at the beginning of the year. As a result of the slower than planned ramp-up of Magino to commercial production, the Company will bolster its balance sheet through the sale to Franco-Nevada Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries (Franco-Nevada) of an additional 1% net smelter return royalty (“NSR”) on its Magino Mine, and its non-core royalty holdings in Canada and Mexico for an aggregate purchase price of US$29.5 million, with closing of such transactions subject to satisfactions of closing conditions.

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

Magino Mine: Unveiling Ontario's Gold Potential Argonaut Gold's Magino Mine, a 10,000-tonne per day open-pit gold mine nestled near Dubreuilville, is poised to reshape the region's mining landscape. Magino represents a significant stride in Argonaut Gold's vision of becoming a low-cost, mid-tier North American gold producer. Positioned as flagship asset in Argonaut Gold's portfolio, Magino Mine marks a triumph for the company in its pursuit of operational excellence.

Commercial Production Milestone: A Key Achievement Declared on November 2nd, the commercial production announcement signifies that Magino Mine has achieved significant construction and development milestones in line with the initial design criteria.

ESG Report: Building a Legacy Simultaneously, Argonaut Gold has released its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report, titled "Building a Legacy." Reflecting a commitment to transparent and responsible mining, the report aligns with global standards and establishes a baseline for future reporting. This strategic move underscores the company's dedication to excellence in ESG, recognizing the growing importance of environmental, social, and governance factors in the mining industry. In an era where ESG considerations are paramount, the ESG Report outlines Argonaut Gold's first-ever ESG Strategy. This includes objectives and metrics aimed at monitoring and enhancing the company's ESG performance. As stakeholders increasingly scrutinize ESG performance in investment decisions, Argonaut Gold positions itself as a leader in responsible mining, not just extracting gold but shaping a legacy of sustainable and socially responsible practices.

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Upon the closing of this transaction Franco-Nevada will hold an aggregate 3.0% NSR on the Magino Mine. Argonaut is also pursuing additional growth opportunities at Magino. The company has scheduled a 12 to 15-month exploration and reserve development program, in the third quarter, to convert open pit resources to reserves within the current resource pit cone, test deep underground high-grade targets, and test open pit targets along strike west of the current deposit. The company is also planning a review of mill optimization and expansion opportunities, to potentially raise throughput rates and increase annual production.

The Magino reserve expansion could drive significant asset growth • Resource body remains open at depth, along strike to the east towards Alamos’ Island Gold Mine, and west along strike • Target 0.5 – 1.0 Moz added to reserves • Conversion of resources to reserves could support an increase to process capacity from 10,000 tpd (current plan) to a range of 15,000 tpd – 20,000 tpd • Potentially increases production to over 200,000 oz/year • Fully permitted to process up to 35,000 tpd and TMF to 135Mt Moving forward as the Magino mine achieves commercial production they look to the Magino in becoming Argonaut’s largest and lowest cost mine. The ramp-up of Magino will be the first step in transforming Argonaut as it enters a pivotal growth stage. The mine has the potential of being not only their largest and lowest cost mine but one of the larger and lowest cost mines in Canada. The company also has three operating mines including the Florida 32

Canyon mine in Nevada, USA, where it is pursuing potential for redevelopment and additional growth, La Colorada mine in Sonora, Mexico and San Agustin mine in Durango, Mexico. In September, the company announced the appointment of Owen Nicholls to Vice President, Exploration. Owen joins the Company at a pivotal phase of growth to continue advancing the expansion of our flagship asset, Magino, and redeveloping the Florida Canyon mine. “We will benefit from Owen’s extensive hands-on exploration and management experience as he fo-

cuses on expansion of our two cornerstone assets,” said Leduc. Nicholls has considerable experience prioritizing exploration targets, assessing technical reports, resource estimation, feasibility studies, project evaluations, permit applications, and project development. He has successfully led exploration projects at mine sites and greenfield projects for Equinox Gold including resource expansion at the Mesquite mine and at Castle Mountain mine where he worked with Leduc to define 4.3 million ounces of gold resources at this historic mine.

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Ottawa “All-in”

with massive $1.5B Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund By Kevin Vincent

ederal Liberals rocked the Canadian resource sector with a massive announcement to support the critical minerals industry in late October.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF) will begin accepting applications when it opens its first call for proposals in late fall 2023. The CMIF will address key infrastructure gaps to enable sustainable critical minerals production and to connect resources to markets. With up to $1.5 billion available over seven years, the fund will support clean energy and transportation projects that will enable critical mineral development. 34

“Critical minerals are a generational economic opportunity for Canada,” said Wilkinson. “As major enablers of clean technologies and clean energy sources, demand for critical minerals is projected to rise exponentially as the global economy continues to shift toward low-carbon solutions. Through the $1.5-billion Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, Canada will make strategic investments in projects to help enable and grow the sustainable development of these minerals, reinforcing Canada’s position as a global supplier of choice for clean technology, clean energy and the resources the world needs to build a prosperous net-zero economy.” In making the announcement, Ottawa said critical minerals are key enablers of clean technologies, like batteries, and clean energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar panels, which are essential to achieving a net-zero-emissions future. Canada’s critical minerals sector has tremendous opportunities that remain underdeveloped. This is largely because critical minerals deposits are often located in remote areas

with challenging terrain and limited access to enabling infrastructure, such as roads or grid connectivity. Canada is already a leading supplier of sustainably sourced minerals and materials and is committed to making strategic investments to reinforce our position and drive job creation and economic growth.

Minister FrançoisPhilippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Developing Canada’s critical minerals value chains will not only boost the competitiveness of the minerals and metals sector, it will support the growth of our economy, support Canada’s transition toward a net-zero economy and create well-paying jobs for Canadians,” said FrançoisPhilippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

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Quick facts • The CMIF is a key program under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy to support enabling clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects necessary to increase Canada’s supply of responsibly sourced critical minerals. • The CMIF will support strategic priorities such as decarbonizing industrial mining operations, strengthening supply chains through transportation infrastructure and advancing economic reconciliation by supporting the participation of Indigenous Peoples in infrastructure and critical mineral projects. • In 2022, the Government of Canada launched the Regional Energy and Resource Tables — a collaborative initiative with provinces and territories designed to identify, prioritize and pursue opportunities for sustainable job creation and economic growth. Critical minerals have been identified as an area for priority action by provincial and territorial governments through the Regional Tables, and these tables will provide a great opportunity for them to highlight priority critical mineral infrastructure projects that may be supported by the CMIF. “With investments through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund and the Strategic Innovation Fund, our government is strengthening the electric vehicle value chain we’re building from coast to coast to coast by adding value to our critical minerals resources, from mineral processing to manufacturing and recycling.”

• The first stream, Preconstruction and Project Development, will fund pre-construction activities required to advance projects toward a shovel-ready state, for example, planning, studies and engagement with Indigenous groups. • The second stream, Infrastructure Deployment, will fund activities for shovel-ready projects, such as readily deployable solutions, construction, rehabilitation or enhancement of infrastructure.

Minister Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport Canada

“Investing in Canada’s transportation infrastructure is a priority for our government. With the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund and the National Trade Corridors Fund, we’re building to strengthen Canadian supply chains and foster economic resilience and sustainable growth in Canada,” added Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport. MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

CMIF funding will be made available through two streams, both supporting mine sites and regional clean energy and transportation infrastructure.

The first CMIF Call for Proposals (CFP) will disburse an initial tranche of funding to shovel-ready projects that are deployable, having secured all necessary regulatory approvals and permits, and to pre-construction projects that can be deployed in future years. Eligible recipients will include a broad array of partners, including provinces and territories and organizations under provincial or territorial statute or regulation, such as Crown corporations and public

MINING REPORT 2023

utilities, private businesses, not-forprofit organizations and Indigenous groups. The CMIF will also offer grant funding to support Indigenous groups and organizations to engage in the development and implementation of CMIF-related infrastructure projects. Further details about CMIF grants will be available shortly. It is anticipated that the CMIF will launch its first CFP by late fall 2023. 35

Class 1 Nickel, Alexo-Dundonald Project By Kevin Vincent

hat’s old is new again and with the burgeoning global interest in minerals for electric vehicles, that’s precisely what the new operators of the dormant Alexo-Dundonald property, 25 km northeast of Timmins are thinking. With its eye on the AlexoDundonald property, Toronto-based Class 1 Nickel is a neighbour to one of Ontario’s most promising nickel plays, the Canada Nickel Crawford Project. The company notes that its Flagship Alexo-Dundonald Project is a past-producer where Class 1 Nickel is completing a database review, 3D Modelling and infill drilling program to increase the known resource with a view to completing a PEA in 2023. Multiple local processing options for Alexo-Dundonald, which could reduce upfront capital expenditures. Mineralized material was previously sent to Glencore’s Strathcona processing facility near Sudbury, and the Kidd Metallurgical Site, less than 30 km away. 36

The Alexo-Dundonald Project comprises four deposits of 92 granted exploration licences, with a combined area of 19 km2 and over a 14 km strike-length of folded komatiite units, including Alexo North, Alexo South (operational during 2004 to 2005), Dundonald North and Dundonald South. Historically, Alexo was a shallow, high-grade nickel sulphide mine, allowing Class 1 Nickel to leverage significant historic exploration and expenditure to delineate a MRE Indicated of 1,254 Kt with average grade 0.99% and a total MRE inferred of 2,007 Kt with average grade 1.01% (3.25Mt @ 1% total), and JORC 2012 equivalent Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at Alexo-Dundonald of 4.19Mt @ 0.92% Ni for 39Kt of nickel metal. Given the Project’s historic production profile, and the existing shallow, high-grade Resource, excellent access to existing brownfields infrastructure and local processing

facilities, Class 1 Nickel feels it is well-positioned for a potentially low cap-expenditure, high-margin production restart. Through utilizing third-party facilities for toll milling, management expect that production of a pre-concentrate can be ramped up quickly with little minimal pre-production capex. Based on assumptions from the previous operations operating costs will be largely limited to mining and haulage. Mineralized material from Alexo was historically processed at Glencore’s Strathcona mill with high metallurgical recoveries. Last year Strathcona Mill had approx. 2,500tpd excess capacity, which management estimate is more than enough to potentially underpin a highly profitable operation. While Class 1 Nickel is yet to publish a PEA, management have had conversations with top-tier automakers, highlighting the demand for a production restart at Alexo-Dundonald, and the availability of the Nickel Resource.

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

Wahgoshig Resources Inc. Expands Mining and Exploration Services With Black Diamond Drilling and a New Trucking Company, WRI Now Serves the Mining Industry in Two Ways by Graham Strong

or some, Wahgoshig Resources Inc.’s (WRI) purchase of the longestablished Peter Bodick Trucking in May 2023 came out of the blue. Sean McEachern, Mining Director at WRI, said that some customers were nervous initially about the 40-yearold company changing hands. That nervousness disappeared within six months, he said. “Business is booming. This past week, I could have used double the trucks and drivers I have right now,” McEachern said in October. “We’ve maintained the company’s reputation and even built a better one with some, based on the feedback we’re getting.” That’s thanks to several customer service improvements, McEachern said. After rebranding to Apitipi Anicinapek Trucking Ltd. (AAT), the company streamlined backend operations including automating scheduling and creating a digital e-signature system to speed up ordering. 38

Sean McEachern, Mining Director at WRI

“It was still carbon copies and running around to get signatures. We set up a system for e-signatures and streamlined our filing and scheduling to make them more efficient,” McEachern said. “They’re all small improvements, but they’ve had a huge impact. Now, customers can get their order within the week rather than waiting a month.” The acquisition also put WRI on the radar for many in the mining industry. Up to that point, WRI had quietly built a localized reputation for itself. Originally, the aim

of this economic development arm of Apitipi Anicinapek Nation (AAN, formerly Wahgoshig First Nation) was to assist exploration and other companies who wanted to do business on the First Nation’s Traditional Territory. But with the purchase of such a prominent Kirkland Lake trucking company, WRI is clearly expanding its catchment area – and its footprint in the industry. The trucking company mostly hauls sand, gravel, and aggregates from its pit to industrial customers

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Wahgoshig Resources Inc. P.O. Box 159, Matheson, ON POK 1N0 Phone: 705-273-2699 Fax: 705-273-1031 Francis Archibald, General Manager | gm@wahgoshigresources.com WahgoshigBlackDiamond.com

ships that grow individuals, our culture, and our community.” “We are always looking for pathways to economic growth, inside the community and out,” Archibald said. “Not only does purchasing an established trucking company make sense from an economic perspective, it complements our other businesses as well.” WRI operates two other companies: Black Diamond Drilling and Black Diamond Forestry, both of which are also growing in size and scope.

Black Diamond Drilling Building Its Own Reputation – “We Always Reach the Bottom of the Hole” including Aginco Eagle’s Macassa mine in Kirkland Lake as well as small and mid-sized commercial clients. Currently their service area is primarily the Kirkland Lake area with some expansion up the corridor to Matheson, Ont. and AAN, located just east and north of Matheson along Highway 101. That service region could grow in the near future. Its list of services for the mining industry could too, including ore haulage and related logistics. WRI General Manager Francis Archibald said that adding the trucking company to the portfolio made good business sense for the community and for the company’s growth. According to its website, WRI’s Mission is to “identify, develop, and maximize business opportunities and partner40

WRI initially launched Black Diamond Drilling to assist with mining exploration such as at McEwen’s Black Fox mine. Partnerships have been the cornerstone of Black Diamond’s success so far, including joint ventures with Major Drilling and Redpath. WRI’s partnership with Major Drilling is so strong that they have a lease agreement for when they need more drills. That helps them scale services without risking huge investments in equipment. That hasn’t stopped Black Diamond Drilling from building its own assets though. After a purchase in January 2023, the company now has three of its own drills. It has since landed other drilling projects including one for Alamos Gold and has leads for others in the area.

Archibald said that Black Diamond Drilling offers several advantages for potential customers. “One of our biggest selling points is our safety record and commitment to our safety policies,” he said. “We feel that first and foremost, that’s what separates us from a lot of the other companies.” Stability is another strength. Although Black Diamond Drilling is a smaller operation, it is part of the larger, community-owned WRI. The company is in it for the long term. But the company is also building a reputation for getting the job done, on time and on budget. “Wherever we go, we always reach the bottom of the hole,” Archibald said. WRI’s Black Diamond Forestry is also growing. It initially formed to haul timber on its Traditional Territory but now has partnered with Rosko Forestry Operations in Kirkland Lake to produce dimensional lumber at its sawmill.

“Everything is Growth” WRI’s success and growth comes down to customer service, Archibald said. McEachern added that many customers ask for AAT drivers by name because of the positive experiences they’ve had with them. Likewise, Black Diamond Drilling goes the extra metre to keep its clients happy. In one case, they were able to deliver core samples on time with two drills on a project that by all rights should have had three. Of course, that’s not guaranteed to happen every time. But it shows WRI’s commitment to the project – and its customers. Both Archibald and McEachern say that controlled growth is the path for WRI’s success. “We’re financially stable,” Archibald said. “The way we manage our finances puts us in a different stratosphere than others. We pay our bills on time, and we pay our guys. Those are the two most important things.”

MINING REPORT 2023

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Alamos Gold on pace for record year operationally & financially

Island Gold Mine October 2023: Alamos Gold

lamos Gold headquartered in Toronto, recently announced its financial results for the quarter ending September 30. Alamos currently has 3 producing operations – the Young-Davidson Mine near Matachewan, Ontario, the Island Gold Mine near Dubreuilville, Ontario, as well as the Mulatos Mine in Sonora, Mexico. “With another strong quarterly performance, we are on pace for a record year both operationally and financially. Production of 135,400 ounces was above our quarterly guidance, putting us on track to set a new record for annual production,” said John A. McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Given the strong year-to-date performance, we are raising our full year production guidance by 5 percent to a range of 515,000 to 530,000 ounces. With total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs below the midpoint of guidance in the quarter and year-to-date, we are also on track to achieve full year cost guidance.” McCluskey added: “This contributed to another solid quarter financially with $37 million of free cash flow, bringing the year-to-date total to $109 million. This represents a substantial increase from 2022 while

investing in our high-return growth projects.” “At Island Gold, the Phase 3+ Expansion is progressing well with the headframe up and shaft sinking on schedule to begin later this year. The updated Feasibility Study on Lynn Lake outlined another long-life, lowcost project in Canada, with excellent exploration upside. The development plan for PDA is also advancing as the deposit continues to grow through ongoing exploration success. All three projects are key drivers of our ongoing value creation and strong long-term outlook, supporting growing production, declining costs, and increasing profitability.” Among the highlights of the company’s third quarter report is 135,400 ounces of gold produced, which exceeded quarterly guidance of 120,000 to 130,000 ounces, reflecting strong performances from both the Mulatos District and Island Gold. With year-to-date production of 399,800 ounces, the Company is on pace for record annual production in 2023. Specifically, Island Gold produced 36,400 ounces, a 19 percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2023, reflecting both

higher grades and throughput. The Company expects to continue generating significant ongoing free cash flow over the next several years while funding the Phase 3+ Expansion at Island Gold. Young-Davidson continues to be a consistent performer with mining rates in-line with target rates and the operation generating $30.9 million of mine-site free cash flow in the quarter and $82.6 million year-to-date. With higher grades expected in the fourth quarter, the operation is on track to meet full year production guidance and generate more than $100 million of mine-site free cash flow for the third consecutive year. Island Gold performed well in the third quarter with higher mining rates and grades driving a 19% increase in production from the second quarter. With year-to-date production of 99,800 ounces, the operation is well positioned to meet full year production guidance. As outlined in the Phase 3+ Expansion study released in June 2022, grades mined are expected to increase in 2024, driving production higher. A further increase in grades and an increase in mining rates toward the latter part of 2025 is expected to drive an additional

MINING REPORT 2023

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Alamos Gold’s Island Gold Mine, General Manager, Austin Hemphill speaks to a full house during the CEN CAN Expo, Projects in the Pipeline Conference.

increase in production and a reduction in costs. The company also reported that there have been ‘zero significant environmental incidents and zero reportable spills in the third quarter, and year-to-date’ and added that site visits were completed at all 3 operational mine sites to assess compliance with internal environmental standards. “Positive improvements were noted at all sites with action plans currently being implemented to meet remaining requirements,” says the report. Alamos Gold, the Island Gold Mine is one of the highest grades and fastest growing deposits in the world with 1M+ oz produced since commercial production was declared in October of 2007. The Island Gold Mine story is known as a Cinderella story of today’s mining industry. Alamos was a Gold Sponsor of the Central Canada Resource Expo in Thunder Bay this past September. They were also asked to speak during the Projects in the Pipeline Conference. Austin was proud when he spoke about the Island Gold operation. He said, “right now, we spend about $184 million locally in local suppliers. 44

And we pay out about $64 million in wages and salaries to our employees, of which just over 40% are local. And by local, we mean in the township of Dubreuilville, in the municipality of Wawa or White River”. Austin spoke about the company’s environment, sustainability, and governance (ESG) direction. Working with our first Nation partners is important to us. Our First Nations Members participate in environmental audits. And again, you’ve got to remember, we’re temporarily here, whereas the landowners have been there long before us and will still be responsible for the land long after us. So we want to make sure that we have full transparency, that they’re able to see that we are doing it justice and we are ensuring that the land is treated with the respect it deserves. Alamos has an open-door policy at the end of each day with their First Nation Members. It is their traditional territory; we want to make sure that they see and know what we’re doing, and they agree with the way we are doing it.

Social Performance “Currently the industry is facing a very tight labor market and everybody’s looking, how do you get people? Well,

there’s two ways to get people. One is to find them somewhere and the other is to develop them. We elected to do both,” stated Austin. Alamos developed a program working with the local high schools. They started off with a high school in Dubreuilville. They’ve since gone to the French Catholic High School in Wawa and the English Public High School. They call this their Mining Showcase. It’s where they take different departments within the mine, and do a round robin throughout the various departments, spending about 10 or 15 minutes with each department on a small group, one-onone basis to explain the opportunities that are available within the mine. They’re also supporting a trades program and supporting co-ops with the high schools, to get youth into electrical, mechanical, carpentry and other similar trades. Alamos has a lot of surface infrastructure. They employ red seal carpenters, and a lot of students don’t realize that that’s a pathway to a solid career. The mine has good results right now as they are averaging about two or three apprentices into the trades every year and recruiting about five to ten new employees in other areas.

MINING REPORT 2023

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Positive initial drill results support expectations of expanding current mineable resources and reserves at Bradshaw

owest Gold has announced promising initial assay results from Phase 1 of its previously announced surface diamond drill program at its 100 percent owned Bradshaw Gold Mine, located 32 kilometres north of Timmins. This first 5,000-metre program phase is part of a larger planned program with the goal of expanding the mineable resource at Bradshaw, as well as to further test other parts of the corporation’s North Timmins Gold Project area where notable gold has previously been intercepted. The results, which were received by September 1, showed the first seven diamond drill holes, all of which intersected gold mineralization. At the time these results were published, a total of 2,255 metres of drilling had been completed, (as of August 31) including ten completed holes, and one in progress. The highest intercept was a hole with 10.64 grams of gold per tonne over 2.6 metres, including 16.67 grams of gold per tonne over 1.5 m from the Bradshaw HAN zone. “These positive initial drill results continue to support our team’s expectation that we will be able to expand our current mineable resources and reserves at Bradshaw,” said Dan Gagnon, President and Chief Executive Officer. “At the same time, the mine restart is progressing very well. We remain on target on all fronts, including all production and key infrastructure programs, and anticipate starting the toll milling our ore at the Redstone 46

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Mill in the fourth quarter of this year.” The company said the Phase 1 and 2 surface drilling program, which they expect to be completed in November, has progressed well since it commenced on June 20. As of August 31, a total of 2,255 m of drilling has been completed, consisting of ten holes completed and one in progress. The ten holes were drilled on the eastern portion of the Bradshaw Gold Deposit. This work represents the initial phase of a 5,000-m surface drill program. This phase is targeting four gold zones below the 80 metre mine level, to extend existing stopes.

The drill rig is currently drilling the eleventh hole, and an additional three holes have been spotted in the field. Gowest had submitted two exploration permit applications to the Ontario Ministry of Mines in May, which were approved in August. The permits are valid for three years and will allow diamond drilling of the west and east Bradshaw gold deposit strike extensions, the Sheridan Gold Zone area, the Dowe Gold Zone area and the Roussain Gold Zone. Gowest, headquartered in Timmins, Ontario, is a gold exploration and development company focused on the delineation and development of its 100% owned Bradshaw Gold Deposit (Bradshaw) on the Frankfield Property, part of the Corporation’s North Timmins Gold Project (NTGP). The company is exploring additional gold targets on its +100-square-kilometre-NTGP land package and continues to evaluate the area, which is part of the prolific Timmins, Ontario gold camp. Currently, Bradshaw contains a National Instrument 43-101 Indicated Resource estimated at 2.1 million tonnes grading 6.19 grams per tonne gold containing 422 thousand ounces of gold, and an Inferred Resource of 3.6 million tonnes grading at 6.47 grams per tonne of gold, containing 755 thousand ounces of gold.

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Moneta Gold’s Tower Gold Project one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Canada

oneta Gold had another very busy year in 2023 with some major steps in the progress of our company. Moneta is a Timminsbased company that has been based there since 1910. Their head offices are there, and they’re putting together and advancing what is a major gold project in the Timmins camp. Moneta Gold’s flagship project is its 100 percent owned Tower Gold Project which is located 98 km east of Timmins. In September 2022 the company completed a PEA announcing their global resource at 4.5 million ounces indicated, 8.3 million ounces inferred, and that consisted of both underground and open-pit resources. The PEA proved robust economics,

both in size and location along with a pipeline of projects. With other exploration targets and the potential to add additional higher-grade material at or near surface Moneta is poised for mining success. The September 2022, PEA study outlined a 7.0 million tonne per annual conventional leach operation over a 24-year mine life. The PEA had an NPV after-tax of just under 1.1 billion Canadian dollars, an IRR of 32%. That’s at US $1,600 per gold ounce. The pay back is at 2.6 years. It is a stage development mine scenario where they start with the open pit, then move into the underground and develop that out of cash flow. The first 11 years shows a very robust 261,000 ounces a year production.

Moneta is looking at optimising the project. They’re looking at the timing of the decline, the timing of the underground, and optimising the throughput as part of their Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), and they’re looking to have the PFS for those first 11 years out midway through 2024. The Tower Gold Project had its latest assay results released on October 19 as part of a project update. The results encompassed 25 drill holes totalling 5,534 metres on the Windjammer South deposit. The drilling was conducted as part of the original 140,000 metre drilling program, which started in 2022, designed for resource upgrade and infill of the 4.5 million ounces indicated gold and 8.3 million ounces inferred gold mineral resource estimate.

MINING REPORT 2023

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Rely on

Some of the highlights of the project update include: • 115,000 m, in 426 drill holes, of 140,000 m infill drill program completed, with the remaining drill holes to be executed during the winter season, • Thirteen drill holes completed, totalling 3,665 m, for open pit geomechanical and hydrogeological testing, including packer testing. Two drill holes remain and are planned for the winter season. Downhole televiewer surveys are planned for December, • Overburden geotechnical drilling is 50% complete and is ongoing, • Metallurgical drilling and sample collection are ongoing. Lab analysis, including communition and variability test work, starting in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“I am very pleased with the team’s progress as we advance towards a pre-feasibility study,” said Josef Vejvoda, Moneta’s Chairman and interim President and Chief Executive Officer. “These most recent assay results continue to confirm the continuity of gold mineralization at the Tower Gold project, while the completed open pit geomechanical and hydrogeologi52

cal testing, with the data currently being analysed, has the potential to increase resources by steepening the open-pit wall slope angle, presently designed at a conservative 46 degrees in the September 2022 PEA.” Drilling is being conducted on 50 metre centres as step-outs and infill of previous drill holes. Additional assays from 2023 drilling are pending

and will be released upon receipt of assays. Moneta said it is committed to ‘creating shareholder value through the strategic allocation of capital and a focus on the current resource upgrade drilling program, while conducting all business activities in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.’

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Agnico Eagle Mines calls Northern Ontario Home Now and for the Future

gnico Eagle Mines stands as the third-largest gold producer worldwide, boasting an estimated annual production ranging from 3.24 to 3.44 million ounces and its Detour Lake mine in Northern Ontario, has emerged as Canada’s leading gold producer. As a senior Canadian gold mining company, Agnico Eagle produces precious metals from operations in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico. It has a pipeline of high-quality exploration and development projects in these countries as well as in the United States and Colombia. Agnico Eagle is a partner of choice within the mining industry, recognized globally for its leading environmental, social and governance practices. The Company was founded in 1957 and has consistently created value for its shareholders, declaring a cash dividend every year since 1983. Agnico Eagle’s mission is to build a high-quality, easy to understand business, one that generates superior long-term returns for shareholders, creates a great place to 54

Andre Leite, Vice President of Agnico Eagle, Ontario Operations was a guest speaker during the Canadian Mining Expo this year. He addressed more than 200 delegates in attendance and spoke about Agnico Eagle’s Ontario operations.

work for employees and contributes positively to the communities where it operates. Agnico Eagle’s strategy has always been regional: to focus on operating in areas where mining is accepted by the people, the geological resources are rich and the political risks are limited. In his presentation, he said: “we are taking a very proactive approach, from our relationship-building to how we support our communities. We are not reactive. We aren’t waiting for the communities to come to us,

we start the process by reaching out first, understanding their needs, understanding how that aligns with our strategies, and implementing those activities and support to the communities where we operate”.

Agnico Eagle holds approximately 40% of its net asset value in Northern Ontario 80% of Agnico Eagle’s gold production comes from Canada and the company holds approximately 40% of its net asset value in Northern Ontario. This is reinforced with significant investment and community participation. The company’s Northern Ontario operations employ 3,400

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At Agnico Eagle, our people are our greatest resource and strength. Through their development and expertise, we continue to set the bar in the industry. Visit www.agnicoeagle.com to learn more.

individuals and contractors, with an annual investment of approximately $115 million in exploration. Their total goods and services expenditures reach $1.4 billion, including $420 million related to Indigenous communities. They maintain 11 agreements with First Nations in their operating territories and are contributing $455 million to wages and benefits, primarily benefiting the local Northern Ontario economy. In support of their Northern Ontario communities, in 2022, Agnico Eagle contributed $8.3 million through donations and sponsorships, proactively engaging with communities to align their support with local needs and strategies. Agnico Eagle is truly a Canadian mining champion. In comparison to other major players, Agnico Eagle views Northern Ontario as instrumental in their strategy as their history shows. Detour Lake mine, known for its large low-grade, high-volume, and lowcost operations continued pace in 2023 by yielding 732,000 ounces of gold annually, showing potential for further growth towards a whopping one million ounces. Agnico Eagle took Detour Lake from producing 21 million tons a year of ore in the mill and grew it to about 25.5 million tons last year and went from producing 600,000 ounces of gold to a now 732,000 ounces of gold per year operation. Agnico Eagle is looking to expand the Detour operation by expanding their production from around 100 million tons a year to around 130 million tons a year of total material mined. This is expected to take place within the next two years. “Agnico Eagle’s role extends beyond mere extraction; it includes the development of innovative technologies, best practices, and sustainable mining methods,” stated Leite. The second of the two operating mines owned by Agnico Eagle is the storied Macassa mine, which has been operational since 1933. In 2018, they initiated significant infra56

structure improvements to address this issue with the sinking of a new shaft and sinking two new ventilation raises. Macassa’s early adoption of battery equipment, out of necessity, paved the way for the development of groundbreaking technology. Agnico Eagle envisions a long and prosperous future for this mine. The Macassa mine is unlocking a lot of value. With the mine improvements starting next year the company is looking to potentially see the production ramp up. The Macassa mine has been in operation for over 90 years, and Agnico Eagle sees the potential to continue there, operating for more than several more decades. The future looks bright for Agnico Eagle and Northern Ontario as they see a lot of synergies now that the other half of Canadian Malartic is part of their portfolio with the milling capacity in Quebec, and how they can optimize all the smaller deposits that they have in the region. This puts Agnico Eagle at a very good competitive advantage in relation to how to mill and process these ore bodies. Agnico Eagle, alongside the broader gold mining industry, holds a pivotal position in the realm of workforce development, offering a unique opportunity to cultivate the talent needed for the exploration and extraction of critical minerals. This endeavor extends beyond the traditional gold-focused mining operations, aiming to address the bur-

geoning demand for vital minerals essential to various industries. In an era marked by economic inflation and demographic challenges, particularly in Northern Ontario and across Canada, the expertise and infrastructure built by Agnico Eagle over the years have become indispensable. The company’s longstanding presence in these regions not only ensures the continued availability of employment opportunities but also facilitates knowledge transfer and training programs. Agnico Eagle and the gold mining industry’s expansion into the critical minerals sector signifies not just economic diversification but also a visionary response to contemporary challenges. By nurturing a skilled workforce, they position themselves as a driving force in the development of critical mineral deposits while effectively managing costs and mitigating the impacts of inflation and shifting demographics in Northern Ontario and Canada.

MINING REPORT 2023

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Magna Mining Planning to be Sudbury’s Next Nickel Producer

agna Mining is an emerging nickel mining company based in Sudbury and is the only junior company with advanced-stage assets in the world-renowned Sudbury Basin. Magna’s two flagship projects are the Shakespeare and Crean Hill mines. Shakespeare is a project with major permits in place to re-commence production, while Crean Hill was operated for over 80 years as a high-grade underground mine by Inco until the early 2000s. Magna Mining is currently planning to develop a new nickel production hub in Sudbury, with the objective to be in production within the next two years. Mining Life & Exploration News had the chance to meet up with Jason Jessup, CEO and co-founder of Magna Mining while doing a pre58

sentation during the Canadian Mining Expo in Timmins this past June. Magna Mining’s growth strategy has been consistent since the start. They are looking to be a low-cost operator with low-cost development. They are looking to do this through what Jason called a hub-and-spoke production model in Sudbury, which is very similar to what Vale and Glencore are doing now in Sudbury, where you have a centralized mill and multiple sources of feed coming into that mill. “Magna acquired the Shakespeare project in 2017. Shakespeare is believed to be the perfect fit to become that hub of our hub-and-spoke production model,” stated Jason. “Shakespeare is a past producer that utilised toll milling at the time. What really attracted Magna to the project was it had an approved closure

plan and all the major permits for the construction of a 4,500-ton per day open pit mine-mill and tailing storage facility which was very strategic in our plans to create a hub-and-spoke production model.” “So now the question is, how do we create those spokes? There are two ways to do it. One’s through exploration. We have a significant land package in Sudbury of over 180 square kilometers. Our exploration ground is both on trend with our Shakespeare project, as well as on the contact of the Sudbury Basin itself, which lends itself to both contact-style nickel deposits and footwall-style deposits. And then the other way is to develop our spokes for the hub and spoke model is through acquisitions. We believe this is really the best opportu-

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nity for growth in Sudbury, acquiring non-core assets that the owners are not going to develop and advance to production. This could provide feed for a future mill at Shakespeare.” In 2022, Magna acquired their second significant asset, the Crean Hill Mine. In looking at a map of the Sudbury Basin one couldn’t help but notice how significant the size of the Magna Mining land package is. The Shakespeare project is just to the west of the Sudbury Basin and is about 50 road kilometers away from the Crean Hill Mine. Sudbury has all the infrastructure in place, including two mills, one owned by Glencore, one owned by Vale, that do have some capacity for processing other ore (toll milling), as well as two smelters, which again is a huge advantage to Magna Mining. These are the only two operating nickel smelters in North America which speaks to how strategic Sudbury is as a nickel-producing region. The hub and spoke production model as outlined will be to take the Shakespeare Mine, which has a closure plan and major permits in place for a 4,500 ton per day open pit mine and combine that with the Crean Hill Mine. At the time of Jason’s presentation in June, Magna Mining was working on a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Crean Hill project MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

to determine how much of the 31 million tonnes of indicated resource can be put into a mine plan. Magna believes that by combining both the 20 million tonnes of indicated resource at Shakespeare and approximately 31 million tonnes at Crean Hill, the combined over 50 million tonnes of indicated resource can create a long-life mining operation. With Crean Hill having higher grades than Shakespeare, there’s potential to improve on the economics. Jason stated, “The great thing about Crean Hill is because of the higher-grade material and deposit starting right at the surface, there’s that potential to start toll milling and creating cash flow quickly, and for very low initial capital expenditures. And this is something we’re actively pursuing, and we think can be a great way to help fund some of the construction of Shakespeare.” A feasibility study was completed in 2022, that estimated the capital cost to build the Shakespeare mine mill and co-disposal tailings facility came in at C$233 million which was a reasonable capital cost for a new 4,500 ton per day nickel mine and plant. For 2023 Magna was looking at doing some drilling and testing some areas at Shakespeare they think are quite exciting as they could be potential feeder zones for this large intru-

MINING REPORT 2023

sion. The plan is to take some big step-outs and drill some deep holes to make a new discovery at depth. The Crean Hill Mine was an old Inco mine, that shut down in 2001 and produced over 20 million tons of ore under the operation of Inco. Magna came out with a resource in November of 2022 of about 16.8 million tonnes of open pit resource at about 1% nickel equivalent and 14.5 million tonnes of underground indicated resource at just over 2% nickel equivalent. “These were great grades again starting right at surface, including both contact and some footwall mineralization. We have two drills turning on site right now, we’ll continue drilling for the remainder of 2023,” stated Jessup. Magna is excited about the 109 FW area exploration work that has been done to date. A release was done in June and they are seeing both low sulfide, high precious metal type mineralization over quite wide widths in the breccia corridor, but also within that they’ve identified a very high-grade trend where they are seeing up to 6% nickel plus copper within this intersections from 1 to 8 meters in length and precious metals running in some of these intersections over 1 ounce per tonne. July of 2023 was a busy month for Magna Mining as they released additional assay results from the ongoing 2023 diamond drilling program. Drilling continues to intersect high-grade nickel mineralization in the 101 Footwall (“FW”) Zone and in a footwall zone between the 101 and 109 FW Zones, referred to as the 105 FW Zone, which intersected 6.0% Ni, 2.2 % Cu, 5.8 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 2.2 metres. Dave King, SVP Technical Services stated, “Diamond drilling is ongoing at Crean Hill, where two drill rigs remain active. The assays released today include results from our initial drilling within the 105 FW Zone, which is a high tenor nickel zone similar to the 101 FW Zone, and hosted within a footwall breccia 59

Both the Base Case and Alternative Processing use metal prices of US$ 9.50/lb nickel, US$ 3.50/lb copper, US$ 22.00/lb cobalt, US$ 1000/ oz platinum, US$ 1800/oz Palladium, US$ 1700/oz gold, and a 1.3 C$/ US$ exchange rate. The Base Case generates a pre- tax NPV (8%) of $290.4 million and an Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of 23.9%, after-tax NPV (8%) is $230.4 million, with an IRR of 23.4%. The Alternative Processing generates a pre- tax NPV (8%) of $668.8 million and an IRR of 39.6%, after-tax NPV (8%) is $516.1 million, with an IRR of 38.4%. structure trending southwest from the Main Contact Zone. Both the 101 FW and the 105 FW Zones have the potential to produce high grade nickel ore using selective mining methods. Although some of the assay intervals released today are narrow, this style of massive sulphide veins can pinch and swell over relatively short distances, and it is encouraging to see these zones extending beyond the current Mineral Resource models. Diamond drilling is ongoing in these areas, and we look forward to providing additional assay results as they are received.“ In July the Crean Hill preliminary economic assessment (PEA) was also completed. The study demonstrated a base case 15 year mine life and significant potential synergies with the Shakespeare Project. The PEA envisions a combination of open pit and underground mining, with the life of mine potential mineable resource being sold to a third-party existing mill in Sudbury. Initial underground mining would be accessed from a new ramp developed from the surface, prior to rehabilitation of the existing shaft to access and hoist from the lower elevations. Resources are mined, crushed, and sampled on site, then trucked to the third-party mill for processing. An alternative milling scenario was studied comparing the economics of the Base Case with 60

an Alternative Processing scenario through a future mill at the Company’s Shakespeare Project. Magna Mining CEO Jason Jessup commented: “This Preliminary Economic Assessment demonstrates why we think the Crean Hill Nickel Project has the potential to be the next nickel producing mine in Canada. The results of the Base Case study show positive economics, a long mine life, modest upfront capital cost, and minimal permitting required before commencing advanced exploration development. The Crean Hill Project contains a large potentially mineable resource, and the current PEA schedule has not yet been fully optimized. The next technical study will look at further optimization of cut-off grade, stope design and scheduling to maximize revenues during the first years of mine life. It will incorporate not only the diamond drilling that Magna has completed on Crean Hill since the acquisition in 2022 but also the economics of a fully integrated mining complex with Magna’s Shakespeare Project. The results of the Alternative Processing scenario considered in the PEA demonstrate potential robust economics, which makes a compelling case to proceed with this work. This is consistent with Magna’s vision of developing a hub and spoke production model in the world class Sudbury nickel mining camp.“

Drilling results continue to pour in for Magna Mining’s Crean Hill Mine project. In August the company released a portion of the assay results representing confirmation of a shallow zone of massive sulphides in the vicinity of one of the areas that the company is planning to include as part of the advanced exploration and test mining program in 2024. This defined a thick, high grade nickel core in the 101 FW Zone. Highlights from the new 101 FW Zone assay results included; MCR-23-041: 3.0% Ni, 0.7% Cu, 1.2 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 31.6 metres and MCR-23-042: 4.2% Ni, 1.4% Cu, 1.0 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 27.6 metres. The assay results released in August are an example of wide, high-grade, massive sulphide nickel mineralization remaining at shallow depths within the Crean Hill deposit. This drilling, in conjunction with some of the historic INCO drilling, further defines the strike and dip of the core of the 101 Footwall (“101 FW”) Zone. These drilling results are not reflected in the current block model and Mineral Resource. The company is now using this information in the detailed design of their advanced exploration and test mining program that they plan to initiate in the first half of 2024. “The 101 FW Zone consists of semi-massive to lo-

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cally massive sulphide veins, hosted within a footwall breccia system, extending southwest into the footwall of the Intermediate Contact Zone. Drilling to date in the 101 FW has defined a wide, high grade, massive sulphide core, transitioning to massive sulphide veins along strike and down-dip, within the footwall breccia structure. The advanced exploration program planned to commence in 2024 will provide underground drilling platforms allowing detailed definition of this zone, which has potential to provide high-grade, potentially mineable resources early in mine life, which was not represented in the recent PEA. Magna has stated that they expect to have a definitive ore selling agreement, amended closure plan and required permits for the advanced exploration in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In September Magna Mining released additional assay results from the ongoing 2023 diamond drilling program. Drilling continues to intersect high-grade nickel mineralization in the 105 Footwall (“FW”) Zone including drillhole MCR-23-040 which intersected 4.2% Ni, 0.9 % Cu, 1.4 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 7.0 metres. The 105 FW Zone is similar to the 101 FW Zone, and consists of high nickel tenor, semi-massive to massive sulphide veins hosted within a breccia structure extending into the footwall from the Sudbury Igneous Complex (“SIC”). Additional diamond drilling within the 105 FW zone continues to intersect highgrade mineralization with increasing precious metals (Pt, Pd, Au) as this structure approaches the Main Zone. The company is encouraged to see high-grade PGE mineralization at the 1500 ft level, down-plunge of the

defined 109 FW zone, where these two structures are interpreted to intersect, indicating this style of mineralization may continue to depth. The 105 FW diamond drilling to date has been focused on expanding the current Indicated Mineral Resource, with the objective of better understanding the geologic controls on mineralization and grade continuity. Two high-grade, precious metal-rich, intersections in drill hole MCR-23040, grading 0.3% Ni, 0.8 % Cu, 38.6 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 0.3 metres and 0.2% Ni, 0.5 % Cu, 35.2 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 0.5 metres are related to the 109 FW zone. These two intersections are outside of the current 109 FW Mineral Resource and have the potential to add near surface resources which could be amenable to more selective mining methods.

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Thunder Bay: The Beating Heart of Canada’s Transportation System Location, Location, Location – Thunder Bay’s Value Proposition Offers Serious Advantages for Business and Industry

It’s true: the actual longitudinal centre of Canada is somewhere further west, next to a wheat field near Winnipeg. But Thunder Bay is Canada’s central transportation hub. If you send it across Canada by ship, rail, and/or truck – even if you sent it by some ultra-marathon, crosscountry bike courier – you have to pass through the city. That’s not all. The Thunder Bay International Airport is the third-busiest in Ontario, making it a hub for air traffic as well. Thunder Bay is also a gateway to the U.S. Midwest, with Minnesota just 70 kilometres away by road, rail, ship, and air. So what is it about Thunder Bay that makes it so unique? The obvious answer is geography. Thunder Bay is the western terminus in Canada for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway, which reaches into the heart of the continent. The Port of Thunder Bay has shipped grain, iron ore, pot62

ash, and more to points around the globe for over a century. Grain and other goods coming from the west by rail – Canadian Pacific (CP) or Canadian Nation (CN) either transfer to ships here or continue on eastwards. As for road travel – Northwestern Ontario’s rugged terrain of Canadian Shield and Boreal Forest is beautiful to look at, but it’s one of the most difficult environments on earth to build a highway. That’s one good reason why the Trans-Canada Highway is the only east-west corridor in this part of the country. All roads lead through Thunder Bay. “It is an exciting time for Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario,” said Jamie Taylor, CEO of the Thunder Bay CEDC. “As the economic hub for the region, Thunder Bay is well positioned to support new business.” But geography plays an even bigger role in Thunder Bay’s potential – and in ways that might surprise.

By Graham Strong supported by the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission

The Hub to, Well, Everywhere... The flip side to Thunder Bay’s unique geographical position in Canada hundreds of kilometres from the next major urban area is that the city represents one of the most undeveloped areas in central Canada and along the Great Lakes. That translates into miles of opportunity. The historical example – besides the grain elevators mentioned above – is forest products. The city’s pulp mill once fed the mighty presses of the Chicago Tribune, one of the United States’ most-read newspapers. Although the forestry industry around the world has declined, natural resources will play a major role in Thunder Bay’s economic future for the foreseeable future. Take the coming mining boom. Already, the city is seeing direct signs of growth. Two mining companies

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have announced plans for separate lithium hydroxide conversion plants, strategically located near the port on Lake Superior. Economic benefits from other critical minerals used in electric vehicle (EV) battery production and the potential held in the Ring of Fire will also flow through Thunder Bay, one way or another. But that’s not the only sign of activity. Energy projects abound including the recent completion of the East-West Tie and power lines heading north to connect with remote First Nations. Many off-grid First Nations have developed their own power sources using solar and hydroelectric. Thunder Bay is also a regional health care hub – 1 in 5 people in the labour force work in health care or social services, making it the largest industry in the city’s economy. The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is one of the few hospitals in the country with its own cyclotron for nuclear medicine and is building Ontario’s newest cardiac surgery program. Manufacturing and technology sectors are growing, too. Both are embodied by a new imaging unit from Radialis that provides among MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

other things an alternative to mammography for many women. All research, development, and now manufacturing happens right here in Thunder Bay. “As traditional industries undergo transformative changes, Thunder Bay is increasingly drawing the attention of fresh opportunities and perspectives,” Taylor said. Education, Thunder Bay’s thirdlargest industry, is another area of growth. Confederation College, Lakehead University, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Lakehead’s relatively new Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, and other educational institutions make Thunder Bay an academic hub. Lakehead consistently sits at or near the top of school across Canada for undergrad research opportunities. The other top 10 industries in Thunder Bay include Retail trade; Construction; Public administration; Accommodation and food services; Transportation and warehousing; Professional, scientific and technical services; Services other than public administration; and Manufacturing. “Thunder Bay’s economy is diverse,” said Lucy Kwiaton, Business Development Manager, Thunder Bay

MINING REPORT 2023

CEDC. “The area blends abundant natural resources, entrepreneurial small- and medium-sized enterprises, and cutting-edge research capabilities.”

Thunder Bay Wide Open for Business Thunder Bay and area is the perfect blend of established infrastructure and room for growth. Besides the obvious advantages of this untapped potential, there are cost advantages, too. Compared to even a small U.S. city, Minneapolis, costs in Thunder Bay are about 22% lower for corporate services, 21% lower for R&D, and 22% lower for digital industries. For many, the out-of-the-way location is in itself extremely helpful for getting work done. Plus, as mentioned above, Thunder Bay supply chains are connected to everywhere by ship, rail, and truck, and downtown Toronto is only a two-hour plane ride away. There are land and services available to support manufacturing, industrial activities, digital and high-tech, medical research, academic activities, retail, wholesale, professional services, and more. 63

When it comes to mining, Thunder Bay is in the thick of the next critical mineral boom. Exploration and mine operations are ramping up – the number of active mines in Northwestern Ontario is expected to grow as new lithium, copper, platinum, and gold mines start production over the next 5-10 years. If you make it, research it, support it, or dig it, there is a place for you to do it in Thunder Bay. “Our commitment to research and innovation is breathing new life into our traditional forestry and mining sectors, while the merging of science and technology is fostering rapid growth in health care and education,” Kwiaton said. “The remarkable spirit of creativity and innovation among our local entrepreneurs has given rise to thriving small business clusters and the emergence of vibrant new sectors in local food, agriculture, and tourism.”

Find Your Opportunity in Thunder Bay The Thunder Bay Corporate Economic Development Commission (CEDC) can help. The CEDC offers a number of supports for businesses relocating or starting up in Thunder Bay, from identifying potential office, warehouse, and production space to connecting you with professional services and labour. “When considering Thunder Bay, the CEDC stands as your primary resource,” Taylor said. “Our dedicated team of business experts are ready to help you make the right connections. I invite anyone considering Thunder Bay to join us and be part of this exciting journey.” Thunder Bay isn’t just open for business; we’re here to help give your business every chance for success. Find out more at: https://gotothunderbay.ca/ site-selectors 64

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International Lithium looking for big lithium returns from small town Ontario By Kevin Vincent

mall towns and big potential. That’s the pattern across northwestern Ontario as companies like International Lithium Corp. (ILC) scour the region for battery-grade metals. ILC is holding on to two properties, Wolf Ridge and Raleigh Lake, and has benefits from partners in a third property, Mavis Lake. The towns of Upsala, Ignace, and Dryden stand to benefit greatly if and when ILC reaches the production stage. In a standard promotional video interview in 2023, CEO John Wisbey talked about the company’s goal of delivering a maiden resource estimate now that they’ve got drill results at Raleigh Lake. “We’re very pleased with the results and they’re significant for us,” said Wisbey. “We completed the final set of drilling in 2022 of a 10,000 meter program. And that’s significant because it now gives us the final results we need to get to a maiden resource estimate. And that’s a big deal. So, rather than just talking about how great the project is, we will soon be able to talk about how much lithium, and for that matter, rubidium, we’ve got there. And that’s a big step.”

“15.8 meters at 2.27%. That’s encouraging for the lithium. The rubidium was pretty good, too. 4 meters at 1.21%,” he added. On March 1, 2023 the company published its maiden resource estimate that showed an open pit resource across categories containing approximately 500,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate. A separate resource calculated for rubidium estimated that a total amount of over 600 tonnes rubidium metal is contained within a microcline deposit that exists as a zonation within the spodumene deposit. The details of the mineral resource estimate calculation are provided in a technical report filed on SEDAR under the company’s name.Wisbey says Raleigh Lake’s proximity to Ignace, is advantageous. “It’s a great location. Quite apart from being a lovely place, it’s a great location because it’s on the Trans-Canada highway. It’s got a rail line going through. It’s got a power line going through our claims and it’s got quite well built roads. So those are all really key criteria to lowering the cost of a project. We’re not in the middle of nowhere. That is going to help us enormously when we come to look at the economics.”

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The Raleigh Lake Lithium project is located near Ignace. The project consists of approximately 48,500 hectares (485 square kilometers) of mineral claims. A maiden Mineral Resource Estimate on Raleigh Lake was produced on March 1, 2023. In 2022 ILC completed around 10,000 metres of drilling. The project area is located within a 25-kilometer radius of the town of Ignace. The Wolf Ridge property is comprised of 275 claim units (approximately 5,700 hectares) 20 km southwest of the town of Upsala, and 125 km northwest of Thunder Bay. The property is a grass roots lithium prospect recently highlighted in the “Ontario Geological Survey Resident Geologist Program Recommendations for Exploration 2021–2022.” The report highlights lithium potential in the Bedivere–Lac des Mille Lacs Lakes Area based on results from a lake sediment geochemical survey. An excerpt from the report states: “The Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) completed a lake sediment geochemical survey covering the Atikokan area (Dyer 1999a). A cluster of lake sediment lithium anomalies located on the north arm of Bedivere Lake returned the 6 highest lithium values, and the 9th highest value in the survey.

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Mavis Lake This project is near Dryden, and was previously a joint venture with Essential Metals Ltd. ILC and Essential sold it to Critical Resources Ltd. in January 2022. The area at the time of sale was around 2,600 hectares. The sale consideration was AUD 1,500,000 paid in cash and CRR shares. ILC receives further payments of up to a total of AUD 1,500,000 (CAD1,400,000 approx) from Critical Resources as follows if certain exploration milestones are hit. The first AUD 750,000 milestone payment has already been achieved.

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Avalon Advanced Materials gaining national attention By Kevin Vincent

orthwestern Ontario is now ground zero in Canada’s pursuit of battery metals. Both the federal and provincial governments are investing heavily in the downstream battery manufacturing demand, and now we need to deliver a local source of supply. All of this effort to build a domestic supply chain for storable electric energy is very much a part of securing Canada’s position as a global leader in the race to tackle emissions reduction and climate change. The metal at the centre of it all is lithium. Processing that metal into electric vehicle grade material took centre stage in early October as Federal cabinet ministers FrancoisPhilippe Champagne and Patty Haj-

du toured Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.’s planned Lithium Processing Site in Thunder Bay. Avalon is working to build the province’s first domestic supply chain to link the considerable lithium deposits of Ontario’s north to an expanding EV battery manufacturing base in the south. At present, the manufacturing centre lacks a stable, regional supply of this strategically vital resource. Significant investment is being made to rapidly expand the downstream capacity of Ontario and North America’s EV battery manufacturing base. A proportionate level of financing is now required to develop a secure, and fully on-shored supply of lithium raw material for those manufacturers. Avalon’s core stra-

tegic objective is to build the midstream lithium processing solution in Thunder Bay that bridges the lithium resources of Northwestern Ontario with EV battery manufacturing in the south. “As proud Canadians, our vision is that lithium should be mined in Ontario, refined in Ontario, and consumed in Ontario, in order to lower the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing and secure a domestic supply chain.” said Jim Jaques, Avalon Chief Administrative Officer. “This is a decarbonization story as well as one of emissions reduction through electrification. We intend to generate long-term job growth and economic benefits for the region and province, both directly through our own com-

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Thunder Bay Site visit October 12th Left to right; Zeeshan Syed, President of Avalon Advanced Materials, Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, MP. Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Jim Jaques, Chief Administrative Officer of Avalon Advanced Materials and Marcus Powlowski, MPP, Thunder Bay-Rainy River.

mercial activities, and indirectly by attracting the capital necessary to commercialize other regional lithium projects.” The cabinet ministers were joined on their site visit by Marcus Powlowski, MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River. The delegation toured Avalon’s 383acre industrial property that features major transportation infrastructure including, road, rail and deep-water port access. The Avalon team provided the delegation with details of its burgeoning project plan for an Industrial Park concept that includes Ontario’s first lithium processing facility, an Innovation and Technology centre as well as lithium battery recycling capabilities, all of which will help catalyze Ontario’s economy, generate long-term job growth and deploy sustainable innovative process technology. “We are extremely pleased to host the ministers and other dignitaries to showcase how far we’ve come in actualizing our vision to help decarbonize the economy and shift Canada to cleaner sources of

energy-and underscore that we must continue to move quickly in order to secure Canada’s leading position in the global race to net-zero,” said Zeeshan Syed, President of Avalon during the visit. Over 500 direct jobs are expected to be created in Thunder Bay and Kenora through Avalon’s upstream and midstream commercial activities. The Avalon processing facility in Thunder Bay will operate as a regional hub, accepting feedstock from multiple producers and help generate associated investment flow across Ontario. Avalon’s Industrial Park in Thunder Bay will also host an Innovation and Technology Centre in collaboration with local and regional educational institutions (e.g. Lakehead University and Confederation College). Avalon is also working with leading international partners like Metso Corporation to test and co-create novel commercial production processes that will accentuate Canada’s environmental leadership. Through the R&D efforts undertaken by Avalon and partners, the

proprietary lithium hydroxide process is vastly less pollutive than conventional acid roasting conversion methodologies. In addition, it is expected to be a safer process for the operating personnel, the environment and community in general compared to the traditional acid roasting technology employed in jurisdictions with less stringent commitments to environmental stewardship compared to North America. The company, through its new joint venture with Sibelco NV, is developing its Separation Rapids lithium deposit and Snowbank project near Kenora, while continuing to advance its Lilypad caesium project located near Fort Hope. Avalon is also working to develop its Nechalacho rare earths and zirconium project located in the Northwest Territories. This deposit contains critical minerals for use in advanced technologies in the communications and defense industries among other sectors.

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Ontario’s Largest Lithium Resource By Kevin Vincent

he search for battery-grade minerals in northwestern Ontario continues to grow, wider, deeper, and it is all pointed in the right direction. Frontier Lithium, one of the largest land-package holders in the region, continues to expand pegmatite showings at its PAK Lithium Project. Imagine you’re baking a cake. After baking, you sometimes get those big, chunky crystals of sugar that didn’t dissolve properly. In the world of rocks, something similar happens, and those big “crystals” are called pegmatites. Why do explorationists care about pegmatites? These chunky rock formations can be like a treasure chest. They often contain valuable minerals, including some that are used in batteries, like lithium. Lithium is a big deal because it’s a key ingredient in batteries that power things like phones, laptops, and electric cars. As we move towards using more and more electric vehicles and renewable energy, the demand for lithium is skyrocketing. Pegmatites are like nature’s treasure chests and finding them could mean discovering the crucial ingredients for the batteries of the future. Frontier Lithium announced results this Fall from four holes drilled on the Spark pegmatite in 2023, in 72

addition to channel sampling results on what may be a potential western extension of the Spark deposit, one km away. “The most recent findings consistently indicate the possibility of expanding the Spark resource both at greater depths and along the geological strike.” says Garth Drever, VP Exploration. “We are excited about delving deeper into the newly discovered Spark Extension, which has yielded high-grade channel sample values. Although its early stage, there are strong similarities with the high-grade intersection in hole PL-133-23 and the Spark extension channels. Exploring potential connection to the primary Spark deposit is one of our objectives for 2024.” During the spring season, holes were drilled on the SW pod of the main Spark pegmatite with the objective of upgrading material near surface to the indicated category. The results suggest that the pod primarily consists of aplite with varying lithium grade throughout. Unfortunately, drilling had to be halted as it approached the higher-grade zone due to warming weather conditions. There are plans to resume drilling in this hole during the upcoming winter season.

In addition to the Spark section of their property, Frontier is working a section called Bolt, and the results there are just as encouraging. “We’re pleased with the results of our maiden drill program on the Bolt Pegmatite,” says Drever. “Early assessments and consistent distribution of mineralized pegmatite are promising, and continuity remains strong at depth, with a notable central zone.”

Frontier Lithium Inc. Awards Contract for Definitive Feasibility Study for the PAK Lithium Project Located just 2.3 kilometres away from the Spark project is the PAK Lithium Project which contains North America’s highest-grade lithium resource and is the largest in Ontario by size. The project encompasses close to 27,000 hectares and remains largely unexplored. Frontier Lithium announced November 1st the commencement of the first phase of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the PAK Lithium project (“Project”) and the award of the mine and mill scope to DRA Americas Inc., a fully-owned subsidiary of DRA Global, an international multi-disciplinary engineer-

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ing, project delivery, and operations management group. Following the encouraging results from the Company’s Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) on the Project, as described in the press release dated July 17, 2023. The Company is excited to be moving forward with the next stage of project engineering. The fully integrated mine, mill, and refinery flowsheet demonstrated in the PFS will be studied in two distinct scopes at the DFS level with the

mine and mill scope set to conclude in the next 12-18 months. It is projected that a mine and milling facility with an estimated output of 200,000 metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum will be brought online in two stages. Stage 1 – Winter Road Access: The existing winter road will be used for the construction of the first concentrator line targeting the high purity PAK deposit and facilitating the production of up to 100,000 met-

ric tonnes per annum of premium spodumene concentrates. Stage 1 aims to leverage the winter road for transportation to market to facilitate rapid market penetration with the Company’s premium spodumene concentrates. Stage 2 – All Season Road Access: The development and ramping of the second mill line into production will be completed concurrent with the targeted completion of an allseason access-road to the region. This expansion will enable the export of additional premium spodumene concentrates, to enhance Frontier’s market presence. Implementing this phased construction approach serves to mitigate project risks, capitalize on existing infrastructure, and focuses the Company on short-term concentrate production goals. Frontier remains fully financed for the successful completion of the Phase 1 DFS, reinforcing its commitment to driving sustainable lithium solutions in the Canadian mining industry.

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Pepco:

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long-trusted, reliable partner in mining, and the largest independent industrial supply distributor in Northern Ontario, Pepco has an extensive range of products and services tailored to meet your needs. Our goal is to support mining operations and propel success. With a commitment to innovation, Pepco remains at the forefront of the industry, continuously adapting to emerging trends and technologies to ensure your operations thrive.

The Power of Independence We take pride in being a familyowned Canadian company. This independence allows us to offer competitive pricing without compromising on quality. Our employees are trained to the highest standards of the market to offer an unparallel service. When you partner with Pepco, you choose a distributor that puts your needs first.

Leaders in Fuel Distribution Pepco’s commitment to innovation and growth has led to significant investments, such as the expansion of our rail track in Hearst and the purchase of a locomotive in 2023. This investment has increased our 74

depot’s capacity, allowing us to place our own tank cars for unloading. With a capacity of over 800 million liters per year, our rail depot is the largest private fuel depot in Ontario.

Unmatched Warehouse Capacity Timely access to essential supplies is crucial for mining operations. With a combined warehouse capacity of 75,000 square feet, we ensure inventory availability. Our vast storage capabilities mean you can count on us for a consistent supply of products ranging from Fuels to lubes and all your industrial supply needs.

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Generation Mining on track to green light Marathon Palladium-Copper Project By Kevin Vincent

2023 has been a year of steady progress as Generation Mining Limited moves ever closer to production on its flagship Palladium-Copper Project near Marathon. The company is targeting the “go-signal” in 2025, as it looks to become Canada’s next copper and palladium producer. The early estimate is a twelve-and-a-halfyear mine-life. Early this Fall, the company crossed a major hurdle when it received approval to submit a closure plan to provincial officials, a critical step that precedes the issuance or consideration of most major construction permits. The Marathon Palladium-Copper Project is located along the TransCanada Highway in Northwestern Ontario. An updated Feasibility Study released in the Spring indicated the project has a value of C$1.16 billion with a payback of 2.3 years and a rate of return of 25.8% based on US$1800/oz and US$3.70/lb for palladium and copper respectively. Generation has a globally-recognized customer in Glencore waiting in the wings. “We are pleased to have Glencore as an offtake partner as we advance the Marathon Palladium Copper Project to construction 76

and production,” said Jamie Levy, President and CEO. “These offtake arrangements will ensure the Marathon Project has customers for its production and will enable downstream processing of critical minerals in Canada. Moreover, this provides a strong commercial commitment from a highly regarded counterparty to support our expected project financing requirements.” The Feasibility Study has been well received by all stakeholders. “This updated Feasibility Study underscores just how robust the Marathon Project is, even in the current inflationary environment,” said Levy. “This, combined with strong demand for critical minerals, makes the rationale for the project becoming Canada’s next critical minerals mine more compelling than ever before. With the receipt of our Environmental Assessment approvals and our recently announced indicative offtake term sheets, we are advancing to arrange Project financing and working hard to obtain the permits necessary to start construction.” The Project promises to be a nearterm sustainable, environmentally sensitive, low-cost producer of criti-

cal metals that Canada and the rest of the world desperately need. On a copper equivalent basis, the Marathon Project, once in production, is expected to be one of the lowest CO2 equivalent intensity mines in the world. “The metals we plan to produce will not only support emissions controls and the transition to a greener economy in Ontario and Canada, but they will also support job creation and economic prosperity for local, regional, and national stakeholders, in particular the First Nation community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and the Town of Marathon.” Shortly after the company released the Feasibility Study, it needed to lock down financial commitments and that’s exactly what happened. A syndicate including Export Development Canada, with ING Capital LLC and Société Générale S.A. agreed to act as the Mandated Lead Arrangers. The formal mandate includes a non-binding indicative term sheet for a senior debt facility of up to US$400 million. “We are very pleased to have mandated these three financial institutions, all of whom have a strong mining and metals track record. The

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US$400 million senior debt facility combined with the undrawn Wheaton Precious Metals Stream of CDN $200 million, or a total of CDN $740 million represents a significant portion of the initial capital required to develop the Marathon Project,” said Levy. “The company will now focus on finalizing the definitive documentation, together with arranging equipment leases and sourcing the balance of the capital required to fully finance construction.” Levy went on to say, “The interest of EDC, ING, Société Générale, and Wheaton Precious Metals further validates the Marathon Project’s status as an economic, sustainable, environmentally sensitive, low-cost producer of critical metals that are needed to support emissions controls and the transition to a greener economy. This has never been more urgent particularly in the wake of the IPCC Report, published March 20, 2023, by the UN Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change, which provides governments, at all levels, with scientific information they can use to develop climate policies.” Following consent by the Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (BN) Chief and Council of the Closure Plan for the Project, the company was issued a letter from the Ministry of Mines to submit the Closure Plan. This represents another significant milestone in the permitting process for the Marathon Palladium-Copper Project. The company says it reflects the contributions of BN and other Indigenous groups that were consulted and who participated in the overall development of the plan. “We want to thank Chief Michano, the Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Band Council and the BN leadership team members for their support and collaboration with our team on developing the Closure Plan,” said Levy. “This is the conclusion of months of working together to define the

social, environmental, and technical elements of the Closure Plan to achieve the land use envisioned for the property after mining concludes, including establishing a self-sustaining ecosystem, re-establishing access through the area for traditional land use and providing future economic development opportunities. The Closure Plan reflects the significant amount of work undertaken by all parties to produce a plan that achieves the objectives of all stakeholders.”

On November 7, 2023 Generation announced the province of Ontario accepted and filed the Closure Plan for their Marathon Palladium-Copper Project. This represents another major milestone in the permitting process for the Marathon PalladiumCopper Project. Jamie Levy said, “The approval of our Closure Plan for the Marathon Palladium-Copper Project is the conclusion of months of work to define the social, environmental, and technical elements of the Closure Plan to achieve the land use envisioned for the property after mining concludes, including establishing a self-sustaining ecosystem, re-establishing access through the area for traditional land use and providing future economic development opportunities. The Marathon Palladium-Copper Project is a valuable and strategic asset containing critical metals that are needed to support emissions controls and the transition to a greener economy. We are grateful for the incredible stakeholder support including the First Nation community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and the Town of Marathon, and the Ontario government.” Along with the approval of the Closure Plan, the Company continues to make significant progress on obtaining the permits for the Project.

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MINING REPORT 2023

Palladium One methodically pursuing massive targets north of Hemlo By Kevin Vincent

t’s a giant puzzle. With more than 24,000 hectares to explore, and strategic investor Glencore onside, Palladium One is poised to make headlines in northwestern Ontario. The company’s Tyko Project has all the right ingredients; good geology, and an infrastructure that has road, power, and nearby rail infrastructure for a large-scale operation. All of that is necessary as the company continues to characterize the property as a “Voisey’s Baystyle” project. The Tyko/Smoke Lake Property is 25 km north of the Hemlo mining complex. As the company continues its methodical approach toward production, in late September Palladium announced that it had identified seven exciting drill targets. “The addition of seven new VTEM anomalies to our existing inventory of drill ready targets speaks to the large-scale opportunity the Tyko District represents for shareholders,” said Derrick Weyrauch, President and CEO. “Soil sampling to ground-truth the seven anomalies is well advanced and drill permits are in hand to test five of the seven anomalies. The Tyko II project has many geological similarities to Tyko I and we look forward to receipt of additional results from the property.” 78

The recently completed VTEM survey is the most sensitive survey ever flown over the Tyko II property. The survey easily detected the historical Moshinkabi and Faries Lake Zones, but also detected new anomalies near the Kejimalda and Gionet Zones that had not been detected by previous airborne EM surveys. The company says it speaks to the sensitivity of the VTEM system and its potential to identify targets that were overlooked by less sensitive historical EM surveys. The 2023 ground-truthing is wrapping up and the company is on track to begin drill testing any day. The surrounding area has a history of mining with several current and past producing gold and base metal mines. The identification of the seven anomaly targets come on the heels of an earlier exploration program at the company’s West Pickle and RJ Zones in August. “We are very pleased with the first result of the 2023 Exploration Program which has returned highly anomalous nickel, copper and cobalt in soils along a considerable area (1.3 kilometers) between the West Pickle and RJ Zones,” said Weyrauch. “These results continue to support our geological model that strong magnetic anomalies located between West Pickle and RJ Zones

represent a chonolith / feeder dyke potentially linking both zones.” The Tyko Nickel – Copper - Cobalt Project, is located approximately 65 kilometers northeast of Marathon. The company announced in late October it has discovered a large MT resistivity anomaly on the Tyko I property which forms part of the larger Tyko Nickel – Copper Project. The MT resistivity anomaly is coincident with the high-grade West Pickle Zone and extends eastward toward the RJ Zone suggesting that they form one continuous mineralizing system.

Highlights Included: • 2023 diamond drill program is underway at Tyko • A 1,600 meter long MT resistivity anomaly has been discovered which extends from the highgrade West Pickle Zone toward the interpreted Chonolith / Feeder Dyke structure • MT Anomaly coincident with multiple Cu and Ni in soil anomalies • Mag, MT and soil anomalies suggest West Pickle and RJ Zones form part of one large mineralizing system Weyrauch commented, “We are very pleased to announce positive results

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from the first MT survey on the Tyko Project that indicate a strong MT resistivity anomaly extending from our high-grade West Pickle zone toward multiple copper and nickel in-soil anomalies associated with the interpreted Chonolith / Feeder Dyke target. Tyko’s fall diamond drill program has commenced and is currently on track.” The MT survey represents the first deep penetrating geophysical survey to be conducted on Tyko. The survey was undertaken by Quantec Geoscience using the SPARTAN MT system which has the potential to detect both high-grade massive nickel sulphide, as that found at the West Pickle zone, and blebby to disseminated sulphide as found at the RJ zone. The MT survey targeted a highly prospective strike length of 2,800 meters between the West Pickle and RJ Zones covering several highly anomalous Cu and Ni soil anomalies and associated magnetic highs.

West Pickle Pentlandite matrix (bronze) with pyrrhotite (grey) inclusions form TK22-070, sample returned 12.9% Nickel

Drilling is now underway at the Tyko Project. The current drill program, will focus on targets in the West Pickle Zone of Tyko I as well the newly acquired Moshkinabi mafic ultramafic complex in the Tyko II property. The Summer field program is now completing with a total of 7,340 soil samples having been collected, additional results are expected shortly, and will assist in drill hole targeting. The summer field program also involved extensive geological mapping, the Company now has much

greater understanding of the Tyko Project geology. The key objective of the 2023 Exploration Program was ground truthing interpreted Chonoliths / Feeder dykes prior to diamond drilling. The 2023 magnetic survey was designed to refine the geometry of the interpreted chonoliths / feeder dykes across the Tyko project’s 30-kilometer strike length. Recent geological mapping has identified outcrops and boulders of ultramafic pyroxenites which continue to support the chonolith / feeder dyke geological model.

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Metal Energy’s Source Rock Lithium Brine Project Unearthing Liquid Gold - Ontario’s Lithium Brine Potential

geologically intriguing project that has piqued the interest of many in the mining industry is the SourceRock Lithium Brine Project in the Thunder Bay-Nipigon area of Ontario, Canada. James Sykes, the CEO of Metal Energy, is the driving force behind the SourceRock Lithium Brine Project. This project represents a significant milestone for Ontario as it marks the province’s first venture into lithium brine exploration. With an extensive land position and uncharted regional targets, Metal Energy is poised to tap into an extraordinary source of lithium, a critical resource in the era of electric vehicles (EVs). The automotive industry’s transition towards electrification has ignited a boom in the lithium market, sending its value skyrocketing. The appetite for lithium in the coming years is expected to be nothing short of exponential. As the demand for lithium soars, the question arises: how will we meet 80

this growing need for this critical resource? There are two primary sources for lithium extraction: hard rock and brines. Metal Energy is betting on brine for several compelling reasons. Hard rock mining involves extracting lithium from lithium-rich pegmatite deposits. This method can be intricate and costly due to the hard, crystalline nature of the rock. Brine extraction, on the other hand, relies on simpler chemistry. Lithium-rich brines occur in underground reservoirs and aquifers and can be processed more efficiently, making it a favorable choice for large-scale production. Located in northwestern Ontario in the Thunder Bay area, the SourceRock Project benefits from a long history of mining in the region. Thunder Bay has served as a mining hub for over a century, boasting excellent infrastructure, including highways, railroads, an international seaport, power lines, and a readily

available labor force. Furthermore, the Ontario and federal governments have been steadfast in their support for lithium exploration and production. Metal Energy didn’t hesitate to stake a vast area in the Thunder Bay region, creating a land package that spans approximately 913 square kilometers, making it one of the most substantial lithium exploration projects in the region. Moreover, the SourceRock Project covers the deepest sections of the Sibley sedimentary basin, where sedimentary thickness can range from 500 to 1,000 meters. This combination of vast acreage and significant sediment depth makes SourceRock a project of immense potential. The concept behind a lithium brine formation is relatively straightforward and can be broken down into three essential components: source, sink, and reservoir. Source: The source rock should contain lithium-enriched minerals.

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nificant lithium project highlights its potential. The SourceRock project’s scale is significant when compared to lithium-rich Salars in South America, particularly the Salar de Atacama in Chile, the second-largest lithium producer globally. The central salt area of the Salar de Atacama, where most production occurs, measures about 25 by 10 kilometers, covering 250 square kilometers. SourceRock’s land package encompasses an impressive 913 square kilometers, which dwarfs the area of productive lithium extraction in Chile.

This source can be either rocks rich in lithium or hydrothermal solutions that release lithium into the surrounding area. Sink: The sink is essentially a basin where sediments accumulate. It acts as a container for potential lithiumrich fluids. Reservoir: The reservoir is the final stage, where the fluids seep into the sedimentary rocks, forming a brine with high lithium concentrations. The Quetico sub-province, with its abundant lithium-bearing pegmatites, serves as the primary source rock for lithium in the SourceRock project. This fertile parental lithium source rock, combined with various geological processes, has created a unique environment with significant potential for lithium concentration in brines. The SourceRock area has seen previous exploration efforts, mainly focused on nickel, copper, cobalt, PGEs (Platinum Group Elements), and uranium. However, these efforts overlooked the lithium potential, as 82

lithium’s importance in modern technologies, such as batteries, has only recently gained recognition. Drilling in the area has revealed some remarkable findings. Halite and sylvite veins were discovered up to 180 meters below the Sibley unconformity, indicating a substantial presence of salt in the geological formations. Additionally, sediment samples from the Sibley group returned lithium concentrations of 100 to 200 ppm. These findings are exceptional compared to other lithium-rich areas worldwide, making the SourceRock project a highly promising prospect for lithium extraction.

Diving Deeper: The Quetico Sub-Province The Quetico sub-province, situated in the heart of SourceRock’s project area, hosts lithium-bearing pegmatites. The proximity of the Georgia Lake pegmatites, discovered in the 1950s, showcases the region’s lithium potential. These pegmatites cover approximately 30 by 105 kilometers, and SourceRock’s project area could envelop this entire lithium province. As of 2008, the Georgia Lake pegmatites were considered the most extensive lithium in the province of Ontario. While the current status may have evolved, SourceRock’s adjacency to this historically sig-

Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies have become a gamechanger for brine projects. DLE techniques have been in development for decades, offering a more streamlined and efficient approach to lithium extraction from brines. These methods, including adsorption, solvent extraction, electrolysis, base systems, and membrane-based separations, can achieve high-purity lithium recovery, a vital requirement for battery production. The flexibility of DLE technology allows it to be tailored to the specific chemistry of SourceRock’s lithium brines. This ensures an efficient and sustainable extraction process, reducing waste and minimizing environmental impact. The SourceRock Lithium Brine Project in Ontario is at the forefront of the lithium race. Moreover, the emphasis on Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies positions SourceRock as a sustainable and environmentally responsible lithium producer. As we look to the future, it’s clear that geology plays a crucial role in shaping our energy landscape, and projects like SourceRock are essential for securing a sustainable future for generations to come.

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For West Red Lake Gold Mines the goal line is in sight!

ed Lake has an incredible history of producing high grade long life gold mines. The area has been mining gold for over 100 years and it looks like it is not slowing down any time soon. The highly productive Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada has yielded over 30 million ounces of gold from highgrade zones and hosts some of the world’s richest gold deposits. West Red Lake Gold Mines (WRLG) is picking up where it’s predecessor PureGold has left off. Sitting with a new mine and mill and a defined gold zone, PureGold stumbled at the 1 yard line. This is where WRLG has picked up the project and plans to bring it past the goal line. Acquisitions like this (the PureGold Madsen Mine and Mill) just don’t happen. Imagine walking into a brand new mine and mill that would take a decade or decades to produce. The opportunity is huge and West Red Lake Gold Mines is up to the task. “The 47 square kilometre land package that WRL acquired is a buffet of opportunity in an area where exploration had been neglected. With 84

the right approach and the time that WRL is willing to take to develop this property, there is nothing but endless opportunity to grow this mine and the surrounding area,” stated Jillian Christmann, West Red Lake Chief Geologist. WRLG will do a long-term plan of engineering studies and plan for a restart of the operation. WRLG understands that management is vitally important for the operation to succeed. This is why they brought in Shane Williams, (B. Eng. M. Sc) as President and CEO as he understands underground mining and he has a track record to prove it. Prior to joining West Red Lake, Mr. Shane Williams was the Chief Operating Officer for Skeena Resources where he was involved in advancing the past producing Eskay Creek Gold project towards a restart. Between 2013-2019 he was Vice President of Operations and Capital Projects at Eldorado Gold where under his leadership the Lamaque Gold project was brought from Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) to commercial operation in

just 18-months. He also served as Project Director for Eldorado Gold for their Greek assets and was responsible for the development of both the Skouries and Olympias projects which together had a capex of over US$1B. “In most operations when a new mine fails it’s due to something that is unfixable, but here there is no unsolvable problem, there was just money and some approach issues and those things are solvable,” stated Gwen Preston an independent mining analyst with Resource Maven. “It’s very rare you have an opportunity where you have all the infrastructure in place, a lot of underground development, a mill in place, a water treatment plant, permits in place and a lot of key elements in place that you want to build a successful mining operation,” stated Shane Williams. Recently WRLG released an update on the Madsen and Rowen Mine projects and the company’s path forward. The path forward will see an additional 35,000 metre (“m”) drill program planned for Rowan

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Advancing our high-grade gold projects in Canada’s high grade gold district.

• ROWAN

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“Our goal is to continue to build high-grade resources in one of the richest gold districts in Canada.” - Frank Giustra, Major shareholder TSX-V: WRLG

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Property to commence in early 2024, adding a second drill and to include systematic in-fill drilling and expansion drilling of high-grade zones and begin testing high priority drill targets at Mt. Jamie, Red Summit and the NT Zone. The company plans to complete the initial Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) on entire portfolio of Properties by Q2 2024 (based on drilling cutoff date of Oct 1, 2023) and complete an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) at Rowan by Q4 2024 (to include all anticipated drilling up to Q3 2024). WRLG will complete a 3,000 m drill program at Wedge, aimed to expand the deposit and complete an MRE by Q4 2024. The company will complete 38,000 m of underground drill program at Madsen Mine by Q4 2024, complete 3,200 m of underground development for access and required infrastructure to support underground drilling, develop a connecting ramp between the East and West declines at Madsen to increase waste hauling capacity from the West ramp which previously crossed two public roads, further reducing operating costs and put the Madsen Mine back into production in 2025.

Rowan Property The 2023 drilling program at Rowan has been incredibly successful thus far. As such, the originally planned 17,000 m of drilling at the Rowan Mine target was expanded to 25,000 m and the team is on track to complete all planned drilling at Rowan. The mineralized set of veins at Rowan continues to deliver high-grade gold assays over significant widths that are in-line with or exceed those modelled in the December 2022 resource estimate. On October 11th the company reported additional drill results from its Rowan Property. Notably, Hole RLG-23-169 intersected 14.61 grams per tonne (“g/t”) Au, over 1.5 m, including 42.62 g/t Au over 0.5m at 86

A few notable highlights from 2023 drilling at Rowan include: • Hole RLG-23-163B Intersected 8.3 m @ 70.80 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold (“Au”) from 387 m to 395.3 m. This interval also included 0.5 m @ 1,120.19 g/t Au and represents the highest-grade intercept ever drilled at the Rowan project. • Hole RLG-23-149B Intersected 4.0 m @ 50.52 g/t Au, from 299 m to 303 m. • Hole RLG-23-153 Intersected 2.0 m @ 66.66 g/t Au, from 235 m to 237 m • Hole RLG-23-134 Intersected 8.0 m @ 10.34 g/t Au, from 71 m to 79 m • Hole RLG-23-156B Intersected 3.11 m @ 21.84 g/t Au, from 275 m to 278.11 m • Hole RLG-23-150 Intersected 4.2 m @ 15.40 g/t Au, from 384 m to 388.2 m • Hole RLG-23-154 Intersected 10.1 m @ 6.27 g/t Au, from 214.9 m to 225 m

approximately 420m vertical depth in the Vein 101 Zone. This represents an 84m down-dip extension to the previously reported 70.80 g/t Au over 8.3m in RLG-23-163B and demonstrates the down-dip continuity of this high-grade zone, which remains open at depth. The strategy at Rowan for the rest of 2023 will be to continue increasing confidence in the 827,462 ounces (“oz”) Inferred resource through systematic in-fill drilling and look to step out and expand the Rowan resource by targeting mineralization outside of the current model and testing the down-dip and down-plunge extensions of the high-grade zones. With the plan of staying aggressive with the exploration strategy at Rowan in

2024, the company will look to add a second drill early in 2024. The goal is to advance the Rowan Mine target, and begin testing high priority drill targets at Mt. Jamie, Red Summit, and the NT Zone. It is the Company’s belief that potential synergies could exist between the high-grade Rowan deposit and their flagship Madsen Mine. Management maintains a high degree of confidence in the merits of the Rowan deposit and has initiated necessary baseline environmental and archaeological assessments to begin moving the Rowan project towards an Advanced Exploration Permit status – this permit will be required prior to collection of a bulk sample at Rowan.

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Madsen Satellite Targets and Regional Exploration After successfully completing the acquisition of the Madsen Mine the exploration team undertook a detailed review of the property. Several promising targets were identified and prioritized with the Wedge target emerging as the highest priority target.

12-15 months until the re-start strategy is significantly de-risked both technically and financially. The Company will also develop a connecting ramp between the East and West declines. The current waste hauling at Madsen from the West ramp crosses two public roads (into Madsen town). This haul route is only allowed to be used during daylight hours. A connecting ramp would increase the number of hours the team can haul waste as well as eliminate double handling, thus reducing operating costs. It will also provide for increased safety for the surrounding community due to reduced traffic. Additional and ongoing activities at the Madsen Mine will include, but are not limited to, shaft dewatering, water treatment and environmental monitoring.

Previous drilling highlights from the Wedge target include. • Hole PG17-486 Intersected 10.33 m @ 24.94 g/t Au, from 16.67 m to 27 m • Hole PG17-467 Intersected 16.6 m @ 17.49 g/t Au, from 11.45 m to 28 m • Hole PG17-482 Intersected 14.4 m @ 8.35 g/t Au, from 28 m to 42.4 m • Hole PG19-643 Intersected 1 m @ 108.5 g/t Au, from 103 m to 104 m

It is said that most of the ground at Madsen remains underexplored and the geology team is already seeing a lot of opportunity for new discoveries across the district.

Madsen Project Underground diamond drilling at Madsen has recommenced with a 38,000 m program that focused on infill and expansion of the high-grade portions of the Austin and South Austin zones. It is anticipated this drilling may define an inventory of high-confidence ore-grade (6-7 g/t Au) resource to serve as a starting point for a future restart plan. Additionally, underground development work is taking place at Madsen. Mine design and scheduling for the first 12 months have been completed with subsequent phases to be determined based on the find88

ings of the initial underground drilling and exploration program. The first development cuts have been taken at Madsen to provide access to the areas where infill drilling has already been planned. Mine design and scheduling consider the requirements of the operations and geology teams to ensure a full collaborative approach to advancing the project in a safe, efficient, and timely manner. Over the next 12 months the Company will complete approximately 3,200 m of underground development to support engineering and geological programs. The company does not intend to conduct any stoping or commercial extraction for the next

Mineral Resource Update and PEA The West Red Lake team has engaged SRK Consulting and put in place the necessary programs required to complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment. The PEA will look to unlock and deliver robust economics by incorporating the Company’s entire portfolio of Red Lake assets which is made up of our Rowan Project and Madsen Mine with its accompanying satellite deposits. Management firmly believes this approach is in-line with its vision for the Red Lake district and a potential Hub and Spoke model utilizing the Madsen processing facilities provides plenty of optionality and opportunity to greatly bolster the project economics. West Red Lake intends to deliver this initial PEA by the end of Q2 2024. To achieve that milestone by the anticipated deadline the decision was made to establish an Oct 1, 2023, cut-off date for 2023 Rowan drilling data to be incorporated

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into this PEA. As such, the updated Rowan mineral resource estimate included in the upcoming PEA will be focused primarily on the highgrade East Zone, which has been the focus of drilling at Rowan so far in 2023 and is envisioned as the first area to be mined when production from Rowan commences. The PEA will then be followed up by a more comprehensive MRE update. In the first 3 quarters of 2023 the company completed the successful 100% acquisition of the Rowan Gold Project from Evolution Mining.

Appointment of new CEO, Shane Williams, to lead the Company, strengthened their Senior Management Team with the addition of a new CFO and new VPs of Exploration, Technical Services, Corporate Development, and Community Relations, increased board strength with key appointees including Tony Makuch, Duncan Middlemiss, and Hugh Agro. The company has also successfully completed the acquisition of their flagship Madsen Mine asset while concurrently raising C$ 25M. West Red Lake Gold Mines has

successfully completed flow-through financing of C$7 million, to further strengthen their treasury position. The company completed the Phase 1 Exploration Program at Rowan project and initiated the expanded Phase 2 drilling campaign. Results from drilling in 2023 have exceeded expectations and as a result the program was expanded from the originally announced 17,000 meters to 25,000 meters. That expanded program is well underway. The company initiated a surface drilling campaign at Wedge target – 2km southwest of Madsen Mine. The program consisted of 3,000 meters of drilling to upgrade and expand the existing resource at Wedge. Shane Williams, President, and CEO commented: “The team has done a fantastic job since the beginning of 2023, achieving many major milestones in the relatively short life of the re-vamped West Red Lake Gold Mines.

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Kinross aims to make a positive and lasting impact in the Red Lake region

n February 2022, Kinross acquired Great Bear Resources Ltd. and its flagship Dixie project located in the renowned and prolific Red Lake mining district in Ontario, Canada. The world-class project is a centerpiece of the Company’s development portfolio and has excellent potential to become a top-tier deposit that could support a large, long-life mine complex and bolster Kinross’ long-term production outlook. Kinross is proudly working in the traditional territory of the collective members of the Anishinaabe Nation within Treaty 3, and more specifically, their First Nation partners of Wabauskang and Lac Seul First Nations. Kinross has a strong and collaborative relationship with their First Nation partners and the communities in which they operate, and they are committed to operating responsibly prioritizing health and safety above all. Kinross believes in approaching 90

every day with a high level of focus, implementing risk controls, training and leadership. Although Kinross is based in Toronto, Canada they haven’t had operations in Canada since 2004-05 with operations at that time being located in the Timmins and Kirkland Lake gold camps. The company is coming back to Canada in a big way with the acquisition of the Great Bear Project as they look forward to building the Great Bear as their flagship project in Canada. Kinross has operations in Africa, South and North America but Kinross’ focus right now is on the building of the Great Bear Project moving forward. As the company looks to building the next great Canadian gold mine, Ian Russell, Site Manager for the Great Bear project said, “all the elements of a world-class gold deposit exist within the planning to make this

Ian Russell, Site Manager for the Great Bear project with Kinross recently gave a presentation during the CEN CAN Expo in Thunder Bay in September. The presentation given was on the very exciting and promising Great Bear project.

our flagship Canadian mine. With the very high-grade mineralization that we’ve seen on this project, we’re excited”. Through the Great Bear Project, Kinross aims to make a positive and lasting impact within the Red Lake region through job creation, local investment and a strong environmental stewardship. Kinross is currently evaluating very closely for the first time in the Red Lake region the opportunity to start mining through an open pit operation and continuing to underground. It’s barely been 21 months

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Excited about our future

in Red Lake!

The Kinross Great Bear project is making strong progress to unlock the tremendous value this project offers. We’re building a strong local workforce and supply chain network with a commitment to making a positive and lasting impact in the region.

Our Values Putting People First Outstanding Corporate Citizenship High Performance Culture Rigorous Financial Discipline www.kinross.com

Kinross is a Canadian-based global senior gold mining company with operations and projects in the United States, Brazil, Mauritania, Chile and Canada. Our focus is on delivering value based on the core principles of responsible mining, operational excellence, disciplined growth, and balance sheet strength.

since Kinross acquired the project and they are moving forward very aggressively. The company is currently focussing on the LP Fault Zone in building ounces and expanding on their resource. In 2022 the company had a very large and aggressive diamond drilling program with 225,000 metres of diamond drilling having produced excellent results with an initial resource of 2.7 Moz of indicated and 2.3 Moz of inferred. Kinross also did 35,000 metres of grade control drilling with RC riggs which increased confidence in the resource model. Kinross is sitting currently on just over 5 Moz of gold. “It’s a very robust lithology alteration structural model, and it really is an exciting project to work on. As a geologist, I could spend hours up here,” Ian explained to the audience. With the projects initial mineral resources (2.7 Moz of indicated and 2.3 Moz of inferred) at this stage the bulk of that essentially is sitting in their open pit with an inferred resource at depth for the underground portion sitting at roughly 1.6 Moz of the total 5 Moz. Kinross had a very aggressive drill program again in 2023 with over 200,000 meters of drilling and to date they’ve successfully continued to expand the resource and are looking forward to having another exciting resource estimate released sometime early in 2024. 92

Geologically speaking there are similarities out there for the main resource. Kinross knows that what they are seeing is something different than what has been seen historically in the Red Lake mining region. The closest similarity that they can come up with is the Hemlo Gold Camp where the camp has mined to date more than 20 Moz of gold. Kinross is looking at this as their opportunity to advance this project from an open pit operation as well as an underground one later. On the underground side of things, Kinross has their deepest drill hole to date at a little over 1,200 meters and with the style of mineralization, the grades of what they’re seeing are continuing at depth. The initial resource is just the beginning and intercepts below 1,000 metres indicate the potential of a long underground mine life. The underground project is starting off with an advanced exploration program in conjunction with advancing their permits for their main project. They have submitted a number of permits to apply for an advanced exploration permit and they are looking to start this in the middle of 2024 with their initial ground break work while starting off with the decline work and the actual breaking of mine rock in early 2025. This work will allow the operation access at depth for an underground exploration platform, allowing them to continue drilling and continue

expanding on the resource, and an opportunity for a bulk sample to fine tune their metallurgy as they move things forward. In terms of a targeted path to production, the Great Bear project is aggressive, and they have all the support corporately within the Kinross team to move this forward. With early 2025 scheduled for the decline start up, the company is looking at around 10,000 meters of development for that phase. They will continue with the ongoing process with their baseline studies, not just for the advanced exploration project, but also the main project as a whole. Kinross has already started to prepare their impact statements; they have already submitted their Initial Project Description (IPD) to the Impact Assessment Agency Canada (IAAC). What’s next for the balance of 2023 and into 2024? Kinross will continue on the project study, work for the external PEA that is scheduled for early 2024, continue working on their baseline studies and analyze, review, and continue working hand in hand with their partners in the region. Exploration activities will continue on an aggressive path moving forward as Kinross has 11 exploration drills on site right now, and next year they are looking at having the same aggressive exploration program to expand the mineralization at depth.

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Goldshore PEA imminent for Moss Lake By Kevin Vincent

t’s all early-stage, but Goldshore Resources continues to believe that their Moss Lake Project west of Thunder Bay has significant upside as they look to put a fresh PEA out to market any day. In its most recent statement, the company says things look positive. The company believes it has as much as six million inferred ounces. “In the wake of this market turbulence, we continue to pursue our goals of establishing the economic viability of the Moss Gold Project; as well as increasing our footprint in the region in a responsible manner,” said President and CEO Brett Richards. Richards says the real story is the high-grade shear domain on the property which represents more than 55% of the ore body. “That will sequence early in the mine plan in our PEA and in our development of a mine at Moss. It’s going to deliver substantially better returns as compared to our peers.” “This project works at $1,200 gold. It doesn’t need $2,000 gold, so the margin that we are going to deliver to our shareholders once we get through our studies, once we get through permitting, and once we get this built and in production, the margins are going to be tremendous.” “We continue to see great potential for the Moss Gold Project to grow 94

well beyond the scope of the PEA we are currently conducting, but appreciate we need to establish the Project as an economically viable resource in its existing size, grade, and metallurgy.” An older PEA was completed by Moss Lake Gold Mines in 2013. Shortly thereafter, ownership amalgamated with Wesdome Gold Mines in 2014. Then the company acquired the Coldstream and Hamlin properties in 2016 and with further exploration and drilling programs in 2016 and 2017, confirmed extensions of mineralization along strike. “Goldshore is reviewing high level scoping studies with Ausenco in order to identify the optimum project for the PEA,” said Goldshore’s VP Exploration, Pete Flindell. “With high grade shears in lowgrade altered wall rock, three viable process routes, and varying mining scales and rates, there are dozens of options that are being carefully evaluated, as the likely optimum project will be a staged hybrid rather than a simple mine-to-mill operation. We look forward to final PEA results in Q4 of this year.” On September 28th Goldshore provided an update with respect to results from the company’s summer exploration program at the Moss Gold Project.

Highlights Goldshore field crews have identified five unique gold mineralization trends including two polymetallic Au-Cu trends across the Moss Gold Project through a combination of ionic leach soil sampling and property wide field mapping with a combined strike of over 35 kilometers. Recent rock sample results include: • Moss Trend – 9.59 g/t Au and 60.6 g/t Ag plus 5.0 g/t Au, 96.2 g/t Ag, and 0.98% Cu from samples in diorite-hosted shears along strike from the current Mineral Resource - 24.9 g/t Au and 9.99g/t Ag from samples of strongly altered dacite 200m south of the Moss Main zone, representing a new parallel zone. • Kawa Trend – 33.7 g/t Au, 0.64% Zn and 75.3ppm Mo from sheared diorite/volcanic contacts within a new 6.5 kilometer long belt. • Hamlin Trend – has been expanded to become an 8 kilometer long polymetallic Au-Ag-Cu-Mo belt with values including 0.73g/t Au, 0.14% Cu, 7.6 ppm Bi and 7.1 ppm Te.

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• Coldstream Trend – has been widened to 800 meters through the discovery of parallel structures assaying 1.07 g/t Au and 0.98% Zn. - 9.79 g/t Au from mafic-hosted carbonate shear veins at the “Benton” prospect, east of the East Coldstream deposit. • Vanguard Trend – 3.97% Cu, 1.73g/t Au and 19.1 g/t Ag plus 2.94 g/t Au in a 9 kilometer long belt of polymetallic VMS Cu-ZnAu-Ag mineralization that is now found to be 120 meters wide through discovery of additional lenses. President and CEO Brett Richards stated: “We have previously stated our confidence to the market that the Moss Project of c.183Mt containing an inferred resource of 6M oz Au at 1.02g/t (with 55% of the deposit hosting a shear domain at 1.84 g/t) could be the start to uncovering multiple deposits of gold mineralization, and polymetallic mineralization on our land package. The targets that we have identified and now sampled need to be drill tested to prove their voracity, and to provide a clearer picture on how best to prioritize the many targets we have previously highlighted to the market. The 30km trend of mineralization at Moss confirms the exciting potential of identifying and growing a large, multi-generational mining camp in the Shebandowan Greenstone belt.”

Goldshore Resources Fully Funded Through 2025 Goldshore Resources Inc. recently announced a non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of $3,750,000. In connection with Private Placement, the Company will issue the following securities: • 37,500,000 units of the Company at a price of $0.10 per Unit. Each Unit consists MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

of one common share and one common share purchase warrant; and • Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (a “Warrant Share”) at an exercise price of $0.13 per Warrant Share for thirty-six (36) months from the date of closing. The net proceeds will be used to continue to advance the Moss Gold Project through development of a new resource model and a new mineral resource estimation (“MRE”); in addition to continuing the engineering and metallurgical studies being done on various leach methodologies (including heap leach) and factoring this new information into a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”). With 80,000 meters of drilling completed and $48 million spent directly in the ground defining the current MRE; Goldshore is well positioned to achieve meaningful project milestones over the next 24 months with minimal cash expenditures and within the net proceeds and current cash balances of the Company. The Company also announces that Michael Michaud has stepped down from the Board as an appointee of Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (“Wesdome”). Wesdome has advised that it does not intend to nominate a replacement at this time. Kyle Hickey will be appointed to the Goldshore Board of Directors upon closing of the Private Placement. Kyle has extensive experience in the commodity and resource capital markets, financing assets through all stages of development from resource definition to construction and project finance, and long-term operating capital structures. This financing and partnership represents a new phase for Goldshore and is key to unlocking long-term value and driving success.

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PEA and Resource Update As a result of the new financial and strategic commitment in Goldshore, the Company is reviewing the current PEA in an effort to rescope and optimize the Moss Gold Project under multiple operational and economic parameters. To that end, the Company has engaged APEX Geoscience to prepare a new resource model and a new MRE. The Company has also engaged the expertise of Kappes Cassiday & Associates, leaders in heap leach engineering and technology, to conduct detailed metallurgical test work to determine the efficacy of heap leaching the lower grade material contained in the Moss Gold deposit. Once the results from these activities are received, the Company will determine its next course of development. Vice President, Exploration, Pete Flindell: “We welcome our new strategic partners, as this commitment allows us to recalibrate the scope of the future project we want to take to feasibility study. We have a significant portion of high-grade mineralization in the shear zones (3.35M oz Au or 55% of the current mineral resource) with an average head grade of 1.84 g/t Au. This creates the opportunity for a hybrid process with a small flotation, regrind and carbon in leach plant for the high-grade mineralization, and a large heap leach operation for the low-grade material.”

Wesdome looking to boost production at Eagle River and Kiena Mines By Kevin Vincent

ith operating mines in both Ontario and Quebec, Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. continues to build value for shareholders in two jurisdictions. The company spent consider-

able resources this year to upgrade the mill at the Eagle River complex near Wawa, while getting the green light for a new exploration ramp at its Quebec Kiena Mine near Val D’or.

“As expected, combined production in Q3 was slightly lower than Q2 (30,992 ounces) as a result of planned mill maintenance at Eagle River,” said Anthea Bath, President and CEO. “At Kiena, ramp development continues to track ahead of schedule, positioning us well to develop and access higher grade reserves in H1 2024. We are also pleased to announce that towards the end of the quarter, we received the necessary permit required to drive an exploration ramp at Presqu’île. This authorization allows us to assess the continuity of the mineralization and test the down plunge extension of the deposit.” That’s good news for Wesdome as the teams expect to close out 2023 on guidance. With an uptick in production expected in the fourth quarter, the company’s year to date performance of 87,119 ounces has them tracking to the mid-point of their 110,000-130,000-ounce guidance range. Wesdome announced the 2023 surface exploration drilling results in mid-September from the Presqu’île Zone,1.3 km north-west of the Kiena Complex. Recent drilling at Presqu’île is part of an ongoing exploration program focussing on near surface gold po-

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tential along strike from Kiena that remains under explored. Drilling results from the Shawkey and Dubuisson Zones, located further to the east along strike, were released earlier in the year. Ongoing drilling highlights the potential of this area to add to the existing resource base proximal to mine infrastructure and remains a priority for the company. “We are pleased with the recent surface drill results that confirm continuity of mineralization at Presqu’île,” said Bath. “The Presqu’île Zone is just one of several zones having the potential to offer a supplementary source of mill feed near-surface or in the upper mine area for the underutilized Kiena mill.” The company says recent drilling results from the Shawkey and Dubuisson Zones, both adjacent to the existing drift development that extends over three kilometres east of the Kiena mine shaft, further reinforces the potential of this area. “As our exploration continues and the refinement of the geologic model increases, we are confident we will identify more zones of gold mineralization accessible from 33 level, as well as additional down plunge extensions similar to the Kiena Deep Zone,” said Bath. The company says recent drilling supports the decision to proceed with the exploration ramp from surface later this year to further assess the continuity of the mineralization and test the down plunge extension of the deposit. The excavation of the ramp is expected to proceed in Q4 2023. This ramp can also be integrated with Kiena's existing underground ramp network, providing additional access to surface for ongoing operations and future mining of deposits such as Dubuisson from 33 level further to the east.” The company also issued its fourth annual Environmental, So-

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cial, and Governance (“ESG”) Report, which provides an overview of the company’s ESG strategies, policies, risk management approach and commitments. The report also outlines year-over-year performance from 2018-2022 across these key sustainability objectives. “We are proud of our accomplishments over the last year and remain committed to strong sustainability performance in the future,” said Bath.

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Newmont Musselwhite - a Pretty Exciting Place to Work

100 percent owned and operated by mining giant Newmont, and located about 500 kilometers north of Thunder Bay on the traditional territory of North Caribou Lake First Nation, the Musselwhite mine commenced commercial production in 1997. Today, the mine employs about 1000 full-time employees and contractors; in 2022, the mine produced around 173,000 ounces of gold and had just under two million ounces in reserve at year-end. In Newmont’s own words, the mine consistently meets expectations and safely produces gold at a low cost – but if that sounds boring, think again. According to General Manager Mark Kiessling, who addressed the topic during his 2023 Projects in the Pipeline Conference presentation at the CEN CAN Expo, Newmont Musselwhite is a pretty exciting place to work. “I’ve been at Musselwhite now for about 15 months, and what excited me about coming over here was that this project did not only have the longstanding history – but also the potential for growth,” he explains. “You could just sense the potential for this operation as it makes its transition.” 98

Putting Community Partnerships into Action In 2022, Musselwhite commemorated 25 years of commercial operation by hosting several hundred guests, including Indigenous leaders and community members, government leaders and business partners. The number and variety of attendees present illustrated the historic partnerships through which Musselwhite came to be, and the value that the mine continues to deliver to northern communities. Musselwhite was one of the first mines in Canada to enter into a comprehensive agreement with First Nations communities and is today proud to have formal agreements with the North Caribou Lake First Nation, Cat Lake First Nation, Windigo First Nations Council, Wunnumin Lake First Nation, Kingfisher Lake First Nation, Shibogama First Nations Council and Mishkeegogamang First Nation. These agreements include environmental protections and provided signatory members with business opportunities and economic benefits, which have contributed more than $100 million in direct cash benefits over the life of the agreement.

Mark Kiessling. General Manager

Today, a quarter of the mine’s workforce is Indigenous and Musselwhite has strong programs aimed at increasing First Nations employment at Musselwhite. “We have a strong focus on delivering on our commitments,” says Mark. “We’re going to continue to look at the local hiring.” The mine owes much of its success to listening. Opening up channels for communication within First Nations communities helps the operation better understand how to support and engage prospective employees or

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ÉLÉONORE PORCUPINE MUSSELWHITE

FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESS vendors – and has resulted in initiatives like a traditional leave program and improved workplace training. One of the most impressive projects to come out of the relationships that Musselwhite has built with local First Nations (was contemplated in the early days of the Musselwhite Agreement), and that speaks to the mutual trust developed, is the $1.8 billion Wataynikaneyap Power project – which will connect several remote First Nations to the Ontario power grid and end their reliance on diesel generators. Wataynikaneyap means “line that brings light” in Anishininiimowin, and the company was originally incorporated through an agreement between 13 First Nations and Goldcorp, a predecessor of Newmont, with a goal of First Nations eventually owning 100% of this important infrastructure. This Indigenous-led, historic project also leverages federal government support and will solve a longstanding infrastructure challenge to provide clean, reliable and affordable electricity that is essential to unlocking and driving community development. This year, Musselwhite will celebrate its own connection to the power transmission system.

Operating Sustainably to Protect a Stunning Landscape Nestled on the southern shores of Opapimiskan Lake, Musselwhite is virtually surrounded by water and upstream of several First Nations communities – continually reminding the operation of the importance of operating sustainably, aligned to Newmont values. Although the employees who enjoy kayaking, boating and fishing (catch-and-release only) on beautiful Opapimiskan Lake are also strong advocates for sustainable mining, Musselwhite’s commitments to environmental stewardship are ul100

timately grounded in its agreements with First Nations. The mine runs participatory monitoring programs with First Nations that include training for community members, discussing water quality reports and hiring local environmental monitors, and the mine has a cost-sharing agreement with First Nations to provide independent environmental technical support. The mine continually evolves its water stewardship practices, having recently updated its water balance model to incorporate chemistry and incorporate long-term closure considerations, audited and optimized its underground water treatment plant, updated its groundwater model and initiated a collaboration with Lakehead University. This commitment to leaving a positive environmental legacy for communities has become part of the organizational culture, with Musselwhite hosting opening and closing water ceremonies with the local Indigenous communities each spring and fall to give thanks to and show respect for the land and water.

Turning an Inclusive Culture Into a Competitive Advantage Including the diverse perspectives of First Nations partners has not only helped ensure that Musselwhite maintains its license to operate, but also positively influenced the workplace culture to recognize and value different backgrounds and experiences. “I really do think that we have a strong sense of inclusion at Musselwhite, and I think that’s driving our mine’s potential,” explains Mark. “We’re having many more listening points. We’re talking about how we get better, how we get people engaged and how we improve.” Musselwhite recently implemented diverse hiring panels to recruit

a broader range of talent in a tight market. It was important to ensure that these panels had not only local representation, but also diverse genders to show prospective hires that there is a place for everyone at Newmont. These panels dovetail with improved skills development and training programs that support workplace success – including Stope School, summer student programs, apprenticeship programs and the provision of development plans to all employees. The approach has quality of life at its center. Although the lakeside recreation area at Musselwhite is a great place to spend downtime at work, the mine is also investing in upgrading its camp with amenities like a music room, massage chairs, an updated gymnasium for team sports and more. “It’s not only about how we make the mine more efficient or how we save money,” says Mark. “It’s really about culture and lifestyle at the camp. For example, we recognized that our women’s dry was too small to support the workforce of the future – so that expansion project is now up and going. The mine is also improving the recreation center at the camp to make sure that we’ve got a good work environment for our employees and that this is an attractive place to go and work. Much of the current infrastructure is 25 years old and needs upgrades as we prepare for the next stage of mine life.”

Unlocking Musselwhite’s Full Potential The past few years have been challenging for Musselwhite. After a conveyor fire in 2019 halted production for nearly a year, Musselwhite again experienced intermittent shutdowns throughout 2020 and 2021 as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. These setbacks did not stop Musselwhite – instead, the mine used

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Photo left to right: Glenn Dredhart, President/Publisher, Canadian Trade-Ex/Mining Life & Exploration News, giving an award to speakers Matthew Angees, Executive Director, Shibogama First Nation Council, Mark Kiessling, Mine General Manager, Newmont Musselwhite Mine, Eliezar McKay, Indigenous Engagement & Employment Specialist, Newmont Musselwhite Mine and John Kamenawatamin, Musselwhite Coordinator at Windigo First Nations Council. The awards were given in recognition to the Musselwhite Mine Agreement as being one of the first in Canada.

these periods to understand how to operate more efficiently and position the operation for long-term success. More than a quarter century into operation, there remains great exploration potential at Musselwhite. With the ore body open at depth and showing promise, mine management looks forward to transforming that potential into mine production. Many of the improvement projects underway at Musselwhite are part of Newmont’s Full Potential program, which contributes almost $25 million per year in benefits to the operation. Full Potential is Newmont’s structured and integrated continuous improvement program, introduced in 2013 to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and generate productivity to address the strategic needs of the business as they evolve – for example, through the ventilation upgrade project that Musselwhite has recently initiated. “We have to make sure that we have strong ventilation down at the face,” says Mark. MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

Global collaboration and sharing successes across sites provide additional opportunities to increase business value, balance economic factors and offset operational headwinds. An example is the implementation of jumbo bolting at Musselwhite. Whereas Canadian miners have typically used platform or mechanized bolters, jumbo bolters are commonly used in South Africa and Australia to allow a single operator to drill for blasting as well as to install bolts and mesh. The new technology improves safety by moving the operator away from unsupported ground while increasing productivity. From a production perspective, Musselwhite has implemented teleremote mucking to eliminate the use of line-of-sight mucking when extracting ore from the stopes. The operations have also implemented owner-operated production drilling with battery electric drills, moving the work in-house rather than using a contractor. In terms of mine plan-

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ning, the operation is transitioning from longitudinal stopes to transverse stopes to retrieve more bulk ore more efficiently. More recently, the mine has trialed double-lift stoping which has increased productivity rates. For Mark, continuous improvement and new technologies are critical to unlocking the exploration potential at Musselwhite. “As we go deeper and we recognize that the grade of the ore body may not change, we have to become more efficient at extracting that ore body,” explains Mark. “We’re going to be implementing more changes as we continue to grow. We’re going to continue to look at battery electric vehicles as well. And we’ve got to figure out how we get the ore out of the bottom of the mine when you’ve got the kind of depths that we’re looking at.”

Building a Bright Future on a Proud Legacy With strong community partnerships, outstanding environmental stewardship and an inclusive workplace culture that prioritizes employee wellbeing, Musselwhite can be proud of its past successes. And with a continuous improvement program that leverages Newmont’s global expertise to unlock strong exploration potential, Musselwhite can ensure that its best days lie ahead. For Mark, building that bright future for Musselwhite is exciting and meaningful work. “It’s all about planning – making sure that we have executable plans that our workforce buys into,” he explains. “If you look at where the Musselwhite operation was in 2019 with the conveyor fire, you can see the improvements in development now. You can see the improvement in ore tons and the improvement in gold ounces mined. And we expect that trend to continue.”

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IBA’s have given way to True Partnerships By Kevin Vincent

mpact Benefit Agreements seem to have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Gone are the days when First Nations negotiate piecemeal benefits from resource development in their traditional territory. Today, it’s all about partnerships, equity, and legacy. “When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission came out and the 94 calls to action, it was mostly public institutions, it wasn’t until the bodies were found, and then suddenly, public paid attention.” And people keep asking, what do you mean by reconciliation? It means it’s such an open-ended term for many people, depending on where you stand in relation to what happened. And so I wanted to break it down just quickly how I see it, said Michael Fox, President/CEO of Indigenous Community Engagement (ICE) – one of Canada’s leading national Indigenous firms specializing in community consultation, facilitation/negotiations, capacity building, and enterprise development, in a opening speech while hosting the CEN CAN Expo, Indigenous Partnerships & Critical Minerals Forum that was held this past September in Thunder Bay.” 102

“You have political reconciliation, which is kind of comprehensive land claims, modern-day treaties, treaty implementation, jurisdiction, and shared decision-making. These are kind of political negotiations. You must involve the government and lawyers. Then you have what I call institutional reconciliation, so municipalities, education, social, and health care. Those folks in that sector are moving on their own version of reconciliation in the institutional frameworks that they have to operate in. And then you got economic reconciliation. Economic reconciliation to me is three different categories, partnerships, proponency, and procurement. And those three dimensions is what I see in the resource sector providing leadership in creating an enabling environment and enabling mechanisms for Indigenous businesses and First Nations-owned enterprises to get involved in major undertakings across Canada.” Michael started his career at Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund some 25 years ago when just a hand full of Indigenous groups were doing financing deals on small projects in the north at that time. Michael said, “it wasn’t until the Green Energy Act

came in where equity deals were happening. And the way they enabled that was under the Green Energy Act which had three dimensions that would allow equity ownership in projects. One was study money, so communities can apply it forward to do their own site investigations. We all know there’s value in the data. The second was what they call an aboriginal adder to the power purchase agreement. So if you had a partnership with a community, then you would get extra pennies per kilowatt on your power purchase agreement. The other one was an aboriginal loan guarantee. And the aboriginal loan guarantee from the Ontario Finance Authority enabled equity partnerships. All of this gave an opportunity for First Nations and Indigenous members to get involved in the world of commerce, which as we all know, wasn’t the case some 30 years ago. So it starts with the partnership over time, the procurement, and now we’re looking at indigenous led undertakings. It sounds like recent news, but Five Nations Energy was actually celebrating the 25 years anniversary of being a completely in-

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digenous-owned transmission line in Ontario, the first one across Canada. Five Nations Energy Inc., CEO, Pat Chilton stressed the importance of persevering with economic development objectives at a recent inaugural annual Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Opportunities Forum 2023. “Thirty-seven times we were told, ‘It can’t be done’, ‘You’re not going to do it’ — but we kept going. Eventually, we got the financing in place, we had the engineers, we talked to a lot of lenders, we talked to Indian Affairs,” Chilton says. “Indian Affairs came on side eventually. We went through what they called the avoided cost funding model, that’s basically identifying what the cost would be for the next 25 years to operate those diesels in those communities and transport [fuel] and that type of thing. We weighed them against the environmental damage the diesels were doing in our communities, so they finally came on board and they gave the money that fronted the whole thing.” Chilton says Fort Albany and Kashechewan were connected to the provincial power grid in 2001 MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

by the Five Nations Energy power line, and Attawapiskat was connected in 2002. “It was quite a feat actually just doing that, there were a lot of naysayers,” Chilton says, noting that one woman stood up in a community meeting about the power line and told the men to leave so the women could talk. “An hour and 20 minutes later, they came out and said: ‘You’re going to build that line, it’s for the best for everybody. Then we can power up, we can do whatever we want with electricity, no more diesel, no more noise, no more pollution.’” Michael Fox went on to say, “and so the trend around the undertaking is happening, indigenous led projects. And that’s what’s happening in the Ring of Fire. Two communities decided to work together and lead probably the most extensive and most expensive environmental studies in that region ever. Like I’m talking about tens of millions of dollars. Why are Martin Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation doing that? Because they want to generate the information needed to make an informed decision. And the second

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is that it’s their homelands and they want to ensure that the regional infrastructure that they’re looking at is not going to impact their way of life in a way that tips the balance that the impacts outweighs the benefit. The benefit has to outweigh the impacts at the end of the day and the only way you’re going to learn that is by having an indigenous led environmental assessment. You design the scope and negotiate with the regulators how you’re going to do that from an indigenous centered lens around the impact studies. When you go coast to coast, we hear that, right? I don’t know if you follow the indigenous business news. If you follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter, I highlight what I call indigenous bright spots. There’s probably 98% bad news when it comes to indigenous issues, flare ups, crisis, but what I do is highlight the good news. Michael shared a memory of the first time he went to Vancouver. It was because of the board of governors at Lakehead University had two tickets for this indigenous youth forum, or it was called a native youth forum back then. It was the first time he had been on that reserve in North Vancouver City. 103

FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESS He said there was not much to see, but now if you look back a year ago, they just announced a multibillion-dollar condo development to address housing issues right in the city of Vancouver. The East Coast, if you guys can remember, was this lobster crisis. And so you had the traditional ways of the indigenous Mi’kmaq fishermen with the lobsters. Then you had all these independent commercial fishermen trying to feed the industry over harvesting and all that kind of thing. The Mi’kmaq people of the East Coast bought the industry, Clearwater. It was a billion-dollar deal. All those independent fisheries, commercial fisheries now must sell to the Mi’kmaq who owns Clearwater.

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Today that chief that helped lead that deal is on a speaking campaign trying to increase the confidence, the capacity, and the capital for other First Nations that you can do this too. Yes, we have to address the past. Yes, we must address the historical wrongs, the historical harms. We’re not going to talk about intergenerational wounds forever, but that shift’s going to show wealth in the future. Michael closed off by saying, “And that’s the message I think this platform is trying to share by showcasing some of the speakers that took the time to be a part of the Central Canada Resource Expo (CEN CAN Expo) in Thunder Bay this past September. I look for these things everywhere across Canada because I want to

shine light, because for whatever reason most news outlets don’t like to. I don’t know, if it bleeds it reads, they say. Bad news is what everybody picks up the paper for and so we try to shine light on the good stuff and the big stuff that’s happening that are indigenous led. There were a number of guest speakers from both industry and indigenous communities sharing some of their opportunities and challenges for their people, communities, government and industry. It was a fantastic display of how some of the mines, junior mines and First Nations are getting together to achieve success for all during the Indigenous Partnerships & Critical Minerals Forum.

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The Way Forward Webequie First Nation

hief Cornelius Wabasse is passionate about his community and its future. That future will be largely tied to partnerships that he and his fellow band leaders continue to forge.“I’ve been chief for my community for a number of years, 13 years. I’m grateful that my community is supportive and looking forward to me to do things for the community. I think we have made progress throughout the years in the development of our community.” 2009 was the first year he was Chief, and it was at a time the great staking rush of the Ring of Fire was taking place. The Chief continued by saying we are still working on how we’re going to move forward with the Ring of Fire. Throughout the years Webequie First Nation has established working relationships with the surrounding First Nations, Government and Industry in an effort to realize prosperity for its people in the potential development in their area. “Webequie is situated in the James Bay Lowlands, inland, so we are close proximity to the potential development of the Ring of Fire. When you say the Ring of Fire, it sounds really, really big. When you look at the picture of those claims, it’s very big, but most of those are just claims around the area. There is only one claim or one area that we have a camp, which is the Wyloo Esker Camp, and we’re working with them on the potential development.” 106

Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation was a guest speaker during the Indigenous Partnerships & Critical Minerals Forum.

Chief Wabasse talked about how his community can realize the prosperity of the potential development in their area. He said, “It’s an opportunity for us, it’s an opportunity for the First Nations, the surrounding First Nations, and also for all parties that will be involved in the development of the region. “But first, we have to come up with or develop protocols to make sure that we address all the issues that we need to make and that they are in line with what everybody is expecting. For Webequie which is a small growing village we’re going to need to develop more housing lots to expand because of the number of people required. With the partnership that we have with Wyloo we’re hoping to develop a partnership that will enhance our community for enhancing the quality of life in our community and the members.” The Chief was passionate when he spoke about his community. He said there are many issues that we have to work with, including housing infrastructure, roads and also the airport redevelopment which they are currently working on. The community has a vision and a mandate that they developed. It’s a Community Comprehensive Plan

that they follow and in that plan they have a vision of a three-tier system. 1. The Reservation itself, first 2. Being the protected area where we want to continue our culture and traditions, second and 3. Being the mutual area where we open up for mutual agreements to industry and also to other parties that may want to work with Webequie is third. “So we do have that vision moving forward, and we think or we’re hoping that with the potential of the Ring of Fire, that’s how we’re going to resource that plan. So it’s a lot of work yet that we have to do, and hopefully once we have that in place and secured, that we start moving forward with the functions of each tier.” Webequie First Nation sees the Ring of Fire as an opportunity for working together, establishing partnerships, an opportunity for good jobs, education, for enhancement on infrastructure and housing in the near future. Moving forward the Chief said there are challenges and processes that need to be followed and we really need to understand and work together for the processes or for our community to prosper from this potential opportunity in the Ring of Fire.

MINING REPORT 2023

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FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESS

Indigenous Partnerships For Prosperity

he Greenstone Gold Mine (GGM) operates within Treaty 9 territory and is the traditional territories of Aroland First Nation, Animbiigoo Zaggi’igan Anishinaabek, Ginoogaming First Nation and Long Lake #54 First Nation and is home to the citizen of Métis Nation of Ontario. The agreements in place with their First Nations partners hit on several areas, environment, employment and training, business opportunities and revenue sharing. The approach to Indigenous relations is one that Peter Rasevych, Indigenous Relations Manager for Greenstone Gold Mine saw developing over the years. Peter was working on the First Nation level prior to working on the Management team with GGM and said he always saw the great respect that was being given to the negotiations process.

Indigenous consultation is just so incredibly important! “I was in a meeting with David Newhook, (Greenstone Mine Director of Operations) yesterday with a circle of elders. It’s so important those consultation meetings with the elders to sit with them, to eat with them, to talk with them, to receive their guidance and direction on the project. It can’t be understated, Peter said”. 108

Peter Rasevych, Indigenous Relations Manager for Greenstone Gold Mine gives presentation during the CEN CAN Expo’s Indigenous Partnerships Conference in Thunder Bay, September 2023.

This is the foundation and the groundwork to the healthy relationships that exist between GGM and their Indigenous partners. It’s not just the elders, it’s also the leaders of the Indigenous communities, but it’s quite significant to be honouring and respecting those relationships with the elders. The Greenstone Gold Mine meets regularly with their partners through implementation committees. Each agreement has an implementation committee, and each agreement implementation committee has an implementation coordinator. Monthly meetings with the implementation coordinators in these implementation committees are held, which are forums for communication to discuss the various sections of implementing the Long-Term Relationship Agreements. This also provides an avenue for community members to voice their concerns or questions they may have and to receive feedback from the GGM team. Peter mentioned in his presentation how extremely important the role is to have the committees. “It is important to meet often as it allows for a lot of engagement and relationship building. The mine hosts many site tours with their partners, as a lot of community members have never been on a mine site be-

fore.” GGM feels it’s important to give project updates not only to the indigenous partners but the nonindigenous partners as well. The GGM team is very active in attending Powwows and community celebrations. Peter said, “it’s very important for us to be involved in the cultural and spiritual life of the community, and seeing the corporation have a corporate face at such events”.

GGM’s Indigenous Relations Policy in action Engagement: To engage in a manner that reflects the free and prior informed consent of indigenous peoples in relation to their traditional lands and resources. Traditional Knowledge: To respect the spiritual concerns and cultural perspectives of Indigenous partners, and their importance in the planning and implementation of our projects. Human Resources: A spirit of partnership to realize opportunities in education, training, and employment. Diversity: To provide training to our employees in order to promote a greater understanding of, and respect for, the history, traditions, and values of local Indigenous communities as per Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #92.

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESS “There’s a lot of advice being offered to the GGM management on the project. It’s great to be able to be there, to be a conduit for that and to be a liaison for that through our department. Each Indigenous partner has an environmental technician, aka an environmental monitor. They are the eyes and ears on the ground for the First Nation communities, so they actually have a subcommittee, an EAS, for each of the agreements that reports to the implementation committees,” stated Peter. Diversity in the Greenstone Gold Mine workforce fosters a culture of inclusion and respect which makes GGM an employer of choice. CrossCultural Awareness Training can provide multiple perspectives that will help to prevent conscious or unconscious bias and discrimination.

GGM is proud of their business opportunities and partnerships. Long Lake #58 First Nation through their Definitive Agreement with Greenstone Gold Mines was signed in 2018. The First Nation is pursuing economic development activity through a positive implementation of their agreement through several ventures such as the Ga-Ba-She-Win Lodge, Fuel Supply, and Aggregates. The members of the First Nation are trained and are focusing on skilled trades and mining training. One such other partnership is with Minodahmun Development LP (MDLP) that was signed in 2019. The company is jointly owned by Aroland First Nation, Animbiigoo Zaggi’igan Anishinaabek, and Ginoogaming First Nation. Minodahmun means “clear path” in Anishinaabemowin. It was created in partnership with the 3 First Nations as equal owners and jointly share in the profits of Minodahmun Development LP. The goal of creating the business was to build MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

capacity and maximize business and employment opportunities on behalf of the 3 First Nations related to GGM and other major projects. Since its inception the MDLP created the Indigenous Workforce Development Program (skills and mining training) and has successfully trained over 200 people with over 150 securing jobs, created over 40 partnership and venture agreements in a variety of sectors such as construction, industrial contracting, engineering, mine site services, supplies, drilling and more. MDLP has established contracts with Hydro One, Trans Canada, En-

MINING REPORT 2023

bridge, Tombill Mines and the Government of Canada. The company is also the owner of 38 acres of commercial and industrial land in Geraldton and are developing the Migizi Commercial Plaza across from the mine on Highway 11. These are exciting times for the First Nation communities, companies, and the indigenous people. The Greenstone Gold Mine and their partners are forging new relationships with success. The Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF) in 2023 awarded Minodahmun Development LP with the Partnership of the Year Award. 109

FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESS

Rock Tech Lithium and Red Rock First Nation sign MOU By Kevin Vincent

ock Tech and the BMI GroupRed Rock Indian Band announced a partnership in October to conduct a comprehensive site analysis to transform the former Norampac Paper Mill site in Red Rock into a key component of Ontario’s EV supply chain. The group hopes to replace 300 jobs that were lost in 2006 when the mill closed. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining next steps was signed by Mayor Darquise Robinson, community members, and business partners. The company’s Georgia Lake Mining Project is located along Highway 11, an hour north of Red Rock. As the closest site to production with critical infrastructure components, inclusive of rail, industrial power, and the pending development of the northernmost port on 110

the Great Lakes, the location can be well positioned for an intermodal transloading facility and potentially Rock Tech’s planned lithium refinery. Red Rock is about 16 km west of the Nipigon River. “This partnership truly embodies what we believe is vital: diligent assessment, local and Indigenous community engagement, and strong networks,” said Dirk Harbecke, Rock Tech CEO. “This is not just a refinery, it is about developing a new industry, ensuring chemical supply, green energy, offtake of battery-grade lithium, and zero-waste management. We have invested over 350,000 engineering hours, completed the frontend engineering and design, and established the necessary industrial and procurement network through

our existing Guben Converter project. These efforts lay the groundwork for a shovel-ready opportunity for Ontario. To realize the potential of it, we need strong and capable partners,” Harbecke added. “By combining our industrial development and infrastructure experience, most notably from our Niagara Ports project, with Rock Tech’s technical expertise, we are fully supporting the exploration of a viable pathway for lithium processing and intermodal transport in Red Rock and the Province as a whole. The mill was shuttered in 2006, and with it, about 300 jobs,” said Paul Veldman, Managing Partner at the BMI Group. The collaboration represents a significant step towards not only meeting the demand for critical battery components but also bringing back some of those jobs. “We have the capacity, our people have the capability, and we want to make them shine,” said Marcus Hardy, Chief of the Red Rock Indian Band. “We want to give people a good life. “Refine where you mine” is not just a motto for us; it’s an opportunity to create new jobs that

MINING REPORT 2023

MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESS contribute to the future of the mining industry. Coupled with the development of the northernmost port on the Great Lakes and its ability to take transport pressure off our Northern highways, you have a win-win opportunity worth investing in.” Rock Tech has already said publicly that its Canadian lithium converter will be located in Ontario. Its engineering design of the Guben Converter will be applied to its Canadian counterpart, positioning the company to begin construction as early as 2025, pending permits and further partnership arrangements. The company has completed a series of tests to ensure that the refinery can process spodumene from various sources and is adaptable to the region’s rapidly growing lithium industry. The former pulp and paper mill area on the Township of Red Rock’s waterfront, and the strategic collaboration have the potential to significantly contribute to the development of a competitive Provincial EV supply chain, creating new jobs and fostering positive social impact and economic growth.

Investing in Relationships between People and Place At the CEN CAN Expo in Thunder Bay, Chief Marcus Hardy of The Red Rock Indian Band spoke to their capacity and community-building work that advances both First Nations interests and the development of infrastructure and supply chain solutions for the mining industry in the North. He said the importance of the partnership between the Red Rock Indian Band and BMI Group is to forge a good relationship with industry for the success of the townships in the area, the First Nation and the people in each community that are involved. Together they are building a Multimodal Marine Infrastructure MINING LIFE & EXPLORATION NEWS

which will serve as a shipping solution for the mining industry in the North connecting it to the South. BMI’s ambition is around energy, future energy. The Red Rock Indian Band are stewards of the land. Red Rock Indian Band saw the same values in the BMI Group in regards to protecting the earth, protecting the waters, which provides clean energy. The Chief said, “We must stop taking and give more.” “Now more than ever, the global demand for valuable raw materials is being sought after. With a direct connection to the National Rail Network, BioVeld can provide land, water and highway transport as a multimodal industrial hub featuring over 55,000 square meters. With the shift recently, with all the mining activity in Northwestern Ontario, in order to go green, the battery revolution, you need nickel, you need cobalt, you need all of these critical minerals which are here in Northwestern Ontario.” “In and around the area, we have many projects on the go in regards to mining, tons of opportunity, we want to take advantage of that,” said the chief. The Red Rock Indian Band partnered with the BMI Group to waken that up again. “The opportunity to build the most northern port in Canada, in the Great Lakes Seaway, critical minerals and resources from the north in Canada, in a positive way, to be part of that shift to sustainable energy, it’s fantastic, it’s a dream. The northern supply of minerals will continue to support more of what the world demands,” added Chief Hardy. The Seaway corridor provides global expansion and thanks to the Great Lakes, this will become an economic growth driver unlike the world has ever seen. One project that we’re very excited about is reactivating the port here in Red Rock,

MINING REPORT 2023

Chief Marcus Hardy of The Red Rock Indian Band

which will be beneficial to both industry and us as First Nations. It’ll bring jobs in the community, in the townships. We’d like to position ourselves as a critical mineral hub, as a port that can both bring these mining machines in and take those minerals out to the world. “I’m excited about adding value to these mining projects in the area, enriching the lives of our First Nation and other communities involved, connecting our mineral rich area in northwestern Ontario to the rest of the world.” “We have the opportunity to make history in a really positive way. We get to make a new community, we get to be creative, let’s make a positive difference. I believe in this partnership, believe in our synergies together and I can’t wait for what the future unfolds. So what does it mean to invest in better? For us, it means stepping into the future together with consideration for the past and respect for our land.” The Chief concluded by saying it’s going to be great to build up the Township of Red Rock, Township of Nipigon, the Red Rock Indian Band, the First Nations that are surrounding it, and it’s going to bring life back to the region. 111

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Mining Life and Exploration News - Fall 2023

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Mining Life and Exploration News - Fall 2023