Questions over curiosity with Canada answered in May 20 Four
The May Twenty Four: Curiosity with Canada continues
Today (24 May 2024) our final instalment of The May Twenty Four series was released covering the fourth main mining region in Canada – British Columbia. It also coincides with Queen Victoria’s birthday.
Regular readers of Mining.com.au may be curious about the recent coverage concerning Canada. Well, it’s for good reason. A year ago this news service uncovered and featured a trend of a spate of Australian mining investments in Canada.
Mining.com.au was curious about the many cases of ASX-listed miners finding not just resources but also comfort operating abroad in one of the world’s leading mining nations.
Victoria Day: Canada’s quest for critical minerals crown
The early settlers in Canada during the 15th century produced a limited number of materials for use locally. Among the main minerals used at the time were brick clay, building stone, sand and gravel, as well as lime for mortar and plaster, among others.
Yet it’s an iron mine at Forges du Saint-Maurice near Trois-Rivières in Québec – which remained as a going concern from 1738 to 1883 – that is chiefly remembered as the first truly industrial mining operation in what is now modern day Canada.
The operation at Forges du Saint-Maurice is credited for forming the country’s first heavy industry. A century after the iron ore mine first began operations, Queen Victoria (1837-1901) started her royal reign.
The May Twenty Four: Insights into Canada’s major mining provinces
Mining is a major cornerstone of Canada’s economy contributing C$125 billion to national GDP and responsible for 22% of the country’s total domestic exports.
Canada’s resources sector directly and indirectly employs 665,000. It is also proportionally the largest private sector employer of indigenous peoples in the country and a crucial customer of indigenous-owned businesses.
Minerals and metals are produced in every province and territory but four account for more than 75% of the total value of production – Ontario, Québec, British Columbia, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador.
The May Twenty Four: Ontario’s mining oasis
As a major producer of gold, nickel, and platinum group elements, as well as host to the mining finance capital of the world – Toronto – Ontario is touted as one of the best provinces in the world for mineral exploration.
Ontario is at the centre of one of the most stable and competitive business environments globally. It offers companies access to more than 194 million consumers within a day’s drive of the Greater Toronto Area.
In the 20th century, Ontario’s economy was built on the strength of traditional industries – natural resources, manufacturing, farming, and food production. According to Invest Ontario, those mainstay sectors remain vibrant to this day, however the province is also where a new economy has emerged.
The May Twenty Four: Québec’s rise as a global mining powerhouse
The next instalment of The May Twenty Four series focuses on the second main mining region in Canada – Québec, which holds the mantle for being one of very few producers of niobium, titanium dioxide, cobalt and platinum in the world.
The former French colony is home to around 8.7 million people, of which 25,500 are directly employed in the mining sector – accounting for 10% of Canada’s mining workforce. Another nearly 25,000 are employed indirectly.
The history of mining can be traced back as far as the 1530s, when French explorer Jacques Cartier thought he spied diamonds and gold on the slopes of Cap Diamant. Turns out those supposed diamonds and gold were actually quartz and pyrite.
The May Twenty Four: Newfoundland and Labrador’s tilt for critical minerals
Like every other province, Newfoundland and Labrador has held — and continues to hold — no small role in the strength of Canada’s C$66-billion-plus mining sector. But it wasn’t always that way.
Though archaeological evidence points to the existence of ‘organised’ mining thousands of years ago, it wasn’t until the 1800s that a concerted effort was made to understand what, exactly, the region’s geological structures could offer.
It began with the English geologist Joseph Jukes who, in the 1830s and 1840s, noted many of the province’s mineralogical and geological features. Shortly thereafter, global interest in resource definition began to grow, and in 1864 the first systematic mapping was undertaken by Alexander Murray, who would go on to become the inaugural director of the Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador.
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The May Twenty Four: British Columbia’s exploration resilience
The mining and metals industry plays a key role in the British Columbia economy.
Today 24 May 2024 – coinciding with Queen Victoria’s birthday – the last instalment of The May Twenty Four series focuses on the fourth main mining region in Canada – British Columbia.
According to the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC), the industry supports more than 35,000 jobs and over 3,700 small, medium, and indigenous businesses in every corner of the province by spending nearly C$3 billion on goods and services annually.
Recent stories
Canada’s conflicting stance on Chinese investment sparks uncertainty
Conflicting decisions by the Canadian government over Chinese investments in the country’s mining industry have raised questions around the approach and potential impact on future investment.
Last week the Supreme Court of British Columbia approved the proposed C$368 million ($405 million) all-cash takeover of Vancouver-based gold explorer Osino Resources (TSX-V:OSI) by China’s Yintai Gold.
However, just a couple of months earlier the Canadian government blocked a planned C$16.9 million investment in Québec-based graphite miner SRG Mining (TSX-V:SRG) by China’s Carbon One New Energy Group (C-One).
Q2 Metals mobilises geology team to Cisco Property, Québec
Canada’s Q2 Metals Corp. (TSX-V:QTWO) has mobilised its geology team and drilling contractors to start the inaugural exploration program at the Cisco Lithium Property, in the James Bay ‘lithium district’.
Youdin-Rouillier Drilling of the Eeyou Istchee Territory, James Bay, Québec is contracted to complete the diamond drilling with Dahrouge Geological Consulting of Edmonton, Alberta managing the program and property-wide geological exploration.
Q2 Metals will launch a detailed mapping and sampling program at Cisco, which will provide guidance on the extent of the lithium mineralisation at the initial target area.
Power Nickel reveals ‘special’ multi-element discovery at Nisk
Power Nickel (TSX-V:PNPN) is continuing to expand near-surface mineralisation at its Nisk Project in Québec, Canada, after making a multi-element discovery at the Lion prospect.
One of 15 holes drilled at Lion as part of the company’s winter 2024 drilling program, hole PN-24-055 returned 15.4m @ 0.44 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 22.04g/t silver, 5.06% copper, 13.12g/t palladium, 3.35g/t platinum, and 0.15% nickel.
That includes a higher-grade interval measuring 3.35m @ 0.7g/t gold, 60.36g/t silver, and 17.26% copper.
Great Boulder Resources: The road to a once overlooked ‘big prize’
The first gold discovery in Meekatharra, in the Murchison region of Western Australia, was made about 130 years ago and since then there has been plenty of exploration and mining.
But despite the emergence of many major mining operations over that time, it appears some of those explorers overlooked other potential multi-million-ounce opportunities.
Andrew Paterson, Managing Director of Meekatharra-focused Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR), tells Mining.com.au the majority of exploration and all mining has been concentrated on the west side of the Meekatharra greenstone belt.
Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) MD Julian Woodcock outlines the company's major milestone achieved for the first time at its Canegrass project. Woodcock says "the company is now focused on refining the test plans with the knowledge obtained to date."
Helix Resources (ASX:HLX) MD Dr Kylie Prendergast says the company's latest work is the first step towards potentially identifying a new copper lode. Listen here for more.