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Norwegian House has full control over nickel project – Winnipeg Free Press

Pabio November 5, 2024

The Norway House Cree Nation has acquired the rights to the Minago nickel mine project in northern Manitoba, becoming the only First Nation in Canada to own 100 per cent of a mining project.

Making the announcement Monday in Winnipeg at the Central Canada Mineral Exploration Convention (Western Canada’s largest mining industry conference), Norwegian House chief Larson Anderson said the band had been working on the Minago deal for some time.

It signed a cooperative agreement in 2022 with its former owner Flying Nickel Mining Corp., but Larson said mine development was moving too slowly.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson announced Monday the approximately $10 million purchase of 100 percent of the mineral rights attached to the Minago nickel project at the mining exploration of central Canada in Winnipeg. The proposed open-pit mine in northern Manitoba is estimated to require up to $1 billion in investment to start production. — MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS

Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson announced Monday the approximately $10 million purchase of 100 percent of the mineral rights attached to the Minago nickel project at the Central Mineral Exploration Convention of Canada in Winnipeg. The proposed open-pit mine in northern Manitoba is estimated to require up to $1 billion in investment to start production.

Norway House will spend about $10 million to acquire the mineral rights, including 94 claims on a large swath of land south of Ponton and north of Grand Rapids along Highway 6.

“No other First Nation has had the courage to buy a mine,” Anderson said. “This may seem a little naive of me, but who would have thought that our Nation would purchase the former Manitoba Hydro headquarters and make it our future embassy?

Norwegian House is renovating the former Manitoba Hydro building on Taylor Avenue in Winnipeg, which it purchased in 2023.

Minago has been the subject of exploration interest for almost two decades. The proposed open-pit mine will ultimately require up to $1 billion in investment to become a reality and is considered still far from production.

However, Anderson said the need for this type of massive capital investment is how mining companies have deceived First Nations in the past.

“We could never find $500 million plus a dollar to have a majority stake,” he said. “Flying Nickel was desperate, so we bought them out. We have invested $10 million in a mine that is potentially worth over $20 billion.

The announcement came the same day the province officially released its new Critical Minerals Strategy, which places a high priority on partnerships with First Nations in mineral exploration and production.

One industry professional said that, in the past, this type of work was simply budgeted as a cost. “What would these projects look like if the partnership with First Nations was an essential element of the project? the source said.

Stacey Kennedy, director of CCMEC, head of operations at Vale and president of the Mining Association of Manitoba, said Vale recently signed its first exploration benefits agreement with the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.

Anderson said part of the motivation for acquiring 100 per cent of the Minago property was that it would be a way to deal with the dire social challenges facing the First Nation of more than 8,000 members, located 450 kilometers to the north of Winnipeg by air.

“We have high unemployment and few solutions in sight,” he said.

Meanwhile, over time, Norway House put a number of things in place to allow it to develop Minago.

Among other things, it acquired sufficient site assets to accommodate 125 workers. (The proposed surface mining is estimated to require approximately 500 workers.)

Norway House also owns Playgreen Development Co., a heavy construction company, and has a joint venture with Sigfusson Northern (called JNR) specializing in heavy civil construction in the North, including mine, bridge and road development.

It also entered into an agreement with Dumas Contracting, a mining company, to train Norwegian House members in the sector. It has agreements with a drilling company to complete exploration work in order to better understand the mineral composition of the property.

Some observers believe that Minago has not progressed in the past because there is no market for the few meters of rock that covers the estimated nickel reserve.

On Monday, Anderson said operations at the existing Norway House quarry could be expanded to process Minago rock, which could be used to stabilize the shores of Lake Winnipeg.

It is unclear when development of the mine will begin.