Ontario Construction News staff writer
Two northwestern Ontario First Nations have given conditional approval for First Mining Gold Corp.’s sprawling Springpole open-pit gold and silver mine project and a permanent access road on traditional Indigenous territory.
In announcing the approval on June 16, Cat Lake and Lac Seul First Nations said authorization depends on the project meeting 35 ecological and cultural conditions after completion of an Anishinaabe-led impact assessment review.
In a statement, both groups said they want to share in the mine’s economic benefits while ensuring environmental safeguards are in place. The measures include controls on the treatment and discharge of mine waste to protect two nearby lakes.
Vancouver-based First Mining said the project, which would exploit one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Ontario, has the capacity to produce 300,000 ounces of gold a year over an 11-year mine life.
It said the project will create 3,340 jobs in each year of construction and 5,910 jobs during each year of operations.
The project spanning 800 hectares is supported by an onsite camp, winter road access, a logging road and a nearby power line. Since the deposit sits under a bay of Springpole Lake, construction involves building dikes and draining the bay to carve out a pit and access the ore body.
A construction start date for the mine is expected once a late-stage federal-provincial environmental review launched in 2018 is complete.
The conditional approval includes a “landmark agreement” to proceed with construction of an all-season access road to connect the fly in community of Cat Lake to Sioux Lookout.
The Cat Lake reserve is about 40 kilometres from the future mine site and 180 kilometres due north of Sioux Lookout.
First Mining has committed up to $4 million for road permitting, right-of-way clearing, geotechnical field studies, and detailed engineering design, with work to start this summer.
Cat Lake First Nation in 2024 won a court injunction blocking construction of an access road to the Springpole site, saying it was concerned about the impact of the project on wildlife, lake trout and a surrounding area that has sacred value as a home to ancient burial grounds.
First Mining in June of that year announced a settlement with Cat Lake First Nation after the miner agreed to a community-based impact assessment process.
“My mandate as chief was to establish an all-season road that ends decades of isolation, improves safety and healthcare, and lowers living costs. This infrastructure is a major socio-economic win for both Cat Lake and the entire region,” said Cat Lake Chief Russell Wesley.
“Reaching this agreement is a definitive step forward for the development of the Springpole Gold Project,” added Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining.
“Year-round infrastructure is vital to the project’s long-term viability and ensures that economic benefits are shared within the local community.”
