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Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas

NEWS RELEASE: NORONT ANNOUNCES GRANTING OF APPROVAL AND VESTING ORDER AND CLOSING OF THE ACQUISITION OF CLIFFS CHROMITE ASSETS

TORONTO, ON–(Marketwired – April 28, 2015) – The Quebec Superior Court has granted an approval and vesting order (the “Order”) for the acquisition by Noront Resources Ltd. (“Noront” or “the Company”) (TSX VENTURE: NOT) of the shares of Cliffs Chromite Ontario Inc. (“CCOI”) and Cliffs Chromite Far North Inc. (“CCFNI”), both indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (“Cliffs”) for a purchase price of US$27.5 million.

On March 23, 2015, Noront entered into a share purchase agreement with certain subsidiaries of Cliffs, including Cliffs Quebec Iron Mining ULC (“CQIM”), pursuant to which the Company would acquire the shares of CCOI and CCFNI. Noront was subsequently advised by Cliffs that it had received an unsolicited, competing bid which it determined, after consultation with its legal and financial advisors and the Monitor, could reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal. Following receipt of this proposal, and to ensure maximum value was received for its chromite assets in the Ring of Fire, Cliffs requested that both parties submit revised final binding offers by close of business on April 15, 2015. Noront increased its offer to $27.5 million which was ultimately accepted by Cliffs and the parties entered into an amended share purchase agreement reflecting the revised purchase price.

The transaction closed prior to market opening on April 28, 2015.

“We feel $27.5 million is an attractive price for the acquisition of these strategic assets, which alongside our Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper-platinum group element deposit and our Blackbird chromite deposit will allow us to further our vision of becoming the leading resource company in the Ring of Fire,” said Noront President and CEO Alan Coutts. “Our next step is to have meaningful dialogue with the local First Nations and government regarding the development of these chromite assets which represent a generational opportunity.”

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NEWS RELEASE: First Nation Chiefs seek fair, inclusive and transparent bidding process for Cliffs Chromite assets

MARTEN FALLS FIRST NATION, ON, April 25, 2015 /CNW/ – The leaders of Marten Falls First Nation and Aroland First Nation are expressing disappointment that the bidding process for the Cliffs Chromite project assets, as currently managed, has not been inclusive and transparent, leading to a potential unfair and biased outcome. The leaders assert there is a bidder who not only has First Nation support, but has a superior bid that will benefit Cliffs’ creditors and help advance the Chromite project for Ontario.

“We are united in opposing the proposed Noront and Franco-Nevada deal and we will do everything in our capacity to make sure that no ore will ever leave our backyards without the meaningful involvement and participation of all Matawa First Nations,” said Interim Chief Bruce Achneepineskum of Marten Falls First Nation. “It is incomprehensible that the interest and ability of our communities to participate in the transaction has been so discounted that we were never even approached for any commercial discussion. Contrary to statements made in the Court, that the Matawa First Nations should be indifferent to who ultimately buys the Chromite assets, our communities will be directly, economically and forever impacted by the outcome.”

Under the proposed Noront transaction, Franco-Nevada will purchase a 3% Net Smelter Royalty (“NSR”) on the chromite mining claims as part of their agreements to finance the deal. This will bring the total NSR to 5% on these claims, a very high royalty load that will significantly impair the ability to justify and finance the ultimate construction of the Chromite project.

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NEWS RELEASE: Cree Nation congratulates the International Uranium Film Festival for a successful inaugural event in Quebec

QUEBEC CITY, April 24, 2015 /CNW/ – As the 2015 International Uranium Film Festival draws to a close today, the Cree Nation extends its congratulations and appreciation for a successful inaugural event in Quebec. Over 50 films from around the world were screened in Quebec City and Montreal over the 10 days of the festival, each telling a different story about the impact of uranium mining and the risks of the nuclear age. The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) was the major partner for this year’s festival, which drew some serious star power, with Quebec superstar Karine Vanasse and Hollywood actor/environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. in attendance for the opening gala on April 15, 2015.

“From the very beginning of the Cree Nation’s fight against uranium development on our land, we have maintained that once Quebecers learned the true facts about uranium, they would stand with us,” said Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. “We have seen that the more people learn about uranium and the nuclear chain, and the more we listen to the stories of those who have been affected by this industry, the more we are convinced that the risks brought by uranium are simply unacceptable, both today and for future generations. We have been honoured to host the International Uranium Film Festival in Quebec.”

The Cree Nation’s stand against uranium development began in 2008 when junior mining company Strateco Resources applied to the Quebec Government to pursue the Matoush advanced uranium exploration project, located on the family hunting grounds of the Cree Nation of Mistissini. The Government of Quebec has since denied the required permit for the Matoush project, due largely to its lack of social acceptability amongst the Cree Nation.

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NEWS RELEASE: FEDERAL BUDGET FAILS NAN FIRST NATIONS

http://www.nan.on.ca/

THUNDER BAY: (April 22, 2015) Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno says the 2015 federal budget fails NAN First Nations by lacking significant investments to address the crippling lack of infrastructure, especially in remote communities, and a strong commitment for environmental protection enhanced consultation on resource development by Natural Resources Canada.

“It is shameful that the Minister is championing this budget as beneficial for northern Ontario when 15 NAN First Nations in his riding are currently on Health Canada drinking water advisories,” said Grand Chief Harvey Yesno. “As MP for Kenora, Greg Rickford represents the largest number of First Nation communities in Canada, but he is clearly not representing the interest of his constituents given the continued failure by his government to address even the most basic needs of these communities.”

NAN First Nations are under increasing pressure from industry for the development of the wealth of natural resources in their traditional territory, but many communities are plagued by Third World living conditions including lack of safe drinking water, health care, protection services (fire and police) and housing.

“We will not raise our children in poverty while the rest of Canada prospers from the exploitation of our territories.
Instead of promises of future FedNor funding for his riding, we are looking to Minister Rickford and this government to make clear commitments to meaningful engagement with NAN First Nations based and the spirit and intent of our Treaties,” said Yesno.

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Woman defeats mine, saves wilderness, wins $175,000 – by Morgan Erickson-Davis (Mongabay.com – April 20, 2015)

http://www.mongabay.com/

When a huge open-pit mine threatened a pristine lake and surrounding forest in British Columbia, Canada, Marilyn Baptiste jumped into action, spearheading efforts to collect environmental impact data and even physically turning away construction crews. Because of her efforts, the Canadian government rejected the mine, leaving wild a part of the Canadian Rockies upon which First Nations communities have depended for generations. Today, Baptiste was honored for her work when she was presented the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize at a ceremony in San Francisco.

Nemiah Valley lies near the middle of southern British Colombia, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver. Nestled in the shadows of the Chilcotin mountain range, Nemiah’s forests, lakes, rivers, and wetlands are home to First Nations communities, as well as species like sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis). The region also serves as the headwaters for the Fraser River, a major Canadian waterway. But for the past few years part of Nemiah Valley has been under threat as a mining company set its sights on an underlying copper-gold deposit, the largest in the country.

Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Limited (TML)’s project, dubbed “Prosperity Mine,” was to be one of British Columbia’s largest-ever mines. To target the deposit, a low-grade mixture of copper and iron ore measuring 1,500-by-800 meters and extending to a depth of 880 meters, TML planned a huge open-pit mine that would require the draining of nearby Fish Lake.

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Floating nuclear power plants promise major savings for Arctic mines – by Peter Varga (Nunatsiaq News – April 17, 2015)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Diesel-fuelled power “not sustainable for the scale of development we want to see”

Mining projects in Nunavut are saddled with high expenses that could discourage development. With that in mind, why not go for a tried and proven cheaper source of energy that can come and go on the high seas, and reach the territory’s coastal communities?

That’s just what Dunedin Energy Systems Ltd., an Ontario-based energy consulting firm, suggested when it pointed to “floating nuclear power plants” as an alternative energy source, April 16 at the Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit.

Nuclear power generators have been cruising the high seas in the ships of the world’s biggest navies since the 1950s, Peter Lang, president of Dunedin, told an audience at the symposium.

“Since then, civilian applications have come along,” Lang said during his presentation, adding that icebreakers and carriers powered by nuclear energy also sail the high seas.

A generator on a ship can produce more than enough for the largest mines now operating in northern Canada, at a fraction of the cost that diesel-fuelled power generators require, he said.

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Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation Sign Ring of Fire Protocol Agreement – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – April 17, 2015)

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – The First Nations whose lands and resources will be most affected by the proposed Ring of Fire development met today to sign a protocol agreement. “This will not only be good for us, but will also be good for the exploration companies to know the protocols for exploration on our mutual traditional lands”, stated Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation.

Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation today entered into a “Negotiation Protocol Respecting Early Exploration in the Ring of Fire”. The protocol strengthens the commitment of both First Nations to work together to advance their common interests in a coordinated manner while respecting their mutual and unique interests over their respective lands and approvals to use the lands.

The need for such a protocol is evidenced by over 100 mineral exploration companies that have staked claims and proposed other related developments in the Ring of Fire. Both Marten Falls and Webequie agreed that they had to be come together to set out their mutual expectations respecting early exploration activities in the Ring of Fire.

Within the Ring of Fire only Webequie and Marten Falls share a unique relationship with Ontario. The Government of Ontario entered into a Memorandum of Cooperation with Webequie and a Memorandum of Understanding with Marten Falls related to mineral exploration and development activities.

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NEWS RELEASE: The Cree Nation keeps Uranium in the spotlight

QUEBEC CITY, April 16, 2015 /CNW/ – The Cree Nation has kept uranium in the spotlight this week, hosting the International Uranium Film Festival and participating in the World Uranium Symposium in Quebec City. The Cree Nation’s position against uranium development in Eeyou Istchee, its territory in Northern Quebec, has garnered support not only from the people of Quebec, but also from the national and international experts and celebrities gathered this week for both events.

“We have always maintained that once Quebecers learned what the Cree Nation has come to know about uranium mining and radioactive waste, they would stand with us. This past year has proved this to be true,” said Grand Chief Dr. Matthew Coon Come. “We have proudly partnered with the International Uranium Film Festival to show Quebecers that the world stands with us as well. We have been very pleased by the turnout and interest this event has generated both in Quebec and around the world.”

The Cree Nation’s stand against uranium development began in 2008 when junior mining company Strateco Resources applied to the Quebec Government to pursue the Matoush advanced uranium exploration project. Located on the family hunting grounds of the Cree Nation of Mistissini, at the crest of two major watersheds that bring water throughout Eeyou Istchee, the Matoush project was the most advanced uranium project to date in Quebec. The Government of Quebec has since denied the required permit for the Matoush project, due largely to its lack of social acceptability amongst the Cree Nation.

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Mining Uranium: Saskatchewan Cameco Sets the Standard – by Rick Littlechild (First Nations Drum – April 12, 2015)

http://www.firstnationsdrum.com/

The Athabasca Basin hosts the world’s richest high grade uranium deposits. Saskatchewan produces 30% of the world’s uranium, and one main player in this Canadian mining success story is Cameco. The company was formed in 1988, and for over a quarter century, the company has been safely and reliably producing uranium and nuclear fuel products. Cameco currently has three active mines in northern Saskatchewan: Rabbit Lake, McArthur River and Cigar Lake.

Last year, Cameco successfully commenced production at their new Cigar Lake mine in northern Saskatchewan. This year, their main focus is to safely ramp up production at the mine. They expect to produce 6 to 8 million pounds in 2015, which would make Cigar Lake the third largest mine in the world by production. By 2018, Cameco expect’s to produce 18 million pounds(100% basis) of uranium concentrate annually.

The ore mined at Cigar Lake is transported by truck to the Mclean Lake Mill operated by Areva Resource Canada Inc, where it is processed to Unranium concentrate. Mclean Lake Mill is located approximately 70 kilometres northeast of the mine site. Mining at Cigar Lake began in March 2014 and the first Uranium concentrate was packaged at Mclean Lake in October 2014.

The company has developed strong ties with aboriginal people, with an emphasis on partnerships, Metis Sean Wiilly has spent a career in mining and is very sensitive to Aboriginal relations stated that “ Our goal is to develop and maintain long-term relationships between First Nations and Metis communities near where we operate.

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NEWS RELEASE: Mining vs. Aboriginal Rights in Canada – Rio Tinto told to pay its rent to the Innu People

LONDON, UK, April 16, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ – Three First Nations chiefs, dressed in traditional garb and aware of the historic nature of their action, have come to London to address the shareholders of mining giant Rio Tinto directly during their annual general meeting in today, April 16, 2015. On the floor of the meeting, they asked Rio Tinto’s president and CEO, Sam Walsh, and its board of directors to intervene to end a longstanding conflict between the Innu Nation in Quebec, Canada, and mining company IOC, majority owned by Rio Tinto.

Inspired by Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning, a political song demanding the return to Australian aboriginals of ancestral lands stolen 200 years earlier by British colonists, the Innu chiefs informed Rio Tinto that “it’s time to pay the rent,” 60 years after exploitation of their territory began.

Supported by international law recognizing that indigenous peoples have rights—notably free, prior and informed consent—the Innu chiefs wanted to inform Rio Tinto shareholders that they can shed light on the negligence of IOC in Canada.

The Innu chiefs sought to inform Rio Tinto shareholders that there is specific legal precedent in Canada, where a recent Supreme Court ruling recognized the existence of First Nations ancestral title and stated that Aboriginal peoples holding this title, including the Innu of Quebec, “have the right to the benefits associated with the land—to use it, enjoy it and profit from its economic development” (excerpt from the ruling).

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Quebec plans $100-millon loan to troubled Nunavik mine – by Sarah Rogers (Nunatsiaq News – April 16, 2015)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

The Quebec government is prepared to loan $100 million through a government-linked investment agency to Canadian Royalties and its parent company Jien Canada Mining Ltd., which owns and operates the Nunavik Nickel mine.

The news comes just days after Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard re-launched the government’s Plan Nord, which promised to invest billions into building the province’s economy north of the 49th parallel.

But opposition parties in the National Assembly had questions April 14 about the government’s decision to invest in the Nunavik mine, given the premier’s background. Couillard was named to Canadian Royalties’ board of directors in 2009, a year after he resigned as health minister under the Charest government.

Couillard also sat on the board alongside Dr. Arthur Porter, the disgraced former CEO of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, who faces fraud charges alleging his involvement with a multi-million dollar, kick-back scheme linked to the construction of a new hospital centre.

Opposition MNAs suggested Couillard’s connection to the mining company raises a conflict in the face of such a large government investment.

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Canadian-Japanese partners eye promising copper project in western Nunavut – by Jane George (Nunatsiaq News – April 15, 2015)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

“We think we have a great start at building something terrific”

There’s something a little different about a new copper-silver project near Kugluktuk. This doesn’t come as a surprise because Matthew Hornor, president and CEO of a company called Kaizen Discovery, confided “our dream was to do things different” during an April 14 presentation to the Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit.

“Kaizen,” by the way, means continuous improvement in Japanese, a language that Hornor, who has a long-time relationship with Japan, speaks fluently.

Kaizen Discovery’s Coppermine project is one of two Nunavut mining projects with Japanese partners — the other being Areva Resources Canada’s Kiggavik uranium project whose minority partners include Japan-Canada Uranium Co. Ltd. and Daewoo International Corp.

Kaizen’s Coppermine copper-silver project, acquired last November, is also a newcomer to the western Nunavut mining scene. Hornor said he’s reluctant to make promises until the company is sure the resources are there to support a large copper-silver mine project.

But this fledgling project has a few things that make it stand out among the slow-starting, stalled or failed mining projects in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region.

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Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Comments on Renewing Ontario’s Mineral Development Strategy

The following letter outlines the Northwestern Ontario Prospector Association’s (NWOPA) recommendations for Ontario’s new Mineral Development Strategy. NWOPA believes that the new Mineral Development Strategy should focus on three main points:

1) Solving the problem of uncertainty of land tenure
2) Assisting prospectors and junior exploration Companies
3) Acquisition and dissemination of new, high quality geoscience datasets

Recommendations follow the discussion of each point below.

1) Uncertainty of Land Tenure

The new Mining Act has taken a once thriving industry and crippled it with new rules and regulations at a time when global markets are suffering. The new rules and regulations are enough of a deterrent to exploration; however, what has truly driven investors away from the province of Ontario and demoted Ontario to rank 23rd in Mining Attractiveness, according to the 2015 Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies, is uncertainty of land tenure. Ontario’s Mining Attractiveness ranking has been decreasing in recent years, down from 14th place in year 2014 and 9th place in 2013.

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COMMENT: First Nations beating war drums – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – April 13, 2015)

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

I read a couple news releases last week involving complaints by First Nations about being left out of resource development decisions. No one doubts that they must be included. The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent rulings give weight to their claims.

But what is to be gained by opposing Noront’s desire to acquire those lands abandoned by Cliffs Natural Resources?

Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation put it thus: “With Noront’s announcement that it is trying to acquire the Cliffs assets, our First Nations have effectively been denied a real opportunity to benefit from key resources in our lands on our terms. This unilateral move by Noront is unacceptable to our First Nations.”

To say the First Nations have been sidelined already is a bit premature. Unless the chief is intimating that the First Nations have the wherewithal (think money) to buy out Cliffs and stage a multi-billion-dollar resource development themselves.

If the First Nations have a beef with Noront or don’t want to meet the company to work out economic participation, why is that? Again and again Canadian companies have shown that they welcome First Nation participation on many levels.

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Different Paths – Common Ground The viability of remote First Nations communities – by Peter Andre Globensky (Netnewsledger.com – April 14, 2015)

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – This series of articles on the future viability of remote First Nations communities began with our article on the importance of education to the future of First Nations in Canada. We celebrated the fact that First Nations youth are graduating in ever-increasing numbers. This, despite a troubling paradox: the newly educated, “the brightest and best,” rarely return to their communities of origin as there are so few employment prospects for them. We further suggested that First Nations communities located within an urban ambit or adjacent to major transportation arteries are more likely to provide a future for its members when compared to remote communities accessible only by air or winter roads, and lacking few viable prospects for economic development.

We then named the elephant in the room. There is a creeping reality which has become extremely difficult for most remote First Nations communities to accept. A reality that their traditional subsistence economies have migrated from foundational livelihood to cultural artifact. While central to the Aboriginal worldview and sense of self, traditional survival activities have been supplanted by an ad hoc, impermanent wage-based economy and/or social assistance. Nevertheless, to First Nations peoples these homelands serve to connect “the extremities to the heart,” and home is where the heart is.

But what are the prospects for these communities? What are the chances that remote First Nations will be able to support a vibrant, culturally rich homeland while providing sustainable opportunities for economic growth and development? Development consistent with the Aboriginal respect for the intrinsic value of the land upon which their ancestors thrived and their spiritual connection to it?

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