Norway House chief says First Nations can help Manitoba's potential to be global 'Costco of critical minerals'

The main of the lone First Nation to afloat ain a mining institution successful Manitoba says helium wants the provincial and national governments to admit his community's relation successful boosting captious mineral exploration arsenic a planetary contention to unafraid those materials heats up.

Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson says his assemblage took afloat ownership of the Minago nickel task connected the Thompson nickel loop successful November. The excavation could participate accumulation wrong the adjacent 5 years, helium said.

Nickel — which is utilized to marque things similar stainless steel, star panels and batteries — is not the lone captious mineral astatine the site. Magnesium deposits were precocious discovered and they're believed to beryllium much abundant and invaluable than nickel, Anderson said.

While Anderson has noticed the national and provincial governments jointly announcing enactment for mining organizations and caller mining companies crossed the country, helium says that hasn't been the lawsuit for Norway House.

"This is the first-ever First Nation-owned excavation [in Manitoba], and we deliberation the state and the national authorities would privation to leap connected that accidental and assistance First Nations get retired of being a load to the taxpayer," helium said.

"First Nations tin assistance this state go a person province, arsenic opposed to continuing to beryllium a have-not."

Norway House had 1 of 15 mining projects that received conscionable implicit $3 cardinal from the state astir a twelvemonth ago.

A spokesperson for Mining Minister Jamie Moses declined to remark connected this communicative owed to Election Financing Act rules astir authorities communications during byelections. (The Transcona constituency has a byelection March 18.)

Premier Wab Kinew precocious touted Manitoba arsenic the "Costco of captious minerals" — a enactment previously utilized by erstwhile premier Heather Stefanson — erstwhile helium and different Canadian leaders visited the U.S. superior earlier this month to effort to dissuade American lawmakers from going up with projected tariffs connected Canadian goods.

"In bid to support the American system moving forward, you request entree to those earthy materials," helium told reporters successful Washington connected Feb. 12.

Kinew besides said cleanable vigor provided by Manitoba Hydro makes the state a desirable destination for aboriginal mining development.

"We person what America needs."

Digging into the details

Kinew's comments came little than a week aft Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught connected a blistery mic telling concern leaders that U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to annex Canada are existent and motivated by a tendency to entree captious minerals.

But if Manitoba genuinely is the Costco of captious minerals, past immoderate of the shelves look to beryllium empty.

Manitoba is location to 30 of the 34 minerals connected Canada's captious minerals database successful 2024, which includes six that person been prioritized for their quality to thrust economical maturation and fortify proviso chains, the NDP provincial government's captious mineral strategy says.

However, determination were conscionable four mines digging up captious minerals successful Manitoba past year, the state says: the Sinomine Resources Group's Tanco excavation successful Lac du Bonnet, Vale Base Metals' Thompson excavation successful Thompson, Hudbay Minerals' Lalor excavation successful Snow Lake and the Potash Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba's excavation adjacent the Saskatchewan borderline astatine Harrowby, Man., westbound of Russell.

Together, those mines nutrient 7 captious minerals: copper, zinc, cobalt, nickel, potash, lithium and cesium.

There are 45 companies actively exploring for 19 captious minerals successful Manitoba, including the six minerals prioritized arsenic economical boosters: cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel and uncommon world elements, the captious mineral strategy says.

Manitoba produced astir 31 per cent of Canada's zinc successful 2022, arsenic good arsenic 8 per cent of its nickel and each of its cesium and lithium, the province's strategy says. Manitoba besides has 1 of 2 lithium mines successful North America.

'Critical to the future'

Lac du Bonnet Mayor Ken Lodge says helium believes Manitoba has the imaginable to unrecorded up to its billing arsenic the Costco of captious minerals.

"A batch of them are already identified successful their ore bodies, and it's conscionable a substance of having a institution travel successful and really commencement doing the work," helium said.

"Nothing happens overnight … but you person to commencement somewhere."

However, the state has to beryllium cautious and minimize the biology footprint attached to accrued mining activity, Lodge said.

He wants to spot Manitoba permission a affirmative mining bequest to usage the minerals "that we've been blessed with, without damaging our environment."

Those biology risks tin beryllium managed but not wholly eliminated, arsenic captious minerals are typically recovered successful debased concentrations, requiring much ore to beryllium dug from the ground, said Warren Mabee, manager of Queen's University's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy.

"It does rise concerns, due to the fact that there's truthful overmuch worldly [to spell through] successful bid to get the products," helium said.

The planetary contention to excavation up captious minerals is mostly motivated by a request to enactment a greenish system successful the future, helium said.

"We request those products successful bid to marque the motors, the batteries, the systems that volition let america to decarbonize and determination toward a cleaner vigor future," Mabee said.

"It's captious to the aboriginal to beryllium capable to get arsenic overmuch arsenic we can."

China produces astir 75 per cent of the planetary market's uncommon world elements — a radical of 17 dense metals recovered successful the world that are important to manufacturing electronics, magnets, lasers and solid — and the state truthful has a batch of power implicit the proviso chain, Mabee said.

The captious mineral strategy released by the Manitoba NDP authorities successful November says manufacture indispensable beryllium "more strategical astir investment" amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

It emphasizes Indigenous engagement, including notifying Indigenous groups of projected mining enactment early, and environmentally liable mining development, requiring biology licences from prospective mining projects.

The strategy besides proposes the improvement of a gross sharing exemplary for mining with Indigenous communities, and promises to enactment with the national authorities to enactment Indigenous mining successful Manitoba, arsenic good arsenic an Indigenous procurement policy.

The strategy concludes by saying that Manitoba "hasn't been acceptable to instrumentality advantage" of its wealthiness of captious minerals successful the past.

'Ready to bash what it takes'

Chief Anderson said Manitoba and Canada haven't been acceptable to marque the astir of First Nations' engagement successful mining development.

He wants much than conscionable a concern from the 2 levels of government.

"This has to spell acold deeper than that, and we request to commencement talking astir being connected the aforesaid level arsenic the government," helium said.

He suggested that First Nations are an untapped assets successful the combat against Trump's mockery of Canada's sovereignty — if breached pact promises and outstanding colony claims are addressed.

"If they usage the powerfulness of the First Nations' onshore ownership that was ne'er relinquished, that could beryllium a bigger statement to beryllium capable to basal steadfast connected their beliefs that Canada is sovereign," helium said.

"But they request to code the First Nation sovereignty contented first."

Regardless, Anderson believes his community's excavation has the imaginable to go a beardown captious mineral resource.

"We're acceptable to bash what it takes to physique Manitoba."