The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Mining Explorers 2024 - January 15, 2025
Core from drilling through bonanza grade gold at Newmont's Brucejack mine, an operating gold mine that is immediately generating revenue for Nations Royalty.
Drills have outlined more than 58 billion pounds of copper, 160 million oz of gold, and 878 million oz of silver at Seabridge Gold's KSM project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
Highway 37 is a two-lane road that runs north 875 kilometers (544 miles) from Highway 16 to the B.C. northern border with the Yukon.
Crews install a tower for the transmission line that began delivering hydroelectricity to the Brucejack gold mine in 2016.
Core from drilling at Red Chris, currently the only copper-producing mine in B.C.'s Golden Triangle.
Home to roughly 75% of Canada's total copper reserves, along with rich stores of gold, silver, nickel, and other metals critical to the transition to clean energy, British Columbia's Golden Triangle has become a hotbed for government, mining companies, and First Nations investments.
In 2024 alone, the provincial and federal governments have committed to spending a combined C$265 million (US$192 million) to improve transportation and clean energy infrastructure in the Golden Triangle region.
Improving and expanding highways and powerlines in the northern reaches of the province is a key piece of the B.C. Critical Mineral Strategy unveiled by Premier David Eby at AME Roundup 2024, an annual mining conference that draws thousands to Vancouver, B.C.
"The world needs a stable, free, democratic, high-standard producer of the metals and minerals needed to battle climate change. That gives B.C. a generational opportunity to seize, one where we can be prosperous and protect the planet for our kids at the same time," said Eby upon introducing last January.
An economic impact analysis prepared for the Mining Association of British Columbia estimates that the establishment of new mines at 14 critical mineral mine projects, along with the extension of two existing mines, in B.C. could generate nearly C$800 billion (US$594 billion) in wages, taxes, and other economic benefits over the span of a little more than two decades.
Eight of these mine projects are in Northern B.C., four are in Central B.C., and four are in the southern portion of the province.
Executing on the strategy outlined by Elba early last year, the provincial and federal governments are investing heavily in providing the Northern B.C. mine projects with energy and transportation infrastructure that is closer to being on par with that found to the south,
"B.C. has the critical minerals the world needs to build a clean economy," said B.C. Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne. "We are seizing the generational opportunity before us to create jobs, not only in northwest B.C., but also in communities across the province that supply and provide services to our mining sector."
Highway 37 is a two-lane road that runs north 875 kilometers (544 miles) from Highway 16 to the B.C. northern border with the Yukon.
In July, the B.C. and Canadian governments unveiled the C$195 million (US$142.6 million) project to upgrade Golden Triangle highway infrastructure.
While Northern B.C. does enjoy road access provided by Highway 37, a two-lane highway that cuts north-south through the Golden Triangle, this and the few mostly dirt sideroads require upgrades in order to support increased traffic that would come with the development and operation of Golden Triangle mining projects rich in copper, molybdenum, zinc, nickel, and cobalt.
Financed through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, a flagship program under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, the "Northwest BC Highway Corridor Improvements Project" is upgrading Highway 37, Highway 37a, and Highway 51.
Highway 37a is a 65-kilometer (60 miles) spur road to the coastal mining town of Stewart.
Highway 51, more commonly known as the Telegraph Creek Road, is a very narrow, mostly dirt road with steep climbs and sharp switchbacks that extends roughly 110 kilometers (70 miles) west from Highway 37.
Upgrades to these roads include widening the shoulders, creating pullouts for slow-moving vehicles, and increasing Wi-Fi access along 800 kilometers (500 miles) of roadway.
Not only will these upgrades make the Northern B.C. roads more suitable for increased mining traffic, but they will also make traveling safer for residents and travelers passing through.
The Tahltan First Nation residents of the Golden Triangle have long advocated for safer roads and improved cell phone service along the roads connecting their communities to essential services in Southern B.C.
"Our three Tahltan communities have struggled for generations with safe passage highways 37 and 51 – to southern communities where our people depend on the everyday facets of life, including emergency health care, food, and other everyday necessities often taken for granted by many residents of B.C.," said Carmen McPhee, chief of the Tahltan Band.
Both the Tahltan and Nisga'a nations welcomed the highway improvements in their territories.
"Investment into the Northwest Region has a direct correlation to the good work being carried out by Nations to ensure that regional economic stability is great for all Canadians," Nisga'a Nation President Eva Clayton said in response to the Northwest BC Highway Corridor Improvements Project. "We see the importance of the critical minerals investments like this supporting safer access to industry and long-term economic growth of our people. Moreover, it provides for safe journeys for the Nisga'a Nation, our neighboring nations and guests to our respective territories."
Ottawa followed up on the Northwest BC Highway Corridor Improvements Project with a second C$60 million (US$44 million) investment into additional road work in the Golden Triangle and extending the electrical grid through the region and into the Yukon.
Crews install a tower for the transmission line that began delivering hydroelectricity to the Brucejack gold mine in 2016.
"These investments are needed to support critical minerals development in the region, improve community access and safety, and create good mining jobs across British Columbia and the Yukon," Canada Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said in a statement introducing the investments.
Roughly C$20 million (nearly US$15 million) of the federal funds have been allocated to support the construction of a 43-kilometer (27 miles) road to Galore Creek, an enormous copper-gold mine project within the Tahltan Nation Territory.
"Canada's support for Galore Creek represents confidence in our project, our owners, the relationships we have fostered with the Tahltan Nation and our commitment to responsibly developing a world-class copper-gold mine," said Rob Mean, general manager of Galore Creek Mining Corp., a 50-50 joint venture between Newmont Corp. and Teck Resources Ltd.
Galore Creek hosts 1.2 billion metric tons of measured and indicated reserves averaging 0.46% (12.16 billion pounds) copper, 0.25 grams per metric ton (9.44 million ounces) gold, and 4.5 g/t (174 million oz) silver.
"Galore Creek has the potential to significantly increase Canada's production of the copper needed for the energy transition and global development, generating jobs and economic activity, in alignment with Teck's focus as a Canadian-based energy transition metals company," Teck Resource President and CEO Jonathon Price.
In addition to providing a road for delivering copper concentrates to a global market in need of the energy metal, the transportation corridor can also be used to run a transmission line that connects Galore Creek to BC Hydro's low-emission electrical grid, which will help lower the carbon footprint of the copper produced at the future mine.
The remaining C$40 million (nearly US$30 million) investment announced by NRCan in September will support the work needed to complete a prefeasibility study for a 765-kilometer (475 miles), high-voltage transmission line network that would connect the northern territory to North America's electrical grid.
"This project will connect Canada's two most western jurisdictions, helping bring the Yukon on to the North American power grid," said Yukon's Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, John Streicker.
In addition to connecting Yukon to the North American power grid, the "Grid Connect Project" will extend BCHydro's Northwest Transmission Line the rest of the way through Northern B.C.
The affordable, industrial-grade hydroelectricity delivered by this extension will support future mines that produce cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, platinum group metals, tungsten, zinc, and other critical minerals in the Yukon and the most northern reaches of B.C.'s Golden Triangle.
"These two projects, under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy's flagship program, will develop the necessary infrastructure to access and transport our rich critical mineral resources in northern B.C. and the Yukon," Wilkinson added. "Developments like these help mines get built faster, and they are a key element in seizing the generational opportunity before us."
Core from drilling at Red Chris, currently the only copper-producing mine in B.C.'s Golden Triangle.
The permitting and development of Golden Triangle mines that can seize upon the generational opportunity offered by global markets craving energy transition metals hinges on gaining support from the sophisticated and well-organized First Nations of northwestern B.C.
The Tahltan Nation, whose homeland covers 70% of the Golden Triangle, has been supportive of mineral exploration and mining in this mineral-rich region, as long as its sovereignty is recognized and the values of its people are respected.
"Mining is a part of our culture and economy. For thousands of years, Tahltans prospected, mined and traded obsidian," said Tahltan Central Government President Beverly Slater. "While we recognize the need for critical minerals for a low-carbon future, this can only happen with the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples; therefore, the pace and scale of mining in our Territory will be determined by the Tahltan Nation."
The traditional territory of Nisga'a Nation, Tahltan's neighbor to the south, covers most of the rest of the Golden Triangle.
These First Nations have individually and collectively been proactive in ensuring that any mining carried out in the Golden Triangle region maximizes the benefits for their people while at the same time protecting the environment and their cultural heritage.
This includes the Treaty Creek Limited Partnership, an alliance forged between the neighboring First Nations in 2023 that strengthens their leadership when it comes to mineral exploration and mining.
One of the primary goals of the Treaty Creek partnership is to optimize the First Nations' participation in KSM, a world-class copper-gold project being advanced toward development by Seabridge Gold Corp.
Drills have outlined more than 58 billion pounds of copper, 160 million oz of gold, and 878 million oz of silver at Seabridge Gold's KSM project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
Lying near the border of Nisga'a and Tahltan territories, KSM hosts 153.9 million ounces of gold and 54.5 billion pounds of copper in all resource categories (88.3 million oz of gold and 19.4 billion lb of copper in measured and indicated, and 65.6 million oz of gold and 35.1 billion lb in inferred).
A prefeasibility study (PFS) completed in 2022 details plans for developing an open pit mining operation at KSM capable of producing more than 1 million oz of gold, 3 million oz of silver, 178 million pounds of copper and 4.2 million lb of molybdenum annually for 33 years.
In addition, the project hosts enough underground mineable resources to produce an estimated 14.3 million oz of gold, 14.3 billion lb of copper, 68.2 million oz of silver, and 13.8 million lb of molybdenum for 39 years.
In August, the B.C. government designated KSM as "substantially started," which ensures the previously approved environmental assessment certificate remains in effect for the life of the world-class mine project.
"This is a significant regulatory milestone for the KSM Project, positioning it to become a multigenerational economic anchor for northwestern B.C.," said Seabridge Gold Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk. "KSM's large copper reserve can contribute to meeting North America's technology, defense, and security objectives while the project can also promote the economic wellbeing of our Indigenous partners."
To ensure its own economic well-being and that of other First Nations across Canada, Nisga'a Nation played an instrumental role in the creation of the world's first Indigenous-owned mining royalty company.
The new investment firm, aptly named Nations Royalty, was a collaborative endeavor of mining magnate Frank Giustra, life-long Northern B.C. resident and mining executive Rob McLeod, and Nisga'a Nation, which contributed a portfolio of top-tier mineral royalties.
"I am honored to collaborate with the Nisga'a and other First Nations in establishing this essential new company," Giustra said upon the February introduction of Nations Royalty. "Almost two decades ago, I played a role in developing the metals streaming concept as a co-founder of Wheaton Precious Metals and I see Nations Royalty as a vitally important successor to this concept."
The idea behind Nations Royalty is to provide an investment vehicle that allows Canadian First Nations to bring forward and diversify the value of royalties and other financial incentives they are holding under benefits agreements with mining and other resource companies.
"Nations Royalty's vision presents a unique opportunity for the Nisga'a Nation, other First Nations and Indigenous groups, and investors to access a portfolio encompassing precious and critical metal mines, oil and gas ventures, and renewable energy projects," said Clayton.
The First Nations-owned royalty firm officially became a reality with its listing on the TSX Venture Exchange in June.
"Royalty companies have been the crown jewel of the mining space over the past two decades; we have the first-mover advantage and look forward to creating significant value for all investors in Nations Royalty," said McLeod, who is serving as interim CEO of Nations Royalty.
Nations made its debut with five royalties deposited by Nisga'a Nation with a net asset value (NAV) of $214 million (C$293 million). Nations' initial portfolio includes royalties on:
• Brucejack – A high-grade gold mine about 35 miles north of Stewart, B.C., that began production in 2017 and is operated by Newmont Corp., the largest gold mining company in the world. With 3.1 million oz gold and 12.8 million oz silver in reserves, as well as enormous district-scale resource growth potential, Brucejack is expected to contribute royalties to Nations for decades.
• Premier and Red Mountain – This pair of gold-silver mine assets represent two royalties provided to Nisga'a under separate benefits agreements. Ore from both properties about 15 miles (25 kilometers) from Stewart is slated to be processed through a mill at Premier. Ascot Resources Ltd. began commissioning the mill last year but has encountered technical challenges that slowed the ramp-up to commercial production. Based on current reserves, the Premier and Red Mountain mines are expected to produce roughly 1.1 million oz of gold and 3 million oz of silver over the first eight years of operations.
• Kitsault – This project hosts a high-grade molybdenum deposit being advanced by New Moly LLC. Located on a large and fully permitted brownfield site with considerable past mining activity and basic infrastructure, Kitsault is currently slated to begin production around the end of the decade. This operation is forecast to produce approximately 25 million pounds of molybdenum per year for 16 years. This operation could contribute roughly $5 million ($6.9 million) in annual revenue for Nations beginning in 2025.
• KSM – By far the biggest prize of the Nisga'a royalties deposited into Nations, KSM is slated to produce more than 1 million oz of gold, 3 million oz of silver, 178 million lb of copper, and 4.2 million lb of molybdenum annually for 33 years. This mine, which is currently expected to begin operations around the end of the decade, is forecast to generate $30 million (C$41 million) annually for Nations.
Speaking to the value of KSM royalty, Nations Royalty Vice President of Corporate Development Kody Penner said, "Our payment entitlement, on the large, long-life copper-gold-silver-molybdenum deposit, is a core piece of the foundation for the future success of Nations Royalty."
While the five Northern B.C. royalties in its portfolio provide immediate revenue and outstanding growth potential, Nations is looking to scale up near-term revenue streams through the purchase of Ingenious-owned royalties on producing assets.
The company is also looking to further diversify its portfolio by including income streams from renewable energy projects. The current portfolio is split pretty evenly between precious and base metals. Nations envision renewables carrying as much weight in its commodity profile as either of the metal groups.
The addition of renewable energy to its portfolio will further enhance Nation's ESG credentials, which are inherently strong due to the royalties in its portfolio coming from agreements forged to benefit First Nations and consider their environmental and cultural concerns.
The addition of clean energy revenues is expected to make the royalties all the more attractive to ESG-focused investors.
Indigenous groups will have the option to sell all or a portion of their royalties to Nations for cash or in exchange for shares of the highly compelling metals and clean energy royalty company.
"With guidance from renowned mining entrepreneur, Frank Giustra, our ambition is to grow Nations Royalty into one of the top global royalty companies," said Eva Clayton.
A royalty company that reaps financial benefits from and delivers ESG benefits to mineral projects in B.C.'s Golden Triangle.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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