June 15, 2022
The North – and Northwest Territories (NWT) - were showcased Wednesday in the Invest Canada North Forum at PDAC 2022 – the annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.
In a morning program that would also see the Mayor of Yellowknife (NWT’s capital city) sign an MOU with the territory’s Chamber of Mines, NWT Minister of Industry Tourism and Investment Caroline Wawzonek took some time to showcase the territory’s rich mineral and ESG potential before introducing the latest company to invest in its exciting future.
Premier Cochrane and Minister Wawzonek to Promote NWT Investment Potential in Toronto
GNWT agrees to sell Mactung property to Fireweed Zinc Ltd.
Here’s what The Minister had to say to Forum attendees (CAD):
Many of you are likely familiar with Yellowknife - the capital of the NWT - and the city I call home.
For those who are not, it is located within the traditional territory of the Yellowknifes Dene First Nation, Chief Drygeese Territory and part of Treaty 8. It is also home to members of Indigenous peoples from across the NWT including the Inuit and Métis peoples.
The city of Yellowknife is a mining town – so literally built on top gold that it was once said that its “gold was paved with streets”.
Today, Yellowknife is known as the diamond capital of North America.
It is a progression that I want to highlight as a testament to the NWT’s varied and nearly 100-year history of mineral resource industry support, diversity and growth – from base metals like zinc and lead, to gold and the birthplace of ethically sourced diamonds.
What we have learned and experienced throughout this history – together with the impact of the 2014 jurisdictional devolution from the federal government, alongside modern treaty negotiations and settlements – have placed us on the leading edge of conversations around sustainable development, Indigenous partnerships and ESG.
In the North, we understand the relationship between resource development and socio-economic wellbeing. The NWT model, including resource revenue sharing, socio-economic and benefit agreements, regulatory co-management and collaborative legislation development, is at the forefront of Indigenous participation in mining, exploration and development.
It’s what sets us apart from global competitors — and what makes the territory a place to invest and do business for those ready to be at the forefront of ESG and ESG-I.
Critical Minerals have the potential to be an exciting new chapter in our rich mining story, and one we are looking forward to developing.
Over half of the 31 critical minerals that Canada has said are critical to domestic industry, national security and emissions reduction can be found in the Northwest Territories.
Last year, with the delivery of concentrate from Vital Metals and Cheetah Resources’ Nechalacho project, the NWT mining sector took another step into the future – becoming home to Canada’s first rare earth mining project.
It is also the first time in Canada that an Indigenous company, in this case, the Det’on Cho Corporation, has been contracted to conduct mining operations in its own traditional territory.
There is more recent and exciting news on this front: I am pleased to advise that last week, the Government of the Northwest Territories accepted a Letter of Intent from Fireweed Zinc Inc. to purchase the Mactung property located in the Mackenzie Mountains along the NWT-Yukon border.
Mactung hosts one of the world’s largest and highest-grade tungsten deposits.
This property was secured by the GNWT in 2015 to protect it from insolvency proceedings. We took that unusual step because we believed in its potential, not only as a resource commodity, but as a critical minerals project for future development that would bring employment benefits for residents and opportunities for Indigenous and NWT-based suppliers and service industries.
I am pleased to say today that Fireweed Zinc has also recognized its value.
Together with the many Indigenous governments and companies that are full partners in our mining industry, we are looking forward to Fireweed Zinc and its management team advancing this development. I am very pleased to be able to welcome Fireweed Zinc to the NWT mining community.
It is my pleasure this morning to introduce Brandon MacDonald to you; not just as CEO of Fireweed Zinc Inc., but as a fellow northerner with long-standing ties to mining and exploration in Canada’s North.