The Manitoba government has granted an environmental licence to Victory Nickel of Toronto for the construction, operation and closure of the Minago nickel mine, 225 kilometres south of Thompson. Victory plans to begin development this winter with pre-stripping of the pit.
While Victory signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the Misipawistik Cree Nation at Grand Rapids, Mosakahiken Cree Nation at Moose Lake and Cross Lake Band of Indians on Dec. 10, 2007, addressing traditional rights of the First Nations communities, and establishing guiding principles for the development of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) to cover a number of areas - including communication, the environment, social support, training, employment and contract opportunities, and education - the Government of Manitoba suspended their borehole licence in February 2008, authorizing a drill program at Minago, after allegations by the Norway House Cree First Nation that the province did not follow the proper consultation procedures prior to issuing the licence to Victory.
More than three years later, with the environmental licence in hand now, the key paperwork is in place and Victory Nickel is free to move forward: "We have completed the feasibility study, improved the economic results of that feasibility study, increased the resource in the Nose deposit, expanded the amount of nickel within the proposed pit and identified the potential for an additional resource in the North Limb, but being granted the licence is by far the most significant milestone achieved in the development of a nickel mine at Minago," said Rene Galipeau, Victory Nickel's chief executive officer in a news release Aug. 24.
The Minago mine will produce 3.6 million tonnes of ore grading up to 35.0% Ni per year. Production of nickel in concentrate will be 11,000 t/y plus 11.2 million t/y of frac sand. Cash costs per pound of nickel, net of credits, will be $2.12.
Open pit mining will begin at the Nose deposit. Victory is considering underground mining of Nose at a later date as well as a second pit at the North Limb.
Victory Nickel owns 100 per cent of the Minago Sulphide Nickel Project. "This puts Victory Nickel in a very exclusive group of companies - those with viable, permitted sulphide nickel deposits that are ready for development immediately," said Galipeau.
"We would like to reiterate our thanks to the Government of Manitoba and the various First Nations and Métis representatives we have worked with over the past four-plus years to achieve this goal. We look forward to continuing this cooperative spirit for many years to come," Steve Harapiak, Victory's president and chief operating officer.
"The issuance of the licence represents the approval of the Environmental Impact Statement that we submitted in May 2010," said David Mchaina, vice-president of environment and sustainable development for Victory Nickel. "We adopted a thorough, co-operative and transparent approach to regulatory issues, community engagements and environmental matters throughout the permitting process to achieve this important step forward."
"The Minago mine will result in considerable socio-economic benefits accruing to the province of Manitoba, creating employment and business opportunities, and contributing substantially to the economy," Mchaina added.
With the permit in hand, the company can begin pre-stripping the open pit this winter, and is planning to tender contracts for site engineering and power installation.
The Minago mine will produce approximately 26 million pounds of nickel per year for about nine from an open pit in the Nose Deposit. The open pit material in the Nose Deposit represents only a portion of the overall nickel resource at Minago. While mining the Nose Deposit pit, the company will plan for the potential underground mining in the Nose Deposit, as well as development of a second pit on the North Limb based on the recent announcement of an additional 21 million to 34 million tonne Exploration Tonnage Mineralized Inventory.
Victory Nickel Inc. is a Canadian company with four sulphide nickel deposits and is focused, it says, on becoming a "mid-tier nickel producer by developing its existing properties, Minago, Mel and Lynn Lake in Manitoba, and Lac Rocher in northwestern Québec, and by evaluating opportunities to expand its nickel asset base."
Victory Nickel also owns shares in Prophecy Coal Corp., Prophecy Platinum Corp., Miocene Metals Limited and Wallbridge Mining Company Limited, the third largest landholder in the Sudbury Basin, which in turn owns an interest in Duluth Metals Limited.
