Indigenous-led impact assessment initiated and community capacity-building funding to flow for disputed Springpole gold project

First People’s Law Report: Northern Ontario Business – Northwestern Ontario mine developer First Mining Gold has entered into a “process agreement” with Cat Lake First Nation and Lac Seul First Nation in support of a community-based Anishinaabe-led Impact Assessment (ALIA) of the company’s Springpole Gold Project.

An Oct. 31 First Mining Gold news release said the agreement provides a framework between the company and the two area Indigenous communities to “have procedural clarity and meaningful participation” in the review of Springpole “through the unique cultural perspective of the Anishinaabe people.”

The Springpole project is 110 kilometres northeast of Red Lake and 40 kilometres from Cat Lake. It’s an advanced stage open-pit gold and silver mine project that’s going through the federal environmental assessment (EA) stage. The company has said that its final EA report is being submitted to government regulators this fall. The project has been in the EA process since 2018. 

Springpole is a substantial project, carrying 5 million ounces of gold in the measured and indicated category of resources, averaging one gram per tonne of gold and five grams per tonne of silver. It has the capacity to produce 300,000 ounces of gold a year over an 11-year mine life.

The deposit sits under a bay of Springpole Lake. The construction plan involves building dikes and draining the bay to carve out a pit and access the ore body.

However, First Mining’s news release contained no supportive statements from area Indigenous leadership.

That’s possibly because Cat Lake, in particularly, is not completely sold on the project. 

Cat Lake Chief Russell Wesley told NWONewswatch that his community opposes the open-pit project for environmental reasons. The agreement, he told Newswatch, is an avenue for the community to remain consulted. 

A spokesperson for Cat Lake responded to Northern Ontario Business that this agreement is for “funding the crucial capacity-building measures and implementing a community-based Anishinaabe-led Impact Assessment.” The initiative and funding have a “sunset date” of March 2026.

In the release, First Mining said it continues to meet and work with Indigenous leaders and communities around Springpole “to support awareness, address questions and comments, and invite participation towards project improvement and planning.”

First Mining Gold CEO Dan Wilton said recently in an online interview with the mining investment media that the company hopes to get through the EA process by the end of 2025, when a construction decision could be made. 

On whether a Anishinaabe-led assessment process will impact the federal EA process and project timelines, the company responded to Northern Ontario Business, in a statement attributed to Wilton, that both processes will run concurrently

“The ALIA is a First Nation-led process that First Mining Gold is pleased to support.  The ALIA runs parallel to the Project’s coordinated environmental assessment process and will feed important information from the First Nations into the Project. We value the ALIA as it ensures that community values and priorities continue to inform our discussions as the project advances.”

In the company’s release, Wilton diplomatically referred to this process agreement as “leading-edge work.”

“First Mining is privileged to be working in the traditional territories of the Nations and we understand and appreciate the significant commitment of time and resources that Cat Lake and Lac Seul are contributing and we look forward to working with the Nations and leadership to continue to advance meaningful dialogue. Springpole has the potential to deliver significant infrastructure and economic benefits to an underserviced area of northwestern Ontario and we believe that the project, properly delivered with respect and protection for the land, air and water, can have a lasting positive impact for generations to come.”

Ian Ross | Northern Ontario Business