A northwestern Ontario mining expert is watching exploration at sites near Ignace, White River and just north of Thunder Bay with great anticipation.
John Mason says as these mining companies eye deposits of iron, quartz, and palladium, they’ll need help to grow the workforce.
“These workforces generally are from 600 to 800 people at a typical mine. And, the indirect and induced jobs, the businesses that support these mines are an economy unto itself. So, pretty soon you’re affecting a lot of people just with one operation,” says Mason.
Mason adds the current mining operations are now using just under 400 companies in Thunder Bay in some way.
He’s also looking at the potential of a UK based company exploring near Ignace.
That site is going through environmental assessments to draw out iron.
“Time will tell, as they run small bulk samples. They might want to run a large one, to see if the metallurgy really works, to see if they want to go ahead with this particular piece.”
And there’s Toronto based Harte Gold, investing money into quartz exploration near White River.
Mason says a feasibility study has recently been done.
“In the last few months, they indicate they may be able to expand the mill up to about 1,200 tonnes a day. So, it’s a great future for that project, and the resource would suggest they’ve got well over 10 years of mine-life.”
