A Northern Manitoba First Nation and a mining company are teaming up to provide training to Indigenous youth with the help of the provincial government’s Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF).
The fund is providing $30,000 to match a contribution spilt equally between Marcel Colomb First Nation (MCFN) and Alamos Gold, which is conducting exploration at its Lynn Lake gold project in 2021, to provide local Indigenous youth with traditional knowledge and skills training at a cost of $60,000.
The hands-on land-based training will begin immediately, supervised by elders and subject experts, who will take a holistic approach incorporating traditional practices and ceremonies as participants learn to construct a cabin and build a new trail to provide access to Chepil Lake on the north side of the Black Sturgeon Reserve.
“With Alamos Gold’s proposal to build the Lynn Lake gold project in our traditional territory, our collaboration is vital,” Chief Chris Colomb of MFCN, which has about 450 members. “This program provides our youth with the opportunity to gain hands-on skills and knowledge in a way that lends well to future employment with the project. It is also an opportunity for elders, knowledge keepers and mentors from the community to guide youth through the project.”
Alamos Gold plans to spend about $13 million on its Lynn Lake property in 2021, including $7 million for exploration and $6 million on environmental baseline work to support permitting, geotechnical and engineering activities, and community engagement. An environmental impact study for the project was submitted in 2020 to start the permitting process, which is expected to take about two years. If the project goes ahead, it will take about two more years of construction before gold production could begin.
“We see this project with the Marcel Colomb First Nation as an excellent collaboration that allows Alamos Gold to support the community and provide a great foundation for future training opportunities leading to employment at the proposed Lynn Lake gold project,” said Alamos vice-president of sustainability and external affairs Colin Webster. “The program will also support relationship-building, provide a forum for knowledge sharing, and enhance our understanding of community traditions and the reconciliation journey outcomes that are tied closely to this project.”
A successor program to the Mining Community Reserve Fund (MCRF), which was intended to provide assistance to mining communities affected by shutdowns due to ore depletion as well as support mineral exploration in Manitoba, the MMDF is funded by a $20 million initial contribution from the provincial government as well as up to six per cent of of annual revenues under the Mining Tax Act. Communities, businesses and organizations including Indigenous groups, municipalities and not-for-profit entities can apply for funding and assistance can include one-time grants for activities to advance new mining opportunities and outreach to First Nations for collaborative resource development. The fund is administered by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce (MCC) and aligns with the priorities of the provincial government’s Look North task force and action plan for the Northern Manitoba economy, which identified mineral development as important to the long-term economic prosperity of the province and highlighted the importance of building stronger partnerships in the north to advance economic growth and development.
“This project will help train young people in Northern Manitoba with the skills to support business and employment opportunities in the emerging mining development,” said MMDF chair and MCC president Chuck Davidson. “We are pleased to support this partnership program, which is exactly the kind of collaboration we encourage in Northern Manitoba and for the benefit of the Marcel Colomb First Nation community and mining sector."
