Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Denendeh Exploration & Mining Company (DEMCo) has purchased mining properties in Canada’s North West Territories in the hopes of becoming the country’s first aboriginal-owned company to operate a mine.
DEMCo – owned by 27 First Nations of the North West Territories – picked up Fortune Minerals’ (TSX:FT) Camsell River 78-hectare silver property late last week. The area is an historic silver mining district.
Fortune’s CEO noted in a statement that the lease was too small “to be explored independently and needs to be developed as part of a regional exploration program.”
Darrel Beaulieu, CEO of DEMCo, said the site would “enhance” the firm’s “significant land holdings” in the region.
Fortune sold the lease for $25,000 and a 1% net smelter royalty.
In an interview with the CBC, Beaulieu said the purchase comes at a good time because of a “historic low” in the junior mining sector.
The CEO noted that the company was still years away from production and that its next step would be to analyse historical data on deposits.
