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A northwest Ontario First Nation directly downstream of First Mining Gold’s (TSX: FF) proposed Springpole gold mine has expressed its frustration regarding the company’s “lack of cooperation” while conducting a community-led assessment of its environmental and social impacts.
The Slate Falls Nation says it has been working on an impact assessment led by the Anishinaabe, the group of Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region. The aim is to provide input on the project’s benefits and risks, so that they can be taken into account and be considered alongside the federal and provincial governments’ environmental impact statement and environmental assessment (EIS/EA) review process.
However, according to the Slate Falls Nation’s statement given on Nov. 26, First Mining Gold had submitted the EIS/EA reports earlier this month without any consultation on its contents with the community.
The group also says there are concerns that the design of the proposed gold mine can pose unacceptable risks to Slate Falls, including because water from the mine would flow across the territory to the community.
The Springpole project is host to one of the biggest undeveloped open pit gold deposits in North America, containing proven and probable reserves totalling 3.8 million oz. of gold plus 20.5 million oz. of silver.
The deposit lies under a bay of Springpole Lake. The construction plan — currently under the federal environmental review process — involves building dikes and draining the bay to carve out a pit and access the orebody. Once approved, construction is expected to begin in 2027.
“It’s extremely challenging to work with First Mining Gold,” said Slate Falls Councillor Freddie Sakakeesic. “We have been discussing the need for Slate Falls’ Anishinaabe-led impact assessment of the proposed Springpole gold project for more than a year now, but the company has still not put up the cash to make it happen.
“It must happen, so for now we are covering much of the cost ourselves,” he stressed.
According to the Slate Falls Nation, the Anishinaabe-led impact assessment is only partially funded by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). The remainder of the work is being completed without a funding source.
The Nation also notes that the project is being pushed forward at a “particularly challenging time” for the Slate Falls community. A leadership election is planned for later this month, its indoor arena is being reconstructed after a large fire in 2023, and there is a significant spike in resource development interest in the region, it says.
“We support responsible resource development in our territory,” said Delford Mitchell, manager of the Slate Falls Nation lands and resources department. “Mineral exploration companies visit our community almost every week, and we’re able to understand each other and build really positive relationships.
“This has not been the case with First Mining Gold since it bought the project in 2015. I don’t understand why First Mining Gold thinks, in 2024, that it can just push a project through without the input and support of a First Nation on its doorstep.”
Mitchell points out that when the company submitted its draft assessment in 2002, it made no mention of Slate Falls. “It is our opinion that any inclusion of knowledge of and impact on Slate Falls Nation in the final EIS/EA is uninformed since we have not been consulted.”
“We have been clear about this with the company, but the situation has not improved,” he emphasized.
In preparation for conducting its impact assessment, the Slate Falls Nation says it completed a baseline study in early 2024 with support from First Mining Gold. However, despite requests, the company has not agreed to discuss the results or how to use the information in the EIS/EA process since the results were shared.
Slate Falls has also written to federal and provincial governments stating that it expects the EIS/EA for the proposed project to be rejected on the grounds that it does not conform to requirements for consultation with a First Nation directly downstream of the proposed project.
If this request is not accepted, it has asked that the process be delayed to allow time for Slate Falls Nation to participate in the review’s public consultation period.
Also participating in the Anishinaabe-led impact assessment are the Cat Lake and Lac Seul First Nations, both of which entered a “process agreement” with First Mining Gold on Oct. 31, days prior to the EIS/EA submission.
The agreement lays out the framework for “procedural clarity and meaningful participation in the review of the Springpole gold project through the unique cultural perspective of the Anishinaabe people.”
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