A critical mineral mining project owned by a First Nation is closer to its goal of positioning Manitoba as the “magnesium capital of Canada.”
The project has received an amended environmental licence from the province, Minago Development GP Inc. said in a news release Monday.
Kinosao Sipi, also known as Norway House Cree Nation, took full ownership of the former Minago nickel project in the Thompson nickel belt in November 2024. The project was rebranded after magnesium and other platinum-group metals were discovered.
It is Canada’s first critical minerals project to be fully owned by a First Nation, the province said in a news release last week. The project is now licensed to produce 10,000 tonnes of materials per day, but the project’s planning and financing still need to be finished, Minago said in Monday’s release.
The amended licence comes more than a decade after one of the project’s previous owners faced court action from Kinosao Sipi about allegedly inadequate protections for the Lake Winnipeg watershed, Minago said.
The previous owners notified the province in 2014 of proposed changes to address Kinosao Sipi’s concerns. Those measures included moving a facility outside the Lake Winnipeg watershed and stopping water from being discharged to the watershed via the site, Minago said.
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