Kinross Gold’s Great Bear project, outside Red Lake, is the third mine proposal to be designated under the province’s One Project, One Process (1P1P) framework.
The combination open-pit and underground mine development proposal in northwestern Ontario has been placed on the regulatory fast-track by the Ford government.
Located 24 kilometres southeast of the legendary northwestern Ontario gold mining town of Red Lake, Great Bear represents a $5-billion investment by the Toronto gold company and is expected to have a transformational impact in the regional economy.
Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce made the announcement that Great Bear is entering the 1P1P portal at a news conference at the NORCAT training facility in Mississauga, Feb. 17.
Heading into next month’s PDAC mining show in Toronto, Lecce felt Ontario had to demonstrate to the world that it has a “regulatory process that moves,” alluding to the 1P1P framework unveiled by the minister last October.
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MineConnect executive director Marla Tremblay said faster mine approval times inspire confidence and bring certainty for her member service companies across Ontario, spurring them to hire people, buy equipment, expand their businesses and borrow money.
The demand for labour stems the population exodus from the North and keeps communities intact, she said.
“It makes a really big difference.”
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