Federal minister hopes to ‘move up’ Sisson Mine decision
CBC
The federal natural resources minister says Ottawa hopes to accelerate the timeline for the Sisson Mine project.
Tim Hodgson said during a trip to New Brunswick that it could take until next year for Northcliff Resources to commit to building the mine, but that could change.
“The final target for an investment decision there is 2027, and we are working with New Brunswick and the proponent to see if we can move that up,” he told CBC News in an interview.
The $579-million project would extract tungsten and molybdenum from deposits in the Nashwaak River watershed northwest of Fredericton.
Last November, Prime Minister Mark Carney listed it among the projects forwarded for possible designation by the Major Projects Office, a designation that would trigger federal support.
Even without that designation, the mine will be eligible for faster approvals and help with financing, Hodgson said.
“That’s a decision that gets worked out by the Major Projects Office and the proponent, and that’s ongoing right now,” Hodgson said.
Northcliff has not responded to interview requests from CBC News.
The company said in a Feb. 5 news release that it is updating its 2013 feasibility study and working on meeting the 40 conditions of the province’s environmental impact assessment issued in 2015.
Among those conditions are a water-quality monitoring plan, air quality approval, modelling for potential tailings-pond failures, an emergency response plan and a start of construction within five years.That start-work deadline has been extended three times by the province since 2015.
There’s been no progress on the mine in the last decade because of low mineral prices on the global market.
But concern about China’s dominance in the supply of tungsten has revived interest in the project.
The U.S. government put $20.7 million Cdn into the project last May, and Hodgson’s department put up another $8.2 million in August to support the feasibility study.
Ottawa is also working on offtake agreements and price floors — two tools that would lock in long-term buyers for the minerals at a viable price.
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