Ontario’s Mining Future: Easing Permits and Attracting Talent
Ontario’s Minister of Mines, George Pirie, emphasized the importance of streamlining mining processes during his speech at The Northern Miner’s International Metals Symposium on Dec. 2. “Mining must move at the pace of business, not bureaucracy,” he stated, highlighting efforts to expedite permit approvals to foster quicker construction of gold and critical mineral mines.
Equinox Gold’s Greenstone Mine: A Local Success Story
After three years of construction, Equinox’s $1.2-billion Greenstone mine, located north of Lake Superior near Geraldton, produced its first gold in May. Ross Beaty, chair of Equinox, expressed confidence in Ontario’s supportive environment for mining, emphasizing the importance of gaining community support, or social license. Strong relationships with five local First Nations played a crucial role in the project’s success.
“The company has spent years developing goodwill with the community,” Beaty noted. “Once you have their support, other things become easy.”
Similarly, Iamgold’s Côté mine has established a successful partnership with the Indigenous community, focusing on improvements to drinking water and the local ecosystem, according to CEO Renaud Adams. “Waters protect our biodiversity, water matters,” he explained, adding that this collaboration includes creating a lake with fish habitats in cooperation with the First Nation.
With 80% of Iamgold’s operations now concentrated in Ontario, Adams pointed out, “This shift to more Canadian operations is not just about where we operate—it’s about how we operate.”
Record Gold Prices Present Opportunities and Challenges
Leaders in the mining sector are currently experiencing the benefits of soaring gold prices, which Beaty described as having “gone bananas” to record levels. However, he and Adams expressed caution regarding how to allocate these newfound profits. Beaty indicated that Equinox aims to reduce debt and navigate wage inflation, while Adams emphasized Iamgold’s commitment to fiscal discipline, planning around a $1,500 per ounce gold price.
“Margin matters,” Adams stressed. “We’ve seen companies overextend in booms and collapse in busts. We can’t repeat those mistakes.”
Pirie further noted that the province is providing assistance to the mining industry to cope with inflated costs, including resource mapping and technology upgrades. “The first step is identifying the deposits,” he explained, alongside incentives for exploration and innovation to match northern Ontario’s mineral potential with the industrial capabilities in the south.
Additionally, the province possesses critical minerals that could help reduce reliance on China, a sentiment echoed by Premier Doug Ford as he prepares to address potential tariff threats from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Beaty remained cautious about the likelihood of those tariffs ever being enacted. “Every day Trump wakes up in the morning he has some outrageous bomb he wants to throw in. And whether it happens or not is a whole different thing,” he remarked.
Addressing Labour Shortages in Mining
The panel also discussed the ongoing challenge of labour shortages within the mining industry. Beaty pointed out that declining enrollment in mining programs at universities and colleges is forcing companies to look internationally for skilled labor.
“The world is small now,” he stated, emphasizing the need to rebuild the talent pipeline despite Ontario being a prime location for learning advanced mining techniques.
In response to the worker shortage, Adams highlighted Iamgold’s strategy of using innovations and technology in their operations. “In the short term, innovations and technology will help mitigate the labour shortage,” he assured, projecting that Ontario will need an additional 8,000 employees in the mining sector by 2035, which amounts to 40,000 new positions in northern Ontario. A recent government poll indicated 72% of the province’s residents support mining, with 76% advocating for its expansion.
Pirie emphasized the government’s commitment to cultivating a skilled workforce, sharing that efforts are underway to develop mining-specific curricula for high school students. “We’re not just building mines; we’re building communities,” he stated.
With rising gold prices, Beaty noted that there is a renewed interest from youth in mining careers. “If the jobs are there, and they’re well paid, students will end up going into those areas,” he said. He fondly remembered starting his own career more than 50 years ago and how fortunate he felt to be paid for his passion. “I was paid to travel, I was paid to climb mountains. I just thought, this is, you know, pinch me. I would have done this for free,” he reminisced.
