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Sisson tungsten mine one of several critical mineral projects eyed by N.B. government
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The Sisson Mine project north of Fredericton appears to be back on the front burner thanks to a surge of interest in developing new sources of critical minerals and an infusion of cash from the U.S. government.
At a first ministers' meeting this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney identified critical minerals as one of several sectors targeted for growth. Premier Susan Holt made specific mention of potential tungsten, indium and antimony mining projects in New Brunswick.
According to Natural Resources Canada, critical minerals are materials considered essential to Canada's economic or national security, its position in global supply chains or its transition to a digital, sustainable and low-carbon economy.
The province is working to identify its resources, determine the best way to develop them and ensure the needed infrastructure is in place, Holt said, adding she was happy to hear the federal government wants to be a partner.
That followed an announcement by Northcliff Resources in early May that it was awarded $20.7 million from the U.S. Defence Department and a conditional $8.2 million from the Canada government to help develop tungsten production at the Sisson Mine project north of Fredericton.
Tungsten is dense and resistant to heat, wear and corrosion. It's used in alloys for military applications, engines and turbines.
The Sisson tungsten deposit is the largest in the world, according to David Lentz, head of the geology department at the University of New Brunswick.
Northcliff obtained provincial environmental approvals in 2015 for an open pit mine on 12.5 square kilometres near Napadogan and Stanley, with conventional processing facilities, as well as a plant where tungsten concentrates would be made into ammonium paratungstate, a salt used to make other tungsten products.
Estimates are that the project would cost more than $500 million to fully develop, employ about 300 people — more during construction — and operate for about 27 years.
The federal government green-lit Sisson in 2017.
But the company didn't have financing for the project and not much if anything has happened since. The company did not respond to inquiries in the last couple of weeks from CBC News and Radio-Canada.
Tungsten prices slumped in 2015, and none has been mined in Canada or the United States since then, according to Natural Resources Canada.
More recently, things have turned around.
Both tungsten and molybdenum, also present at the Sisson site, play a key role in many defence and aerospace applications and are growing in importance for energy storage batteries and other green transition technologies, Northcliff said in a news release.
"Tungsten carbides are an integral part of the tools that are used to shape metals, alloys, wood, composites, plastic, and ceramics and to power the oil and gas, mining and construction industries," the company said.
Sisson could become a source of tungsten in the "near-term," according to Natural Resources Canada.
With China producing about 80 per cent of the world's supply, Sisson would strengthen and diversify the supply chain, Andrew Ing, Northcliff's president and CEO. said in the release, and it would have North American standards for transparency, environmental protection and social licence.
The new money from the U.S. and Canadian governments will be used for things like engineering and updated feasibility studies to satisfy conditions of environmental approvals and financing and to figure out whether to go ahead with construction, said Ing.
The provincial government has also expressed support for the project.
"Even if our neighbours haven't been the friendliest lately, I don't think we're uncomfortable selling a commodity used to make cell phones, to strengthen steel, at a fair price," New Brunswick Natural Resources Minister John Herron said, referring to poor trade relations with the U.S.
Meanwhile, productive talks have taken place with First Nations, he said, stipulating there is no path forward without their participation.
CBC inquiries to the Wolastoqey Nation, which represents six communities in New Brunswick, and to Sitansisk Chief Allan Polchies were not answered by publication time.
Chiefs of the communities signed a deal in 2017 to get a share of future provincial royalties from the mine, but several later said they still opposed the project, as does traditional Chief Ron Tremblay of the Wolastoqey Grand Council, which concerns itself with matters outside First Nation communities.
Tremblay said he sent a letter to the premier with concerns about Sisson about a month ago, but he was referred to the Wolastoqey Nation group.
He maintains that he has standing, that the mine site is unceded territory and that proper consultation has not taken place, nor consent given.
The council's first priority is to protect the Wolastoqey homeland, waterways and air for the next seven generations, said Tremblay.
"There's no way we will support Sisson," he said.
"It's a project that will damage the water and the land forever."
Some members of the Wolastoqey community, including grandmothers, camped at the proposed mine site for an extended period, vowing to protect the Nashwaak watershed, which Tremblay said, includes salmon spawning grounds and forest land used for hunting and gathering.
Northcliff went to court in 2023 to get injunctions against their obstruction of preparatory work.
Discussions will have to take place with many stakeholders before mine development, said Herron, and environmentally responsible rules must be set.
Northcliff was already granted an extension to begin construction of the mine by December by the provincial Department of Environment and Local Government. Herron said it is reasonable to expect another extension.
Besides Sisson, the dormant Mount Pleasant mine, north of St. George, also has a significant amount of tungsten, according to the provincial Department of Natural Resources, and seven other tungsten projects are at various stages of exploration in the province.
The department has identified potential sources of 21 other critical minerals.
A global drilling company based in Moncton sees the greatest opportunities in more zinc, copper and nickel mining in the Bathurst area, where a lot was mined in the late 1900s, but not much exploration has happened recently.
"Right now those prices are at close to record highs," said Denis Larocque of Major Drilling, who is "sure" there are more deposits nearby that could be mined.
Mining practices have changed substantially in the last few decades in terms of safety equipment and procedures and environmental impact, said Larocque.
In drilling, for example, his company's equipment now has a system to filter and recirculate water, reducing the amount needed by 90 per cent, he said.
However, a federal auditor general report that came out just last year found a lack of information on the adverse effects of mining on the environment and a lack of engagement with Indigenous communities.
