Artic Canadian Recovers71-Carat Yellow Diamond From Ekati

Arctic Canadian Diamond Company has announced the recovery of a 71.26 carat, octahedron diamond, weighing in at 71.26 carats. The gem was unearthed on August 25 from the Ekati Mine Misery Pipe in NWT. Industry experts told the company that the find is likely the largest fancy vivid yellow gemstone discovered in Canada.

“This historic, fancy, vivid yellow gemstone continues to showcase Canada as a major player on the world stage for diamond mining,” said Rory Moore, President and CEO of Arctic Canadian. “Canadian diamonds are some of the most sought-after globally because of responsible mining practices and environmental stewardship. This stone is a testament to Ekati’s ability to deliver value now and into the future.”

Ekati is Canada’s first diamond mine and is known for supplying premium rough diamond assortments to the global market for more than 24 years. The Misery Pipe is celebrated for supplying many precious yellow diamonds.

Arctic Canadian Diamond Company Ltd. is a Canadian mining company and a significant producer and supplier of premium rough diamond assortments to the global market. The company owns a controlling interest in Ekati and is the operator.

American West Metals Confirms New Copper System At The Storm Copper Project

American West Metals Ltd. and Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. have reported that initial assay results from drill hole ST22-10 and announced a significant discovery at the Storm Copper Project (Storm) on Somerset Island in Nunavut (NVT). This is the maiden drilling program for American West, project operator, since entering an option agreement with Aston Bay in March 2021.

The initial results from drill hole ST22-10 confirmed sediment hosted copper and zinc sulphide mineralisation below the near-surface high-grade deposits at Storm.

“These results demonstrate that – in addition to the near-surface high-grade copper deposits – we have a second type of copper deposit at Storm,” stated Dave O’Neill, Managing Director of American West Metals. “This sedimentary copper mineralisation style is typically associated with very large deposits, such as the large-scale copper deposits in the Congo and the Kupferschiefer deposits in Central Europe.”

The discovery drill hole is associated with a series of untested large and coincident geophysical anomalies identified across a zone that extends for more than 5 km, indicating the potential for a large-scale sedimentary copper system at depth. The results validate the company’s geological model that interprets the extensive near-surface high-grade copper mineralisation at Storm to be associated with a much larger sedimentary copper deposit at depth.

“We are excited the assay results from drill hole ST22-10 have confirmed the presence of sediment hosted type of copper and zinc mineralization at the Storm Project,” stated Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay. “This style of mineralization, with its potential to host giant copper deposits such as those in Central Africa, has always been our target for discovery on Somerset Island.”

“This is a tremendous exploration opportunity, and we are already planning follow-up exploration and drilling,” added O’Neill. “Further assays from the Storm drill program are due soon and we look forward to reporting on these as they
come in.”

The Storm Copper Project sits alongside the Seal Zinc Deposit in the northern part of NVT.

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for base metals and gold deposits in Virginia and NVT. Aston Bay is 100% owner of the Storm Project property, which hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit and has been optioned to American West. The area is within the Polaris mineral district and 122 km south of the regional community and logistics hub of Resolute Bay. Together, the NVT properties consist of 117 contiguous mining claims and six prospecting permits covering an area of approximately 302,725 hectares.

American West Metals Ltd. is an Australian company focused on growth through the discovery and development of major base metal mineral deposits in Tier 1 jurisdictions of North America.

Det’on Cho Logistics Becomes 100% Indigenous-Owned

In early October, Det’on Cho Management LP (DCMLP) announced that it has acquired 100% interest in Det’on Cho Logistics (DCL). This marks an important evolution of the business, as it becomes wholly owned by Det’on Cho Management LP, the business and investment arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

“This acquisition has been several months in the making,” said John Henderson, President and CEO of Det’on Cho Management LP. “It fits perfectly with our strategic vision by providing us with increased equity in our business ventures and opportunities for diversification.”

Det’on Cho Logistics is based in Yellowknife, NWT, with operations in Edmonton, AB. The business has grown significantly over the past 13 years, thanks to the hard work and dedication of an incredible staff, management, and ownership group which until today included Matt, Stu, and Rudolph Swanepoel. The company provides expediting and logistics, freight forwarding and consolidation, air cargo handling, and cold weather testing services across the North.

“In an ideal relationship, entrepreneurs partner with Indigenous communities to create a business neither could build on their own, each party bringing investment, passion and expertise to the table,” said Matt Mossman of Det’on Cho Logistics. “The natural evolution of a successful relationship is full ownership by the Indigenous partner, and we are proud to announce that is where we stand today.”

No changes are planned to DCL’s operations; Matt, Stu and Rudolph have agreed to stay with the company in a management capacity and work with the incredible DCL team to provide. clients the same great level of service.

DCMLP began in 1988 with a $15,000 grant and now employs 600-700 people across 15 operating entities. Annual gross revenues in excess of $50 million per year are generated through the delivery of services in construction, transportation, logistics and expediting, remediation, professional services, and hospitality.

Vital Metals Appoints Canadian-Based Eben Visser As COO

Canada’s first rare earths producer Vital Metals Limited announced the appointment of project management professional Eben Visser as its Chief Operations Officer (COO), effective November 11, 2022.

Eben Visser has 15 years of dynamic engineering and project leadership to the role and has extensive experience through the project development, construction, and operational readiness in the mining and metals industry. He is a registered Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds an Advanced Project Management Diploma and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Most recently, he was Director of Projects at Treasury Metals Inc., responsible for the Goliath Gold Complex Project in northwest Ontario.

Eben will oversee the ramp up of production at Vital Metal’s Saskatoon, SK rare earths processing facility, where Vital Metals is producing rare earth carbonate from material mined at the Nechalacho mine in NWT. Vital Metals plans to produce commercial quantities of rare earths from Nechalacho, where Eben will oversee the development of the Tardiff Zone of the Nechalacho Project.

Vital Metals Ltd. is Canada’s first rare earths producer following commencement of production at its Nechalacho rare earths project in Canada in June 2021. It holds a portfolio of rare earths, technology metals and gold projects located in Canada, Africa, and Germany. The Nechalacho project is located at Nechalacho in the NWT and has potential for a start-up operation exploiting high-grade, easily accessible near-surface mineralization before expanding into a large-scale operation.

The Mint Introduces First, Fully Segregated Single Mine Gold Bullion Coin From Agnico Eagle’s Meliadine Mine

In response to increasing market demand for greater transparency in the provenance of precious metals, and to showcase its continually evolving refining capabilities, the Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its first gold bullion coin completely sourced from a single mine. The 2022 $50 1 oz. 99.99% Pure Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin is entirely composed of gold extracted from Agnico Eagle’s Meliadine Mine in NVT and refined by the Mint under a rigorous segregation protocol. This special gold bullion coin will soon be available through the Mint’s network of official bullion distributors.

The reverse of the Mint’s first-ever single-source mined pure gold coin features Walter Ott’s detailed engraving of a Sugar Maple leaf, the hallmark of the Mint’s Maple Leaf family of bullion coins. This central design is also surrounded by an array of precisely machined radial lines. Beneath it appears a micro-engraved maple leaf-shaped security mark containing the engraving of the number “22,” only visible under magnification, to denote the coin’s year of issue. Adjacent to the security feature is a privy mark of a hand cradling a globe, symbolizing the single-source provenance of the coin’s 99.99% pure gold. The coin is also protected by Bullion DNATM technology.

Since its founding in 1957, Canada-based Agnico Eagle has grown into Canada’s largest miner of Canadian gold, as well as the world’s third-largest gold producer overall. Its Meliadine mine, which began commercial production in 2019, is the company’s second gold mine in the Kivalliq District, NVT.

“Agnico Eagle is proud to be a partner of choice as a trusted source of responsibly produced gold for the Royal Canadian Mint’s first-ever single-source mined gold bullion coin,” said Ammar Al-Joundi, President and CEO of Agnico Eagle Mines. “We have built a strong culture of responsible behaviour and have been responsibly developing Canadian mineral resources in NVT for more than 13 years. We strive to be a good employer and a good neighbour and we are proud of the value we bring to the local communities and society in general. We do believe that mining, when done right, can contribute to building a better world.”

Gahcho Kué Mine Launches Community Voice Fund For Charity

De Beers Group, Mountain Province Diamonds, joint venture partners of Gahcho Kué Mine have joined MyTrueNorthNow to launch the Gahcho Kué Community Voice Fund to support not-for-profit and charitable organizations in Yellowknife and Hay River for the next 12 months.

The Gahcho Kué Community Voice Fund will support 24 ads each week to a selected organization to promote their cause or raise awareness to the MyTrueNorthNow radio audience.

Each month until November 2023, a new charity will be selected to receive one month of ads, starting November 1, 2022. Each chosen organization will be able to use the air time to share stores, promote initiatives, and raise awareness of their cause – on a platform that reaches thousands of people across NWT. The 30 second spots will be professionally produced by MyTrueNorthNow.

“Charities and not-for-profit community organisations are essential to the quality of life for people in Yellowknife and Hay River,” said Lyndon Clark, General Manager of Gahcho Kué Mine. “We hope that by providing access to free radio ads they will be able to do even more.”

“This is an integral partnership with Gahcho Kué Mine as it gives our community non-profit organisations and groups the opportunity to get their message out there,” added Matt Halliday, General Sales Manager of 100.1 True North FM. “Advertising is an expense these groups struggle to afford, and we can have a major impact in helping these groups.”

Applicants may apply by visiting www.mytruenorthnow.com and clicking on the ‘Community Voice’ tab. Applications are reviewed True North FM Gahcho Kué Mine Community Voice Fund Committee.

Gahcho Kué mine is a joint venture between De Beers Group (51%, the operator) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49%). The mine is located about 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, and produces approximately 4.5 million carats per year.