TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Ontario-based Northern Graphite this week reported delays in receiving the environmental permit needed to proceed with the development of its fully owned Bissett Creek high-grade graphite mine, in eastern Ontario, saying government processes that should have taken days have now been dragging for several months and were impacting on the company's global competitiveness.
The company said in a statement that it had filed its mine closure plan (MCP) for the project with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) on October 31, 2012. However, the 45-day approval process has been ongoing for over seven months despite Bissett Creek being a relatively benign operation, with no significant environmental issues.
Northern Graphite stressed that the project had strong community support and that First Nation consultations had been “positive” and “constructive”.
The company said it understood that MNDM's review of the MCP was complete, but could not be approved until the MNDM had issued a mining lease for the project.
Application for the mining lease was made in October 2011 and, in July 2012, the company was ordered to redo the government survey of provincial lot and concession lines that form the property boundary.
The survey was submitted to the surveyor general's office in November 2012 for a 30-day approval process but a mining lease had still not been issued.
The company said it believed that approval was imminent but could not provide further guidance and suggested any interested parties contact the MNDM directly.
Northern Graphite is competing with companies in Quebec, Europe, Africa and Australia to build the first new Western graphite mine in more than 20 years.
Being first to market is very important but the company is at a competitive disadvantage as a result of the regulatory red tape in Ontario, which continued to damage the province's reputation as a place to invest and is potentially depriving it of investment, jobs and tax revenues, the company said.
Graphite is entering a new era and was moving from an industrial mineral to a strategic mineral, similar to that of lithium, vanadium and rare earths.
The British Geological Service had now ranked graphite in the top ten on its list of critical minerals, and graphite had moved ahead of lithium, cobalt and platinum-group elements on the Critical Supply Index, which had created surfeit opportunity for companies to capitalise on the value-added benefits of a fully integrated supply chain.
Graphite, unlike most other minerals, has multiple layers of demand. Industry analysts expect new demand for graphite to be driven by energy-based technologies.