Agreed.
Basically my own thinking is that the Chief must understand that for Cat Lake to prosper in any meaningful way going forward they must get on board here with Springpole. The government - as far as I know - will not build a road or anything else to Cat Lake unless there is a clear economic reason to do so. That's really the reality here. While I'm very sympathetic towards this community and the issues they have been facing, I sadly think their future looks bleak without Springpole. If the warm winters continue then Cat Lake could be at very serious risk with regards to getting supplies / food / medicines etc. to their already vulnerable community. I would think the Chief is very well aware of this and that is probably one of the main reasons he has been trying to get the government to fund a permanent road. The community has sadly suffered from other social problems as well and I really think this mine could do a world of good for them and provide them with a clear path for future prosperity.
They are doing their own Indigenous Environmental Assessment, but as far as I understand this is really not part of the official process in any way. The government is the one who will make the final decision in the end. But First Mining has been very respectful of this and my understanding is that they really want to include all of the feedback they have received from Cat Lake into the final EA submission. This is the right way to do it. Cat Lake wants to be included in this process and they really should benefit from this as well. I want to see Cat Lake, First Mining and the government all coming together here and working out a solution whereby everyone wins. There is no point for any one actor here to try and force their way over any other. In this sense I understand the Chiefs frustration with the government. Collaboration is the way to go. You need good negotiators here and I fully trust Keith, Dan and Steve to get the job done.
Sure I understand Cat Lake has legit environmental concerns as well with regards to the mining operation itself but there really is nothing there that cannot be solved with engineering and physics. If they can form a good partnership between First Mining and Cat Lake then the sky is the limit. The money that will come from this operation will enable them to solve everything, really. First Mining could use some of the money to help build out the road network and work with the government together on this. They could build new infrastructure and power lines which could benefit Cat Lake. Keep in mind that mining jobs easily pay north of 100k a year in Canada, so I'm really not joking when I'm saying that this mine could quite literally "shower gold" on this community. It could enable them to build new housing, schools, hospitals, water treatment etc. Anything they would like could realistically be built because there would be so much income from this mine.
Money can also solve any and all of the environmental issues they might face. A portion of the money could for example be allocated to local conservation work, wildlife protection, fish habitat restoration, help the community preserve their sacred sites and other traditional ways of life. First Mining has already done detailed plans for some of these things. Like there is nothing that they cannot achieve if they can reach an agreement to cooperate here.
I think we will get answers soon to all of these concerns as I know Dan and Steve are working around the clock to make this happen. I would still like to point out that Duparquet really could be the "ace in the sleeve" here because I think Springpole is taking way too much of investor attention. If they can get Duparquet going and producing cash flow in the next say two years or so then that will be a massive catalyst for this story. I actually think it is very possible that Duparquet will be the first project to form a JV or something similar with a major (or maybe First Majestic?). The path there to near term cash flow is very attractive and while they process the tailings for a few years they can prepare all of the necessary EA work there to get that operation into a major mine. This cash flow could also enable much more flexible funding options to eventually build Springpole and get that going as well.
I always try to envision what Keith himself would like to see happen here. He has been quite vocal I think in his recent interviews about First Mining actually becoming a real miner unless we get taken out before that. Sadly, it does seem likely that this will happen because I think a major will snap these project up in the next 1-4 years or so. Hopefully at least we can squeeze a billion dollars out of these assets if it comes to that. I certainly would like to see the other route here where First Mining forms JVs with a major (or First Majestic?) and starts mining these assets itself. That is the scenario where this stock really could be rising 20-50x over many years. No I'm not kidding. The valuations right now are so out of touch with reality it is not at all difficult to envision the company being worth 3-6B (CAD) in the long run if gold prices rise to 3-5k/ounce.
Exciting times for sure! Best of luck to you all and sit tight!
