McFarlane Lake Mining teams up with Indigenous contractors to aggressively advance project
Two First Nation drilling partnerships have secured contracts from McFarlane Lake Mining for exploration drilling at the Juby gold project, outside Gowganda.
At the same time McFarlane pocketed a provincial exploration permit, the Toronto company announced it has awarded drilling contracts to two separate contracting groups with Indigenous ownership ties.
The two entities are Bagone’an, a partnership majority-owned by Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation with partners Jacob & Samuel Drilling, and Wiijiiwaagan Drilling Limited Partnership, a partnership owned by Matachewan First Nation Limited Partnership and Longyear Canada.
In a Dec. 15 news release, McFarlane said these collaborations serve to deepen relationships with Indigenous communities “through meaningful and sustained participation in project activities.”
Three First Nation communities — Matachewan First Nation, Temagami First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation — have territorial rights around Juby.
“With established drilling partners and clear technical objectives, we are well-positioned to move into the next phase of exploration and unlock additional potential of the project,” said Mark Trevisiol, CEO of McFarlane. “We welcome the participation of First Nations and their partners in the exploration program at the Juby Gold Project.”
After acquiring the property from Aris Mining in September, the company has set out ambitious exploration and permitting plans for 2026 with the goal of moving the project to a feasibility study stage in 2027 for a possible open-pit mine.
The Juby area has been well-explored ground over the years by a number of junior mining companies. Trevisiol said this will be the largest drilling program ever undertaken on the property.
Juby has a gold resource estimate of more than 4 million ounces in the indicated and inferred categories. The company believes the property hosts a larger gold system.
The upcoming drill program aims to expand known mineralized zones and target new areas that have been identified through recent geologic and structural modelling.
The company recently began environmental baseline studies at the site to generate the required background data needed to take a future bulk sample and secure mining permits.
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