A Toronto-based mining company is touting an agreement over a proposed mine in the region.
Argonaut Gold says it has executed a community agreement with Michipicoten First Nation, issuing 505,237 common shares to the Indigenous community as part of the deal.
The company says it also has agreements in place with Missanabie Cree First Nation, Batchewana First Nation, the Métis Nation of Ontario, and the Red Sky Métis Independent Nation, claiming they've all expressed "overwhelming support" for the proposed Magino gold project.
This comes after a release from Garden River First Nation announced its opposition to the project near Dubreuilville - saying it's in their traditional territory and "an area of high value to [Garden River] for exercise of treaty and indigenous inherent rights, for culture, ceremony, and the overall responsibility of protectors of the land and water" - and claiming Argonaut's refused to accommodate Garden River "anywhere close to industry standard today, or what [Garden River knows to be adequate", though Argonaut says it has "consulted with the Garden River First Nation for multiple years with the aim of coming to a reasonable agreement".
Argonaut's already received approval from both the federal and provincial environmental assessment processes for Magino, with work continuing on the federal "Schedule 2" permitting process.
Meanwhile, Argonaut's reporting record production of nearly 187,000 ounces over 2019, though that's shy of its 200,000 ounce guidance, prompting a review of operations and delaying the release of Argonaut's 2020 guidance to next month.