Wawa residents were given a chance to learn more about projects in the community, in a special information session last night.
Speaking to an audience of a few dozen people at the "Wawa Going for Gold" event, Mayor Melanie Pilon gave a presentation not unlike a pitch for re-election - she is currently the only declared candidate for Wawa mayor - touting the actions of the Municipality and current Council, including ongoing infrastructure improvements and efforts on housing - pointing to new affordable rental units with the Algoma District Services Administration Board and a private rental housing project to be announced soon - and promised that residential recycling was on the agenda, addressing an issue that has been brought up in the last several Wawa municipal elections.
RPX Gold CEO Mike Michaud also spoke, giving an update on the Wawa Gold Project: the company has a land package over 7000 hectares in size, located about 2 kilometres southeast of town, comprising brownfield property with numerous historical gold mines - it's working on finishing a pre-feasibility study this year, expecting to make a production decision in the second quarter of 2027, potentially breaking ground midway through that year.
Tentative plans would see a 9-year mine life, starting with open pit mining for the first 3 years, then a combination of open pit and underground mining, expected to mine and crush about 2000 tonnes per day, which would be sent to yet-to-be-chosen off-site toll mining facilities for production, so the project wouldn't need its own mill or tailings site, saving substantial infrastructure costs and avoiding some environmental concerns, though it could see about 35 trucks taking two trips a day through town, depending on where the ore will be shipped for processing.
Touting his ties to the area - he started at Magino and worked for Wesdome before his current role - Michaud emphasized RPX wants to be a big part of the community and that the project would have benefits for Wawa and surrounding communities.