Mining Issues
Originally published in AALM Newsletter Vol. 2 - May 2020
A publicly traded U.S. based company called Venture Vanadium Inc. has acquired mineral permits covering numerous properties located in Ivry-sur-le-Lac, including rights to the old Titanium mine off Ch. Lac La Grise as well as the Desgrosbois mine near Highway 117, covering over 450 acres of land. It should be noted that underground mining rights are separate from surface property rights and the owner of the surface rights does not own the mining rights. “Vanadium” is a type of rare earth used for manufacturing batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles.
To the best of our knowledge, Venture Vanadium has only conducted preliminary tests on the sites in Ivry in 2019 and will need to renew its mining permit rights in 2023 if it wants to maintain these permits. It is not clear whether this company has the financial resources to follow up on its exploration plans. During its October 2020 meeting, the Ivry Municipal Council passed a resolution stating that it wanted the MRC of the Laurentides to take the necessary steps to prohibit mining activities within the municipal territory of Ivry and thus blocking the plans of Venture Vanadium
The Mayor of Ivry, M. Daniel Charette, has been able to obtain support for Ivry’s resolution from several of the municipalities that form part of the MRC des Laurentides and the MRC intends to prohibit mining within Ivry in the Schema d’Amenagement which it has drafted. The MRC is, at present, awaiting the opinion of the Ministère des Affaires Municipales et Habitations on the draft Schema d’Amenagment to see if modifications are required. Once that step is completed the MRC will submit the Schema to the Ministère des Mines for official approval. However, even if the Schema d’Amenagement is approved as proposed, the existing mining claims will not automatically be extinguished because they are possibly grandfathered.
The executive of the AALM is working closely with Conservation Manitou in monitoring developments in this file.
