Choppers are buzzing around overhead at Malcolm Saganash’s trapline after a mining company announced a high-grade nickel, copper and platinum find in the area.
After the discovery, Nuinsco Resources saw its share price nearly triple in one day, shooting up from 75 cents to $2.10.
Nuinsco is exploring near Lac Rocher, about 120 kilometres northeast of Matagami, on the W-05D trapline. The drilling isn’t far from the Saganash camp and a nearby mountain with a moose yard.
Relations between the company and the ‘Saganashs are apparently off to a bad start. The family asked the company to fly Malcolm’s mother to the other side of the mountain, but Nuinsco refused. We couldn’t reach the family for a comment.
In Toronto, Nuinsco spokesman Olav Svela was unaware of the Cree presence in the area. “I don’t know anything about that.”
Svela described the mineral deposit as “a very, very good intersection.” Nuinsco has been exploring the site since the middle of 1998 and has invested “a few hundred thousand dollars.” Svela said the site is still far from being mineable and more exploration is needed. “The reality is these things require a lot of drilling.”
