Responsible Mining Built through Partnerships
Editorial by Dr. Pete Hollings
Northwestern Ontario is currently home to approximately 55,000 Indigenous people whose ancestors were the first to mine and trade flint and native copper more than 5,000 years ago. They created a diverse array of tools, ornaments and hunting items that represent some of the earliest metalworking and fabrication in the world, long before the fur trade brought Europeans to the region.
Mining has continued to be important to the area’s economy, from the discovery of Silver Islet in the 1860s to gold at Red Lake in the 1920s, and more recently critical metals in the Ring of Fire. The discovery and development of mineral deposits have helped drive infrastructure across the area and continues to do so. A 2025 report by the Ontario Mining Association showed that mining contributed $23 billion, or 2.3% of the province’s gross domestic product in 2023 and employed roughly 22,000 people. Of that total, 12% identify as Indigenous, which is higher than the provincial average, but still low given that mining usually takes place on Indigenous Traditional Territories.
Mining plays a critical role in driving our modern economy. We require nickel and lithium for batteries that power electric vehicles, copper to enable the electrification to charge them, and many other elements, including platinum and palladium for the mobile phones that we no longer can do without. Farmers use mineral products such as potash to fertilize crops and produce healthy foods. Minerals are also needed in the aeronautic/space, telecommunications, health, manufacturing, technology-robotics, and energy industries.
However, mining is an inherently non-renewable activity. Once the minerals are removed from the land, they are gone, and mining has not always left a positive legacy. Consequently, it is vital that we as Canadians take responsibility for our own mineral needs in a modern regulatory regime governed by the Ontario Mining Act. Rather than outsourcing those activities, we should undertake them within the federal and provincial environmental assessment legislation, regulations and guidelines that ensure Canada’s mining activities are among the cleanest and most environmentally sustainable. We must also respect the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and we have a duty to consult with and engage Indigenous peoples in Canada, whose Traditional Territories host these minerals.
In Northwestern Ontario, we live on some of the oldest rocks in the world, with a complex geological history that has resulted in the formation of a wide variety of mineral deposits. We are lucky to live in an area with abundant clean water, large forests, and a complex array of flora and fauna. Preserving these environmental benefits requires developing new projects that will create a sustainable legacy with minimal long-term impact. This can only be achieved by building true partnerships between Indigenous communities, industry, government, and academia to find ways to develop minerals for the benefit of all.
Although it is an evolving process, the mining industry in Canada is changing and adjusting to the requirements brought about by Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), which was passed into federal law in 2021. Building on this, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has presented its 94 Calls to Actions for all industries to make changes, including that Indigenous Nations must be invited to work together as partners and be engaged before beginning new projects. We see this in the Ring of Fire region, where local Indigenous communities are leading the Environmental Assessment processes for new roads and in the Anishinaabe-Led Impact Assessments (ALIA) that are underway in the Red Lake and Springpole Lake regions. One positive development is that Indigenous communities are becoming equity partners (“co-owners”) in mine developments, which is an evolution from the traditional Impact Benefit Agreement.
Academia is uniquely positioned to support responsible mining activities by providing an unbiased pool of research expertise in diverse fields and through partnering with communities. We provide resources to the mining industry and communities seeking to assess the environmental impact of proposed activities. Also, we can co-develop tools and techniques that can help minimize the impacts of mining, while finding new methods to efficiently explore, develop, and clean up the mines we need to fuel our modern Canadian economy.
Mining has been a part of our region’s story for millennia, and by forging meaningful partnerships, we can ensure it remains a sustainable part of our future.
Dr. Pete Hollings is the director of Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Mining and Exploration, Lakehead University