The Globe and Mail - 02.03.2020

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2020 PDAC 1

DURINGWORLDWARTWO,

SUDBURY’SMINESSUPPLIED

NICKELTOMAKEARMOUR

PLATINGFORALLIEDFORCES.

Eighty years later, the Ontario city is

front and centre in a new war, the

one against climate change, and

once again nickel is playing a leading

role.

As one of only a handful of juris-

dictions in the world that produces

Class 1 nickel, Sudbury’smines are

crucialsuppliersto manufacturers of

batteriesfor electricvehicles (EVs).

Someof its miningcompaniesare

already leading by example and

switching over to EVs in their own

operations, and the city’s mining

supply and service sector is ramping

up the development of zero-emis-

sion underground equipmentto

meet growing global demand.

INVESTINGINMINING

Canadapoisedtoachieveitsfullpotential

SPONSOR CONTENT PRODUCED BY RANDALL ANTHONY COMMUNICATIONS. THE GLOBE’S EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT WAS NOT INVOLVED IN ITS CREATION.

“We believe Sudbury has not only

an opportunity, but also a duty to be

part of the transition to the battery/

electric carbon economy,” says the

Mayor of Greater Sudbury, Brian

Bigger. “There is a new chapter in

the Sudbury story, and it’s clear that

the nickel and other key minerals,

coupled with our expertise in in-

novation and safe and environmen-

tally responsible mining practices,

will help win the war on climate

change.”

He says Sudburyhas become

a true globalmininghub.In2019,

the city’s economic development

team, in partnership with other local

organizations, hosted 11 delegations

from around theworld, with more in

the works for 2020.

“Some of the largestcompanies

and countries in theworld’s mining

sector are looking to Greater Sud-

bury for its expertise in the industry

and our experience in environmen-

tal remediation efforts,” adds Mr.

Bigger.

While mining is the cornerstone

of Sudbury’s economy, he says the

city will continue to diversify in a

variety of directions including health

innovation, green and environmen-

tal technologies, and film/arts based

on the strengthof a strong bilingual

communityand a growing under-

standing,healthy engagementand

respect for Indigenouscommunities.

The city also plans to establish a

Centre for Mine Waste Biotechnol-

ogy, and the SudburyRe-Greening

and AtmosphericEmissions Reduc-

tion (AER) projects willcontinue to

be an inspiration for winning the

war on climate change and serve

as a basis for increased tourism, he

adds.

“Greater Sudbury is becoming a

preferred location for newcomers to

Canada as well as internal immigra-

tion from other parts of Canada,”

says Mr. Bigger. “Newcomers will be

increasingly attracted to Sudbury’s

affordable lifestyle, connection to

the outdoors, and family-oriented

services and amenities.”

Part of Sudbury’sattraction is its

abilityto adapt to changingtimes,

he says, pointingout that while the

city has been challengedover the

years by economic downturns and

the move to mechanization that

threatened jobs, it has always man-

aged to bounce back.

“We have seen significant changes

in the mining industry, particularly

over the past 10 years as the pace of

technological innovations acceler-

ated. Many people were worried

that technology would replace

workers, but that’s not happened,”

says Meredith Armstrong, acting di-

rector of economic developmentfor

the Cityof Greater Sudbury. “Today

we are seeing new investment in

our skilledworkers, the retraining of

employees and a new generation of

high-payingcareers in the technol-

ogy sector.”

The city believes its future is

bright and it needs to start saying

so.

“Perhaps it’s time thatwestop

being such polite, humble Canadi-

ans,” adds Mr. Bigger. “We should

be proud of how far we’ve come,

and it’s time to do a bit of bragging

about what we have accomplished,

what we are doing and where we

are going.”

THISISTHESECONDINASERIESOFFOURFEATURESfocusing on Canada’s

mineral exploration and mining sector published in partnership with the Prospectors

& Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). The first appeared inTheGlobeandMail

on February 29, and the next two instalments will be published on March 3 and 4.

COMINGUPINTOMORROW’SFEATURE:

JOBS: Employers

seeking talent as

sector surges

BCG ENGINEERING: Data-driven solutions

ENDURANCE GOLD: A focus on balance

SILVERTIP: Shining a light in drilling

The Prospectors & Developers Associationof Canada (PDAC) is the leading

voice of the mineral exploration and development community. With over 7,500

members around the world, PDAC’s work centres on supporting a competitive,

responsible mineral sector. PDAC is known worldwide for its annual PDAC

Convention– the premier international eventfor the industry – that has

attracted over 25,000 people attendees from 135 countriesin recent years.

Last year was a transformative year

for Roxgold, says John Dorward,

president and CEO of RoxgoldInc.

(TSX:ROXG), a Canadian-basedgold

mining company with assets in West

Africa.

The company acquired its second

project, Séguéla in Côte d’Ivoire,

while reporting record production

of 142,204 ouncesof gold at the

Yaramoko Gold Mine, located in

Burkina Faso. This production allows

the company to generate significant

amounts of free cashflow, ending

the year with approximately US$42-

million in cash.

Séguéla has been an exceptional

acquisition for the company and has

the potential to significantlyimpact

the production profile and project

pipeline of the company, comments

Mr. Dorward.

“When we acquired the project

last year, we recognized that it was a

very attractive portfolio of properties

with highly prospective early and ad-

vanced stage opportunities.However,

since getting our boots on – and our

drills in– the ground, we have been

able to quickly grow our resource

base and gain an understandingof

the upside potential of the project. We

ROXGOLDINC.

WESTAFRICANOPERATIONS

CONTINUETODELIVERFORROXGOLD

will be releasing a PEA on Séguélain

early Q2 of this year, which will allow

us to communicate to the market our

vision of the project and the potential

for it to add value toRoxgold as a

company,” adds Mr. Dorward.

Africa is a challenging environ-

ment for mining companies. In some

jurisdictions,political instability and

security threats have tended to scare

off investors who believe the risks

are too high. But it’s a perception

that should not be applied to the

continent as a whole, says Mr. Dor-

ward. Yaramoko is located in western

Burkina Faso, which is considered

more secure compared to the remote

east and northernregions.

“Côte d’Ivoire is turning into a

top-tier global mining district,and

we believe Burkina Fasoremains one

of the world’s most mining-friendly

jurisdictions,” says Mr. Dorward.

“For example, Yaramoko was in

production only five years after its

first discovery hole. If you look at

other mine-friendly jurisdictionslike

Canada or Nevada,you can expect a

multi-decadetimeline on your project

when you account for the permitting

process.

“But we continue to work with

the government, our communities

and our employees to ensure we

have a safe working environment.

Safety starts with the people, andwe

believe that security starts with your

relationship with the communities in

which you operate,” he adds.

Another potential value lever for

Roxgold is the recently discovered

Boussoura project located at the

southern end of the prolific Houndé

Greenstone Belt. Two drill rigs are cur-

rently working at Boussoura with the

ultimate goal of deliveringRoxgold’s

third project.

Formoreinformation,visit

roxgold.com

GreaterSudburymayor,BrianBiggerand

MeredithArmstrong,actingdirectorof

economicdevelopmentseeagreatfuture

forthenickel-richcity.SUPPLIED

SUDBURY

SUDBURYSTRONG:NICKELMININGSUPPORTING

GROWTHOFELECTRICVEHICLEMARKET

SÉGUÉLA

GOLD PROJECT

Côte d’Ivoire

PEA Q2/2020

YAKAMOKO

GOLD MINE

BurkinaFaso

Strong Cash Flow

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