Cart before the horse? A14 Monday, November 21, 2022 News/North NWT www.NNSL.com
What’s in a name?
RCF VI CAD LLC now owns Prairie Creek Mine, but who are they?
By Jill Westerman
Northern News Services
A new cash flow is breathing life into a de- cades-old dream of having the Prairie Creek mining project underway and producing the zinc, lead and silver the area is expected to yield.
With the purchase of the owner NorZinc’s outstanding shares by RCF VI CAD LLC — a transaction estimated to be worth $12.7 million, plus an additional loan infusion of $11 million to keep NorZinc afloat during the development project — the long-term stability of the mining operation is said to be on more solid ground.
With the deal recently completed, NorZinc has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of RCF.
The Prairie Creek mine is located in Deh Cho territory, 95 kilometres northwest of Nahanni Butte and 500 kilometres west of Yellowknife. There are high expectations for the amount of minerals it will produce — beginning at the end of 2025, if all goes according to plan. Once in production, the mine is expected to have an operating life of 20 years.
For most of the 20th century, from the time minerals were first discovered at Prairie Creek in 1928, there has been some form of activity taking place in the area — from exploration to surface drilling to underground development. Getting the project operating and on track will be a major milestone.
Putting names and faces to the shareholder group comprised of capital letters may prove more challenging than finally getting the min- ing project started after more than 60 years of wishful thinking, however.
Delaware registered
RCF VI CAD LLC is a limited liability company registered in the state of Delaware with a business address in Denver, Colorado.
RCF, or Resource Capital Funds, is a mining investment firm that partners with companies (as it has with NorZinc) and provides capital funding to assist with the development and operation of mining projects. It boasts invest- ment in 200 mining companies in 51 countries
and 32 commodities. RCF VI CAD is simply a private investment or equity fund.
According to Inc Now, a registered agent that provides incorporation services, when an LLC, or limited liability company, files documents to form a corporation (for the price of $399) in the state of Delaware, they are not required to list the names or addresses of any of the members. They are not listed in any public filings either. All that is required is a contact person’s name that is held by the LLC’s registered agent to assist in any government investigations that may arise.
An LLC is also defined, according to In- vestopedia, as “a corporate structure that protects its owners from being personally pur- sued for repayment of the company’s debts or liabilities.”
‘Lure them out’
Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said while he has not yet heard from the RCF group, and was not familiar with the shareholder group’s identity, he has had numerous discussions with others involved in various phases of the project over many years.
“That’s how these guys operate,” he said of the anonymity of investors. “They leer and lurk in this kind of business and they operate in the dark and that is the nature of the mining business.
“That’s always been the issue that we have had to deal with throughout the process. Sometimes you have to go out there and lure them out in the open to find out who they are, although it’s too bad they have to operate like that.”
In the event something adverse happens at a mine site, the grand chief said going directly to the shareholders group as opposed to going to those actually doing the ground work could be the best way to resolve any issues.
In a joint press release issued early in Oc- tober by the Acho Dene Koe (ADK) First Nation in Fort Liard and the GNWT, the ADK expressed support for the Prairie Creek mine and supported its development “within the context of robust, collaborative regulatory and engagement processes.”
Norwegian said everything thus far seems
Once in production, the Prairie Creek mine is expected to have an operating life of 20 years, producing zinc, lead and silver. Photo courtesy of NorZinc
The thrill of the hunt
‘You should always be exploring,’ says Northern geoscientist
to be in place with regard to the development process and acknowledged that it’s a positive step forward for Nahanni Butte, which is in fairly close proximity to the mine.
Access roadwork begins
In early November, Parks Canada an- nounced that it has granted the permits for winter road construction as the route to the mine, which represents the first stretch of an all-season road, runs through Nahanni Na- tional Park Reserve — a designated UNESCO world heritage site that is home to numerous migratory birds and animals.
While it may provide economic benefits when people are desperately seeking employment, overall, Norwegian said the DFN is trying to achieve a balance between the good and bad aspects of mining.
The downside of the mining process as a whole is the negative impact it has on the environment, according to the grand chief.
“Because of the very nature of mining, you can’t say any nice things about it. Mining is a dirty business,” he said. “They do the mining and then very secretively, these mines slowly become bankrupt and then leave a mess and who is paying the price? The public ends up paying for the damage they’ve done to the land and the water. These guys, you’ve got to babysit them all the time, keep an eye on them,” he said.
Norwegian added that a concern he has with the Prairie Creek project is that the creek runs into the Nahanni River and the mine has a “massive” tailings pond.
“At some point, it is just a matter of time when something happens,” he predicted.
fore, Vivian says exploration should never stop to ensure continuation of the mining process.
The search is on
“They’ve been finding kimberlite in South Africa for 150 years. It’s not likely that (after) 20 years of finding kimberlite in the NWT that you are done,” he said. “There is more to be found, it’s just not easy,” he said of the process. “You should always be exploring.
“For me, the interest is how difficult they are to find and when, through the geophysical process, you actually find a new kimberlite and a new resource. That, to me, is the fun part — the hunt,” he said, adding that everything in his toolbox is necessary to just find a kimberlite to drill.
Minding the miners
While governments are sometimes pro-de- velopment, he said their job is to monitor mining activity, “to make damn sure nothing falls apart or is out of place, and making sure the animals in the area are well protected.”
Norwegian described the region near the mine site as one with a backdrop of moun- tains and as a haven for wildlife, including Dall sheep, a herd of caribou, bull moose and wolves.
“And shmuck right in the middle of that is a mine. So of course we are very concerned about something like this,” said Norwegian. “Somehow these companies tend to paint a rosy picture of life at a mine site, but the real destruction is still there. The land is scarred forever and these are the things our children have to deal with in the future.”
Meanwhile, Norwegian said he looks for- ward to the day when someone eventually knocks on his door wanting to meet the First Nations people of the area so that they can have their say about the land his ancestors have lived on since time immemorial.
According to an article in The Assay — titled Zinc Mining and Market Outlook for 2022-2025 — Canada is the ninth largest producer of zinc, with China being the top producer. Zinc is used for numerous industrial and commercial purposes, including in green technology as a coating for rust-prevention on solar panels and wind turbines. It is also considered to be essential in a low-carbon economy and has the potential to eventually be used for zinc batteries a greener alternative