Indigenous buy-in In Paris this week, the federal minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, reiterated that federal loan guarantees will be available for indigenous buy-ins to critical mineral projects and reaffirmed that money is available for infrastructure. The Pak project is centrally located among a group of 17 First Nations communities in NW Ontario and these will presumably provide the main workforce for the mine. The powerline being constructed only a few kilometers from the minesite, is indigenous-owned and is slated for completion this year. Frontier now owns the 150-man construction camp located 8km from the minesite. Bart Meekus, ex band chief of Sandy Lake First Nations, is a long-standing board member of Frontier Minerals.
In short, if there’s just one critical minerals project in Canada that’s being groomed for direct indigenous participation, it’s this one. Politicians are no doubt coming under increasing pressure to translate some of their rhetoric into action, so an announcement could come at any time.
Chart below illustrates how undervalued Frontier’s resource is (x4) compared to several of its peers. Also note that that Rick Walker Sr is an experienced open-pit miner (see profile below).
| FL Pak+Spark | CRE Rose | PMET Corvette | Liontown Kathleen |
Ore deposit size1 (mmt) | 59 | 26 | 109 | 156 |
Grade (% Li2O) | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
Contained Li (mmkg) | 885 | 234 | 1526 | 2184 |
Shares out (mm) | 227 | 218 | 122 | 2420 |
Price ($CDN) | $0.54 | $0.70 | $7.00 | $1.00 |
Market cap $mm (CDN) | $123 | $153 | $854 | $2400 |
Market cap/kg Li | 0.14 | 0.65 | 0.56 | 1.1 |
Reginald F. (Rick) Walker, Chairman of the Board Rick Walker has been the owner/operator of Consbec Inc. since 1975. Consbec is the largest surface drilling and blasting contractor in North America and the only private Canadian company who manufactures and transports bulk explosives. Mr. Walker has extensive experience in open pit mining, quarry and construction. Mr. Walker’s open pit experience involves pit design, government regulatory requirements, high tonnage production, dilution, wall and drainage control. Mr. Walker is a member of the International Society of Explosive Engineers and the Canadian