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A Vancouver-based mining company’s insistence that it does not fall under Manitoba parks legislation when operating a mine site in Nopiming Provincial Park has been rejected by the province’s highest court.
Quantum Minerals Corporation has operated the Irgon lithium mine project under a provincial mining claim, part of which is located within the southeastern provincial park, for more than a decade, says an April 17 written decision by Manitoba Court of Appeal Justice Diana Cameron.
The company previously argued in the Court of King’s Bench that Manitoba’s mining legislation permitted it to occupy park land to access minerals, and that the province’s parks branch lacked the authority to restrict the exercise of its mineral access rights, the decision says.
A judge had previously rejected Quantum Minerals’ argument that Manitoba’s Parks Act does not authorize the regulation of the company’s occupation and use of park land, as well as their position that the company falls under the “exclusive authority” of Manitoba’s mining director, Cameron wrote.
The reviewing judge concluded that Manitoba’s parks branch had the authority to regulate the mine site via permits, Cameron wrote.
The judge “found that, although the Mines Act grants certain rights to holders of mining claims, those rights are subject to limitations when the claim lies within a provincial park,” she said.
Quantum Minerals has held successive one-year exploration permits for the Irgon mining claim in Nopiming since 2008, but the judge noted not all of them may have been continuous due to a variety of compliance concerns.
Although Quantum Minerals agreed that the Parks Act required it to obtain permits before staking out and recording the mining claim, Cameron said, the company disputed the branch’s subsequent authority to regulate the claim.
In February 2024, the company filed applications for the permits to Manitoba’s director of mining, who told the company that a park permit was required since the Irgon mine site was in a provincial park, Cameron wrote.
The reviewing judge rejected the company’s argument that a one-year provincial park exploration permit that Manitoba’s parks branch issued to it in 2023, requiring the company to remove its equipment before expiry, was issued without authorization, the decision says.
The Court of King’s Bench judge did not agree with the company’s position that the removal order issued by a conservation officer in 2024, after the company failed to remove its equipment from Nopiming, was invalid and should be quashed, said Cameron.
The judge said the removal order was authorized by parks activity regulations, according to Cameron.
Cameron found the judge did not err in ruling that the parks branch’s decisions to issue the removal order to Quantum Minerals, and to not issue a further mineral exploration permit to the company until it removed its equipment from the park, were justified.
“Therefore, I would dismiss the appeal in this regard,” Cameron wrote.
The company must pay the province’s legal costs in the matter, Cameron ruled.
‘Responsibility to preserve our parks’
Cameron said the company’s arguments were inconsistent with both the Parks Act and the Mines Act, as well as the statutory framework that governs the use and occupation of provincial park land for mining activities.
Development in the park is allowed “only to the extent that it does not compromise the preservation of the natural region,” Cameron said.
“While the Irgon mine site lies within a provincial park that permits certain resource-development activities, this classification does not displace the parks branch’s authority to regulate land use and occupation within the park.”
During the proceedings, Quantum Minerals said it would not appeal Cameron’s decision, the judge wrote.
A provincial spokesperson told CBC News in a statement that the government appreciates the court’s ruling, which reaffirms the province’s authority to protect its parks: “We believe it is our responsibility to preserve our parks for all future generations of Manitobans to enjoy.”
CBC News has reached out to Quantum Minerals for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.