Manitoba funds mining exploration in threatened caribou habitat inside provincial park

From THE NARWHAL:
New mineral claims within Grass River Provincial Park raise questions about the impacts of the race to mine ‘the building blocks for the green and digital economy’ on threatened species.

Manitoba’s efforts to champion its critical mineral sector may be putting one of the province’s most iconic species at risk.

During the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto earlier this month, Manitoba doubled down on its critical mineral commitments as it revealed the latest round of funding distributed under the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund. Critical minerals have been dubbed by the federal government to be the “the building blocks for the green and digital economy.”

Among the $3.3 million in mineral development funds announced was a $300,000 grant to nickel mining company NiCan Limited to support “ongoing drill exploration” inside Grass River Provincial Park in northern Manitoba — a park the government describes as “a place where woodland caribou thrive, and where wolves, moose, bear and wolverine roam the lush forests.” 
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But according to environmental group The Wilderness Committee, NiCan’s mineral claims don’t just fall within park boundaries — they also overlap the calving, rutting and summering grounds for a herd of threatened boreal woodland caribou.
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FULL ARTICLE HERE!