Documents complémentaires / Additional files Licence / License . ,.,, _ M NEFVF REPORT ON MINERAL ACTIVITIES IN QUÉBEC 2015 ENSEMBLE> 4, on fait avancer le Québec Québec â :33 II Report on Mineral Activities in Québec 2015 Disclaimer The data compliled in this report comes from several sources, including questionnaires addressed to prospectors, to directors of regional First Nations and Inuit exploration funds, and to representatives of mining and exploration companies, as well as from their press releases. The accuracy and reliability of this information depend solely on these sources. The authors disclaim all responsibility for reproducing any error originating from these sources. PUBLISHED BY THE “DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DE GÉOLOGIE QUÉBEC” Director General Robert Giguère Bureau de la connaissance géoscientifi que du Québec Patrice Roy, geo. Direction de l’information géologique du Québec Charles Roy Direction de la promotion et du soutien aux opérations Jean-Yves Labbé, geo. IN COLLABORATION WITH THE “SECTEUR DES OPÉRATIONS RÉGIONALES” AND THE “SECTEUR DES MINES” Associate deputy minister for regional operations Jean-Sylvain Lebel Associate deputy minister for Mines Line Drouin Direction générale du développement de l’industrie minérale Renée Garon Direction générale de la gestion du milieu minier Lucie Ste-Croix Coordination Andrea Amortegui, geo., Joanne Nadeau, ing. , Abdelali Moukhsil, geo. James Moorhead, geo., and Charlotte Grenier Chapter authors Andrea Amortegui, François Belle-Isle, Louis Bienvenu, Denis Blackburn, Steve Boulet, Suzanne Côté, Olivia Dawson, Dora Djemal, Pierre Doucet, Dominic Fragasso, Roch Gaudreau, Patrick Houle, Robert Lacroix, Philippe-André Lafrance, Jocelyne Lamothe, Denys Laplante, Jeanne Lavoie-Deraspe, Denis Lesage, James Moorhead, Jacinthe Paquet, Martine Paradis, Sophie Proulx, Patrice Roy, Anderson Santos, N’golo Togola, Sophie Turcotte and Malek Zetchi Translation Venetia Bodycomb and Michèle Mainville Graphic design André Tremblay and Marie-Eve Lagacé Cover photos 1236 7 Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles: 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 4 89Minalliance: 2 and 8 Richmond Mines: 1 and 3 REPORT ON MINERAL ACTIVITIES IN QUÉBEC 5 2015 DV 2016-02 10 © Gouvernement du Québec Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles Dépôt légal – Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2016 ISBN: 978-2-550-76725-1 (PDF) A word from the Minister I am pleased to present the 2015 edition of the Report on Mining Activities in Québec. One of the highlights of the year was the launch of the new Plan Nord.This new version includes measures that would facilitate access to the territory, improve telecommunications infrastructure, provide clean energy at com- petitive rates and expand our scientific knowledge of this vast land.These measures will help create a favourable context for mining development by focusing on the diversity of mineral resources in Québec. The adoption of the Act respecting transparency measures in the mining, oil and gas industries was also one of the measures in 2015 that aimed to implement greater transparency in the industry and gain greater social acceptability for projects among host communities. In addition, the Government of Québec continues to work on its Strategic Vision for Mining Development in Québec.This vision covers the full range of the mining sector, from exploration and extraction, to suppliers and equipment manufacturers, to primary metal manufacturing. Finally, Québec still ranks among the world's top ten most attractive jurisdic- tions for mining investments according to the annual survey by the Fraser Institute. This is a sign that the structuring measures of the last few years have helped build a strong foundation for mining investments to the benefit of all Québecers. Enjoy your reading! Pierre Arcand Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Plan Nord Table of contents The mining sector in Québec in 2015 - A few highlights Plan Nord Toward 2035 The economic context of the mining sector 5 Québec Mines convention 6 The mining sector in Québec 7 Geoscientific work 8 Mineral exploration 8 Mining projects and active mines 9 Mine site rehabilitation 10 Research and development 10 CHAPTER 1 The mining sector economy in 2015 Iron 12 Gold 12 Nickel 13 Zinc 14 Copper 14 CHAP r"ER 2 Mining regime and land access 2.1 Legal framework 16 2.2 Basic principles 16 2.3 Mining titles 17 2.4 Active mining titles 21 2.5 Enactment of sections 71.1 and 75 of the Mining Act 21 2.6 Enactment of the Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting mineral substances other than petroleum, natural gas and brine 21 2.7 The GESTIM Plus mining title management system 24 2.8 Relations with Aboriginal communities 25 2.9 Land protection 26 2.10 Delegation of sand and gravel management to regional county municipalities 27 2.11 The MiningTax Act 28 Report on Mineral Activities in Québec - 20io CHAPTER 3 Geoscience work program in Québec in 2015 3.1 Geological surveys 37 3.2 Geophysical surveys 38 3.3 Quaternary surveys 38 3.4 Geological studies 38 3.5 Sampling surveys 39 3.6 Publications 39 CHAPTER 4 Mineral Exploration 4.1 Introduction 42 4.2 Mineral exploration 44 4.3 Nord-du-Québec (region 10) 49 4.4 Abitibi-Témiscamingue (region 08) 50 4.5 Regions of Québec outside of Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec 51 CHAPTER F. Deposit appraisal, mine development, and care and maintenance 5.1 Deposit appraisal 75 5.2 Mine development, care and maintenance 79 CHAPTER 6 Mineral production 6.1 Economic data and statistics on mineral production 86 6.2 Mineral production 91 CHAPTER Mine site rehabilitation 7.1 Introduction 107 7.2 Active mines 107 7.3 Mine sites under the responsibility of the State (surrendered, released or abandoned) 107 7.4 Inspection and securement 115 7.5 Conclusion 115 CHAPTER 8 Research and innovation CONSOREM 117 COREM 117 MISA 118 FRQNT 118 UQAT-UQAM CHAIR IN MINING ENTREPRENEURSHIP 118 INSTITUT DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT, DU DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE ET DE L'ÉCONOMIE CIRCULAIRE 119 Appendix Appendix I Geology of Québec and mining customer service offices in Québec 120 Appendix II Legend of abbreviations used in tables 126 Appendix Ill The process of mineral development 130 List of figures Figure 1.1 Principal destinations for Quebec's mineral shipments from 2010 to 2014. 11 Figure 1.2 Price of iron in US$/t (62% Fe). 12 Figure 1.3 Price of gold in US$/troy ounce. 13 Figure 1.4 Price of nickel in US$/lb. 13 Figure 1.5 Price of zinc in US$/lb. 14 Figure 1.6 Price of copper in US$/lb. 14 Figure 2.1 Active exploration and extraction mining titles in Québec. 30 Figure 2.2 Active mining titles in Québec (number and surface area). 31 Figure 2.3 Mining extraction titles by administrative region. 31 Figure 2.4 Restriction on mineral exploration in Québec. 32 Figure 2.5 Delegation of sand and gravel mining management. 33 Figure 3.1 Geoscientific projects in 2015. 40 Figure 3.2 New geoscientific publications in 2015. 41 Figure 4.1 Total mining investments in Québec, 2001-2015 ($M). 43 Figure 4.2 Exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures in Québec, 2001-2015 ($M). 43 Figure 4.3 Exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures by commodity in Québec, 2015. 43 Figure 4.4 Exploration projects in the Nord-du-Québec, Nunavik territory, in 2015. 55 Figure 4.5 Exploration projects in the Nord-du-Québec, Baie-James territory, in 2015. 56 Figure 4.6 Exploration projects in the Nord-du-Québec, Matagami-Chibougamau sector, in 2015. 57 Figure 4.7 Exploration projects in Abitibi-Témiscamingue in 2015. 58 Figure 4.8 Exploration projects in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda-Cadillac sector, in 2015. 59 Figure 4.9 Exploration projects in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Malartic-Val-d'Or sector, in 2015. 59 Figure 4.10 Exploration projects in Quebec's administrative regions except Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec, in 2015. 60 Figure 5.1 Location of projects in the deposit appraisal phase in Québec in 2015. 80 Figure 5.2 Location of the mining projects in the development phase and in care and maintenance in Québec in 2015. 81 Figure 6.1 Value of mineral shipments in Québec, 2001-2015 ($G). 86 Figure 6.2 Number of jobs in the mineral extraction sector, 2000-2015. 88 Figure 6.3 Number of employment injuries - Mining sector, 2001-2014. 91 Figure 6.4 Active mines in Québec in 2015. 96 Figure 6.5 Industrial stone quarries exploited in Québec in 2015. 97 Figure 6.6 Architectural stone quarries exploited in Québec in 2015. 98 Figure 6.7 Peatlands exploited in Québec in 2015. 99 Figure 7.1 Location of rehabilitation and securement work performed at orphaned mine sites in 2015. 116 List of tables Table 1.1 Average prices of certain metals in US$. 15 Table 2.1 Distribution of mining exploration titles per administrative region in Québec. 34 Table 2.2 Distribution of mining extraction titles per administrative region in Québec. 35 Table 2.3 Distribution of active mining titles and authorizations to mine without a lease for sand and gravel mining. 36 Table 4.1 Exploration and deposit apppraisal expenditures in $M by commodity. 43 Table 4.2 Distribution of exploration and mining development expenditures by administrative region (in $M). 44 Table 4.3 Exploration projects in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay and Nunavik regions in 2015. 61 Table 4.4 Exploration projects in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue administrative region in 2015. 68 Table 4.5 Exploration projects in Québec (excluding Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec) in 2015. 72 Table 5.1 Mining projects in the deposit apraisal phase in Québec - December 31, 2015. 82 Table 5.2 Mining projects in the development phase and in care and maintenance in Québec - December 31, 2015.