MINING IN MANITOBA

By: Evan Lucyk

The mining industry in Manitoba is abundant and is the second-largest resource industry in the province's economy. The government of Canada estimates that in 2020, the total value of production was $2.5 billion. Additionally, the industry directly employs approximately 5,700 people in the province. Manitoba is known for producing several different minerals. In 2019, Manitoba produced 37% of Canada's Zinc, 7.1% of the nickel, 4.6% of the copper, 1.9% of the gold, and 10.5% of the country's silver.

Today we will be focusing on the province's reputation for nickel mining. The first discovery of nickel in Manitoba dates back to the early 1920s in the Bird River area. When the world-class Thompson deposit was discovered in 1956, nickel mining in Manitoba reached new heights. Since it's discovery, the Thompson Nickel Belt has been explored and mined continuously. 

THOMPSON NICKEL BELT 

The TNB refers to an area along the province's Northwest margin where several major nickel sulfide deposits can be found. Two other belts—the Fox River Belt and the Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt—are also located along the Paleoproterozoic rifted margin of the Superior province. During the Paleoproterozoic era, the longest era in the world's geological history, magmatic-type deposits containing nickel were formed. 

The Thompson, Birchtree, and Pipe deposits in Manitoba's TNB have produced more than 150Mt of nickel sulfide ore. This ore measures in at 2.32% of nickel, 0.16% copper, 0.046% cobalt, and 0.83% grams per tonne of platinum-group elements. 

ARCHEAN GREENSTONE BELTS

The province has even more areas for nickel exploration. The Bird River Belt is an Archean greenstone belt located North East of Winnipeg. The major deposits along the Bird River Belt are associated with mafic-ultramafic intrusions, which were placed into basalt flows near the base of the belt. The recent Makwa Mayville Project is known for nickel-copper platinum group metals and cobalt mineralization. In the past, the Dumbarton and Maskwa West mines also produced nickel from the Bird River Belt. 

LYNN LAKE GREENSTONE BELT 

The Lynn Lake mine was the third largest nickel producer in Canada after Sudbury and Thompson—producing 22.2 Mt of ore from 1953-1976—until production was surpassed by the Voisey's Bay mine in 2005. Ore produced in this area averages in at 1.02% nickel and 0.54% copper.

FLIN FLON-SNOW LAKE BELTS

Well-known for its world-class volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, the Flin Flon belt is Paleoproterozoic and contains several incidents of nickel sulfide. Before production began on the mine, the reserves contained 2.58 Mt of ore, coming in at a grading of 2.4% nickel and 0.9% copper. The Flin Flon Belt deposits also contain palladium and platinum. 

Unexplored areas in the Manitoba region hold a high-promise for potential new nickel discoveries. At Bit Service, we are excited to see the industry's progression in the province and are proud to support Manitoba's mining through our services.