Mining

Kirkland Lake Gold plans to spend $52 million on development at its Timmins East Operations in 2016, and will spend $8 million on an exploration program slated for late 2016 or early 2017.

IAMGOLD has received approval from the federal government to move forward with its Côté Gold mine near Gogama.

Probe Metals and Adventure Gold Inc. have announced they will be merging the two companies. Probe Metals is a gold exploration company with property in the Timmins area. It was formed last year following the sale of Probe Mines to Goldcorp in March.

The long-term demand for metals is strong. The nearly eight billion people on the planet want new stuff and almost all of it comes from mines.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hinted that federal support in some form could be announced soon related to the stalled Ring of Fire mineral project.

Ardiden Ltd. received the Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year Award for its Silver Star North Graphite Project from the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association at its annual convention and awards dinner in Thunder Bay, April 5.

Tahoe Resources is calling its new Timmins-area assets a “critical component” in growing the company following its acquisition of Lake Shore Gold . The company announced the merger between Tahoe and Lake Shore Gold had been completed on April 1.

Zenyatta Ventures said it has proven the viability of its graphite during performance testing with Ballard Power Systems .

The CEO of the Matawa First Nations is disappointed that the Trudeau government isn’t into mining in the Ring of Fire, at least not according to this year’s federal budget. Though David Achneepineskum is “pretty happy” with the $8.

The 2016 federal budget “holds promise” for local business, said the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.