Ontario Fast-Tracks Kinross Gold's $5B Great Bear Mine Amid Indigenous Concerns

Ontario has granted Kinross Gold Corp.'s Great Bear gold project fast-track designation under the province's "One Project, One Process" framework, accelerating the approval process for the $5 billion mine in northwestern Ontario. The designation was announced by Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce at a news conference in Mississauga on Feb. 17.

Located 24 kilometres southeast of Red Lake, Great Bear is a combined open-pit and underground mine expected to produce approximately 500,000 ounces of gold annually at its peak and more than 5 million ounces over its initial 12-year mine life. The project represents a $5 billion investment and is expected to create direct employment for more than 1,000 people, with thousands more spinoff employment opportunities. Construction is tentatively slated to begin in 2027, with first gold production expected by 2029, pending government permits.

Kinross is the first major mining company to receive fast-track approval from Ontario, joining critical minerals-focused junior miners Frontier Lithium's PAK project and Canada Nickel's Crawford project. Under the streamlined process, Kinross will have one point of contact with the province on all necessary permits in a process designed to reduce review time by half.

Lecce cited "global economic uncertainty" amid the Trump trade war as justification for the accelerated timeline. "We're sending a message that we can be bold, we can be ambitious, we can move with speed, we can do it in the national interest," he said. The minister added that moving quickly to approve new projects is key to attracting investment to Ontario.

The chief executive called Great Bear "positioned to become one of Canada's largest and most profitable gold mines" and promised "significant economic and employment benefits for Indigenous communities." The president described Great Bear as a high-grade "generational opportunity" that will create a "positive legacy" for everyone, adding that the company continues to build on "trust-based" relationships with area First Nations to ensure they see the benefits of the mine.

The project remains subject to a federal impact assessment steered by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, which determined in March 2024 it would examine the project based on jurisdictional areas where it has control in fish and fish habitat, migratory birds, and Indigenous people. According to the federal agency, the project would produce up to 60,000 tonnes of ore per day with a metal mill processing up to 15,000 tonnes daily over about 20 years. Indigenous Peoples and the public can apply for funding to participate in the federal assessment.

The province is also consulting on adding roughly 200 kilometres of new electric transmission lines to the Red Lake area to power new mines in the area and unlock other economic activity. Work on connecting to electricity transmission lines and a natural gas pipeline is underway.

Grassy Narrows, a remote First Nation 100 kilometres directly south of Red Lake, has raised concerns that the mine project poses an environmental risk to the English-Wabigoon river system. The community successfully challenged one of Kinross water-taking permits at the Ontario Land Tribunal last year, with the tribunal siding with the community on potential environmental risks and consultation issues.

Grassy Narrows has lived for generations with the legacy of mercury pollution in the Wabigoon-English River system, after industrial discharges in the mid-20th century poisoned fish and devastated the community's economy, culture and health. Many residents continue to suffer neurological symptoms linked to mercury exposure, and fishing advisories remain in place decades later.

"The public is frequently told that these were mistakes made in the past, which could not be repeated under today's laws and regulations. This is not true. The current regulatory regime for industry is woefully inadequate and continues to fail to protect Grassy Narrows from intense and ongoing industrial impacts," Grassy Narrows said in a letter to the minister and the Environmental Registry of Ontario.

"Our waters remain contaminated with mercury, the Dryden mill continues double the mercury in our fish by discharging effluent that stimulates methylation in our river, gold mines upstream continue to pollute our headwaters, and giant dams continue to divert and alter the flow of our life-giving river," the letter continues. "And yet the Crown is setting the stage for nuclear waste disposal and multiple additional mines in our headwaters. The pollution of our water, the contamination of our fish, and the harm to our people continues to this day under Ontario's current regulations, which clearly favour industrial extraction by multi-national corporations at our expense."

The proposed mine raises concerns because sulphates released in mine wastewater can intensify mercury contamination. Scientists have found that sulphates can stimulate chemical and biological processes that convert mercury into methylmercury — a far more toxic form that becomes increasingly concentrated as it moves up the food chain, ultimately affecting the people who rely on those fish for sustenance. Kinross said last July that sulphate concentrations to be discharged from the Great Bear mine would be "not harmful to the environment."

Ontario officials maintain that fast-tracking does not eliminate environmental safeguards or Indigenous consultation requirements. The province pledged that its duty to consult with Indigenous communities remains "fully upheld."

The president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association called the Great Bear designation an "important moment for northwestern Ontario" that signals confidence in region, bolsters its workforce, helps community tax bases and exposes its resource potential. He stressed meaningful consultation with First Nations and shared opportunities with these communities "must remain at the centre of resource development opportunity in the North."

The executive director of MineConnect said faster mine approval times inspire confidence and bring certainty for member service companies across Ontario, spurring them to hire people, buy equipment, expand their businesses and borrow money. The demand for labour stems the population exodus from the North and keeps communities intact.

Kinross announced its purchase of Great Bear in 2021 in a deal valued at approximately $1.8 billion. It was considered controversial because the miner paid a 26.5 per cent premium on the share price of the previous owner, Great Bear Resources Ltd., which had not yet completed a formal resource estimate of how large the deposit was. By 2024, Kinross had completed a formal mineral estimate of more than six million ounces of gold in the deposit.