London next stop for marketing Manitoba mineral industry products

Manitoba minerals will be on display in London, England, next month.

The Mining Association of Manitoba Inc. plans to travel to Resourcing Tomorrow — Europe’s largest mining event — with a handful of companies and a new marketing video.

Attendees at the Central Canada Mineral Exploration Convention, held at the Victoria Inn in Winnipeg, got a preview Monday.

“Every major economy is looking for secure and reliable critical mineral supply chains,” the video’s narrator states. “The search is over.”

The short video shows images of Manitoba forests, the legislative building, Port of Churchill and a hydro dam. Its narrator touts economic and political stability, “world-class geology” and investment incentives.

The video will also be shown at a Toronto convention held by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in March.

“These are exciting times for Manitoba’s mineral industry,” Ashton Crone, president of the mining association, told a conference room of professionals after playing the video.

In September, Premier Wab Kinew pledged to triple Manitoba’s critical mineral production over five years.

Earlier — in March 2025 — the provincial government announced $1.5 million for the Mining Association of Manitoba Inc. to market Manitoba minerals internationally.

The London conference occurs Dec. 1-3. It marks the campaign’s launch.

Social media advertising will target European investors such as banks and hedge funds, said John Morris, the association’s co-director. “It’s just getting geared up,” he said.

The mining association hasn’t confirmed who’s travelling to London. Three businesses will likely join, Morris said, and their travels will be subsidized by provincial government funding.

The association plans to bring more companies overseas to promote their projects through 2026 and 2027.

Morris said he’s spoken to leadership at the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, in the Netherlands. It signed an agreement to strengthen trade with Port of Churchill leadership in September.

“We’re looking at anywhere and everywhere it makes sense,” Morris said. Deals with European investors may not happen instantly, he added.

Manitoba touts 30 of 34 critical minerals on Canada’s list. The international campaign is the second half of advertisement funding the mining association has received.

Morris and colleagues unrolled an awareness campaign for Manitobans in 2024. The Uncovering Prosperity campaign, which shared information about minerals, used $1.3 million of provincial money.

“It’s a very prosperous region,” Crone said of Manitoba. “There’s longevity in Manitoba (mining).”

Crone has worked at Hudbay Minerals for nearly 20 years. He was named president of the Mining Association of Manitoba Inc. on Monday. He replaced Stacy Kennedy, who ended a four-year term.

Crone will continue as the director of health, safety, risk and strategic deployment for Hudbay’s Manitoba unit. The company mines gold, copper and zinc at Snow Lake.

Meantime, the mining association is actively hiring its first executive director.

“We just recognized that with all this work going on, all the different announcements and plans that are being made, that we need to be able to support the industry,” Crone said.

He and Morris hope to hire a leader by early 2027. Companies want support on permitting and Indigenous engagement, among other things, Crone said.

The mining association has roughly 80 members.

“This is a key industry that we’re really starting to understand the potential for (in) Manitoba,” said Chuck Davidson, chair of the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund. “Setting a bold goal of tripling mining in Manitoba sends a signal to the companies that are here. It sends a signal to investors that there are opportunities here in Manitoba.”

At the conference Monday, Mining Minister Jamie Moses announced $1.2 million through the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund for three firms: EarthEx Geophysical Solutions, Grid Metals and McEwen Mining, which is exploring a former Tartan Lake gold mine.

The fund has dispersed about $27 million to 154 projects. It’s created $172 million in additional investment to date, Moses said.

Exploration companies across Canada seem to be submitting more samples for processing, said Ade Akintola, a business development manager with SGS, a global company that tests assay samples.

“The lab is very full right now,” Akintola said at the mining conference. “There’s just more money, more investment.”

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com