The future’s looking golden for Waswanipi after the signing of a “landmark” impact benefit agreement on June 2 between the community, Cree Nation Government and the Windfall Mining Group.
Windfall is a subsidiary of South African company Gold Fields, which became the project’s sole owner in 2024 after acquiring Osisko Mining for $2.16 billion. While public hearings had recently concluded in Waswanipi, the mine has long been a promising project for the community.
In January 2024, Waswanipi-owned Miyuukaa Corp. completed the province’s first privately owned power line to the site, 200 km northeast of Val-d’Or, significantly cutting energy costs and enabling partial electrification of its underground operations, ore-processing plant and a camp for 600 to 700 full-time workers. Cree mining students have already gone underground at Windfall.
“Strong relationships are built when parties work together with honesty, respect and a shared sense of responsibility,” said Grand Chief Paul John Murdoch. “The Uukiimau Agreement establishes a foundation for responsible development that respects Cree values while creating long-term opportunities for our communities and future generation.”
Translated as “the leader” or “the head”, the signatories said Uukiimau speaks to both origin and direction, like the headwaters of a river, and honours Father Lake, a place of deep cultural significance for the tallyman whose trapline holds the mine. The agreement establishes a comprehensive framework for ongoing collaboration, including investment in community initiatives.
“The Uukiimau Agreement will create lasting benefits for Waswanipi through jobs, training and contracting opportunities for my community, while ensuring that development respects our land, our values and our Cree way of life,” said Waswanipi Chief Irene Neeposh. “This agreement lays the foundation for a sustainable and prosperous future.”
As one of Canada’s most closely watched undeveloped gold projects, Windfall has drawn attention for its grade, location and scale. Measured and indicated resources predict not only 3.2 million ounces of gold but also 1.6 million ounces of silver. Production could begin as early as the end of 2026, eventually reaching about 300,000 ounces annually.
“There’s going to be a lot of development in gold that we have to be ready for,” said Youcef Larbi, director general of the Cree Mineral Exploration Board (CMEB). “For example, on Trans-Taiga we already know there are a couple of medium-to-small deposits that people never worked on. But now that gold is worth more than $5,000 an ounce, things have changed.”
Gold prices are reaching record highs due to geopolitical tensions and inflation risk. Concerned over the U.S. dollar’s declining value, central banks are aggressively buying the precious metal. Silver demand is also soaring in fast-growing sectors like electric vehicles, solar panels and AI hardware.
Relationships with mining companies in the region vastly improved after the CMEB was created from the Paix des Braves agreement in 2002. The organization highlights the region’s mineral potential while guiding exploration companies to respect for the people, culture and land.
“Quebec will tell them before you go anywhere you have to go through the CMEB,” said Larbi. “Everything is clear now; there are no secrets. Having a vision is important. We can make our decisions without a chaperone. I’m happy the Crees are more powerful in this domain.”
The Cree Nation’s evolution in mining development is starkly different to neighbouring First Nations. Not far from the Windfall Project, exploratory work in the Lac-Simon Anishinaabe Nation has met with intense resistance. A proposed multi-pit gold mine just east of Val-d’Or would require extensive infrastructure in a forest already scarred by four former mines.
Chief Lucien Wabanonik joined community members at the proposed site to demand a stop to exploratory operations, vowing to take their case to court. Wabanonik said there was a lack of adequate consultation and the community has already decided not to accept any open-pit projects.
Mining Watch Canada lawyer Rodrigue Turgeon said that consultations with impacted communities are generally “only a rubber-stamping process.”
Although companies must alert the municipality or First Nation about the nature of their work, Turgeon said the Ministry of Natural Resources will grant authorization even if the community is opposed. A recent auditor general’s report found the ministry ignored concerns about deforestation and environmental protection in a third of cases examined.
In Eeyou Istchee, environmental regulations have significantly advanced in the last 20 years, with mining companies now required to deposit funds at the beginning of projects to mitigate potential problems. Larbi said initial resistance to placing additional conditions on companies was overcome by proven resources, new infrastructure and improving technology.
“They have new technologies in drilling you can control from a distance, which is completely changing things,” said Larbi. “Most rocks in Eeyou Istchee are between 2.7 and 2.9 billion years old. They’ve been recrystallized – it’s harder to get minerals here than any place in the world.”
While he said lithium can simply be shovelled into bags in South America, the element’s quality and quantity in Eeyou Istchee has made it a growing focus. The James Bay Lithium Mine’s huge project near the Km381 stop on the Billy Diamond Highway is hard to miss. PMET’s proposed Shaakichiuwaanaan Project in Chisasibi territory is the continent’s largest hard-rock lithium deposit.
“We’re not used to mining in Chisasibi,” said natural resources liaison Christopher Herodier. “We’ve never had a mine within our traditional territory. The [feasibility] study is 17,000 pages long and I had to hire outside consultants to understand what it’s about.”
With the community’s consultation period overlapping with Goose Break, the process has been extended until the end of June. Located on trapline CH39, a five-hour drive from Chisasibi, recent surface exploration has revealed a series of high-grade lithium, caesium and tantalum discoveries.
“Damage is going to be done in any kind of development, but people have to look at the big picture,” Herodier said. “These days there are strict environment rules – if they don’t abide, it’s not going to go. At a past conference, a Native person said if they approach you about a mine don’t just say no, say how.”