By Madeline Kerr

Killian Charles, the president and CEO of Brunswick Exploration, says he understands why residents in Low are concerned that his company has been making scores of mining claims on their land. But, he adds, there is almost no chance anyone in the region is living on top of a future mine.

Active mining claims throughout the Outaouais have doubled since 2019. There are now over 20,000 approved claims, with a high concentration of these centered around Low and Kazabazua, totalling 15,000 acres of land as of mid-January.

Residents have expressed concern over this boom in claims. At a council meeting on Jan. 8, Low councillors passed a resolution to protect “agriculture, forests, recreational properties, as well as lakes, streams and the Gatineau River,” from mining claims.

In Quebec, anyone can purchase a mining claim for as little as $75. Some claims in Low and the surrounding area have been made by individuals, but the vast majority come from mining companies, including Lomiko Metals and Brunswick Exploration.

The Low Down reached out to both companies; Lomiko Metals declined to speak with us directly, but Charles responded immediately and was eager to offer his perspective.

Exploration process explained

Brunswick Exploration is what is known as a “junior” mining company, meaning that for now, it is only in the business of staking claims and exploring for minerals. If it discovers a major, economically viable deposit of minerals, it could decide to set up a mine or sell to an established mining company, according to Charles.

He explained that Brunswick is mainly focused on finding lithium, which is an essential part of EV batteries.

“People hear ‘mining claim,’ and they immediately think ‘mining,’” Charles said, but he insisted that this is rarely the case.

“A claim, 99.99 per cent of the time – that’s a real statistic – simply does not contain anything of interest and is simply dropped or expired,” he explained.

When companies like Brunswick begin the exploration process, they will purchase a large number of claims in areas where they have reason to suspect there may be mineral deposits.

“We truly have no idea where to go [at first],” Charles explained. “Think about looking for a needle in a haystack, now put that haystack 100 metres underground…We might know that a broad region contains something, but we don’t necessarily know where in that region we need to focus our efforts. So companies will often stake a lot.”

Geologists, if they are granted permission to do so, will first survey land on foot, examining whatever outcroppings of rocks they’re able to find.

“If we were to decide to do work in the Low township, it would mean that a geologist would be there for two weeks,” Charles said. He added that if that geologist decides “there’s nothing in this entire area for us, then that’s it – that’s the last time you’ll hear about Brunswick Exploration in the area. That’s pretty much how it’s been for most of our work experience.”

By way of illustration, Charles said there are currently over hundreds of thousands of hectares of claims throughout Canada, but only four areas – one in New Brunswick and three in the James Bay region – considered “key”; the remaining claims will be allowed to expire.

If a geologist does detect something during their initial survey, drilling could take place, he said, explaining that a drill rig, half the size of a tractor-trailer, could take a sample of rock for analysis – a process that takes roughly a few weeks. Once that’s completed, the company packs up and leaves, replanting any cleared trees and only returning to drill if the sample contains the “concentration” they’re looking for. He pointed out that, even then, mining is still unlikely since the concentrations might not be high enough to be economical.

But, he insisted, “Before anything happens…consultations happen throughout this whole process. It’s not like we’re ignoring people here.”

Bringing lithium mining to Canada

For Charles, bringing lithium mining to Canada is a moral imperative.

“…Over the last 20 to 30 years we’ve pushed the pollution and the processing onto [other] countries,” he said, citing places like China and the Congo – places that don’t have the same environmental or human rights protections like Canada, he added.

“We can do things better [here],” he continued. “It may mean that we have mines in areas we might not necessarily want to, but as a society we have to make a hard choice and ask ourselves what’s better.”

He also pointed out that mining in one country and shipping minerals to another creates pollution.

Though he is a proponent of homegrown lithium mining, Charles said he doesn’t blame anyone for having questions.

“It’s a weird industry, it truly is. That’s why I don’t fault anyone for having questions…” Charles said, adding that he plans to address those questions in person in the coming months.

“No matter what, at some point in the spring, I’m going to Low [to] talk to people,” he insisted, adding, “There are no dumb questions.”