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Chile to redraw constitution following voter defeat POLITICS
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Sabina greenlights Goose mine build NUNAVUT
| Rejection shows ‘civic maturity’: SONAMI
BY HENRY LAZENBY
The mining camp at Sabina Gold & Silver’s Back River property in Nunavut.
hile’s national mining association SONAMI welcomed the Sept. 4 rejection of the country’s proposed new constitution, sending lawmakers back to the drawing board to create a more inclusive document “prioritizing the unity of the country.” Chileans overwhelmingly voted against the proposed new constitution during a referendum, handing left-leaning President Gabriel Boric’s industry-unfriendly policies a public reckoning. The proposed legislation was viewed as one of the world’s most progressive constitutions and represented a sharp shift from its market-friendly constitution dating back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.
SABINA GOLD & SILVER
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric casts his vote for the new constitution. GABRIELBORIC/TWITTER
The new constitution was intended to significantly increase environmental protection, strengthen
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the power of Indigenous communities in their territories, enshrine a variety of social rights (including education, health and housing), and remove a guarantee that investors would receive market prices for expropriated assets. SONAMI lauded the voting result, calling it a demonstration of civic maturity. “We value that citizens have granted this new possibility, which will allow us to establish advances in social matters based on conditions that allow and ensure free entrepreneurship and economic growth so that the changes are sustainable,” said the organization’s new president Jorge Riesco in a statement. He was elected as the organization’s president on Aug. 31. Financial services firm JP Morgan said the referendum result could “force a more moderate and gradual reform impulse.” Analyst Diego Pereira wrote in a note to clients that he expected positive market momentum, thanks to less uncertainty and lower risk premiums ahead. “We believe both real and financial investors would prefer that if the current constitution has to be reformed, it’s done by the Congress or a committee of notables,” Pereira wrote. After acknowledging the defeat, President Boric pledged to adjust his government team and work with Congress to draft a new text. Centre-left and right-wing parties have also agreed to negotiate, with SONAMI intent on supporting the process by again making available all experts, white papers, and documents it had prepared as part of the initial constitutional reform process. See REFERENDUM / 6
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BY CECILIA JAMASMIE
abina Gold & Silver (TSX: SBB; US-OTC: SGSVF) has formally committed to building its $610-million Goose gold mine in Nunavut, which it acquired in 2009 and has been advancing ever since. Construction at the site, located in the Back River gold district about 400 km south of Cambridge Bay in western Nunavut is planned to start in 2023, with first gold production expected in 2025. The Vancouver-based miner has already completed pre-development activities, while major equipment and materials required for construction have been either procured, delivered or in transit, it said. “This is a milestone decision for the company,” Bruce McLeod, president and CEO said in a statement. “We are fortunate that our strategy of pre-planning and accelerating procurement efforts has reduced our exposure to inflationary impacts and supply chain issues, and we are sufficiently funded for construction.” Sabina earlier this year raised about $800 million in project financing, which allowed for significant procurement, engineering and civil work to be completed at the mine site and port. Of the $610-million capital expenditure estimated, about $218-million was identified as direct equipment and materials purchases. The miner has submitted a regulatory package to the Nunavut Planning Commission and the Nunavut Impact Review Board to build the Back River Alternate Energy Centre. If approved, the company will install up to 13 wind turbines, each with a power capacity of up
RIO TINTO STEPS UP HUNT FOR COPPER ASSETS / 3
to 4.5 megawatts, a solar panel array with a power capacity of 5 MW and a battery storage system with a capacity of 50 MWh. The company says the centre will significantly reduce projected greenhouse gas emissions, traffic on the winter ice road, and the number of ships required. Sabina shares traded at $1.09 in Toronto at press time, jumping 9% in the two days following the news. The shares have traded within a 52-week window of 93¢ and $1.82. Sabina has a market cap of $597 million. TNM PM40069240