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Concerns raised over mining exploration in caribou habitat

Boreal woodland caribou have been listed as a threatened species both provincially and federally since the early 2000s. (Supplied)

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Manitoba’s efforts to champion its critical mineral sector may be putting one of the province’s most iconic species — the boreal woodland caribou — at risk.

During the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto earlier this month, Manitoba doubled down on its critical mineral commitments as it revealed the latest round of funding distributed under the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund.

Among the $3.3 million in funds announced was a $300,000 grant to nickel mining company NiCan Limited to support “ongoing drill exploration” in Grass River Provincial Park in northern Manitoba.

According to environmental group The Wilderness Committee, NiCan’s mineral claims not only fall within park boundaries — they also overlap the calving and rutting grounds for a herd of threatened boreal woodland caribou.

To read more of this story first reported by the Winnipeg Free Press, click here.

“The Manitoba government is paying a company to bulldoze a provincial park and bulldoze boreal caribou habitat,” said Eric Reder, director of The Wilderness Committee’s Manitoba field office.

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