Mining firm drills for cesium in Reynolds

A Toronto-based mining exploration company has staked out thousands of acres of mineral rights throughout the Rural Municipality of Reynolds.

Grid Metals Corp. purchased roughly 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) of mineral rights throughout Reynolds in search of cesium and lithium deposits in 2022. Drilling underground began in 2024 for the minerals and has continued throughout 2025 near Falcon West, roughly 86 kilometres east of Steinbach.

The province granted the firm an exploration drilling permit on Sept. 11, according to a press release. Grid metals Corp. CEO Robin Dunbar said the company has drilled 90 holes, with the majority concentrated in a 200 metre by 200 metre area in Falcon West.

The firm held an open house in Reynolds for residents near the drill site on Nov. 19 and addressed environmental concerns.

Dunbar said exploration drilling has low environmental impact and risk because its using water as the main lubricant to cut through the rock. Most drill fluids are also biodegradable and there is strict provincial regulations in place, he noted. Any water used wouldn’t be contaminated, Dunbar said.

“The reason an exploration company goes and gets involved in exploration is because you’re trying to find an economic deposit that ultimately can be mined and make money,” he said.

Test results from the mineral samples will return early 2026 and then the firm will decide whether to ramp up or scale back drilling, Dunbar said.

He said a potential cesium mine would be similar to a quarry because the ore has to be extracted and then crushed to gather any cesium. A mine could spur a boost to local jobs and it would contribute to municipal, provincial and federal taxes.

The firm was awarded a $300,000 grant from the province and the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce through the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund.

A Dec.4 Grid Metals Corp. press release said tests results found high-grade cesium deposits, noting its among the highest “reported globally in recent years.”

Cesium is a rare, highly sought-after mineral for creating drilling fluid for oil and gas wells, medical imaging for cancer treatment and atomic clocks necessary for GPS.

Roughly two thirds of the world’s known cesium reserves have been found in Manitoba. The Tantalum Mining Corporation of Canada, known as the TANCO Mine, located at Bernic Lake roughly 28 km south of Nopiming Provincial Park, operates the mine that first opened in 1929.

The mineral was among multiple resources added to the Nov. 4 federal budget’s Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, further incentivizing drilling for the mineral.

Neighbouring East Braintree resident Donna Kelly attended the open house and is still concerned over the potential scale of the project and the environmental impact.

“We like having the trees and the animals around and stuff like that,” she said. “If it got really big, who knows how they may be impacted?”

In 2022, Kelly was alerted to the exploration firm after seeing airplanes flying routes above her property. At one point, she said she chased a surveyor off her property who wanted to measure her home.

“If they were honest about it, and they would tell you the truth right from day one, there probably would be less issues,” Kelly said. “But them walking onto the property and then my son’s property and whoever else’s property without permission, that started it up for me.”

Reynolds and its neighbouring communities have been a historic hot spot for mining critical minerals, such as lithium. Lithium deposits were first found near Hadashville in 1935 and were mined in the Lac Du Bonnet area throughout the 1950s, jump-starting the area’s mining industry and boosting local jobs, development and tourism.

Reynolds Reeve Russ Gawluk said officials from Grid Metals Corp. presented the drilling operations to council in October and asked to hold the open house for community members. He said Dunbar and the firm have communicated openly with council about their work in the rural municipality.

He said a cesium mine, while small, could lead to opening the door for future mining operations and economic benefits from both the province and mining firms.

“The upside with cesium, it’s worth a gazillion dollars per wheelbarrow full. The downside with cesium, the deposits that make it worth mining are not very large,” Gawluk said.

He said open and transparent communication is necessary to avoid misinformation about the mining project. Gawluk noted council has asked the exploration firm about the groundwater and environmental impacts of mining cesium and is satisfied with the company’s response.

“We (council) feel that we can be part of the world’s search for critical minerals, and if we have them here, we might be a nice home. We want to be very vigilant to make sure that everything that happens here goes towards the well-being of the RM and not have a significant negative impact,” Gawluk said.