IAMGOLD, The Bucket Shop and Mattagami First Nation have entered an agreement that will provide training, employment and revenue-sharing opportunities for the community.
The announcement was made during the 2025 convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, held March 2-5 in Toronto.
Under the agreement, community members from Mattagami First Nation will receive training and secure employment, while also profiting from a revenue-sharing plan, all stemming from IAMGOLD's Côté Gold mine in Gogama.
Côté, which went into production last year, is situated roughly halfway between Timmins and Sudbury. The mine is expected to produce between 360,000 and 400,000 ounces of gold in 2025.
Mattagami First Nation's traditional territory is situated along the Mattagami River in northeastern Ontario. The First Nation is also a member of the Wabun Tribal Council, a non-profit organization that provides a range of services to its members.
The Bucket Shop is a Timmins-based fabrication shop that manufactures and refurbishes buckets and other earthmoving equipment for mining and other sectors.
In celebration of the partnership, The Bucket Shop presented Mattagami AKI, the economic development arm of Mattagami First Nation, with a cheque for $481,000 to go toward community initiatives.
Paul Woodward, vice-president at The Bucket Shop, said his company is a long-time believer in developing good working relationships with First Nation partners.
“It’s great to see how the First Nation communities are taking these proceeds and they’re reinvesting into the communities,” he said in a statement.
“It’s about infrastructure. It’s about sustainability. Arenas are being built. Offices are being built. The community is under a bit of a transformation right now. We win and lose together. Those words were used today.”
Woodward noted that mining has evolved so that operations are involving First Nation communities earlier in the development process, which is enabling mines to come online more quickly than in the past.
It's something he credited to "leadership”; in particular, he was complimentary of Mines Minister George Pirie for his influence in this regard.
“Timmins is the place to be doing business,” Woodward said. “There’s no question about that. It’s the centre of activity at the moment.”
