The Manitoba Prospectors and Developers Association has hired its first full-time chief executive — an Indigenous woman — and is ramping up courses for First Nations as critical mineral exploration gains steam nationally.

Renee Greyeyes, a former Indigenous Chamber of Commerce president, has taken the helm.

“I didn’t leave Indigenous economic development, I moved closer to it,” Greyeyes said Thursday. “Critical mineral exploration is where tomorrow’s Indigenous economies are going to be shaped and that’s happening right now.”

The association has ballooned over the past five years. It had roughly 20 members around 2020, its president said, and has 224 now. Its annual budget fell below $5,000 five years ago; it currently exceeds $100,000.

Still, Manitoba has lagged behind several provinc

See Full Page