Strategic alliance cuts diamond company’s challenges
Water and cash flow at Cameco Corp.
Inuit division over boom in Arctic uranium
Don McKay: Employee relations specialist
Meadowbank gold project gets green light
Prince George area First Nations try to halt mine project
CanAlaska to begin exploration on Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation reserve
Environmentalist worried about open pit mine
Strategic alliance cuts diamond company’s challenges
By Shirley Collingridge
Thanks to a strategic alliance with mining giant Teck Cominco Limited, Tahera Diamond Corporation can now optimize production at its Jericho Diamond Mine. Fuel shortages from last year’s winter road problems previously forced Tahera to modify its mining plan.
Aerial view of Tahera's Jericho mine.
“The consequence… was we didn’t have the mining flexibility that we had hoped we would have,” said R. Peter Gillin, Tahera's Chief Executive Officer. “Therefore we ended up mining lower grade material and only what we could get at… [resulting in] lower throughput and, because of the low-grade material, a lower grade.”
The alliance, says Gillin, “is going to put the company in very solid financial condition and allow us to focus on the further development improvement of Jericho and on our exploration ambitions.”
Terms of the Agreement
November 15, 2006, Tahera announced that Teck Cominco will purchase $30 million in shares through a private placement. The total purchase includes 30,000,000 common shares and 22,109,757 common share purchase warrants. Three series of common share purchase warrants will be issued at closing and consist of 7,369,919 warrants exercisable at a price of $1.20 per share until November 30, 2007; 7,369,919 warrants exercisable at a price of $1.35 per share until November 30, 2008; and 7,369,919 warrants exercisable at a price of $1.50 per share until November 30, 2009.
- Teck Cominco will provide mining and other technical advice and assistance in connection with the Jericho project to Tahera pursuant to a Technical Support Agreement;
- Teck Cominco has the right to nominate a director to the Tahera board of directors, so long as Teck Cominco maintains at least a 10% holding of the issued and outstanding common shares of Tahera;
- In the event of subsequent issues of equity, Teck Cominco will have a right to maintain its percentage interest in Tahera, so long as Teck Cominco maintains at least a 10% holding of the issued and outstanding common shares of Tahera.
The closing of the transaction is subject to conditions, including definitive agreements and necessary regulatory approvals. The Toronto Stock Exchange conditionally approved this private placement, scheduled to close on or about November 30, 2006.
Aerial view of Tahera's Jericho mine.
Teck Cominco's initial investment represents approximately 16% of Tahera's issued and outstanding common shares after the sale of the units, and approximately 24.9% on a fully diluted basis if all warrants issued to Teck Cominco are exercised and excluding the exercise of other existing convertible securities (33% dilution based on the current number of outstanding common shares). Teck Cominco is an arm's length party to Tahera.
Tahera says the transaction will not affect employment at the minesite. “There is no plan to alter the head count at the minesite whatever. The monies are being used to deal with working capital and to deal with capital expenditures related to improving productivity and we don’t expect the head count to decline,” said Gillin.
Because “the aggregate number of Tahera common shares issuable in connection with the transaction with Teck Cominco may exceed the maximum number of securities issuable without security holder approval under the rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange (being 25% of the outstanding common shares),” said company officials, “Tahera is relying on an exemption from the security holder approval requirements of the TSX Company Manual on the basis of serious financial difficulty.”
A special committee of the board of directors of Tahera reviewed the proposed transaction. “Upon the recommendation of the special committee, Tahera's board determined that the Company is in serious financial difficulty, that the transaction is designed to improve Tahera's financial position and is reasonable in the circumstances of Tahera,” said company officials. “As a result of these determinations, the board authorized Tahera to make application to the TSX for an exemption from the security holder approval requirements, which exemption has been granted by the TSX.”
“We believe that there are numerous benefits to this strategic alliance with Teck Cominco and it is further fulfillment of Tahera's strategy to be associated with leading industry partners,” said R. Peter Gillin, Tahera's CEO. “We believe that Teck Cominco's technical expertise and experience in northern mining will be of great value to Tahera,” he said.
Teck Cominco president and CEO Don Lindsay is also pleased with the alliance. “Our investment in Tahera is consistent with our goal of further diversifying our portfolio especially into non-exchange traded commodities,” he said. “As we continue to actively explore for diamonds, we view this alliance with Tahera and its existing partners as an attractive opportunity to expand our knowledge of all phases of the diamond business from mining through marketing, while helping to add value to the Jericho project.”
October 10, 2006 Tahera announced an expected cash shortfall, particularly in the first quarter for working capital needs to resupply the Jericho facilities. Consequently, Tahera “initiated discussions with Tiffany & Company, who is our principal creditor and to whom we owed $3.3 million as at the end of September,” said Gillin. “The discussions with them were intended to reschedule the debt to a later point… while we went through this tight operating period. We have come to an agreement with Tiffany & Company for the deferral of those scheduled payments until September 30, 2007.”
At that time, monies owed will be amortized equally over the ensuing 15 quarters. In exchange for the deferral, Tiffany earned the company’s marketing rights for any production from the Muskox kimberlite, which Tahera would be entitled to under its agreement with De Beers Canada Inc. – “recognizing that Muskox’s kimberlite is an exploration stage asset,” said Gillin.
Teck Cominco is a diversified mining company, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TCK.A and TCK.B and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TCK. The company is a world leader in the production of zinc and metallurgical coal and is also a significant producer of copper, gold, indium and other specialty metals.
Tahera Diamond Corporation (www.tahera.com) is a unique Canadian diamond company. Tahera's primary asset is its wholly-owned Jericho Diamond Mine, which represents Canada's third and Nunavut's first diamond mine. Tahera has a diamond purchase and marketing arrangement with Tiffany & Co., one of the world's leading jewellers, ensuring that the Company receives competitive market prices for its Jericho diamonds. Tahera has several other prospective diamond projects in Canada's prolific Slave Craton, including the Muskox kimberlite joint venture project with De Beers Canada.
Water and cash flow at Cameco Corp.
By Shirley Collingridge
Remediation Efforts at Cigar Lake Project
Even as 250 employees continue day-to-day work on the surface facilities, remediation plans and efforts continue underground at Cameco Corporation’s Cigar Lake Project. On October 23, 2006 water filled the uranium project’s underground development, interrupting work and altering schedules.
With the help of international experts, “Cameco is developing a comprehensive remediation plan including fallback options. Revised capital cost estimates and timelines are being developed, and we expect that information will be available in February 2007,” said a company source.
The Cigar Lake project is a joint venture owned by Cameco Corporation (50%), AREVA Resources Canada Inc. (37%), Idemitsu Uranium Exploration Canada Ltd. (8%) and TEPCO Resources Inc. (5%). The project is located in northern Saskatchewan.
“Regulatory approval is required for each phase of the remediation plan. Based on our current plans, it is anticipated the remediation phases mentioned above will fall within the scope of the original environmental assessment of the Cigar Lake project,” said the source. “Cameco is working closely with the CNSC and Saskatchewan regulatory agencies to achieve timely approvals for the various elements of the plan.”
Phase I
Cameco began Phase I with what it calls “the most conventional option to restore the underground workings in phases. The first phase includes surface drilling using oil field rigs and grouting to seal the inflow,” said company officials. “This phase was approved by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on November 2, 2006, and subsequently by the joint venture partners. Drilling is now under way. Phase one work is anticipated to take at least 60 days based upon current plans.”
During this phase, the company will drill holes to the access tunnel at the 465 metre level in the vicinity of the source of the inflow. To create a plug downstream from where the rockfall and inflow occurred, workers will pump concrete through the drill holes into the tunnel. Cracks will be sealed by pumping in cement under high pressure. The rockfall area will then be filled with grout. Forty to fifty-worker drilling crews have laboured steadily to address the water inflow problem since November 9. They will continue working three shifts per day, seven days per week.
“The planning process for Cigar Lake remediation is progressing well and we are devoting significant resources and expertise towards recovery of this valuable project,” said Terry Rogers, senior vice-president and chief operating officer.
Phase II
Detailed planning is also underway for Phase II. Water will be pumped out of the mine. The integrity of the plug and mine workings must be verified. Underground pumping capacity and ventilation systems must be restored, and bulkhead doors also must be assessed and repaired.
Phase III Subsequent planning includes ground freezing in the area of the inflow, restoring other underground areas and, ultimately, resumption of mine development.
Early Christmas Present for McArthur River and Key Lake Workers
While the Cigar Lake Project struggles with troubling water inflow, workers at the McArthur River and Key Lake operations will soon enjoy an inflow of a more welcome kind. After almost a year without a contract, about 400 unionized employees accepted a contract settlement offer from Cameco. The four-year contract provides a 21.5% wage increase over the period, additional wage increases for journeypersons, and enhanced benefits.
“This contract rewards our workers and their families for their good work and positions us to attract and retain the skilled people we need for continued growth,” said president and CEO Jerry Grandey. “It also provides an extended period of stability for our customers and investors.”
“In July, the company and union jointly applied for conciliation under the Canada Labour Code,” said company officials. “The tentative agreement was reached on October 11, 2006. A majority of the union’s bargaining committee recommended that members accept the agreement.”
McArthur River ore is milled at the Key Lake operation. The two operations produce 18.7 million pounds of uranium concentrate annually.
Cameco, with its head office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is the world's largest uranium producer. The company's uranium products are used to generate electricity in nuclear energy plants around the world, providing one of the cleanest sources of energy available today. Cameco's shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.
Inuit division over boom in Arctic uranium
By Bob Weber
Joan Scottie has seen uranium miners chased once before from the Nunavut tundra she's hunted all her life. Now she's watching them return, drawn by mushrooming prices for the radioactive metal – and this time they may stay.
Prospecting permits in Canada’s Arctic may conflict with proposed conservation areas, caribou calving grounds and migration routes.
The once-fervent Inuit opposition to uranium mining may be finally reversed as Nunavut's land claim organization decides how to deal with a resource many in the Arctic fear. James Eetoolook, vice-president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), acknowledges, ``Uranium is taboo.''.
But Scottie – and others – fear the decision to proceed has already been made.
``Our government is cash-strapped and too tied to industry and strongly promotes any kind of mining,'' said Scottie, 58, an outfitter from Baker Lake, Nunavut. ``The same is true of our Inuit organizations.''
A global resurgence in nuclear energy has driven prices for the silvery metal from $7 a pound to nearly $70.
``Deposits that might have been difficult to mine are (now) very attractive,'' said Alun Richards of Areva, a French company proposing the Kiggavik mine southwest of Baker Lake, estimated to contain up to 45 million kilograms of ore. Others feel the same. Richards said there are now about 40 companies prodding the tundra for uranium.
That represents an opportunity that Nunavummiut cannot dismiss, said Eetoolook.
``Communities are growing and young people are growing and people will be looking for jobs,'' he said.
But many Inuit fear uranium mine tailings will spread radioactivity. They are unconvinced nuclear waste can be stored safely and are repelled by the possibility that resources from their land could end up in someone's warhead.
In fact, area Inuit vetoed earlier attempts to develop Kiggavik in 1989. Uranium mining has been specifically prohibited in the regional land-use plan.
That attitude lingers. Nunavut still has no uranium policy and would rather see other resources developed.
``(We're) open for exploration on other minerals like diamonds or gold or whatever,'' said Simon Awa, the territory's deputy minister of environment. ``I think (uranium) would be least preferred.'' Awa says environmental questions need to be answered before uranium development begins.
``We haven't really identified conservation and protected areas,'' he said.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the territory has identified 405 prospecting permits that may conflict with ecological values. Some permits overlap proposed conservation areas or territorial parks.
Most of the exploration is near Baker Lake and the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, home to 800,000 caribou.
Ross Thompson of the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board points out the most actively prospected region is right on calving grounds and migration routes.
``Sooner or later, we want to see these areas legally protected or at least placed in land-use planning,'' he said.
Radioactive dust, water quality and disturbance to caribou activities could all result from uranium mining, the board says. Although the caribou harvest is worth at least $17 million a year to area hunters, no proper caribou survey has been conducted since 1994, said Thompson. Eetoolook says uranium is being unfairly targeted.
``Uranium is being looked at as a bad word because of its past history. But technology has improved.
``To me, it's not really different than other mining.''
Last spring, NTI released a draft policy that many felt signalled a new, pro-uranium stance. The draft finessed the land-use ban by saying ``exploration'' was not the same as ``development.''
It added: ``The (policy) expresses NTI's support for the responsible and peaceful uses of nuclear energy and describes NTI's position on the way in which uranium mining should be carried out.''
As well, an Inuit organization affiliated with NTI opposed a request last spring from the Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization for a moratorium on new permits. In Baker Lake, people don't know what to think.
``We need jobs here. That comes up a lot,'' said Mayor David Aksawnee.
But anything that hurts the caribou – literally the lifeblood of Baker Lake Inuit – would be disastrous.
``It's been a few years now and I don't know what the people are going to say. It's going to get confusing for the people of Baker Lake.''
Areva has set up an information office in town and has been flying people to its uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan to see what a modern operation looks like.
But Scottie said people still have no idea of the extent of the prospecting that's encircling their community.
``When you are kept in the dark, you have no concerns.''
NTI has been gathering reaction to its uranium policy all summer. Eetoolook promises it won't make any decisions that will harm the fragile tundra ecosystem or the hunters who depend on it.
``No. 1 one is our concern with the wildlife and the people,'' he said. ``A lot of people think we're going to do it blindly, but we're not.''
Scottie just wants the Inuit organizations supposed to be looking after her interests to start listening. Getting answers was easier the first time around, she suggested.
``Back then, Baker Lake Inuit made their own decisions. Today, we feel that is not the case.
``The concerns of my next-door neighbour and the local hunters aren't taken into account. We are being distorted by stronger voices like NTI.''
Don McKay: Employee relations specialist
By Shirley Collingridge
When Don McKay joined Cameco’s McArthur River Operation as Specialist in Employee Relations, he had already worked extensively in human relations. That is because the Cree Métis has always done what he loves best – work with people.
During McKay’s eighth year as a teacher, another former teacher and Cumberland House home-towner telephoned him. Keith Goulet, the first Métis Cabinet Minister in Saskatchewan, had an interesting offer.
“Keith Goulet… needed an executive assistant for the office in Regina,” said McKay. “I thought, well, these opportunities don’t happen everyday. I can always go back to teaching. So I tried it out in Regina and I enjoyed it there for three years.”
At the legislative building in Regina, “I worked for Keith Goulet and I worked for Pat Laurier. At the time when I left, I was working for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General,” he said.
McKay’s duties were largely in the public relations field, “dealing with the public with issues and concerns brought to the cabinet ministers.”
After three years, McKay realized, “Politics is not for me. I applied for a job with Cameco and that is where I have been for the last four years.”
His stint with the cabinet ministers prepared McKay for his current job – where he is still doing what he loves best. “I get to interact with people everyday,” he said. “There is also recruitment – trying to find jobs for, especially Northerners, but tradespeople.”
Some people view Cameco’s hiring practices as discriminatory said McKay but he disagrees.
“I don’t see that as that,” he said. “Some people [call it] discriminatory to hire a particular Northerner because of the location, but my argument is, say down south in Allan, Saskatchewan, for example, they wouldn’t be hiring people from Fond du Lac; they would be hiring people from the immediate area.”
“I believe that everybody should be treated equally. We should not be discriminating against anybody because of their skin colour or the way they look,” he said.
Besides, he added, the company’s hiring policy “is good business practice because the immediate area benefits from getting the jobs.”
Tracking down potential northerners – or anyone else – to fill skilled jobs in today’s labour-market crunch is often challenging.
“We are having a tough time in finding tradespeople,” said McKay. “It is difficult to find particular tradesmen like electricians and plumbers and heavy-duty mechanics and millwrights – those kinds of people are hard to come by.”
That is why McKay encourages young people to consider occupational trades. “There has always been a push to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, but I tell young people today that getting a journeyman ticket for any kind of trade is just as good as a doctor or a lawyer. It has the same benefits and you will have a career,” he said. “That is the simple message: get out there and find a trade that you think you are going to enjoy and get your journeyman ticket.”
Mine shifts can prove challenging for workers with family. McKay himself is a newlywed – just married in October – so children have not yet entered the equation.
“We talked about that already,” he said. “If and when we start a family I think I would probably want to be close to home. A lot of our employees that have young family and young kids at home enjoy the schedule because when they are off for those seven days they spend it with their family.”
They take on the challenge “knowing that you could miss a birthday, you could miss an anniversary because you are up at work,” he said. “Some employees have been doing it from when their kids were born right through to their kids leaving home – and they seem to be able to struggle through it. It is a challenge but I think Cameco’s an excellent company and tries to support their employees as much as they can.”
And for now, the schedule works very well for McKay.
“I just got home yesterday so I am off for seven days. It’s hunting season so I’m looking for deer,” he said. “I hauled home a treadmill so I’ve got to set that up. I enjoy the exercise. I enjoy the outdoors. Summertime we do a lot of camping and golfing and keep busy.”
McArthur River is a fly-in operation located in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. While McKay relishes his work at McArthur, he is interested in working at other minesites. For now, though, he will stay where he has been for the past four years, “I do enjoy working for Cameco,” he reiterated. “Cameco is a great company to work for.”
Meadowbank gold project gets green light
By Shirley Collingridge
Cumberland Resources Ltd. (“Cumberland”) is an exciting place to be right now. November 20, 2006, the company announced that it had received Federal approval for development of its Meadowbank Gold Project. The Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (“Federal Minister”) had accepted the Nunavut Impact Review Board’s (“NIRB’s”) recommendation that development of the project should proceed.
Cumberland holds 100% interest in the project, located 70 kilometres north of the hamlet of Baker Lake, Nunavut. Development will mean happy investors and provincial coffers.
“We are very pleased with the swift review by the Ministry of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Cumberland can now begin to provide much desired employment opportunities and economic benefits to Nunavut, particularly in the Kivalliq Region’s northern communities,” said Kerry Curtis, president and CEO of Cumberland. “We will soon be commencing construction of the four season road from Baker Lake to Meadowbank, and building Canada’s and Nunavut’s next large-scale, long-life gold operation at Meadowbank.”
Before accepting the NIRB’s recommendation, under Article 12 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement the Federal Minister was required to review the NIRB’s Final Hearing Report and the proposed terms and conditions and obtain concurrence from officials at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Transport Canada. The NIRB made its positive development recommendation to the Federal Minister in late August 2006.
Cumberland’s Board of Directors subsequently made its production decision in late September. The company then staged the necessary equipment and supplies at Baker Lake for the construction of a four-season access road to Meadowbank.
Once NIRB provides the Project Certificate to Cumberland, the issuance of ancillary permits necessary for construction will commence. If all goes as planned, gold production at Meadowbank will commence in late 2008 or early 2009.
The project will bring much-needed employment, especially to nearby communities. In February of this year, Cumberland signed an Agreement in Principle for an Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreement (IIBA) with the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA). The Agreement satisfies the requirements of Article 26 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. It also specifies benefits that will be provided to Inuit over the proposed 12 years of development, operation, and closure of the Meadowbank gold project.
The IIBA ensures that local employment, training and business opportunities are accessible to the Kivalliq Inuit. It also outlines special considerations and compensation that Cumberland will provide for Inuit regarding traditional, social and cultural matters, as well as providing $14,000.00 in annual scholarships for local youth.
Cumberland is advancing the Meadowbank project toward open pit production based on a bankable feasibility study and subsequent bank due diligence completed in December 2005.
Cumberland is a well financed mineral development and exploration company. The Company has completed a bankable feasibility study on the Meadowbank gold project (100% interest) in Nunavut and is advancing the project towards production. Cumberland shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange under the symbol CLG. For more information, visit www.cumberlandresources.com.
Prince George area First Nations try to halt mine project
Representatives of the Tse Keh Nay Nation were expected in Victoria on November 29th to ask a joint federal and provincial environmental panel to shut down its review of Northgate Minerals' $200-million mine project in northern B.C. The Tse Keh Nay Nation, which includes the Takla, Tsay Keh Dene and Kwadacha bands, wants the review process halted until the federal and provincial governments have fully and meaningfully consulted with them.
The Tse Keh Nay are joining the Gitxsan House of Nii Kyap which last week called for the review process to be suspended until they're properly consulted and are provided with adequate funding to engage in the consultations.
The three-person review panel has already held week-long hearings in Prince George and Smithers, and is scheduled to deliver its recommendations in the new year.
The panel added the extra day of public hearings in Victoria specifically to hear the Gitxsan's motion which they introduced during the hearings in Smithers last week.
Takla chief John French said while the Tse Keh Nay support sustainable economic development, there is no way the governments and the company should be teaming up to destroy their sacred lake.
The panel has said it will consider the motion as well as the comments, then make a decision.
Aluminum company finds gold
By Shirley Collingridge
Leading global materials company Alcan Inc. has tucked yet another award under its belt and this one is a dilly. The company earned the World Environment Center’s (WEC) 2007 Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development. Alcan officials explained the company received the award for comprehensive integration of sustainability into its business decision making and operations.
This annual award was established in 1985 to recognize pre-eminent industry leadership initiatives and contributions to worldwide environmental excellence and sustainable development.
“We are honoured to receive this prestigious award,” said Dick Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alcan Inc. “Sustainability has become an integral part of the way we do business, balancing economic, social and environmental objectives. The evidence is quite clear that this is an essential element in a successful business strategy, and a distinguishing feature of high-performance organizations,” he added.
The Gold Medal Jury, independent of the WEC and its programs, is drawn from international leaders in academia, government, industry and non-governmental organizations. The jury honed in on Alcan’s achievements through its Community Investment Program (CIP). It cited CIP as an exemplary corporate philosophy producing long-term results for integrating sustainability into its business practices.
“Alcan’s long-term economic, social and environmental partnerships, combined with its emerging sustainable business model, are setting an example for its industry and all global organizations,” said Gold Medal Jury Chairman Dr. Joel Abrams, Professor Emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh.
The WEC will present its Gold Medal Award to Alcan at the 23rd Gold Medal Presentation gala Friday, May 11, 2007 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
The World Environment Center (WEC) is an independent, not-for-profit, non-advocacy organization. Working with the private sector, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and academia, the WEC promotes sustainable development by encouraging leadership, improving health and safety practices worldwide, and fostering the efficient use of natural resources to protect the global environment. For more information, visit www.wec.org.
Alcan Inc. (NYSE, TSX: AL) is a leading global materials company, delivering high quality products and services worldwide. With world-class technology and operations in bauxite mining, alumina processing, primary metal smelting, power generation, aluminum fabrication, engineered solutions as well as flexible and specialty packaging, today’s Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers’ needs.
Alcan is represented by 65,000 employees in 61 countries and regions, and posted revenues of US$20.3 billion in 2005. The Company has featured on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index consecutively since 2003. For more information, visit www.alcan.com.
CanAlaska to begin exploration on Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation reserve
CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV:CVV) will begin an uranium exploration program in the Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation reserve lands in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin.
The Vancouver company said November 29th it had reached an option agreement with the Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation that will allow CanAlaska to earn a 49 per cent interest in the mineral resources contained on the reserve lands by spending a minimum of $2 million in exploration expenditures over four years.
It will also issue up to 300,000 common shares to Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation and to make cash payments of up to $130,000.
``This agreement represents an important milestone for CanAlaska in its exploration efforts in the Athabasca Basin,'' stated CEO Peter Dasler.
``We are most pleased to work hand-in-hand with First Nations communities towards the potential realization of an extremely valuable resource.''
Victor Fern, chief of the Fond du Lac band, said the deal marked ``the first time our First Nation has entered into a partnership with an exploration company for the purpose of developing the mineral potential of our lands.''
``The opportunity enables us to participate in the growth of the uranium exploration industry and to develop the economic potential of both our human and mineral resources.''
The Fond Du Lac lands are located on the northern rim of the Athabasca Basin and cover 38,458 hectares near existing CanAlaska claims. The region hosts several uranium occurrences, including the Fond Du Lac uranium deposit.
CanAlaska is currently undertaking uranium exploration in 19 projects in the Athabasca Basin.
On the TSX Venture Exchange Wednesday, CanAlaska shares traded up one cent to 67 cents.
Environmentalist worried about open pit mine
By Keven Drews
An open-pit copper mine could become a reality in Clayoquot Sound if a Vancouver-based company is allowed to continue exploratory drilling, says a Tofino environmentalist.
Maryjka Mychajlowycz, forest campaigner for the Friends of Clayoquot Sound, said she worries about what will happen if the Ahousaht First Nation approves Doublestar Resources Ltd.'s drilling plans for Catface Mountain in a referendum. Catface Mountain, located 13 kilometres northwest of Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is within the band's traditional territory and in the middle of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Ahousaht members discussed the company's plans during an annual general meeting last week. Hereditary chiefs won't say what the next course of action is or confirm whether the band has scheduled a referendum.
``I don't think we're ready to make any statements or comments,'' said Billy George Keitlah Jr.
``Right now it's an in-house thing.''
The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization has designated a 350,000-hectare biosphere reserve in the Clayoquot. The densely forested region was a battleground between forest companies and environmentalists determined to preserve its old-growth rainforest.
More than 800 people were arrested during a massive anti-logging blockade in 1993. Keitlah said hereditary chiefs will issue a news release in the new year. However, on Sept. 25 those same chiefs objected to the company's presence in the village of Ahousaht and on Catface. As a result, the company cancelled its exploratory drill program. Company officials were unavailable for comment. However, company and Ahousaht websites explain the property and project's histories. The copper-molybdenum deposit was found in 1960 and was explored by Falconbridge Ltd. from 1961 to 1971.
Doublestar bought the rights to metallic minerals – including copper, molybdenum, silver and gold – from Falconbridge in January 2000.
After taking over the property, Doublestar began six years of consultations with the band in an attempt to develop an exploration protocol.
In 2005, Doublestar conducted a base-line environmental study. It planned a final exploration-level hydrology campaign this fall and winter. If the project proves viable, Doublestar wants to excavate an open-pit mine, lowering the mountain's elevation by some 150 metres. The company promises to hire 25 Ahousaht membs during the mine's construction, and ``no less than 100'' to run the mine over 25 to 30 years. The land is currently owned by the Crown.
All industrial activities on Clayoquot Sound Crown land must be approved by the Central Region Board.
The board allows First Nations and non-First Nations to manage resources and lands jointly until treaty negotiations are completed.