Native leaders say Ontario is robbing the communities with new diamond tax
New Taku River Tlingit mining policy – a Canadian first
Rare metals key to a cleaner environment
Capitalizing on the robust nickel market
Golden Band looking to become next gold producer
Liberty Mines launches partnership with Ontario First Nations community
Platinex gets OK to work on Aboriginal land, but constitutional challenge awaits
Miners stunned after northern uranium project blocked
Native leaders say Ontario is robbing their communities with new diamond tax
By Chinta Puxley
Ontario is robbing impoverished northern Aboriginal communities of much-needed investment by slapping a diamond tax on the burgeoning mining industry, Native leaders said May 9th.
While Premier Dalton McGuinty said he's not worried the hefty new tax will deter companies from investing in northern Ontario, Aboriginal leaders say the province is lining its own coffers with no thought to sharing the profits with the affected Aboriginal communities.
“Mining companies come to our traditional territories and take the resources and leave nothing for First Nations – those actions have to stop,” said Mike Carpenter, Chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation near Ontario's first diamond mine by James Bay.
“The premier has to start listening to First Nations. We have to be included in development.”
Ontario's first diamond mine is set to start production next spring but the Liberals have already passed legislation to take a cut of up to 13 per cent from future profits.
Northern mayors and Aboriginal groups say the tax sends the wrong message to the mining industry as a whole and is deterring new investment in the province’s northern communities.
The De Beers diamond mine – which is on the traditional land of the Attawapiskat First Nation – is a life line for the reserve which is plagued by high suicide rates, woefully inadequate housing and extreme poverty, Carpenter said.
Housing is in such short supply that up to four families live in one three-bedroom home, he said. The community has been without an elementary school for seven years, he added.
The reserve has signed a revenue-sharing agreement with De Beers and no one wants to see that project or future exploration jeopardized by a hefty tax, he said.
“Northern Ontario generally is benefiting from this mine,” said Stan Louttit, Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuk Council.
“We need to continue doing that. This tax hike jeopardizes future development. What’s going to happen in the next 50 years? Are we going to continue wallowing in Third World conditions or can we prosper now?”
While Conservative Leader John Tory has vowed to roll back the diamond tax if he is elected premier in October, the current premier said the tax strikes the right balance.
“We've always got to find a way to walk the line here and ensure that we are competitive, to ensure that we’re not compromising economic growth and to ensure that we have sufficient revenues to carry out our responsibilities,” McGuinty said.
The province is working on developing a revenue-sharing model with northern Aboriginal communities and it will continue to work with the mining sector to ensure it remains “healthy,” McGuinty added.
Rick Bartolucci, minister of northern development and mines, said the tax depends on the amount of profit generated by the mine so it shouldn’t be a deterrent for any “marginal mine.”
The tax simply brings Ontario in line with other diamond-mining regions like the Northwest Territories, he added.
“I say we move on and we make this work,” Bartolucci said.
But New Democrat Gilles Bisson said northern Ontario will have trouble moving on until the Liberals admit they made a mistake, kill the tax and work out how to fairly share mining profits with Aboriginal communities.
“They clearly don’t understand mining and they clearly don’t understand the impact it’s going to have on First Nations,” he said. “This is the wrong message and the wrong action for this government to take.”
New Taku River Tlingit mining policy – a Canadian first
For the first time in Canada, a First Nation has produced a comprehensive mining policy that clearly sets out the rules of engagement for potential mining companies. Officially released March 13th, the Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN) Mining Policy is innovative, forward-looking and real-world.
“Our new mining policy clearly sets out how we will deal with proposals for mining-related activities in our traditional territory," says TRTFN spokesperson, Sandra Jack.
“Concisely and clearly, it spells out our determination to protect our land and aquatic resources while, at the same time, providing an accessible and easy-to-understand guide for mining companies who would like to do business with us.
“The Policy provides increased certainty,” Jack says. “As long as the miners agree to these ground rules. This is not a Policy that gives the go ahead to every mining project. The protection of our community and territory come first. When the ore runs out or the commodity boom fizzles on the stock market, the Tlingit people will still be here. Responsible companies will respect that.”
“This is our home. We intend to protect it. We are going to live here forever.”
According to Jack, the 17-page Policy sets out the following:
- the principles on which the TRTFN government bases its own decisions respecting proposals for mining-related activities in the territory;
- TRTFN procedures for dealing with proposals for mining-related activities in the territory;
- TRTFN's standards and expectations for mining-related activities and proponents in the territory; and
- procedures that proponents may use to seek the consent and support of TRTFN government for mining-related activities.
According to Jack, the new Policy also details the principles, procedures and applications so that potential mining partners will have a transparent and open guide.
The Policy also sets out a priorized system for a preliminary evaluation of a particular proposal as well as the decisions relating to exploration activities, environmental assessments and impacts and benefits agreements.
All aspects of the Policy are directly linked to TRTFN's Aboriginal rights.
Jack says the Policy points the way to the "New Relationship in Action" with Canada's mining industry. Its release is timely, she says, coming two weeks after a Fraser Institute study claimed the mining investment climate in B.C. is the poorest in Canada.
The survey shows British Columbia, after steadily improving since 2001, has stalled and is the lowest ranked of the Canadian provinces.
Jack believes the new TRTFN mining policy is prescriptive, pointing the way to clarity and concision – more open dialogue between First Nations and mining companies.
“Our new policy puts meat on the bones of New Relationship. It steers us away from conflict, confusion and uncertainty and toward social, economic and environmental sustainability and respect for Aboriginal rights,” she says.
The new policy also stipulates that TRTFN will remain vigilant when it comes to protecting its land, wildlife and aquatic resources.
“The voices of our Elders are woven into our new policy,” Jack says. “We spent considerable time and effort talking to, and incorporating their ideas and values into the document. The policy is really an extension of their love and great respect for the land, rivers, resources and wildlife.”
In a related development, permits may soon be granted to Adanac Molybdenum Corp. for its proposed Ruby Creek molybdenum mine 24 kms northeast of Atlin, and a three-hour drive from Whitehorse. The mine could be operational in 2008.
In a very practical sense, this project provides a test run for the new Mining Policy. TRTFN and Adanac are already working closely together to ensure the operation minimizes land and aquatic impacts in TRT territory, and those of its neighbors in B.C., Yukon and Alaska.
According to Jack, the Vancouver-based proponent has shown a good measure of commitment to sustainability and respect for TRTFN rights, title, communities and way of life.
Jack is confident Ruby Creek will become a model of how mining can take place in a way that brings benefits to a First Nation, without undermining long-term sustainability or the TRTFN’s land-based economy.
By Shirley Collingridge
Like a plot from Davy Crockett movie, Saskatchewan’s legendary linecutters tough it out in the wilderness – face off with bears, and fight hypothermia and frigid temperatures, armed only with mace and machetes.
This is not the plot for a new adventure movie; for men like Ben Ballantyne, it is everyday life in the 21st Century. Ballantyne is not only Vice President of Fox Point Development, he is also one of Saskatchewan’s legendary linecutters.
“We are the third ones to be on the ground,” said Ballantyne. Slashing or linecutting take place by airborne surveys and staking. Mines like Rabbit Lake, Key Lake, Cigar Lake and Cluff Lake are all gridded by linecutters like Ballantyne.
Isolated from family and friends, these hardy souls slash a path through the trees, creating grids of one to three kilometres by a metre or two wide to prepare the way for exploration company’s geophysicists.
“A lot of people expect to be staying at the mine,” he said. “That is not the case. You have to sacrifice your family,” said Ballantyne.
“A lot of times we get dropped off with just a summer tent at minus 40,” he added. “We have no floor and we have no shower up to eight weeks sometimes and you are sweating all day. You don’t want to smell the linecutter if he is out in the field for six weeks! I have seen grown men cry out there.”
The work is fraught with danger. “You have to know the ice conditions. If not, somebody is going to get hurt or even die up there. The North is beautiful but it can also bite back,” he said.
“You have got to really watch hypothermia in the wintertime because you are sweating all the time. If you start feeling nausea or light-headed, you have to sit down and make tea – or just go home for the day. Once you get down to the chills, you don’t feel [anything] at all. A lot of people die that way,” he said.
Despite the isolation, the danger and discomfort, Ballantyne has followed this path more than half his life.
“When I started linecutting, I had just turned 18,” he said. It wasn’t easy because you have to be out there at least four weeks – up to eight weeks.”
The transition was natural for the teenager. “I was raised out in the field – on the trapline,” he said. As a child, Ballantyne accompanied his parents and those of his siblings who were not in school, along the trapline.
“That was down river from Stanley Mission, between Pelican (Narrows) and Stanley Mission. We were trapping beaver in the fall and also foxes, lynx, muskrats and all types of little animals like squirrels and weasels,” he said. “It was a different world.”
“School only went up to grade 10. If you wanted to go higher, you had to go down south,” he said. “By that time, I was ready to work and ready to get out there and explore the new world.”
“That was back in 1986. Being that young, it is hard to be out in the field, but you have to do what you have to do,” he said. “After that, I picked up a little bit of experience here and there with different mining companies. I was with Devex Exploration for about six years called. After that, I was with Cominco Limited for probably about three years all together.”
For the next 20 years, the linecutter would encounter many challenges.
“Bears – in the summertime,” he said. “We cannot build fires in the summertime because of the environment. We have bear mace, but if the wind direction is coming from the wrong way – you end up tasting your own medicine.”
“About two weeks ago, they flew a whole bunch of us out dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes we camp together, two of us. A friend of mine was camping alone,” said Ballantyne. “I guess he must have fell asleep and next thing you know there was a bear bothering his grub – the bear took off his blanket. He had to make do with what he had.”
“I have not experienced any bear attacks myself – to really be endangered,” he said. “But toward the end of May, we were staking lines and I seen a black object in front of me about 25 metres. We thought it was a dead moose. It turned out to be a bear, sleeping,” he said. “He woke up and charged right at me. I was just waiting for him to attack me and then he just turned around, shook his head and walked away.”
“Those are the other things that we are faced with in this business,” he added.
“The axes that we deal with, they are really razor sharp; the same with the machetes. Two-inch trees, in the summertime, they just go right through in one swing,” he said. “So imagine what you can do with your foot or leg.”
Perhaps because of the need to survive, linecutters treat each other like family. The Cree all speak Cree and look out for one another.
“At the end of the day, if one guy is missing – one of the family members missing,” said Ballantyne. “You have to walk back and look for that person.
Because all we know you were alive when we left you and that’s the way we want to find you.”
Some of the excitement is gone for Ballantyne since he now spends much of his days pushing pencils. He relishes the times he is called back to the field.
“That is my home,” he said. “I would rather be out in the field than downtown Vancouver. It is a lot safer because I know my way around.”
Today Ballantyne calls Stanley Mission home, along with wife Mary and sons James and David.
Although Ballantyne does not expect to follow his dream of becoming a geologist, “My 13-year-old son is going to be following my footsteps,” he said. “He is thinking about being a geologist. He talks about it all the time. He is collecting rocks during the summer.”
“Everybody right across Canada says Stanley Mission and La Ronge and the surrounding community are the best places to get linecutters. If it were not for the Aboriginal line cutters, I would not be where I am at right now,” he concluded.
Fox Point Development Corporation is 100%-owned by First Nations contractors and business professionals. For more information, visit www.foxpointcorp.com.
Rare metals key to a cleaner environment
People don’t tend to associate mining with a cleaner environment, but that is exactly what Avalon Ventures Ltd. plans to demonstrate with its four Canadian rare metals and minerals projects. This is because the new technologies being developed to reduce consumption of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions rely on the unique properties of a relatively obscure group of mineral commodities called the rare metals.
Elements with such exotic names as neodymium, europium, gallium and beryllium that you probably haven’t thought of since your high school chemistry class, are becoming vital to new technology for more fuel efficient cars. The hybrid car, which combines an electric motor, generator and rechargeable battery with a combustion engine in order to reduce fossil fuel consumption, contains some 15-20kg of rare earth elements! These are mainly used to make the high-intensity permanent magnets that are key to the engineering of high-efficiency electric motors.
Rare metals are also used in the re-chargeable battery and the new generation of plug-in electric cars that are looking to another rare metal; Lithium as the key to making a battery that can hold a sufficient electric charge for a day’s drive for a typical urban commuter. The rare metals cerium and zirconium are key components of the catalytic converter which removes particulate pollutants from the exhaust emissions.
Alternative lighting technology, being designed to replace the inefficient incandescent light bulb, rely on the unique properties of rare metals such as gallium, yttrium and europium. Light Emitting Diodes or LED’s produce light with just 10% of the energy required to power an incandescent light and contain no toxic metals such as mercury contained in the alternative fluorescent lighting technology.
Finally, the next generation of low-cost solar energy panels, rely on the rare metals indium and gallium as part of the solar energy capturing technology. The rare metal indium is also key to flat panel displays which have completely taken over the market for televisions and computer monitors. This trend toward increasing use of rare metals in new technology is only just beginning.
Avalon’s President, Don Bubar commented, “21st century mining will increasingly involve production of metals and minerals that are non-toxic themslves, produce no hazardous waste materials and can be used to manufacture products which are beneficial to the environment. These are what the rare metals can offer. Further, 21st century mining must be environmentally-sustainable and respect the wishes of local communities, which means not leaving any messes behind when you are finished.”
Avalon sees great opportunities for partnering with Aboriginal communities in northern Canada to build and operate the new generation of environmentally-beneficial and sustainable mineral extraction businesses. Aboriginal peoples with their profound respect and attachment to the land are natural partners in developing the mines of tomorrow, which respect the environment and produce commodities used to reduce environmental degradation.
Capitalizing on the robust nickel market
Growth-oriented and well positioned to capitalize on the robust nickel market, Victory Nickel Inc. has over 660 million pounds of in-situ nickel in National Instrument 43-101-compliant M&I resources at its Minago and Mel (on Manitoba’s Thompson Nickel Belt) and Lac Rocher (in northern Quebec) sulphide nickel deposits. Recently created from the nickel assets of Nuinsco Resources Limited (TSX:NWI) and $12 million in cash, Victory Nickel is a well financed nickel company focused on becoming a producer by developing its existing properties and expanding its asset base.
Since the start of trading on February 6th, 2007 under the symbol Ni on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the company has:
- Engaged Wardrop Engineering Inc. (“Wardrop”) to complete the Minago bankable feasibility study.
- Expanded the land package encompassing the 100%-owned Minago project by 7,062 hectares to 14,496 hectares.
- Begun an aggressive drill program as part of the Minago bankable feasibility study with three drill rigs conducting 13,000 metres of diamond drilling.
- Completed the Minago metallurgical drilling ahead of schedule, and delivered eight tonnes of mineralized material to SGS Mineral Services (“Lakefield”) to complete feasibility study metallurgical studies.
- Completed the hydrogeological and geotechnical drilling required for Minago feasibility study.
- Reported a 79% increase in the amount of contained nickel, and a 14% rise in grade, in the measured and indicated resource at the Mel project, increasing Victory Nickel’s total in-situ nickel inventory to over 660,000,000 pounds of nickel.
- Undertaken a $2,000,000 drill program at Mel in conjunction with joint venture partner CVRD Inco Limited to test the numerous geophysical targets identified on the property.
- Completed a bought deal private placement for gross proceeds of $11,500,000.
“Since the creation of Victory Nickel we have worked hard to advance Minago, Mel and Lac Rocher,” said René Galipeau, Vice-Chairman and CEO. “The Minago bankable feasibility study is our main priority, and we remain on schedule to complete the feasibility in mid-2008. At Mel and Lac Rocher, both near-surface deposits with good grade, we are actively investigating the potential for near-term production on a direct-ship basis to capture current high nickel prices in advance of achieving nickel production from Minago.”
The market for nickel is expected to remain robust for the foreseeable future. With over 660,000,000 pounds of in-situ nickel in National Instrument 43-101-compliant measured (154,000,000 pounds) and indicated (511,000,000 pounds) resources at the Minago, Mel and Lac Rocher sulphide nickel projects, and an additional 530,000,000 pounds of in-situ nickel in inferred resources, Victory Nickel is well positioned to take advantage of the worldwide shortage of sulphide nickel assets with near-term production potential. Victory Nickel is aggressively advancing all three projects to production. Based on the Company’s recent share price, and given the strength of the Minago, Mel and Lac Rocher projects, management recognizes that Victory Nickel’s assets remain significantly undervalued by the market, and is committed to realizing full value on behalf of all shareholders.
Nuinsco Resources Limited is a growth-oriented, multi-commodity mineral exploration and development company that is focused on growth through uranium, base and precious metals exploration and development in world-class mineralized belts in Canada and Turkey. In addition, Nuinsco holds equity positions in near-production Victory Nickel Inc. (TSX:Ni) and copper and gold producer Campbell Resources Inc. (TSX:CCH).
Over the past year, the company has had great success in implementing its growth strategy of:
- Creating pure-play companies to develop and bring to production existing projects in the pipeline;
- Acquiring and developing advanced projects with near-term production and cash flow potential; and,
- Identifying quality exploration projects in solid regions, regardless of commodity.
In 2007, Nuinsco is continuing to advance its strategy. Achievements so far this year include:
- The spin-off the Minago, Mel and Lac Rocher sulphide nickel projects to create Victory Nickel Inc. (TSX:Ni), a pure nickel company with over 660 million pounds of in-situ sulphide nickel in measured and indicated resources, in which Nuinsco retained an initial 25% interest.
- Surface uranium exploration at the Prairie Lake property in preparation for 2,000 metres of drilling to upgrade and add to the historic (non-NI-43-101-compliant) resource of over 180,000 tonnes grading 0.09% U3O8 (and 0.25% niobium).
- Completed earn-in of 100% interest from Xstrata Copper in the Elmalaan copper-zinc-gold-silver property in northeastern Turkey.
- Cut two zones of massive and semi-massive sulphide in the first hole at Elmalaan grading up to 10.1% zinc, 1.88% copper, 50.2 g/t silver and 4.57 g/t gold over one metre.
- Completed a bought deal flow through private placement for gross proceeds of $6,000,000, primarily to accelerate uranium exploration at the Diabase Peninsula property in the Athabasca Basin and the Prairie Lake property, and gold exploration at the advanced Cameron Lake project.
- Intersected a significant, continuous domain of strong sulphide mineralization grading up to 30.0% copper and 7.19% zinc at the Berta property, a joint venture with Xstrata Copper in northeastern Turkey. Copper, gold, silver and zinc values occurred over the entire 771.5 metre length of hole SD-07-08.
“The creation of Victory Nickel in the first quarter was a significant milestone in Nuinsco’s strategy of creating pure-play companies to allow for more appropriate valuations of the Company’s varied assets,” said CEO René Galipeau. “Over the balance of the year, we plan to remain very active in uranium exploration, with $3,000,000 budgeted for drilling on the Diabase and Prairie Lake properties scheduled to begin this quarter, and we are continuing to evaluate the potential to create a pure uranium company. In Turkey, we are completing the final hole of the current program at Elmalaan and, with the positive drill results to date we are now planning for the next phase of drilling at both the Elmalaan and Berta projects.”
At March 31, 2007, the company had working capital of $8,599,000, compared with $3,070,000 at March 31, 2006, leaving it well financed to undertake the programs it has planned this year. All of the company’s projects are active, and during the first quarter three drills were operating on the Berta and Elmalaan projects in Turkey. Programs planned and underway in the second quarter are as follows:
Uranium
Diabase Peninsula: Geochemistry (radon survey) to better identify drill targets, as well as boulder and drift sampling programs are scheduled prior to 6,000 metres of diamond drilling. Results of a gravity survey completed earlier this year are pending.
Prairie Lake: Sampling and mapping will begin in May, which will overlap with a 1,500 metre initial diamond drill program scheduled for this month.
Copper/Gold/Zinc
Elmalaan & Berta: The final hole of the current 2,700 metre, eight hole program is expected to be complete this month. At both Berta and Elmalaan, data from the recent drill programs is being interpreted in advance of further drilling planned for both properties later this year.
Corner Bay: As part of its agreement with Campbell, Nuinsco is entitled to a 50% interest in the high-grade Corner Bay copper deposit near Campbell’s Joe Mann and Copper Rand mines in Chibougamau, Quebec. Final documentation is being completed, while development of the Corner Bay deposit is progressing and Corner Bay will be Nuinsco’s first producing mining asset.
Cameron Lake: Permitting to dewater the Cameron Lake underground is continuing, and the Company is evaluating its options for definition and exploration drilling from both surface and underground in an effort to better define and expand the existing ore body. Current resources stand at: measured: 187,000 tonnes grading 6.77 g/t gold, indicated: 385,000 tonnes grading 6.43 g/t, and inferred: 1,012,000 grading 5.22 g/t gold (see “Exploration Summary and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Cameron Lake Gold Deposit” dated April 19, 2004 and prepared by Eugene Puritch, P.Eng. and Paul Jones, P.Geo.)
Golden Band looking to become next gold producer
Golden Band Resources is a Saskatchewan-based resource company whose focus is the long-term, systematic exploration and development of its La Ronge Gold Belt properties in northern Saskatchewan. The company is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “GBN”.
An important part of Golden Band's business strategy has been the consolidation of properties and deposits which has resulted in the company's effective control of the most prospective ground in the La Ronge Gold Belt, a 100-km long gold-rich belt that is about 125 kilometres north of the community La Ronge.
Since 1994, Golden Band has assembled through staking and strategic acquisition more than 750 km2 of land, including ten known gold deposits, four former producing mines and a licensed gold mill. It is now well along the path of evolving from a junior exploration company into an emerging producer with a gold portfolio worthy of an intermediate mining company.
In April 2007 the company announced that a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment, or scoping study, had been completed on its Bingo, Komis, and EP gold deposits. The study is based on a four-year mining plan with production at the rate of 700 tonnes per day using the company's Jolu gold mill. The total anticipated production from this initial project is 138,000 ounces of gold. Mine life could be increased significantly beyond this initial period with the realization of resource potential on a number of nearby exploration properties currently being drilled and/or evaluated.
The study considers that Golden Band's operating plan has a high probability of economic viability. The next step for Golden Band is to complete a full feasibility study to finalize the development costs and timing in order to arrive at a decision to proceed to production. This work will proceed through 2007, with a currently anticipated start-up for the operations in late 2008.
Exploration is Still the Key for Long-Term Success
During the past ten years, Golden Band has discovered several gold showings and deposits using an exploration methodology that is now central to its search for new gold deposits. This method is known as bulk till sampling. The principal idea behind this is that active glaciers eroded bedrock and carried the debris, known as till, in an identifiable dispersion train down-ice from the source as the glacier advanced.
If a gold deposit was eroded by the glaciers, then tiny gold grains from the deposit are contained in the glacial till down-ice of the deposit – much as rocks eroded by a river are carried as sand and silt downstream by the water. By sampling and processing the glacial tills, the gold grains can be isolated and counted under a microscope. Through a systematic follow-up of ever increasing gold grain counts in the up-ice direction, the source of the gold-bearing anomaly can be traced and hopefully tied to a bedrock source – and maybe a new gold deposit.
Mapping, prospecting, and drilling are also important tools used in the exploration and discovery of new gold deposits and they can all be used with the bulk till results to find new targets for drilling. Exploration and mining has evolved into a very high-tech industry and is always looking for well-educated and trained people to meet the increasing job opportunities it offers.
The combination of ongoing exploration with the potential to become Saskatchewan’s next producing gold company offers many opportunities for participation by the residents of northern Saskatchewan – something that Golden Band Resources hopes will be true for many more years to come.
Liberty Mines launches partnership with Ontario First Nations community
By Michael Peeling
A northern Ontario First Nation and a junior mining company signed the beginnings of a partnership May 4th.
Mattagami First Nation Chief Walter Naveau and councillors met with Edmonton-based Liberty Mines Inc. president Gary Nash at the reserve’s community hall to sign a memorandum of understanding.
The memo signifies both parties’ commitment to developing a long-term agreement to keep the Redstone nickel mine in production and start the McWatters mine on Mattagami lands, ensuring the lives of the mines for years to come.
“We just had some recent drill results (at Redstone) about half an hour ago, which proves that the mine is going to have an extended life,” Nash said. “That's excellent for what we’re doing here today to develop our company and Mattagami First Nation and our growing relationship as partners.”
Mattagami's resource liaison Chris McKay said Liberty has done a good job recognizing that the nickel deposits to be mined are located on the First Nation's traditional lands.
“It’s created a good working relationship,” Naveau said. “And it's helping us as a First Nations community to achieve our dreams and goals in terms of education for our young people.”
Naveau emphasized council’s appreciation of Nash coming to Mattagami to share Liberty’s discoveries in the land.
Other companies mined nickel from Redstone, located 24 kilometres southeast of Timmins, from 1989 to 1996.
A mill has been built near the Redstone mine where ore from the McWatters mine will be shipped and concentrated as well.
Liberty is set to mine the McWatters deposit, located in Langmuir Township 9.5 km east of Redstone this summer, according to Nash.
The two zones of the deposit are estimated to have over 600,000 tons of nickel available.
The mine is expected to have a life of two years.
Liberty reopened Redstone last May and plans on declaring commercial production next month.
The expected output of the Redstone mill is estimated to be 1,500 tons of nickel a day by April 2008, but will start out around 700 in late summer.
Naveau said Liberty’s projects have opened up the doors of opportunity for Mattagami youth by creating good role models in the community.
“We can’t rely on INAC (Indian and Northern Affairs Act) all the time for their meager handouts,” Naveau said. “It's time to start showing our First Nations people how to be self-sufficient. These projects are a vital spoke in the wheel.”
Nash said the mining projects will bring many opportunities to Mattagami First Nation, including business relationships, scholarships and training in mining and other, unrelated professional fields.
Platinex gets OK to work on Aboriginal land, but constitutional challenge awaits
By Michael Oliveira
A court ruling that grants a mining company limited exploration rights on Aboriginal territory was called a partial victory May 2nd by the remote northern Ontario First Nations community whose land will be affected.
While the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation wasn’t able to halt Platinex Inc.’s (TSXV:PTX) preliminary search for minerals in the Big Trout Lake area, it did win a seat at the table for any future development talks.
“I think the judge did what he could in terms of being fair to all parties,” said John Cutfeet, a spokesman for the community also known as the KI First Nation, located some 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, ON.
In a decision released May 1st, Justice Patrick Smith ruled that there was inadequate evidence to prove that Platinex’s plan would harm the land, environment or Aboriginal tradition and culture.
The initial plan calls for the company to drill a maximum of 24 holes, each five centimetres in diameter, in a search for valuable minerals.
In the ruling, Smith said the Aboriginal community has legitimate reasons to be concerned about future developments, and ordered that any further plans first go through a consultation process – noting that Platinex does not have “carte blanche to proceed with this drilling.”
“Community members want to be treated as full partners, and not as second-class citizens. They want to have their fears and concerns heard and appreciated,” Smith wrote.
“This court understands, respects and acknowledges this perspective.”
The company, community and province must consult on any future plans, and if talks go nowhere, the court will intervene, Smith added.
“In this way, KI will know that their concerns and fears are being heard and respected, with the hope that ultimately, development will be for the mutual benefit of all parties, and not just Platinex.”
James Trusler, president and CEO of Platinex, said hes happy with the decision and predicted the community will view development as a good thing, even though there is currently opposition to the idea.
“We’re quite happy about this. I think we’re going to be able to work with KI very well,” Trusler said.
“(Similar projects) are really empowering the Native community and it represents a huge change for the Native communities.”
The community is not necessarily against development, said Cutfeet, but it must be given a much greater role in decision-making before plans are put in place.
“What Ontario has been proposing has been that we do the consultation while drilling takes place, and to me that would render the consultation process meaningless,” he said.
There are concerns about how the community will react to the decision, given previous tensions when protesters erected a blockade at the company's work site. Company workers alleged they were confronted in a threatening manner and had to flee, although the community says it was a peaceful protest.
The community is also launching a constitutional challenge of Ontario’s Mining Act, which allows companies to explore Crown land for minerals without having to purchase it.
Platinex was given clearance to survey land on the community's traditional territory without any consultations, which was a violation of their rights, Cutfeet said.
If the act is deemed unconstitutional, it could once again put Platinex's plans on hold.
“The issue of the constitutionality of the Mining Act is still critical and... until that’s resolved, we’re going to run into a series of problems with First Nations across Ontario,” said Kate Kempton, a lawyer for the KI community.
David Ramsay, the province’s minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs, said it’s important that
mining exploration continues in northern Ontario, and the government hopes to convince Aboriginal communities that they can benefit from development.
“We are in discussions with Aboriginal people (about) how we can share benefits from resource development and I say to people, ‘Let’s continue to grow the size of the pie as we talk about how we’re going to divide up the proceeds from the pie.’ ”
Miners stunned after northern uranium project blocked
By Bob Weber
Miners are stunned and environmentalists cheering over a northern regulator's recommendation that a uranium exploration project be denied because it threatens the spiritual and cultural well-being of the area’s Dene people.
The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board says Ur-Energy’s (TSX:URE) plan to drill up to 20 holes near the Thelon River should not proceed under any circumstances.
“Although the proposed development is physically small, the potential cultural impacts are not,” says the board in a written decision.
It is only the second time in the board’s history that it has dismissed a project outright.
It’s now up to federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice to decide whether to accept the recommendation, which throws doubt on the future of hundreds of mineral leases and claims in a vast area of the Northwest Territories.
“It’s a major concern if you can’t run a minimal-impact exploration program,” Mike Vaydik of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines said May 9th.
“Mineral exploration in the southeast part of the N.W.T. is basically stopped.”
Monte Hummel of the World Wildlife Fund agreed.
“This stands to have a serious impact on not just this project,” he said. “That’s what the people who live there want.”
Ur-Energy described the decision as a delay.
In a release, company president Bob Boberg said Ur-Energy is disappointed with the review board’s recommendation and “will continue to pursue any and all approaches that will allow us to advance exploration.”
Boberg said Ur-Energy would discuss the recommendation with Prentice.
The Thelon Basin is considered one of the earth's last pristine wildernesses.
During hearings on the project, one ecotourism outfitter said he'd spotted six grizzlies, 12 moose, 20 wolves, 100 muskox and 100,000 caribou on a single trip.
Residents from the community of Lutsel K’e described the area as “the place where God began” and “the heart and soul of the Dene.”
“(The) Thelon River is Thaydene Nene. Thaydene Nene is our ancestors,” Elder Bernadette Lockheart said in her testimony.
Even a single exploration camp is too much for such hallowed ground, testified 13-year-old Michael Lafferty.
“If you do find uranium, you’ll try to get it, right?” he asked. “It’s better just not to check. Just leave it there.”
The area drained by the Thelon River, which flows from the N.W.T. into Nunavut, has been the subject of an intense staking rush in recent years.
At least 40 companies are prodding the tundra for uranium after prices for the silvery metal grew from $7 a pound a few years ago to over $100 now. They have registered hundreds of prospecting permits, claims and mineral leases – 1,000 such dispositions on the N.W.T. side alone.
Nunavut has identified 405 prospecting permits that may conflict with ecological values. Some permits overlap proposed conservation areas or territorial parks.
The area is also subject to an agreement between Ottawa and the Akaitcho Dene not to make any decisions on the land for five years pending a land-claim settlement. That interim land withdrawal is currently awaiting cabinet approval.
As well, part of the region has been singled out by Environment Minister John Baird for the creation of East Arm National Park near the east arm of Great Slave Lake.
Earlier this week, Lutsel K'e Chief Adeline Jonasson sent an open letter to all resource companies saying they shouldn't bother asking about development on the Thelon because the Dene aren't interested.
“We are in complete opposition to having a mine in the Thelon area, and therefore will not support even the initial stages of such a possibility,” she wrote.
The board says Canada’s mining regulations contribute to the problem by allowing prospectors to stake claims before consulting area Aboriginals, and then giving those claims precedence in any subsequent land talks.
As the quickening pace of northern industrial development runs head-on into land claims and environmental concerns, it's time the federal government dealt with tough land-use questions, said Hummel.
“As you delay more and more, mineral permits of one kind or another are being issued,” he said. “It’s fragmenting and reducing the area the (Dene) said they wanted to protect.”