Golden Band committed to working with northern neighours
Dion pledges millions for Arctic infrastructure, calls Tory plans “insulting”
Heavy lifting and transport solutions
The NWT Protected Areas Strategy
Golden Band committed to working with northern neighours
Golden Band Resources Inc. is a well-financed Saskatchewan-based publicly listed company whose major focus is gold exploration and development of its La Ronge Gold Belt properties in Northern Saskatchewan. Golden Band has transformed itself from a junior exploration company to an emerging producer with a gold portfolio worthy of an intermediate mining company. Over the past 13 years, the company has assembled a land package of more than 750 km2 in northern Saskatchewan through staking and strategic acquisitions. The land package includes 10 known gold deposits, four former producing mines and a licensed gold mill.
Golden Band’s short-term goals include processing ore from the Bingo, Komis, and EP deposits at the Company’s 100% owned Jolu mill – a project that received a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (scoping study) on April 19, 2007. Longer-term objectives include adding ore from additional deposits while continuing its highly successful exploration and acquisition strategy.
In the midst of all this activity, the Company has already demonstrated its commitment to northern business development and to providing employment opportunities to local communities.
“Developing strong working relationships with northern businesses is a key priority for Golden Band,” says Rodney G. Orr, President and CEO. “There remains a lot to be done along our path to production [including] developing and maintaining our long-term relationships with our neighbors.” Since the company has been operating in the area since the early 90s, many of its employees and their families already have a long-standing relationship with the company.
To strengthen its commitment Golden Band recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. The MoU outlines the intentions and relationships of a broader, mutually beneficial, partnership and sets out forward-thinking, strategic, understandings and intentions on the establishment of relationships that will help further the advancement of exploration and mining by Golden Band in ways that are mutually beneficial.
Chief Tammy Cook-Searson, Chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band said the following about this very significant undertaking of a mutually beneficial relationship between the Band and Golden Band:
“Many past resource developments have proceeded in our traditional lands without any benefits for our band members. Golden Band is showing us that they are committed to working with us and our businesses. We want both a productive business relationship and a productive community consultation meetings and in the negotiation of a participation agreement that will show First Nations and businesses across the country that resource developments can proceed on traditional lands in a timely, cooperative and profitable manner.”
At the September 19th, 2007 media conference in La Ronge, Saskatchewan announcing the MoU, Orr said, “Golden Band is honored to work with the strong local leadership represented here by Chief Tammy Cook-Searson and the Council and Elders of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. The company is committed to northern business development in all its forms and opportunities.
“This MoU is an excellent and exciting start for us, and I look forward to continuing along this exciting path in this and other relationships.”
After the MoU was signed, Golden Band and Kitsaki Procon Joint Venture announced the signing of a General Services Agreement that provides opportunities to Lac La Ronge Indian Band members at Golden Band’s advanced exploration, pre-development projects, and future production operations. Opportunities included in this document include underground and surface mining and construction, catering, transportation, and environmental services. Even before the agreement was concluded, employees from the Kitsaki Procon team were on-site at Bingo helping prepare the site for underground exploration.
“We believe that mining is a temporary use of the land,” says Orr. “It only makes sense to ensure that traditional use of the land is respected, that local communities participate in development, and that strong business-to-business opportunities are created to maximize benefits.”
Strengthening partnerships between First Nations and Golden Band provides and exciting future for the northern community. Golden Band continues to embrace social responsibility and is committed to being a good partner and neighbor today and in the future. Coming together is the beginning, working together equals progress, but sustaining strong relationships defines success.
Dion pledges millions for Arctic infrastructure, calls Tory plans “insulting”
By Bob Weber
Federal Opposition Leader Stephane Dion distanced his party’s stance on Arctic sovereignty from that of the Conservatives on December 19th when he said a Liberal administration would spend millions on civilian harbours in Nunavut and boost education with a view to ending a billion-dollar lawsuit against the federal government.
Stephane Dion
His civilian-oriented promises came in sharp contrast to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s military-heavy announcements last summer, which Dion called “insulting” to northerners.
“The North is not only a tool for the south,” Dion said in the Nunavut capital. “There are people living in the North. They don’t ‘use’ the North – they are the North.”
Last June, Harper announced the government would build an Arctic warfare school and deepwater naval port and commission up to eight patrol ships to enforce Canadian sovereignty over northern lands and waters.
Dion ridiculed those plans, saying sovereignty will be determined by diplomacy and scientific research that maps out the extent of the continental shelf.
“The seabed mapping is the key by far,” he said. “We are in the 21st century and we will not shoot the Danes or the Russians to impose our sovereignty.”
Dion said a Liberal government would move to build seven small-craft harbours in Nunavut – a seven-year, $42-million proposal that has been languishing for more than a year around the cabinet table. Despite the fact nearly all the territory’s communities are coastal, Nunavut has no harbours suitable for fishing vessels or cruise liners.
Dion also promised new money to fully implement the Nunavut Land Claim, the subject of a billion-dollar lawsuit between the federal government and the group that oversees the claim.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. has claimed Inuit are missing out on $123 million a year in salaries and benefits that currently go to southerners working in Nunavut. The group says Ottawa has failed in its responsibility to educate Inuit so they could qualify for those jobs – a charge echoed by former justice Thomas Berger, who acted as a conciliator in the dispute.
Berger recommended an extra $20 million a year and revamped schools with a bilingual English-Inuktitut curriculum.
“We commit to implement the Nunavut Land Claim agreement,” said Dion.
He repeated his promise to base more search-and-rescue aircraft in Yellowknife and Iqaluit and acknowledged Canada does need some military presence in the Arctic. But he refused to detail his military plans, saying an announcement would come sometime in the new year.
“Before the election, we’ll add,” he said. “We have to have some surprises for the election.”
He said the Liberals will re-examine plans for Arctic patrol vessels, which have been criticized because they would only be able to sail through first-year ice.
Dion, who recently visited both the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, was the third party leader to swing through the North this year with policy statements in tow.
After Harper’s visit in June, New Democrat Leader Jack Layton followed in August. Layton also called the Harper government’s plans overly militaristic.
Harper made a second trip North in August during which he announced several park expansions in the Northwest Territories.
Ted Yeomans, director of communications for Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Chuck Strahl, said the Liberals did nothing for the North.
“It’s nice to see Stephane Dion now knows where the North is; however, it comes after two years of Conservative action and results and 13 years of Liberal inaction.
“Dion was the Liberal MP and cabinet minister under both Jean Chretien and Paul Martin and sat silently as the Liberals ignored the Arctic and cut sovereignty protection.”
Heavy lifting and transport solutions
Mammoet provides tailor made heavy lifting and transport solutions. A customer driven company with Dutch roots, the enterprise has evolved to a world-class player that sets trends and records. In virtually every part of the world, Mammoet’s presence is visible both on shore and offshore. Our regional offices serve customers in various markets around the globe. The main economic sectors covered by Mammoet are the petrochemical industry, civil projects, power plant facilities, offshore business and marine projects. Mammoet’s activities range from turnkey projects to equipment rentals. In addition, Mammoet Trading is renowned for trading new and used, or overhauled equipment.
ETARCO (Engineered Transporta-tion and Rigging Company) a Canadian heavy haul transport company from Cambridge, ON, established a branch in Edmonton, AB in the spring of 1998. Two years later the van Seumeren family, from Holland, acquired partial ownership in ETARCO. The same year, the group purchased Mammoet, their largest world-wide competitor and the name was re-branded to ETARCO Mammoet. The company continued operations under this name until December 31, 2001 when it changed its name to Mammoet Canada Western Ltd. (MCW). The mixture of Canadian and Dutch cultures enabled this Canadian division the ability to offer their clients world-wide expertise in specialized lifting and transport services. MCW’s head office was in Edmonton, with an operational office in Fort MacKay (Fort McMurray) and a sales office in Calgary, Alberta. Also during that year, the inception of Mammoet Crane Inc. (MCI) offered crane rental services. Since then MCI’s fleet of cranes has increased more than 10x, offering services throughout western Canada. In 2006, Mammoet Transportation Inc. (MTI) was started offering Full and LTL truckload transportation throughout North America.
With the success of Mammoet, operational offices have increased throughout Alberta thus offering our clients efficient and effective services. In addition to our Edmonton and Fort MacKay locations, we are also positioned in Bonnyville, Calgary and Pincher Creek.
Mammoet’s mission is to be the best full service provider in the global market for engineered heavy lifting and multi modal transport for the benefit of our customers, shareholders and employees.
To achieve this we rely on a vast and solid range of expertise and equipment to handle both started and one-of-a-kind contracts, with dedication and passion of all concerned.
Mammoet has worked hard on strengthening its foundations in recent years. “Our employee skills, safety policy, management structure and corporate systems such as SAP are key to our competitive edge. That’s why we are investing in them,” says Roderik van Seumeren, President and CEO of Mammoet Global. “We always have done this, and we always will. The philosophy reflects the Mammoet way of working and confirms our position as a strong global firm”.
We are proud of the relationships we have forged over the years with companies who value our service and commitment to complete their jobs effectively and efficiently.
The NWT Protected Areas Strategy
The Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy (NWT PAS) was created to help NWT communities protect special areas of land for the long term. The NWT PAS was established in 1999 as an overall framework and set of criteria to guide the work of identifying and establishing protected areas in the NWT. It was developed by regional Aboriginal organizations, the federal and territorial governments, environmental non-governmental organizations, and industry representatives. These groups worked in partnership to develop the PAS so that communities lead the process and are able to benefit from both development and conservation.
Peregrine Falcon
Ts'ude niline Tu’eyeta is a sacred place and harvesting area of the Fort Good Hope Dene. For generations it has been used for trapping, hunting, fishing, and camping. It has many archaeological, burial and historic sites. The Ramparts River watershed is a critical wetland that filters millions of gallons of water per day. As a key migratory bird terrestrial habitat site, the wetlands provide excellent nesting, brood rearing and staging habitat for ducks, geese and loons. Two species at risk, the peregrine falcon and boreal woodland caribou, are also found within the Candidate Protected Area. Parents still take their children and grandchildren to the places in Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta shown to them by their parents, and these young people learn the skills and stories of the older generations; the Candidate Protected Area thus becomes a key part of the collective identity of the people of Fort Good Hope.
The Canadian Wildlife Service is the sponsor of Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta and is working with the Protected Areas Strategy to seek permanent protection through the Canada Wildlife Act. The Canadian Wildlife Service has received a 4 year interim land withdrawal for Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta to complete the necessary assessments of the area.
A Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta Working Group was established in May 2007 to oversee the detailed assessments of the area's ecological, cultural and economic values that are required during Step 5 of the PAS process.
Once complete, assessment results and options for final designation, boundaries and management of the area will be presented to communities and other stakeholders. Decisions and
recommendations from the public review will be incorporated into the final management plan.
To learn more about the Protected Areas Strategy visit www.nwtpas.ca or contact the PAS Secretariat at (867) 920-3179.