Tahltan territory is the size of Portugal and rich in precious metals
Gold, jade, copper, nickel, obsidian, silver – the northwest corner of B.C., dubbed the Golden Triangle, is rich in precious and base metals. Roughly 70% of this mineral-rich region is claimed by the Tahltan First Nation as traditional territory – an area roughly the size of Portugal.
The Tahltan claimed sovereignty over their territory in a formal declaration in 1910. Though at the time its leaders expressed an interest in treaty negotiations, the Tahltan First Nation is among the few in B.C. that never entered the B.C. treaty process.
That might have become a problem for mining companies wanting to exploit the region’s mineral riches, but the Tahltan First Nation supports and is very much involved in the mining industry. There is archaeological evidence that the Tahltan mined and traded obsidian (used for making blades, arrowheads and spearheads) as far back as 10,000 years ago, and also traded with gold miners during the gold rush of the 1800s.
There are currently two operating mines in Tahltan territory – the Red Chris copper-gold mine and the Brucejack gold mine – that provide 950 direct jobs and another 1,000 in the supply and services industry, and other projects are under development. Mining and exploration in the region has attracted an estimated $1.8 billion just in the last three years alone, according to the B.C. government.
For the rest of this article: https://biv.com/article/2022/03/tahltan-first-nation-shows-its-mining-mettle