Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 182

Future Ring of Fire route open to First Nations – by Bryan Phelan (Onotassiniik Magazine – Summer 2013)

July 12, 2013

Onotassiniik, Wawatay’s Mining Quarterly, sets out to provide knowledge and information about the mining industry in northern Ontario to First Nations communities, individuals and leaders throughout the region.

The provincial government has changed its public position on First Nations access to any future all-weather road to the Ring of Fire. It now asserts that First Nations would have access to such a road.

Last fall, a spokesman for the ministry of Northern Development and Mines told Wawatay News a proposed road linking the Ring of Fire mining development to an existing highway south at Nakina would not connect to First Nations in the region, and residents of those communities would be excluded from using it.

The province would help pay for construction of the 350-kilometre road but it would only be open to industrial users, the MNDM spokesman said, “to go in and get ore and minerals back out.” According to the province’s plan at the time, those companies would use the road on a pay-per-use basis.

First Nations bypassed along the way would include Webequie, Eabametoong, Neskantaga and Marten Falls – all members of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and the Matawa First Nations tribal council. “It doesn’t make economic sense, it doesn’t make moral sense and it’s just not going to happen that way,” Les Louttit, NAN deputy grand chief, said in November.

First Nations resource development group stalled by the AFN – by Laura Stone (Global News – July 10, 2013)

July 11, 2013

http://globalnews.ca/

OTTAWA – A government working group set up to ensure aboriginals share the benefits of natural resource development is more than a month behind schedule because the Assembly of First Nations has yet to nominate its members.

The delay comes after the previous incarnation, a joint economic task force, fell apart last November after two AFN appointees quit, according to briefing notes released to Global News under access to information.

The creation of a working group was among the pledges made at this year’s Jan. 11 meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and National Chief Shawn Atleo, and reflects a similar commitment made at the 2012 Crown-First Nations gathering.

The four-member group, with two members and co-chairs each nominated by the AFN and the department of aboriginal affairs, was supposed to start its seven-month term on June 1.

But that hasn’t happened. The federal government has picked its members, but the AFN has not. Once the nominees are in place, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt will make the appointments, the note says.

Matawa community members to get more training – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – July 10, 2013)

July 11, 2013

http://wawataynews.ca/

Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) has partnered with Aecon Group Inc. to expand training and development programs for First Nations in the Ring of Fire area.

“In the past, First Nations did not have the same participation in the labour market, but through the process of developing and maintaining relationships with key employers, potential employment opportunities have been recognized,” said Morris Wapoose, KKETS’ program manager. “We want to thank Aecon for stepping forward and we look forward to building this positive relationship.”

Aecon and KKETS have agreed to work collaboratively to develop remote training centres, which will be operated by First Nations in a socially and culturally relevant environment to provide local access to community-based education, trades and apprenticeship training. The remote training centres will employ state of the art computerized technology systems and high-speed satellite broadband Internet to connect the communities.

“Our relationship with the Matawa First Nations and KKETS is an important component of Aecon’s strategic approach to community engagement and skilled labour development,” said Teri McKibbon, Aecon’s president and chief operating officer in a press release. “Education and training is a priority for Aecon. Programs such as the remote training centres are an innovative response to the future demand for labour in remote areas, and will make positive contributions to surrounding communities.”

Ontario’s last chance to revive the Ring of Fire – by Martin Regg Cohn (Toronto Star – July 11, 2013)

July 11, 2013

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Will the Ring of Fire, a 4,000-square-kilometre mineral find in the Far North, ever get off the ground?

It was supposed to be Ontario’s next big thing — a $50-billion lucky star. But after years of hype, the Ring of Fire is back on the backburner — far off in time and space.

Plans to build chromite mines in the middle of nowhere, 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, are going nowhere fast. The biggest private backer has backed out for now, complaining of government dithering and aboriginal dickering.

Will the Ring of Fire, a 4,000-square-kilometre mineral find in the far north, ever get off the ground? Improbably, two white-haired lawyers from Toronto are trying to restore the flame: They are two hired guns negotiating against each other to find common ground over this remote territory.

Bob Rae represents the First Nations of the Far North. After serving as an unpaid adviser since March, he quit last month as a Liberal MP to take it on full-time.

First Nation reminds IOC suitors of ‘fierce opposition’ to on-reserve mining – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – July 9, 2013)

July 10, 2013

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Innu First Nation of Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam has reminded potential suitors of mining giant Rio Tinto’s 58.7% stake in the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), that the Aboriginal group continued to “fiercely oppose” IOC’s mining, railway and port operations within their traditional territory.

The group had, in March, filed legal proceedings against IOC, along with the Innu First Nation of Matimekush-Lac John, asking the Quebec Superior Court to block the company’s operations in Quebec and Labrador. The two groups had also sought C$900-million in compensation, which they alleged represented IOC’s profits at the facilities since 1954.

The Innu groups claimed the miner had violated their rights for nearly 60 years, causing harm by operating a large mining complex and 578 km railway on traditional territory (Nitassinan) in north-eastern Quebec and Labrador since the 1950s, without their prior consent. The facilities were located in the communities of Schefferville, Labrador City and Sept-Îles.

“The Innu are well past their breaking point and, in addition to the legal action, IOC can expect further acts of opposition in the coming months. While it is clear that Rio Tinto is looking to offload assets, the Innu First Nation of Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam cannot help but feel that Rio Tinto is also seeking to offload the ‘Innu problem’,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday.

NEWS RELEASE: Aecon announces strategic partnership with Matawa First Nations

July 9, 2013

TORONTO, July 8, 2013 /CNW/ – Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) announced today it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment & Training Services (KKETS), A Division of Matawa First Nations.

The agreement represents the beginning of a strategic partnership between Aecon and KKETS; starting with a joint commitment to expand training and development programs for First Nations in northern and remote areas surrounding Ontario’s Ring of Fire mining development.

Under the agreement, Aecon and KKETS will work collaboratively to develop “Remote Training Centres” to provide local access to community-based education, trades and apprenticeship training, operated by First Nations in a socially and culturally relevant environment. The Remote Training Centres take advantage of state of the art computerized technology systems and high-speed satellite broadband internet to connect communities.

“Our relationship with the Matawa First Nations and KKETS is an important component of Aecon’s strategic approach to community engagement and skilled labour development,” says Teri McKibbon, Aecon’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

Fighting Mines in Wisconsin: A Radical New Way to Be Radical – by Mary Annette Pember (Indian Country Today Media Network – July 07, 2013)

July 8, 2013

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/

A brand new tribe is emerging in Northern Wisconsin. Enrollment requirements for the Penokee tribe are stringent, according to Paul DeMain, co-founder of the Penokee Hills Harvest Camp—they require all members prove they are at least 70 percent water.

Water, the element that unifies all human life, is the binding force behind a surprising coalition of people and organizations near the Great Northern Divide in the Penokee Hills. Although many of these people have had opposing philosophies regarding economic development, they are united in their desire to ensure clean water. Public concern over the impact on the water and environment of a proposed 4.5 mile wide open-pit iron ore mine is creating a whole new tribe and new way to protest.

The fictitious, allegorical Penokee Tribe effectively includes all human beings since everyone needs water to survive. The Harvest Camp and inclusive nature of other groups protesting the mine underscores this binding fact. More than a simple protest by occupation, the residents and supporters of the camp demonstrate and include visitors in traditional plant gathering and preparation. The goal is to instill awareness of the natural resources of the area and how they would be affected by the mine.

Debate flares up over Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire – by Josh Wingrove (Globe and Mail – July 6, 2013)

July 8, 2013

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

THUNDER BAY, ONT. – This is familiar turf for Michael Gravelle. He is in his second stint as Ontario’s point man on northern mining, an increasingly high-stakes gig rooted in his own backyard.

His hometown of Thunder Bay is the gateway for the Ring of Fire, which he bills as the biggest Ontario mining project in a century. Governments at all levels are eyeing the potential of Northwestern Ontario’s vast untapped resource deposits, while mining services companies set up in the city hoping to catch a multibillion-dollar boom.

But slumping commodity prices, environmental questions and delays threaten the Ring of Fire, which lies about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, and hopes of a windfall in the region. One company has halted its environmental review, while First Nations and Thunder Bay’s mayor say the province has been slow to act.

Cue Mr. Gravelle, the local MPP who, five months ago, was shuffled back to the job of Minister of Northern Development and Mines. He is optimistic despite setbacks and tensions.

CBC The House interviews Minister Tony Clement on the Ring of Fire challenges – (July 6, 2013)

July 8, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/thehouse/ This week on The House, guest-host Susan Lunn interviews Tony Clement, the federal government’s minister responsible for the Ring of Fire. The proposed mining development in the massive Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario could, according its proponents, transform some of Canada’s most disadvantaged native communities. But an internal government briefing note obtained by …

Equals go toe-to-toe over Ring of Fire – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (July 5, 2013)

July 8, 2013

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

Let’s all say a prayer for former federal Liberal leader Bob Rae and former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci. These two individuals, so highly regarded in their respective fields, are stepping into the ring of negotiations to help clear a path for the development of the Ring of Fire.

It’s a colourful name applied to a huge swath of land some 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, which is home to massive deposits of minerals, and with it, wealth. Although prospectors and mining companies have been pecking away at this virgin region for many years, it has been the arrival of Cliffs Natural Resources and the discovery of a massive deposit of chromite that has really drawn attention to the bounty of the James Bay lowlands.

As the estimates of development and wealth started to soar, so did the interest of neighbouring aboriginal communities. The result has been a frustrating and sometimes dangerous confrontation between First Nations interests and those of the companies wishing to set up a base there.

It’s a simple set of questions when you unravel the rhetoric. Do exploration and mining companies and their investors and the Canadian public at large deserve a compensating share of the wealth the ground will yield?

Northern Manitoba First Nation tells mining company to stop work and get out – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – July 5, 2013)

July 8, 2013

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000. editor@thompsoncitizen.net

The chief, councillors and some citizens of Red Sucker Lake First Nation in northeast Manitoba near the Ontario border issued a stop work order and eviction notice at Mega Precious Metals Inc.’s Monument Bay Project mineral exploration camp 60 kilometres north of the community on July 1.

“This STOP WORK ORDER is issued because: Mega Precious Metals Inc. and affiliated companies have breached the Customary Laws of Mithkomaybin Thakaykun Ininiwak as represented by Red Sucker Lake First Nation by constructing, operating and extracting resources from Twin Lakes without the expressed permission of the owners Mithkomaybin Thakaykun Ininiwak as represented by Red Sucker Lake First Nation,” read the stop work order. “WARNING: The failure to stop work, the resumption of work without permission from the Mithkomaybin Thakaykun Ininiwak as represented by Red Sucker Lake First Nation is punishable by the Customary Laws of Red Sucker Lake First Nation.”

“On April 13, 2013, our people voted unanimously to halt all mineral exploration activity in our territory by whatever means possible,” said Red Sucker First Lake Nation Chief Les Harper in a press release. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes, we will abide by our people’s wish to enforce the Stop Work Order and the Eviction Notice.”

Court order allows mining company to continue working at Red Sucker Lake – by Staff (Winnipeg Free Press – July 4, 2013)

July 5, 2013

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

An eviction notice and stop-work order issued by a northern Manitoba First Nation against a mineral exploration company has been countered by a court-ordered temporary injunction on behalf of the company allowing it to continue to operate.
The spat between Red Sucker Lake First Nation and Mega Precious Metals Inc. broke out suddenly this week after more than two years of apparent cooperation between the two.

However frustration from the First Nation at what some say was the lack of jobs or training opportunities and growing environmental concerns prompted the chief and council to terminate a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mega, one of only three such agreements that have ever been negotiated in the province.

In its first public statement since it received the eviction notice on Monday, company CEO, Glen Kuntz said, “Mega believes the company has, and continues to, demonstrate our respect for Red Sucker Lake First Nations’ treaty rights. Mega plans to continue to meet with community members and provide project updates on a regular basis in an effort to maintain our social license to operate.”

Mega Precious Metals is in the process of proving up a gold reserve called Monument Bay in a location about 60 kilometres north of Red Sucker Lake which is within the band’s traditional area.

Chiefs stand together to demand development on their own terms – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – May 3, 2013)

July 5, 2013

ian@thompsoncitizen.net

Representatives of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) and the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) held a press conference outside the provincial governments Mines Branch and Mineral Resources Division office in Winnipeg on April 26 to announce that Manitoba First Nations are declaring moratoriums on resource development in their traditional territories and that stop work orders on mine development are being posted and will be enforced.

“We’re no longer going to be sitting back watching corporations and governments come into our traditional territories and ancestral lands and exploit our resources, leaving us nothing at the end of the day,” said AMC Grand Chief Derek Nepinak. “We’re not going to accept that. The status quo is done. For far too many generations now, provincial governments, federal governments have worked in collusion with the corporate industries to come into our territories and to take the vast wealth of our ancestral lands. Meanwhile they come back to us with contribution agreements that are wholly inadequate to provide for the basic needs of our communities and our citizens. Those days are over, those days are done and what’s happening here I think is an emergence of a new unified position. Once again our people are leading the way.”

Eviction notice adds to gloom in mining sector – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – July 4, 2013)

July 4, 2013

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

These are not the best days to be in the mineral-exploration business in Manitoba.

Metal prices are low — gold prices are at their lowest level in 36 months; nickel, lowest in 48 months; copper, lowest in 30 months; and zinc, lowest in 18 months — investors’ appetite for risky (albeit tax-deductible) exploration plays is just about non-existent and starting this week in Manitoba, there is an additional one percentage point of sales tax on expensive equipment.

On top of that there is the potentially deal-breaking uncertainty over treaty land claims. One exploration company — Mega Precious Metals — that has been diligently working on a Manitoba gold property called Monument Bay for many years was surprised this week with an eviction notice from nearby Red Sucker Lake First Nation in northeast Manitoba.

In a news release, the band referred to the operation as “a mineral-exploration company operating illegally in Red Sucker Lake First Nation traditional territory.” But that same mineral-exploration company has been co-operating with the band for years and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Red Sucker Lake in 2010.

Manitoba First Nation evicts mineral-exploration company – by Staff (Winnipeg Free Press – July 2, 2013)

July 4, 2013

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

The Red Sucker Lake First Nation presented a stop-work order and eviction notice over the weekend to a mineral-exploration company that reserve officials say is operating illegally in its traditional territory.

Mega Precious Metals, a mineral-exploration company based in Thunder Bay, has been drilling and developing a potential gold mine for a few years at Monument Bay, about 60 kilometres northeast of Red Sucker Lake First Nation.

Red Sucker Lake is about 700 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. A spokesman for the band said action was taken now because new permits were issued recently without appropriate consultation with the band.

“The permits and licences granted to Mega Precious Metals Inc. are unlawful due to the absence of adequate consultation and accommodation,” says a statement from the band.

A spokesman for the band said there has been no violence or aggressive action related to the eviction notice.