Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 230

NEWS RELEASE: Summit of First Nations and Northwestern Municipalities shows alignment on sharing Ring of Fire benefits

April 17, 2012

Summit Resolution says Exton is favoured site for Ring of Fire ferrochrome refinery and north/south access

(Greenstone, ON, April 17, 2012) A Summit between leaders of Lake Nipigon and Ring of Fire North/South Alliance First Nations met on Saturday April 14, 2012 with Mayors of Greenstone, Nipigon, Hearst and Thunder Bay to demonstrate solidarity in their position that the opportunities and benefits of resource development related to the Ring of Fire remain in the area.

A Ring of Fire Resolution supporting (a) Exton (between Aroland First nation and Nakina) as the preferred refinery site and (b) a north-south access route to Marten Falls was signed by six First Nations (Marten Falls FN, Aroland FN, Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinabeek FN, Constance Lake FN, Animiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinabeek FN, and Red Rock Indian Band) and four regional Mayors (Greenstone, Hearst, Nipigon and Thunder Bay). Peter Collins, Regional Grand Chief, Union of Ontario Indians, Anishinabek Nation Council & Chief of Fort William First Nation participated by teleconference. Chief Collins and other community leaders unable to attend are also expected to sign the Resolution over the next few days.

Chief Elijah Moonias of Marten Falls First Nation, on whose traditional lands the Ring of Fire chromite deposits are located, addressed the gathering held in Greenstone. Chief Moonias stated, “The companies want to come in and exploit the resources and leave nothing behind for local long standing benefits such as electric grid connection and roads access – both a boost to the local economy.

Free, prior and informed consent for certainty, prosperity [resource development and First Nations] – by Shane Maffat (Greenpeace Blogpost – April 13, 2012)

April 14, 2012

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/

A lot of effort has been made, by Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver and others, to portray the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for industrial development in traditional Indigenous territories as somehow obstructionist, an impediment to “progress”. This is as intentional as it is disingenuous.

Enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Canada has formally endorsed, the principle arose from a shared experience of Indigenous communities around the world whereby “consultations” have almost exclusively constituted a rubber stamp for unfettered resource exploitation to benefit a wealthy few and large corporations. The broader global context, Greenpeace and others would argue, is one of environmental, economic and social unsustainability which has in great part been caused by the heedless exploitation of lands where Indigenous peoples have been ignored, and their authority eroded.

How to address the recurring phenomenon of rubber stamp consultations, which has, and continues, to produce such negative results for people and planet alike? After more than two decades of multilateral negotiations between Indigenous peoples (including many of Canada’s own Indigenous leaders), UN member-states, observers from UN organs and specialized agencies, the finely balanced principle we now know as FPIC has emerged as the internationally recognized minimum human rights standard for solving the conundrum.

NEWS RELEASE: Champion Minerals Enters Into an Exclusive Memorandum of Understanding With the Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam Innus First Nation on the Potential Development of a New Multi-User Railway

April 14, 2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – April 2, 2012) – CHAMPION MINERALS INC. (TSX:CHM)(FRANKFURT:P02) (“Champion”, or the “Company”) is proud to announce that it entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam Innu First Nation (“ITUM”) of Uashat, Quebec, located near the Port of Sept-Iles.

“This memorandum of understanding confirms that ITUM has agreed to enter into exclusive discussions with Champion in connection with the potential development of an entirely new multi-user railway and the potential creation of a partnership, the equity of which would be opened to other users, in order to design, build and manage this new railway. The objective of this new railway would be to service the iron ore industry directly linking the Fire Lake North region to the planned multi-user Port Facility at Pointe Noire, in Sept-Iles, Quebec”, says Richard Quesnel, Senior Technical Advisor and Head of Champion’s Advisory Board.

At this stage, the intent of ITUM and Champion is that the interests and long term vision of ITUM will be integrated in the project planning as the parties desire to create a sustainable development project that will enable the economic development of the region and support mutual environmental and social responsibility objectives. “This railway project is the one that offers the best prospects for the development of my community. Negotiated with respect, this project offers sustainable economic benefits and constitutes an important asset that will create appealing jobs on our territory for our next generations”, said Chief Georges-Ernest Gregoire of ITUM.

Innu women march against Hydro-Quebec project [Plan Nord protests] – by Lorraine Mallinder (Toronto Star – April 14, 2012)

April 14, 2012

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.

‘If Plan Nord goes through, we’re finished’

ST-HILARION, QUEBEC—Elise Vollant would not consider herself a political person. Yet, the former nursery school teacher is currently leading members of her Innu community on a 900-kilometre march to Montreal to protest the Quebec government’s Plan Nord, a multibillion-dollar scheme that will open the north to mining and energy companies.

The group, originally comprising 14 women, left Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam near Sept-Îles nearly two weeks ago. They plan to reach Montreal on April 22 to join wider environmental protests against the Plan Nord. Along the way, they’ve picked up supporters from other reserves and a French ethnologist. Now, midway, they are nearly 40 strong.

“I would never have imagined we’d get this far,” says Vollant, raising her voice against the din of passing trucks on a dismal stretch of Highway 138. Her political odyssey began last month after she joined a five-day blockade of a road running through her reserve to the $6.5 billion La Romaine hydroelectric project.

Lure of mining leaves First Nations struggling [Goldcorp Musselwhite] – The Canadian Press (CBC Radio: Thunder Bay – April 13, 2012)

August 8, 2012April 13, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Mining money is often spent on financing prescription drug addictions

Isolation often takes the blame as the source of many problems on remote reserves. But North Caribou Lake Chief Pierre Morriseau has decidedly mixed feelings about that.

His Oji-Cree community, 320 kilometres north of Sioux Lookout, Ont., is definitely remote. During the winter, an ice road connects it to other communities in the lake-soaked terrain of northwestern Ontario. The rest of the year, it’s fly-in only.

But the Musselwhite gold mine nearby flies many of the local residents in and out every two weeks. On paper, that means jobs, decent pay and training.

So even though official statistics show only 10 per cent of the population has graduated from high school, the band only relies on government money for 30 per cent of its revenue.

Bold Ventures Signs Memorandum of Understanding With Attawapiskat First Nation, Plans to Drill

April 12, 2012

Toronto, Ontario April 11, 2012 – Bold Ventures Inc. (BOL:TSX.V) (“Bold” or the “Company”) is pleased to advise that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Attawapiskat First Nation (“ATFN”) to cover the initial drilling program of its Area 52,53,54 and 56 claim groups located within 100 kilometres of the area dubbed “The Ring of Fire” northern Ontario. The MOU allows for Bold’s initial drill program in that area to commence while respecting the environment and the traditional activities of the local people and addresses benefits for the local economy and job creation. The initial diamond drilling program will consist of approximately 2000 metres of NQ sized core drilling.

In late 2010 the Company staked the Area 52, 53, 54 and 56 claims to cover a number of high potential VTEM anomalies. Numerous anomalies were encountered with at least ten that are recommended for follow up drill testing. Three separate VTEM anomalies are favourably compared to the anomaly at Noront Resources Eagle One Ni-Cu-PGM discovery. Mr. Scott Hogg, a consultant and advisor to the Board of Bold concluded in his report dated November 23rd 2010 (which may be accessed by visiting the Company’s new web site) that:

“In general, anomalies within the Ring of Fire Area that have a significant time constant have proven to be associated with sulphide mineralization. The Eagle One nickel deposit had an associated time constant of just under 4 milliseconds (“msec”). Anomaly 53-A has a longer time constant of about 4.5 msec and presents an exceptional target from an airborne electromagnetic perspective.

Treaty 3 ready to sit down with Miners United group – by Jon Thompson (Kenora Daily Miner and News – April 12, 2012)

April 12, 2012

http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/

Treaty 3 has cautiously agreed to speak with 60 junior mining outfits who make up Miners United, provided the companies leave “racist” attitudes behind.

Last week’s resolution at Grand Council voted the companies “will not be tolerated” in Treaty 3 territory, due to media reports describing their “revolt” against First Nations consultation. Following a conversation with the Ontario Prospector’s Association, Treaty 3 Grand Chief Diane Kelly said defiant and ignorant approaches to consultation would not be tolerated.

“Those kinds of attitudes are not going to be tolerated by anybody. We’re not just wandering around in the bush looking for blueberries,” Kelly said, pointing to Miners United members’ public statements regarding unwillingness to look for arrowheads on behalf of First Nations communities.

“It’s just fuelling the fire when there’s comments like that in their press release,” she explained. “We’re not against economic activity, we just want to make sure our rights are respected and we’re part of it.”

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation Letter to Supporters – April 10, 2012

April 12, 2012

“We are under attack by the ultra-conservative mining lobby group Miners
United. Already Miners United members have pledged to challenge the
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug right to say ‘no’ to mining abuse and
protect the Watershed Declaration area.”

Office of the Chief and Council – Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug

Dear Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Friends,

God’s Lake Resources plan to drill on our sacred landscape at Sherman Lake has been stopped. It looked like we were facing another $10 billion lawsuit and the risk of being jailed again, but after our community took action backed up by all your letters, emails, calls, and rallies to the Ontario Government and hundreds of media stories about our campaign, Ontario bough out the God’s Lake Resources leases and claims and stopped the drilling.

Thank you for standing up for indigenous rights. Your support helped tip the scales to prevent the drilling and protect the sacred. Your solidarity made a huge difference. Without help from supporters like you, our campaign to protect our sacred landscape at Sherman Lake might have taken a much harsher toll on our community.

Wabauskang mobilizes against Red Lake resource boom – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – April 11, 2012)

April 12, 2012

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Fed up with getting no benefits from the resource boom on their traditional territory, Wabauskang First Nation is vowing to make its voice heard.

Wabauskang’s chief and council say they are in a tenuous position of having their traditional territory overlapping the gold mining explosion happening around Red Lake.

Chief Leslie Cameron said his community of 250 members is overwhelmed with having to deal with more than 40 resource companies that have staked claims on Wabauskang traditional territory, and frustrated that the provincial and federal governments are neglecting their duty to consult First Nations on development.

“We are a small community but we still have rights,” Cameron said. “We are the First Peoples here and we never gave up our right to our resources. We’re tired of being pushed to the side.”

The Future Starts Now: Economic Space For First Nations (Mining) – by David E. Smith and Nathan Elliott – Insightwest Research)

April 11, 2012

Insightwest Research is a Regina, Saskatchewan company that provides insight-based, compliance-based and technical-based solutions for the energy and resource sectors in western Canada. http://www.insightwest.ca/

For the full report click here: The Future Starts Now: Economic Space For First Nations

First Nations Mining:

From diamonds to gold, coal to potash, nickel to zinc, and copper to uranium, mining is one of Canada’s greatest industries, and a major force propelling regional and national prosperity. Internationally recognized as a leader in engineering, Canada remains an innovator in mining. It is a reputation that continues to grow. Of the world’s top ten most favorable mining jurisdictions, five are located in Canada. Of these five, New Brunswick has been recognized by the international mining industry as the most attractive jurisdiction for mineral exploration and development.

Mining stimulates economic growth, job creation and spin-off activity in urban centres, rural areas and Aboriginal communities across the country. In 2009, mining contributed $32 billion in GDP (3.2 per cent of overall GDP) and employed 306,000 workers in mineral extraction, processing and manufacturing. That same year, mining accounted for 19 per cent of Canadian goods exports and $5.5 billion in taxes and royalties paid to levels of government. Further, there are more than 3,200 companies that provide the industry with services ranging from engineering consulting to drilling equipment.

Home And Native Land – by Cooper Langford (Financial Post Magazine – April 2012)

April 10, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

In many respects, the city of Kitimat is an iconic Canadian community. Situated in a wide, flat valley at the head of the Douglas Channel in northwestern B.C., it has, for the past 60 years, been home to one of the world’s great hydroelectric and aluminum smelting projects. A technological marvel when it was built by the Aluminum Company of Canada during the industrial boom that followed the Second World War, the project brought the modern world to a resource-rich wilderness and became the foundation of a prosperous frontier city.

More recent history, however, has been less kind to the Kitimat region. Technological advances mean the smelter, now owned by global mining giant Rio Tinto, no longer employs as many people as it once did. The businesses — methane, ammonia and paper — that followed it into the deep reaches of the province are no more. Kitimat is a community looking to re-stake its claim on the future. And there is a new prospect on the horizon: Calgary-based Enbridge has identified the community as the terminus for its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project to ship bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands to the Pacific coast and, potentially, new markets in Asia.

Northern Gateway — if it goes ahead — will be a groundbreaking project in its own right, a 21st century statement of Canada’s role as a global energy supplier. But getting to that point is far from certain. Whatever technological and business innovation it may represent, the pipeline has become the centre of an iconic debate.

[Miners Unite] Caught ‘off guard’ [by Treaty #3 exploration ban] – by Jodi Lundmark (tbnewswatch.com – April 9, 2012)

April 10, 2012

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

A call to ban mining and exploration companies from Treaty 3 territories has caught members of Miners United off guard.

“I think there’s been some major misconceptions on what Miners United is trying to do and where it wants to go,” said Gary Clark, executive director of the Ontario Prospector’s Association.

The group, made up of about 60 companies, is newly formed and Clark said they have only met twice so far. That includes a meeting held two weeks ago.

A March 27 report on the meeting by the Globe and Mail said the companies “shared concerns about the concessions and cash they say native bands expect from companies looking for minerals on Crown lands that are considered traditional aboriginal territory.”

The Grand Council of Treaty #3 issued a release on March 30 stating they strongly disagree with the tactics discussed at the Miners United forum.

First Nation chiefs make statement on Ring of Fire corridor – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 5, 2012)

April 6, 2012

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Staking their claim

First Nation chiefs don’t plan to sit on the sidelines without having a major say in how Far North mineral development unfolds in their territories. For years, Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon used to watch heavily-laden logging trucks head south and wonder where the wood was being processed.

This time he expects the manufacturing to stay, and he wants minerals extracted from the Ring of Fire to be processed or refined in his territory. That includes the one million tonnes of chromite concentrate that Cliffs Natural Resources wants to take offshore.

“That is what we’re targeting,” said Gagnon. First Nation leaders used the backdrop of the Prospectors and Developers annual mining show in Toronto to stake their own collective claims.

At a March 6 Queen’s Park news conference, Gagnon and Marten Falls Chief Eli Moonias issued a position paper outlining their concerns and expectations of the massive chromite and nickel deposits in the James Bay lowlands.

Innovative CSR solutions for troubled Attawapiskat – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – April 5, 2012)

November 5, 2015April 6, 2012

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Older CMJ readers will remember how the mining companies built remote projects in the middle of the last century. First they found and explored a deposit far from civilization. Next they made a development decision that included building a local town for the workforce. They moved their employees and their families into the town. When the ore ran out, the company moved on leaving the town with little or no economic basis for survival.

Thankfully, we now have better development model, one that does not abandon towns when mining ceases. Modern miners have invented what the Australians call FIFO, meaning fly-in/fly-out operations. We in Canada were pioneers in this practice. Workers are flown to the mine site for periods ranging from days to weeks. They are put up in modern accommodations, well fed, and given plenty of recreational opportunities. Then they fly out, returning to families and homes in usually in the south. Their families enjoy the amenities of city living including educational and employment opportunities. Such opportunities were lacking in small northern mining towns.

The FIFO model works well in developed countries, but it is not appropriate in undeveloped regions. Indigenous peoples in Africa and South America, for instance, do not want to leave their homes for extended periods or they wish to continue their traditional way of living. Canadian miners have again become leaders in the art of giving such people an economic or educational hand up without destroying their culture.