Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 145

NEWS RELEASE: David Suzuki Foundation supports call for moratorium on mining permits in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire November 27, 2014

November 28, 2014

TORONTO — The David Suzuki Foundation has told the Ontario government it supports First Nations’ requests for a moratorium on mining exploration permits in the Ring of Fire. The Neskantaga and Nibinamik First Nations have asked the provincial government to enact an immediate moratorium on mining exploration permits in the region — the biodiversity-rich boreal forest and Hudson’s Bay Lowlands, more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

The David Suzuki Foundation is working with the communities to help strengthen their capacity to engage in present and future policy, planning and land use decision-making processes, based on the shared objective of maintaining healthy landscapes that support traditional ways of life and provision of ecological services.

In September, Neskantaga and Nibinamik were two of nine Matawa communities calling for a moratorium on granting future and pending permits until First Nations and the Ontario government develop a regional protocol to address the issue, as they believe adequate consultations are not taking place.

“We agree that proceeding with development decisions while negotiations are under way is counterproductive,” said Rachel Plotkin, Ontario science projects manager at the David Suzuki Foundation. “The David Suzuki Foundation strongly believes that before mineral exploration begins, sufficient investments must be made in the social capital of the affected communities, such as investments in community services, so they can successfully engage in government-to-government decision-making processes.”

David Suzuki Foundation wants “social capital” invested in the Ring of Fire – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 27, 2014)

November 28, 2014

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.

The David Suzuki Foundation is siding with two northern First Nation communities in requesting a moratorium on mining exploration permits in the Ring of Fire.

The Toronto and Vancouver-based environmental organization has been working with Neskantaga and Nibinamik to build the remote communities’ policy and decision-making capacity toward making planning and land-use decisions that are in keeping with their traditional way of life.

Last September, Neskantaga and Nibinamik were two of nine Matawa tribal council communities that called for a moratorium on granting permits for mineral exploration until First Nations and Queen’s Park finalized a regional consultation protocol to address development in the James Bay lowlands.

The chiefs accused the province of moving forward on permitting companies which have not consulted with area First Nations. They insist it breaks the spirit of a regional framework signed last March that was supposed to guide future mining and infrastructure development in the Far North.

Northern chief expresses opposition to Mining Advisory Council – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – November 28, 2014)

November 28, 2014

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 of Manto Sipi Cree Nation (MSCN) at God’s River in northeastern Manitoba told attendees of the Mining and Minerals Convention in Winnipeg that he opposes the role of the provincial government’s Mining Advisory Council in mining exploration and development in Northern Manitoba.

“When I heard the presentation by the minister’s Mining Advisory Council, I had to speak out because the impression I got was that the advisory council was representing the voice of all First Nations and setting the stage how First Nations will conduct consultation and resource development in their territories,” said Chief Michael Yellowback in a Nov. 20 press release. “I had to set the record straight that Manto Sipi Cree Nation for one will not agree to any decision of the advisory council and the Province of Manitoba on matters of policy, processes or any agreement on resource development.”

Yellowback said Manto Sipi Cree Nation believes that any legislation, regulation, government policy or arrangement that affects First Nation rights is subject to Crown-First nation consultation. The Mining Advisory Council announced and signed a declaration of priorities at the Mining and Minerals Convention on Nov. 19 that included guidelines on consultation, resource development and engagement, establishment of a First Nation Economic Development Corporation and a revenue-sharing mechanism.

Nunavik says no to uranium mining – by Sarah Rogers (Nunatsiaq Online – November 26, 2014)

November 27, 2014

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Final round of Quebec public hearings to visit the region next week

KUUJJUAQ — Nunavik’s leadership has taken a position on the future of uranium mining in the region — and it’s a resounding “no.”

And Makivik Corp. and the Kativik Regional Government plan to say so in a joint brief that will be submitted to public hearings in Nunavik next week.

The independent Quebec body called the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement, or BAPE, is returning to the region for a third and final round as part of its province-wide tour to gauge the public’s opinion on uranium mining.

“We’re going to say that there should be no uranium mining in Nunavik, period,” KRG chair Maggie Emudluk told a meeting of regional councillors in Kuujjuaq Nov. 26.

The BAPE has been to Nunavik twice already in 2014, but while its previous visits took questions and provided information to the public, its upcoming stops in Kuujjuaq Dec. 2 and Kangisualujjuaq Dec. 3 will be to hear the region’s position on potential uranium development.

It wasn’t clear until now that Nunavik’s leaders have takes a public stand on the issue.

Wawatay Native Communications Society risks closure (CBC News Thunder Bay – November 26, 2014)

November 27, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay

Wawatay Native Communications Society is in financial trouble and has laid off most of its staff. The organization runs a radio network serving more than 50 isolated First Nations, a tri-lingual newspaper, and television production studios serving First Nations in northern Ontario.

The board of directors is holding emergency meetings in an attempt to save the nearly 40-year-old institution.

The president of Wawatay’s board, Mike Metatawabin, said if a solution can’t be found immediately, the network may shut down. Wawatay must find a new direction if it’s going to survive — and it will take the attention, support and cooperation of all the communities to save Wawatay, he added.

“It’s like milking a cow, but now the cow is not producing any milk. But people are still kicking at it, saying, ”C’mon, we need more.’ But nobody has fed the cow. Nobody has nourished the cow.”

Wawatay’s mandate is to promote, preserve and enhance the languages and cultures of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. It was created in 1974 by elders who saw the need for cultural preservation as well as media adaptation.

‘Significant progress’ on Ring of Fire: Gravelle – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – November 26, 2014)

November 26, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Responding to a sea of criticism over its handling of the Ring of Fire, the province’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines insisted Tuesday his government’s strategy will make the chromite discovery a success.

Michael Gravelle said he’s pleased with the progress his government has made, despite comments from opposition politicians and business that the $60-billion project is languishing under the Liberal guidance.

“We have a clear plan and we’re implementing it,” Gravelle said, who said they have made significant progress in recent weeks.

But the biggest stakeholders in the project is considerably less optimistic. In an interview last week, Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves told the ‘Financial Post’ there’s “zero” hope infrastructure and other issues plaguing the deposit will be resolved in his lifetime. He said had he been in charge at the time, the company never would have gotten involved with the project.

“And I plan to stay (alive) another 50 years,” he said in the article. “The Ring of Fire is a remote land with no railroad, no road, nothing … Without the infrastructure, there’s nothing we can do.”

Gravelle said Goncalves’ comments were “startling … and just plain unhelpful,” he said.

NEWS RELEASE: Rubicon and Wabauskang First Nation Reach a Settlement Agreement and an Exploration Accommodation Agreement

November 26, 2014

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Nov. 24, 2014) – Rubicon Minerals Corporation (TSX:RMX)(NYSE MKT:RBY) (“Rubicon” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that is has entered into a Settlement Agreement (“Settlement”) and an Exploration Accommodation Agreement (“EAA”) with Wabauskang First Nation (“WFN”).

Under the Settlement, WFN has agreed to discontinue its appeal against Rubicon regarding the August 28, 2014 decision made by the Ontario Divisional Court to dismiss the application for judicial review in respect of Rubicon’s production closure plan for its fully-permitted Phoenix Gold Project (the “Project”). In turn, an EAA has been signed and terms of a potential benefits agreement are outlined in the Settlement.

The EAA governs the Company’s exploration work on WFN lands, which includes the continuing exploration work being done at the Phoenix Gold Project. The key features of the EAA include the following:

WFN will support Rubicon’s exploration work, including support of the application for licenses and permits for such work;

The Company will provide certain benefits to WFN based on exploration expenditures incurred by Rubicon on its mineral claims within lands used by WFN;

Quebec superior to Ontario for exploration, says junior miner [Northern Superior Resources] – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 26, 2014)

November 26, 2014

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.

A million dollars doesn’t stretch as far as it once did; not if you’re in the exploration business in Ontario.

The province may be lauded for its rich mineralogy, but the president of a Sudbury-based junior mining company said it’s become a tad pricier and more risky to find new discoveries compared to Quebec.

“To actually make a discovery takes a huge effort and a lot of money, and you’re going to get a lot farther with that money in Quebec than you are in Ontario right now,” said Tom Morris of Northern Superior Resources. The exploration community is in dire straits with many junior miners struggling to raise project financing and their stocks trading below 10 cents.

The situation doesn’t appear to be getting any easier based on Morris’ recent presentation at a Sudbury mineral symposium describing the myriad obstacles that small mining firms face to operate in Ontario that go beyond just proving up geology.

Based on his company’s experiences in both provinces, Morris delivered a part-business analysis, part-cautionary tale on where the money is spent on a hypothetical million-dollar exploration budget.

Goldeye Groundwork: Hoping & preparing for Ontario’s next major gold discovery – by Bryan Phelan (Onotassiniik Magazine – Fall 2014)

November 26, 2014November 26, 2014

http://issuu.com/wawatay/docs/ono_winter_2014_layout/

The mineral exploration agreement between Goldeye Explorations and Sandy Lake First Nation had been a long, long time coming.

Robin Luke Webster was just four years old when his father, Blaine, first staked claims near Sandy Lake in 1986. So much time had passed that Robin had gone from bring a pre-schooler to manager of corporate affairs and community relations at Goldeye, where Blaine is chief executive officer.

Sandy Lake hadn’t supported the initial exploration work that followed Goldeye’s claim staking in the ’80s – line cutting, surface geophysics, an airborne geophysical survey and a limited amount of drilling – so the project was put on hold. Goldeye tried to re-activate the project in the early 2000s, but Sandy Lake still wasn’t ready to endorse it. Representatives of the First Nation and Goldeye began to talk with each other at that time, however, and by 2004 the band council had assigned one of its members for liaison with Goldeye.

Finally, in the summer of 2013, Goldeye got the go-ahead to channel sample some of its claims in the Sandy Lake Greenstone belt, part of the First Nation’s traditional lands, and the results showed “significant gold values.” At the suggestion of a Sandy Lake resident, the exploration project name became “Weebigee,” Oji-Cree for the goldeye fish in area waters. And on Nov. 18 that year, Chief Bart Meekis of Sandy Lake and Blaine Webster signed a formal, five-year exploration agreement for Weebigee project activities.

Robin, who joined his father at Goldeye as an advisor in 2012, attended the signing, which took place in the council chamber at the Sandy Lake band office.

Sandy Lake blessing for gold exploration – by Bryan Phelan (Onotassiniik Magazine – Fall 2014)

November 26, 2014November 26, 2014

http://issuu.com/wawatay/docs/ono_winter_2014_layout/

Robin Luke Webster, president of Goldeye Explorations, figures he spent about three months of a recent one-year period in Sandy Lake First Nation. It has been an extraordinary but necessary investment of time, Webster has found.

With the First Nation’s blessing, Goldeye has been exploring for gold on its mining claims south of Sandy Lake since 2013. The junior exploration company is based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, part of the Greater Toronto Area.

“First Nations and exploration companies need to understand each other better,” Webster says during a presentation at the Ontario Mining Forum in June. “In Sandy Lake, community members had no idea what exploration is and on our first visits there we had no idea what a remote First Nation is.”

Webster helped the learning process along by spending 92 days in Sandy Lake during the preceding year, when he held the titles of manager and then vice-president of corporate affairs and community relations for Goldeye. “None of that is project related; it’s just talking to people,” he says of that time in the community. “It’s not easy. A junior (exploration company) can’t really afford that time but that’s what we’ve got to do.”

Webster’s outreach activities in Sandy Lake have included hosting an information booth during Treaty Day and a community feast, supporting participation of youth hockey teams in the regional Little Bands tournament and making home visits to local elders.

NEWS RELEASE: Atikameksheng Anishwabek & KGHM International Sign Advanced Exploration Agreement for the Victoria Project

November 26, 2014

Sudbury, Canada, November 21, 2014 – Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation

(“Atikameksheng”) and KGHM International Ltd. (“KGHMI”) are pleased to announce that they recently signed the Victoria Project Advanced Exploration Agreement (“the Agreement”) on September 26th, 2014. The Agreement details the Advanced Exploration stage of the Victoria Project (the “Project”) including shaft sinking, bulk sample and diamond drilling. The official signing was completed by Chief Steve Miller and Adrian McFadden, Vice President, Underground Operations for KGHMI in front of several Atikameksheng council members and KGHMI employees. A formal signing ceremony at Atikameksheng Community Centre was held Friday, November 7, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

The Agreement includes provisions on how the Atikameksheng will benefit from the development of the Project, including employment and training opportunities, business development opportunities, and compensation for temporary interferences with the exercise of aboriginal and treaty rights by the Atikameksheng. The Agreement also establishes a Community Liaison Committee with representation by both Atikameksheng and KGHMI to share information about the progress of the Victoria Advanced Exploration Project and to monitor the implementation of the Agreement.

The Agreement reflects KGHMI’s commitment to protecting the environment and wildlife, and working with aboriginal communities affected by their operations in a spirit of respect and cooperation.

Adrian McFadden, Vice President, Underground Operations for KGHMI stated, “To date, it has been a positive and educational experience working with Chief Miller and the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek.

Agreement benefits Goldcorp, First Nations – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – November 25, 2014)

November 25, 2014

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Porcupine Gold Mines has signed an historic resource development agreement with four local First Nation communities.

“What it does is pave the way for the future of the operations so it allows for business opportunities, it allows for employment and training, it allows for some help with education and what it allows is for consultation,” explained Marc Lauzier, mine general manager at Goldcorp’s Porcupine Gold Mines. “It sets a good system for us to consult with the communities, listen to the communities, and to make sure we consider all of their concerns in our future plans and our future operations.

“In the absence of this agreement,” he added, “it would definitely make it difficult to apply for permits to bring on new projects or modify closure plans.”

The four Aboriginal communities that co-signed the agreement are Mattagami First Nation, Wahgoshig First Nation, Matachewan First Nation and Flying Post First Nation.

The formal signing, held at Cedar Meadows Resort in Timmins on Monday, followed traditional Aboriginal ceremonies, smudging and drumming.

Leadership race: Ring of Fire ignites PC debate – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 25, 2014)

November 25, 2014

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

It was the last question at the first Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership debate, submitted online by a man from Huntsville. But it fired up candidates and an audience of about 150 people, most party faithful, at College Boreal on Monday night.

Whitby-Oshawa MPP Christine Elliott, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli, Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod and Barrie MP Patrick Brown were asked what their plans were to spur development of the Ring of Fire.

“We’ve heard a lot of talk and promises from the Liberals,” wrote the Huntsville resident, “but no real plan to move forward.” All four candidates couldn’t have agreed more with that statement.

Fedeli summed up the frustration of northerners with the lack of development of the chromite deposits 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay at the first of six debates before a new party leader is named May 9.

A former two-term mayor of North Bay, Fedeli said he remembered the Liberals’ Northern Development and Mines minister visiting his town to talk about this “great, vast find.”

Canada’s unheard aboriginal narrative – by Lawrence Martin (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2014)

November 25, 2014

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.

Canada’s rank racism toward aboriginal peoples was institutionalized within the fundamentals of European philosophy and culture, says maverick thinker John Ralston Saul. Europeans insisted their principles were universal. “Of course they were universal. After all, they said they were.”

With their technological and cultural sophistication came a conviction of racial superiority. They were so superior, the writer adds, that they proceeded to massacre one another, as the aboriginals quizzically looked on, in one world war and then a second. A hundred million died in less than half a century.

More wars followed, along with more racist attitudes toward the destined losers. In more recent times, a more sympathetic attitude has been adopted toward indigenous peoples, but it still smacks of soft racism, according to Mr. Saul.

What’s missing, he robustly contends in his new book, The Comeback, is the realization that aboriginal peoples have been making a remarkable recovery and are now on the verge of taking a prominent place in this country.

How to Avoid a $1-Billion Boondoggle – by Bill Gallagher (Onotassiniik Magazine – Winter 2014)

November 25, 2014

http://issuu.com/wawatay/docs/ono_winter_2014_layout/

‘Boondoggle’: any unnecessary and wasteful project
‘Billion’: a thousand million (Webster’s Dictionary)

A billion dollars is an attention-getting number. That’s no doubt why the Wynne Liberals touted that number as a campaign pledge in the run-up to their recent election win. This $1-billion dollar carrot arose after the party politically ‘rediscovered’ the Ring of Fire as a slumbering engine of economic growth for the province.

Buried in the election budget was the glossed-over detail that the Queen’s Park $1-billion was contingent on Ottawa making a matching billion. The feds quickly set this sleight-of-hand straight; whereupon the Wynne Liberals confirmed on the hustings that they were good for their $1-billion dollar pledge no matter what.

On the industry side of the ledger, as Cliffs Natural Resources slowly realized that it was taking a fiscal cold shower on its rushed expansion into Canada; it took its own billion dollar write down on its Bloom Lake iron project in Quebec. (‘Write-down’ is an accounting term used to describe a reduction of the book value of an asset due to economic or fundamental changes in an asset.) Cliffs will likely take another major write down on account of its botched Ring of Fire investment.