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Partnership Opportunities for Aboriginal Communities Key to Future Mining Projects

Sep 18, 2014

The new realities must replace the old myths that once governed the way mines were planned and approved said Hans Matthews, the President of the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association.

Matthews addressed the Gala Dinner for the North America Mining Expo at the Caruso Club in Sudbury on September 9, 2014 and offered those attending lessons that he has learned over the 23 years he has been involved with CAMA.

Over the last 23 years Matthews has witnessed and participated in a number of significant changes and the old beliefs held by the mining industry needs to be replaced with the new reality.

“The first myth is that aboriginal communities are absent in mining lands issues, but the reality is that we have asserted our interest in all aspects of land use. Including the land that is not owned directly by First Nations, but where they have established past use,” states Matthews.

Aboriginal communities want to benefit

First Nations want to benefit from spinoff opportunities from mining. Mining projects are often the best opportunity for aboriginal communities. Increasingly today that comes in the form of mining companies contracting aboriginal business to provide services.

Partners in environmental management

“Our solution is to partner with the mining community particularly in natural resources issues and become joint waste managers,” Matthews said.

“One of the myths today is that mining companies are interested only in the minerals, but a larger focus today is on waste management,” Matthews added.  

He explained that a mining company produces a lot of waste rock that needs to be properly managed.

 “To produce one gram of mineral it takes about a tonne of rock. That is a lot of waste rock. A tonne of rock is about a small refrigerator one gram per tonne is like hacking a penny out of that refrigerator”.

Mining companies need to become better waste managers Matthews said. This is an area where aboriginal community can provide sound environmental management.

Aboriginal communities seek business opportunities

It is not enough for an Aboriginal community to seek assurances of employment. The other myth is that mining companies were the lead employers but today they tend to outsource to suppliers and service. We have seen that employment will be in indirect suppliers you supply services to mining companies. Direct employment has dropped but there is an increase in contracting.

Must extend benefits

Matthews said  the myth that mining creates wealth for all needs to be replaced with a reality that aboriginal communities will support mining projects that benefit the community.

"For communities that have been left out there has to be positive benefits," Matthews stated. " Today we ask why many projects still fail to get underway and one of the main reasons is that the aboriginal community may not have had the opportunity to benefit from a project in the past. As a result the community is now reluctant to have mining in their area because of a lack of trust in the company and the government."

Need for aboriginal community support is the new reality

Matthews explained that another myth is that company had to get permission from the government for development of a mine. Today Aboriginal community support is needed.

But it is not enough to deal only with the leadership. Instead the entire community needs to be involved because council and chiefs change every two, three or four years.

“Who you are dealing with today may not be the same person you are dealing with tomorrow,” Matthew pointed out.

Government needs to settle outstanding land claims

Government ignores aboriginal interest over land and this leads to uncertainty and projects are being held hostage because of lack of government activity on these issues.

On treaty areas the Government told us that we can hunt trap and fish on the lands that are not sold by the government we run into logger heads with companies how do you manage…Aboriginal title has been extinguished but court case have ruled that defined by use, occupation or affinity.

Elephant in the room is land claims. Matthews said there are 1200 claims before the courts. Without resolution of these claims uncertainty over land use will persist, because of government’s failure to be proactive. Discovery of minerals revive interest and start litigation.

 “I bet you government won’t do anything until they are threatened by loss of revenue. I would like to see land claims settled and establish certainty for all.”

What is consultation anyway?

Another consideration is how is consultation defined and who has the duty to consult. Matthews said that this can be confusing at times because government has the duty to consult but companies have the procedural obligation.

“It can be confusing at times for industry,” Matthews acknowledged.

At one time only western scientific knowledge was considered during consultation and hearings. A company would hire a team of PhDs. Botanists, zoologists. Today traditional knowledge from elders and hunters is also considered

In the mid-1980s the Intergovernmental Group on Mining struggled with how to get aboriginal communities involved in mining, how to get them employed,” Matthews recalled. “Today it is how to get mining companies involved in the communities. If we can answer that question we will be going in a positive direction and we will be operating under a new paradigm for developing a mine.”

Territory must be considered

An old myth was that no aboriginal reserves were located near projects. There was only a small reserve 200 km. away today we need to consider territories. Whose territory are we in? What land are we talking about? 

Matthews said the watershed was the unit of land to be considered taking into consideration one height of land to the other height of land. That also defines the area for conducting Environmental Assessment on what impacts will be on those lands.

In addition to the natural environment Environmental Assessments now must also consider the social and cultural impacts. Many communities may not be able to handle the impact of new roads and new hunters entering a community.

Challenging time for industry

Matthews acknowledged that it is a challenging time for the mining industry. While government and community are calling for consultation many companies are reluctant to commit because it costs money to send people out to meet with the community. There needs to be more certainty for each project. One positive development is that mining companies can now claim 100 percent of consultation costs as tax deductions under the Mineral Exploration Depletion Allowance.

Whose land is it? The blame game if a project can’t go ahead the aboriginal community is blamed. Communities need access to land to grow.

Next boom should be for everyone

Matthews said that the mining industry has entered a quiet period in gold and base metals. It is the quiet before next boom. The question is will it be a boom for industry and a bust for aboriginal community or will it be a boom for everyone?

The time to build is now. Mining companies need to harness skills in the aboriginal community. There is a huge potential to be tapped. 50 percent of the aboriginal population is under the age of 25. .

Moving forward the government has to be more proactive and facilitate and not frustrate the process. They need to be more proactive and get away from crisis management.

Matthews concluded that industry and aboriginal communities must ignore the old ways and work together for the benefit of all. Aboriginal communities want to participate and be full partners with industry.

Aboriginal and mining communities realize that we need to get away from the old ways. We need to work together as partners for the good of all.

Matthews acknowledged the mining industry has made major strides. “Industry has improved by leaps and bounds the mining community is doing it way better than the oil industry.”

The Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association will host their 22nd Conference in November 16-18 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Seeking Certainty, Mining New Ground Maximizing Community & Minerals Industry Resources for the Benefit of All. www.aboriginalminerals.com

The CAMA tries to engage the Aboriginal community into the mining industry through educational opportunities. They bring in students from across Canada to their conference and showcase them on a panel getting in school. Most of the proceeds from their conference goes to a scholarship in the community where the conference is held.