For the second time, the province and the Tahltan Central Government have come to a consent agreement on a northwestern B.C. mining project.

The agreement, signed Nov. 1 in Vancouver, will allow Newcrest Mining to seek approval to vastly expand the lifespan of its Red Chris gold-copper-silver mine in B.C.91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淕olden Triangle91裸聊视频� by developing a block-caving operation.

Under the province91裸聊视频檚 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) 91裸聊视频� which is based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 91裸聊视频� resource projects require the free, prior and informed consent of First Nations affected by them.

It means the environmental assessments, permitting and approvals for the mine expansion will be a collaborative effort between B.C.91裸聊视频檚 Environmental Assessment Office and the Tahltan.

91裸聊视频淭his agreement is nothing new for us as Tahltan people,91裸聊视频� said Chad Norman Day, president of the Tahltan Central Government.

91裸聊视频淚t only affirms what we91裸聊视频檝e known all along, which is that when there91裸聊视频檚 major development in Tahltan territory, the world, the province, industry, they require our consent. And if we91裸聊视频檙e to work together and thrive together, the province and the Tahltan Nation and industry is always going to have to come together in a respectful way to really honour and give life to the words of reconciliation.91裸聊视频�

In 2021, B.C., the Tahltan Nation and the proponents of the Red Chris project and the Skeena Resources91裸聊视频� Eskay Creek project, began negotiations under Section 7 of DRIPA.

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In 2022, the Eskay Creek Revitalization Project became the first consent-based agreement in history under the legislation.

According to Marie Quock, chief councillor of the Iskut band, on whose land Red Chris is situated, this agreement goes a long way toward peace of mind that the land will be protected.

91裸聊视频淚 know that our community is pleased with this agreement because we now have certainty where we didn91裸聊视频檛 before,91裸聊视频� she said.

Environment Minister George Heyman said it is 91裸聊视频渋ncredibly meaningful91裸聊视频� to see what was just an idea in 2019 when DRIPA was created come to fruition in the form of actual consent agreements.

91裸聊视频淭hrough new processes that we are co-creating, the Tahltan people and the province as a whole will benefit from Tahltan stewardship of the land,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淎nd we all benefit from these and other acts of reconciliation.91裸聊视频�

Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Murray Rankin added that this is just the beginning.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e doing this work that91裸聊视频檚 never been done before, under the auspices of a statute that91裸聊视频檚 never been done 91裸聊视频� we were the first jurisdiction in North America to do this,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 want to say it91裸聊视频檚 just the start because there91裸聊视频檚 many more relationship agreements of this sort that we are going to work on together with the Tahltan, because we91裸聊视频檝e been able to forge such a strong partnership.91裸聊视频�

Block-caving is a relatively new mining technique that is far more efficient than conventional underground mining making ore bodies previously deemed uneconomical for extraction more feasible.

Red Chris produced its first copper concentrate in 2015 and the lifespan of the mine was projected to be around 28 years.

In 2019, the Australian gold-mining giant Newcrest acquired a 70-per-cent stake in the operation in a joint-venture with Imperial Metals. Shortly thereafter, it began a pre-feasibility study for the block-cave operation.

Estimates currently peg the new resource at approximately 480 million tonnes. The company intends to process approximately 12.8 million tonnes per year, which would extend the mine life by 31 years.

Newcrest expects the expansion to cost $2.6 billion with a payback on the investment within 3.2 years.

Editor91裸聊视频檚 note: A previous version of this story unintentionally implied the agreement was approval for the block cave operation, rather than the ability to seek approval.

thom.barker@blackpress.ca
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