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Galore Creek Mine on lower Stikine Watershed (B.C.)

by admin ~ February 26th, 2007

My good friend Tad has posted several updates on mining developments near the communities of Iskut and Telegraph Creek on his blog (Fieldnotes: Notes on the Anthropology of British Columbia).

The Galore Creek Mine: received its project approval from BC for it’s environmental assessment of the massive open pit project and access road on the watershed of the lower Stikine River. The mine has the support of the Talhtan elected leadership, and it is expected to generate up to 1000 jobs during the construction phase. The Iskut elders group, Klabona Keepers, have issued a statement opposing mining developments in the sacred headwaters region of the Nass, Stikine and Skeena Rivers.

Kemess Mine: an open pit copper-gold mine and milling complex located in the southern Toodoggone area of northern British Columbia, faces continuing opposition from the Tse Keh Nay First Nations, and concerns over cultural heritage, aboriginal rights, and environmental assessment process. Quote from news report:

Chief John Allen French of the Takla First Nation, on behalf of the Tse Keh Nay, said in a open letter this week to Premier Gordon Campbell that the tribal group’s members remain concerned about the government’s apparent support for the Kemess North mine proposal.

The project necessitates disposal of mine tailings into a local fish-bearing lake that the Tse Keh Nay describe as “a well-spring for our culture.”

“We have un-extinguished Aboriginal rights and title there, including important spiritual, hunting, fishing, medicine-gathering, burial sites and cultural sites,” French wrote.

He said the public review process for the mine “does not work for us” and needs to be fixed.

He called on the government to reconcile the tribe’s aboriginal interest with its own development aims and to revisit the Kemess North environmental assessment process with the first nation.

Update:

  • Nov. 30, 2007: Fieldnotes BC continues to cover Galore Creek Mine proposal with updates on review board recommendations on Kemess North Mine proposal, and the decision by Teck Cominco and NovaGold Resources Inc. to suspend construction on the Galore Creek copper-gold project.

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