The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
To pay C$27M for properties, will transfer some to Tahltan North of 60 Mining News – April 1, 2022
Drilling at Tatogga prior to Newmont's acquisition of this gold-copper project in the Tahltan Territory of Northern British Columbia.
Newmont Corp. March 30 announced plans to acquire several blocks of mineral exploration claims in British Columbia's Golden Triangle for the support of land use planning in the Tahltan Territory.
The Tahltan-BC Land Use Plan, which is based on the recognition of Tahltan title and rights within the nation's 96,000-square-kilometer (37,000 square miles) territory in northwestern BC, is expected to be one of the key tools that will inform land use decisions under a new government-to-government decision making relationship between the Tahltan Central Government, the administrative governing body of the Tahltan Nation, and the province.
As a key part of the Tahltan Stewardship Initiative, this land use plan aims to create the necessary conditions for long-term land use certainty, responsible resource management, protection of the environment, and economic prosperity. It will guide how to plan for ecosystem health and support maintaining Tahltan relationships to the land to ensure that the land can support Tahltan uses and values for future generations.
In support of this plan, Newmont has agreed to pay C$27 million to acquire five properties – Heart Peaks, Castle, Moat, Coyote, and North ROK – that will be owned by Skeena Resources Ltd. following that company's acquisition of QuestEx Gold & Copper Ltd.
Further details of Skeena's proposed acquisition of QuestEx can be read at Skeena makes big move in Golden Triangle in the current edition of North of 60 Mining News.
In 2021, Newmont gained ownership of the Tatogga gold-copper project in Tahltan Territory through the US$311 million (C$393 million) acquisition of GT Gold Corporation.
Shortly after the acquisition, Tahltan residents from the community of Iskut raised concerns that Newmont's plans to develop a mine at the North Saddle deposit on the Tatogga property could hamper their ability to hunt caribou in an area that already hosts Red Chris, a copper-gold mine operated by Newcrest Mining Ltd.
Recognizing the need for Tahltan consent to advance a mine at North Saddle, Newmont says it will work in collaboration with the Tahltan Nation, the Iskut community, and the BC government to make available portions of the properties it acquires from Skeena to support the land use planning objectives of the Tahltan Nation and the Iskut community.
Newmont says it is committed to supporting the Tahltan Stewardship Initiative, which includes preserving key areas around the community of Iskut, as well as the efforts by the Tahltan and provincial governments to achieve reconciliation outcomes.
Seeing shared value in the creative solutions that the C$27 million Tahltan Territory land acquisition will enable, the world's largest gold mining company says it looks forward to making the North ROK and Coyote properties available for the Tahltan Stewardship Initiative as part of an ongoing effort to build a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with the Tahltan Nation and Iskut community.
"We are committed to developing a world class mining jurisdiction in the region which includes sustainable resource development while protecting and conserving lands under the Tahltan Stewardship Initiative that are important to the Tahltan Nation and the Iskut community," said Newmont President and CEO Tom Palmer. "We are acquiring the land in an effort to address concerns raised by the Tahltan Nation. The mining claims around Iskut are not being purchased for development or their mineral potential."
Find out more about the Tahltan Nation and its increasingly active role in the Northern BC mining sector at Golden Tahltan mining in Northern BC in the current edition of North of 60 Mining News.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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