Mansell Griffin was an infant when his mother joined other Nisga’a members in protesting the Kitsault molybdenum mine, which has operated in fits and starts since the late 1960s.
Last week, he joined Shane Uren of Avanti Kitsault Mine Ltd. at the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia’s annual Mineral Exploration Roundup to talk about one of B.C.’s latest junior mining success stories.
Despite major concerns over environmental and social impacts, the Nisga’a Lisims Government and Alloycorp Mining Inc. (TSX-V:AVT) – formerly Avanti Mining Inc. – came to a consensus, and pre-construction on the $818 million project began in July 2014.
“We were at loggerheads for a long time, and it seemed like we weren’t going to go anywhere, but we did,” said Griffin, lands manager for the Nisga’a Lisims Government.
“I learned what consensus means,” said Uren, vice-president of engineering and permitting for Avanti. “It feels different than a win. … You don’t feel like you’ve won when you come to a consensus.”
The Kitsault mine, in the heart of the Nisga’a territory, operated between 1968 and 1972 and between 1981 and 1982.
Avanti Mining bought the idled mine in 2008.
Because it was a brownfield project that had already secured an environmental assessment (EA) certificate and Mines Act permit, Avanti was not required to go through an EA process again.
But that permitting had been concluded before the Nisga’a Treaty was signed in 1999, so the Nisga’a felt the project should go through the EA process again.
“At our insistence, they opted in,” Griffin said.
Despite the company’s agreeing to participate in an EA process that was not required, it did not allay the Nisga’a’s concerns. The province and Nisga’a disagreed on just how much detail should go into the EA process.
As Uren explained, only about 10% of the engineering required to bring a mine into production is completed at the pre-feasibility stage, and that did not provide enough detail to answer many of the questions the Nisga’a had.
One of the band’s concerns was the potential environmental effects of tailings disposal and storage – concerns that the Mount Polley tailings pond disaster hammered home in August 2014. They also had questions about how the mine might affect the Nisga’a financially.
The company consequently consented to increase the amount of engineering work it needed to do. Avanti also agreed to replace the Nass Bridge, a project that is slated for completion in March.
When the province was about to grant an EA certificate, the Nisga’a filed a notice of dispute in anticipation of a breach of the treaty and started preparing for a court challenge in case mediation failed.
Uren said the company was at times frustrated because it felt it had met all the provincial government requirements, but still faced resistance from the Nisga’a.
“The EA is strategic,” Uren said. “And what the Nisga’a Nation wanted to know is the details. … Is this going to be a net benefit to the Nisga’a Nation? We were torn, as a company, because we weren’t moving ahead but yet we had met all the provincial and federal requirements.”
Griffin said a senior management change at the company in March 2014 opened the door to direct negotiations.
“Something changed,” Griffin said. “Avanti’s leadership team changed. We reached out.”
The two sides were able to come to an agreement and avoid a court battle. In June 2014, Avanti and the Nisga’a signed a benefits agreement that includes a smelter royalty of up to 2%.
“Now we had access to all their businesses, and they’ve got a great business structure,” Uren said. “They know what they’re doing. Their training programs for education – we were able to jump in there and integrate into that.”
The company has not yet completed financing of the project. Once that is in place, the mine will take up to $818 million to build over a two-year period, employing 700 people.
The company plans to have the mine in operation in 2017. It would employ 300 people over the life of the mine, which is estimated at 14 years.
