Tahltan First Nation shows its mining mettle Nelson Bennett/Glacier Media
Gold, jade, copper, nickel, obsidian, silver – the northwest corner of B.C., dubbed the Golden Triangle, is rich in precious and base metals. Roughly 70 per cent of this mineral-rich region is claimed by the Tahltan First Nation as traditional territory – an area roughly the size of Portugal. The Tahltan claimed sovereignty over their territory in a formal declaration in 1910. Though at the time its leaders expressed an interest in treaty negotiations, the Tahltan First Nation is among the few in B.C. that never entered the B.C. treaty process. That might have become a problem for mining companies
wanting to exploit the region’s mineral riches, but the Tahltan First Nation supports and is very much involved in the mining industry.
and exploration in the region has attracted an estimated $1.8 billion just in the last three years alone, according to the B.C. government.
There is archaeological evidence that the Tahltan mined and traded obsidian (used for making blades, arrowheads and spearheads) as far back as 10,000 years ago, and also traded with gold miners during the gold rush of the 1800s. There are currently two operating mines in Tahltan territory – the Red Chris coppergold mine and the Brucejack gold mine – that provide 950 direct jobs and another 1,000 in the supply and services industry, and other projects are under development. Mining
With a workforce of skilled underground miners and numerous business interests in companies that serve the mining industry, the Tahltan are to mining what Mohawk First Nations are to ironworking. While the Tahltan government has said no to coal bed methane extraction, and has lately been serving eviction notices to placer and jade miners over concerns about impacts to the environment and cultural sites, it otherwise generally supports and works with the mining and mineral exploration sectors. It has also worked with the provincial government on agreements to provide some certainty over land use. Thanks to its support for and involvement in mining, the First Nation has comparatively high employment levels. “The unemployment rate for Tahltan in the area is incredibly low,” said Paul Gruner, the new CEO of the Tahltan Nation Development Corp. (TNDC). “We’re one of the largest private businesses in northwest B.C. I think that’s pretty cool, as an Indigenous business, to be a major employer and contributor to the local economy.”
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Gruner is new to the TNDC. He previously was CEO of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation’s Det’on Cho Corp. He said he is impressed by the Tahltan’s business acumen and political organization. “The Tahltan themselves are well-organized,” he said. “They’ve got political sophistication and will and desire.” Formed in 1985 by the Tahltan
Central Government, the TNDC is like a Crown corporation that operates at arm’s length and is responsible for business and economic development. It has developed numerous business ventures, including in heavy construction, earthworks, camp services, air chartering, forestry, transportation and fibre optics. Some are owned outright by the Tahltan, while others are partnerships or joint ventures. One of the most significant of these partnerships is with Procon Mining & Tunnelling. Procon manages the underground operations at the Brucejack mine, which employs roughly 20 Tahltan miners. Dale Day is one of them. An underground remote scoop operator, he has been a miner since 1979. Originally from Telegraph Creek, he now lives in Terrace. Since his first job at the Erickson gold mine near Cassiar, where he got an electrical trade apprenticeship, he has worked in seven underground mines over his career. With the exception of a stint at the Cantung tungsten mine in the Yukon, all of the mines he has worked in over his career have been in northwestern B.C. “It was actually the first time I left the Golden Triangle, when I went up to the Cantung mine,” Day said. “Other than that, all the work was pretty much in our Golden Triangle. “The money is good,” he said. “I would love to see more Tahltans in mining. I have a big family and I always encourage them to try mining out. As far as the Tahltans and the mining go, they’ve got to coexist. Everybody depends on it up there. It’s their No. 1 industry.” While operating mines employ some Tahltan miners, many INDUSTRY & TRADE | SPRING/SUMMER 2022
