25 Aug B.C. strikes mining deal with first nation (Vancouver Sun)
The B.C. government signed an agreement on Tuesday that will see it share tax revenue from the mining industry with the Stk’emlupsemc of the Secwepemc Nation, whose people live in the south-central area of the province.
The agreement was welcomed by the industry, which hopes the deal will improve relations between miners and first nations people, making them more receptive to mining activities on or near their ancestral lands.
“It is the right thing to do. It is also good for business,” said Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of B.C.
These agreements will help “to show first nations right at the outset that there is something for them from our activities,” Gratton told Reuters.
The agreement is to share tax revenue generated by New Gold’s New Afton gold-copper mine, currently under construction 10 kilometres from
The mine is expected to open in 2012.
It’s expected to be the first of many agreements in the province’s mining sector, said Randy Hawes, B.C.’s minister of state for mining. …Go to article.