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The agreement provides an exit strategy for Taseko while preserving value. The company will get $75 million from the B.C. government, and will retain 77.5% of its mineral tenures. The Tsilhqot’in will be given 22.5% equity in the New Prosperity mineral tenures. But if the New Prosperity mine, or some version of it, is ever built, it will have to be built and operated by some other company. \u201cTaseko has committed to not be the proponent (operator) of future mineral exploration and development activity at New Prosperity Project, and can divest some or all of its interest at any time, including to other mining companies,\u201d a government news release states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The B.C. government plans, through an order in council, to apply a Section 7 provision for the Tsilhqot’in, similar to the one applied for the Tahltan First Nation. This will require the consent of the Tsilhqot’in for all reviewable projects — i.e. projects requiring a B.C. environmental assessment. Before any mine proposal is considered, a new land use plan needs to be completed. “The first thing is a land use plan for the area,” Chief Roger William told me. “Anything that’s in the area has to be Tsilhqot’in-led. “This agreement means Teztan Biny is protected from any mining, any drilling, any exploration without the consent of the Tsilhqot’in people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The land use plan encompasses the Dasiqox Nexwagwez\u0294an tribal park that the Tsilhqot’in declared in 2014. The B.C. government says it will “invite broad public and stakeholder participation” in developing the plan. There are 12 companies with mineral claims in the area to be subject to the new land use plan, according to the AME. They worry about what new consent powers will mean for mineral exploration in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“For the mineral exploration sector to be successful, investment in mineral exploration projects is required,” Jacques said. “It is unreasonable for the government to expect investment in the mineral exploration sector without ensuring certainty of land access, which is the foundational requirement to support the search for the critical minerals societies need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nelson Bennett\u2019s column appears weekly at Resource Works News. Contact him at nelson@resourceworks.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Tsilhqot\u2019in land use plan worries mineral claims holders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":98827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[703],"tags":[18,87,27,11],"class_list":["post-98825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-economy","tag-feature","tag-first-nations","tag-mining"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n