Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 05/98) - Ndilo Chief Fred Sangris has levelled strong opposition to the proposed Thor Lake beryllium mine along the East Arm of Great Slave Lake.

"We use the land year round. We gather traditional foods. A project like this could have a great effect on our traditional lifestyle," Sangris said.

There is also a spiritual significance to the site, he added.

"We have identified land selection areas and that is one of them. The land claim is the number 1 priority. The Crown can only recognize another government. We are the other government."

There must be full consent of First Nations before anything happens, he said.

Sangris spoke at Wednesday night's information session at the Ndilo gym. The sessions are part of an environmental review process triggered by Highwood Resources' water licence application last year.

Highwood and DIAND officials held similar meetings in Dettah and Lutselk'e Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

Sangris and others said they are worried about the potential health effects of beryllium sampling -- Highwood wants to extract 100,000 tonnes or ore and partially process it in Hay River to see if a full-scale mine is feasible. The ore to be extracted also contains uranium.

Sangris said aboriginal people need the area east of the city, including land around Thor Lake, to maintain there traditional lifestyle.

Yellowknifes Dene, if they want to carry out traditional practices, must go beyond a 25-kilometre radius of Ndilo, primarily because of Giant mine, he said. Giant Mine owner Royal Oak has a significant share holding in Highwood.

The Thor Lake site drains north through four small lakes and finally into Blachford Lake.

Jan Johnson, a uranium consultant with the Highwood group, said any exposure would be well within federally accepted ranges.

Ted Tsetta of Dettah asked if there had been any deaths associated with beryllium mining.

"Yes. When people started (mining beryllium in the 1930s and '40s) they did not know the hazards," Terry Pepper of Highwood said. They were exposed to levels thousands of times higher than what is expected with this project and sustained chronic and acute beryllium disease. There has not been a case of acute beryllium disease reported since 1967, Pepper said.