Brent Reaney
Northern News Services

Snare Lakes (May 30/05) - A Dogrib-owned firm has won the contract to keep the water clean at the Colomac mine site for at least the next three years.

A barrier wall is drilled at the abandoned Colomac mine site in September 2004. A Dogrib-owned firm was recently awarded a mine contract.

Last week, the Dogrib Nation Trust Co. was awarded the $15 million job by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND).

Behcho Ko Development Corp. (BKDC) president and CEO George Mackenzie was relieved when he heard the news.

It meant $200,000 spent training workers in contaminated sites maintenance would not go to waste.

Behcho Ko is the Dogrib name for the community of Rae-Edzo.

As part of the proposal, the work cleaning the site's contaminated water will be subcontracted to Tli Cho Logistics, in which BKDC has a 51 per cent stake.

"We've done that work in the past," said Mackenzie, adding he does not feel the Dogrib people really benefitted from the mine's operation.

"It would be devastating if we didn't get the contract."

Seven people worked to put the proposal together.

At its peak, the maintenance contract will mean about 40 jobs.

"This is the first contract awarded in the territory of the Tlicho people since the Tlicho Act was passed earlier this year," said Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew, referring to the legislation which combines the land claim and self government.

Located in the North Slave region, 222 km northwest of Yellowknife, gold was mined from Colomac sporadically between 1989 and 1997.

In 1999, DIAND was charged with cleaning up the site after owner Royal Oak Mines went into receivership.

The main concern at the site is cyanide contamination in the tailings pond. A plan has been approved and DIAND believes Colomac will be fully cleaned up by 2010.

The complete project has been valued at up to $40 million.

Contracts for the site's clean up go up for bid this September 1.

Mackenzie said BKDC will likely try to land some of the clean up work, too.

"The rewarding thing for me is this is the people's company, it's not an individual's company," he said.

"All Dogrib-Rae band benefit from this."