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INUVIK
A complex court battle over surface and subsurface rights at the Navy Road Quarry has reached a tentative conclusion.

Todd Shattler, left, and his brother Larry stand near a sign Monday that warns trespassers there is an active mineral claim being explored in the Navy Road Quarry. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

The Supreme Court of the NWT ruled last month that the Inuvik residents who hold a mineral claim in the back half of the quarry be allowed to resume their exploratory work.

Deanna Shattler and her husband, Todd, staked a claim to minerals in the area in 2006, the year before the Town of Inuvik received title to the land. Disputes between the Shattlers and the town have been ongoing since that time.

The Shattlers claimed the town was interfering with their ability to work their claim. The Town of Inuvik questioned whether the Shattlers were staying within the bounds of their mineral claim or were participating in unlicensed quarrying on town land.

"I guess the town had the feeling that we were going beyond our claim into quarrying," Todd told Inuvik Drum.

The issue was always over the use of the land, said Grant Hood, senior administrative officer for the Town of Inuvik.

"The town has never disputed that he had a valid claim," he said.

Tensions at the quarry culminated during the summer of 2011, when Shattler installed a gate to the quarry in an effort to block access by the town and its contractors. The town ultimately cut the chain to the gate, and Inuvik RCMP attended the scene.

"It is obvious from the evidence adduced that the conflict between the Town and Mr. Shattler has been going on for many years," stated NWT Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau in her written ruling June 27.

"(Shattler) has also, at times, been confrontational and has taken the law into his own hands when he blocked the access to the quarry. I do not doubt that it must have been frustrating for town officials to deal with him. But that does not relieve the town from its obligation to ensure that the rights and interests arising from these mineral claims are respected."

Mineral claims may be staked by any resident on public land, said Hood. However, to work the claim, the mineral claim holder must get permission from the surface rights owner to access their claim.

However, under mineral claim regulations, "access cannot be denied to a mineral claim holder," stated Charbonneau.

An agreement is either made between both parties, or the matter goes to arbitration.

As part of last month's ruling, this kind of agreement must now be made between the Town of Inuvik and the Shattlers. Both Hood and Todd Shattler said they hoped an agreement could be reached without further legal procedures.

"We think the public has paid enough already," said Shattler.

In the interim, Charbonneau made several declarations to regulate use of the land and the subsurface area of the claim.

The Shattlers, who have been banned from operating in the quarry since August 2011, may now gain access to the site to work their claim although they must give the Town of Inuvik 24 hours notice before they do so. The mineral claim holders may not remove any material from the site except for sampling and assay purposes. In these cases, they must provide 48-hours written notice to the town.

Also, the Shattlers and their agents must not interfere with quarrying operations in the area, and the town and its agents must not interfere with the work being done on the mineral claim.

Todd said he has already submitted the 24-hours notice required to get back to work on the area, although he was intentionally unclear about what exactly that work entails or what minerals they are looking for, other than hinting at precious metals.

"I've been a little tight-lipped about that," he said. "Let's just say that we have found something, but it isn't what we were originally looking for. I'm not going to say what ... we're not leaving until we find what we know is there," he said.

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