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DENINU KU'E/FORT RESOLUTION
The Deninue Kue First Nation has signed its first independent Impact Benefits Agreement (IBA) with a mining company.

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. president Don Bubar and Louis Balsillie, chief of the Deninu Kue First Nation, sign an Impact Benefits Agreement in Fort Resolution on Monday, July 30, 2012, for Avalon's proposed Nechalacho rare earths mine at Thor Lake. Also present for the signing were GNWT cabinet ministers Tom Beaulieu and David Ramsay, Premier Bob McLeod, federal cabinet minister Tony Clement, and David Swisher, vice-president of operations. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

In a ceremony on July 29 in Fort Resolution, Deninu Kue chief Louis Balsillie and Avalon Rare Metals Inc. president Don Bubar signed the precedent-setting agreement over the junior exploration company's Nechalacho rare earth metals project at Thor Lake.

"I'm really honoured that Avalon has come in and sat with us and negotiated an IBA," Balsillie said, noting that the Deninu Kue have benefited from mining projects as part of the Akaitcho Territory in the past, but it is the first time a mining company has entered an Impact Benefits Agreement with the Deninu Kue individually.

"It is the first Impact Benefits Agreement for Deninu Kue," Balsillie said. "It is the first time that a mining company has recognized our traditional territory—all of it—not just the portion south of Great Slave Lake but also our territory to the east and north of the Lake where we have always hunted and fished and trapped."

Also present for the signing following a tour of the Nechalacho site were GNWT cabinet ministers Tom Beaulieu and David Ramsay, Premier Bob McLeod, and federal cabinet minister Tony Clement, who is also president of the Treasury Board of Canada.

"We definitely wanted a Minister from the Crown to participate in the signing ceremony with Deninu Kue First Nation," Bubar said. "We view it as a very significant agreement, a very positive precedent for the industry in general and for the North.

"Having the Premier and a senior cabinet minister from Ottawa attend the ceremony just speaks volumes to the significance of that agreement and we certainly want the public to appreciate how significant it is as we go forward."

McLeod congratulated Avalon and the Deninu Kue on behalf of the GNWT, and stressed the importance of First Nations participation and benefit from development.

"This is the way to go forward," McLeod said. "This is the way to do development."

Bubar said First Nations ownership of mining projects is not common in Canada but called it the "future of the industry.

"We see this as a real precedent for First Nations in Canada and particularly in the Northwest Territories," he said.

The IBA includes sections on training, employment and business contracts for Deninu Kue members. There will be a registry at the Band office that will be used by Avalon to locate and hire people with the skills needed for the construction, mine site work, and the processing plant, where members can sign stating their qualifications such as heavy machinery certificates, electricians, carpenters, and plumbers.

The IBA gives priority to qualified DKFN businesses for contracts with Avalon, Balsillie added.

"These opportunities will assist DKFN to establish new businesses to secure contracts related to the Avalon project, and to develop the ability to initiate business opportunities beyond Avalon with other mining companies," he said in his speech.

"The IBA establishes Avalon's commitment to hiring and retaining DKFN employees at the mine, through proactive hiring strategies, training programs and culturally sensitive policies," Balsillie said.

Avalon has already "made a commitment to maximize aboriginal participation," Bubar said, noting the project has been able to maintain 30-40 per cent aboriginal employment and is one of the only exploration companies to have partnered with the Mine Training Society.

Nearly 300 long term jobs associated with the project would be created in the NWT upon the start of production, including 225 full-time jobs on site and 65 at a hydrometallurgical plant in the Pine Point area.

Deninu Kue is the first of the project's aboriginal partners to officially sign an IBA with Avalon, with negotiations ongoing with the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation and Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

"We're absolutely committed to partnerships with our aboriginal neighbours," Bubar said, noting early engagement with aboriginal groups has served to "de-risk" the project in the eyes of investors.

Avalon is looking to bring the project into production in late 2016/2017, as the project continues through the environmental assessment process.

The agreement also provides funds for the Deninu Kue to have its own environmental monitor.

"We will work with Avalon to ensure that our water, our fish and the animals we hunt and trap are not harmed," Balsillie said.

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