KIVALLIQ
After 40 months of negotiations, a signing ceremony and a $1.5 million handoff finalized the Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement (IIBA) for the Meliadine gold project between the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) and Agnico Eagle Mine Ltd in Rankin Inlet on July 13.

With the signing of the Meliadine Inuit Impact Benefits Agreement, the first financial payment from Agnico Eagle to the Kivalliq Inuit Association totaling $1.5 million was made during the signing ceremony. Agnico Eagle Chair Jim Nasso (right) presents KIA president David Ningeongan with the cheque. - photo courtesy Agnico Eagle

The main challenge during negotiations, said KIA president David Ningeongan, was trying to move forward from the IIBA for Meadowbank.

"We had learned along the way that there were things in the agreement that we may have missed. So we wanted to ensure that those benefits were added," he said.

Training commitments was one of those things and $750,000 annually has been earmarked for training, above and beyond other commitments.

"Although we had training in the first agreement, we didn't have real commitments for dollar amounts. We wanted to ensure that we had as much as we possibly could to make changes for the future," said Ningeongan.

Fifty per cent Inuit employment at the future mine is the minimum right at the beginning, he said, adding, "The commitment is if we can achieve a higher number, we're certainly going to push for that."

Meadowbank employs between 30 and 34 per cent Inuit.

At the signing, Agnico Eagle officials - chief executive officer Sean Boyd and board chair person Jim Nasso - referenced their company's mines in Mexico with 100 per cent Mexican employment.

"Agnico Eagle Mexico consists of three gold mines - Pinos Altos, Creston Mascota and La India - and all three are 100 per cent Mexican managed and operated. We employ about 2,200 people in Mexico," explained corporate director of communications Dale Coffin.

"Pinos Altos and Creston Mascota are located in the mountainous region of northern Mexico, 220 kilometres west of the City of Chihuahua. The La India mine is located approximately 200 kilometres east of Hermosillo in Sonora, Mexico."

Nasso said he wants to see "Inuit run (the Meliadine) mine like the Mexicans do."

Ningeongan says that's definitely a possibility.

"I'm confident, especially with the training commitments in place."

The construction phase of the Meliadine project is expected to employ 1,100 people, with preliminary construction beginning next year and "the real stuff in a couple of years," said Ningeongan.

When fully operating, the combination open-pit and underground mine is expected to employ 850 people.

"We want to have it so that every opportunity is there to increase employment for beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement," he said

Nunavut Tunngavik president Cathy Towtongie spoke briefly at the signing, emphasizing the "open" nature of this IIBA as compared to the Meadowbank IIBA.

"In the past, a lot of what happened within the organization was behind closed doors," said Ningeongan. "But this time around I felt, and our board felt, that we have to become more transparent. We have to have more of an open-door policy within the region for our beneficiaries. With the agreement being negotiated, we really relied on our board members from the communities for input on what was being negotiated."

This agreement, unlike the previous one, will be available to the public once Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt signs his approval, expected to take place within 30 days. It will be available on KIA's website and in hard copy.

The handing over of a $1.5 million cheque capped the ceremony. The KIA will be travelling to communities in the fall to consult on programming needs and to begin developing strategic plans, for this and future IIBA

payments.

"In the past it hasn't been that way but we want to make sure our communities have a say. We want to make sure this goes a long way," said Ningeongan.

"In the past we've seen royalties go into the general fund, but in the past couple of years we've set up separate accounts. We want to make sure that what's within the budget stays within the budget and what we get from royalties will go into program dollars."

Once Meliadine begins production, KIA will receive annual production payments. In the first five years KIA will receive 25 per cent of what's owed them, with the remaining 75 per cent for those years to be included in year six and year seven payments.

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