First Mining says Cat Lake and Lac Seul have signed Springpole agreement
First Mining says it has signed the Springpole Project Consultation and Benefits Agreement with Cat Lake and Lac Seul First Nations, covering construction, operations and closure. No figures were given.
AI illustrationWhy this matters: our read
The release says Cat Lake's reserve lands sit inside Treaty 9 territory but that the nation asserts it never signed a treaty with the Crown, while Lac Seul signed Treaty 3. Lac Seul Chief Clifford Bull said conditions from the Anishinaabe-led assessment were built into the agreement, and the release does not set them out, so those conditions are what to watch.
First Mining Gold Corp. said on August 27 that it had entered into the Springpole Project Consultation and Benefits Agreement with the Cat Lake and Lac Seul First Nations, for its gold project in northwestern Ontario. The account here rests on the company’s release, which quotes both chiefs and chief executive Dan Wilton.
The company says the agreement applies to every phase of the project: construction, operations and closure. It says the two nations take part in environmental management and monitoring, and that the agreement provides preferential training and employment measures, equity and a share of the project’s economic upside, business opportunities, recognition of Anishinaabe culture, and the sharing of financial benefits. The release gives no amounts or percentages.
The release says the agreement was negotiated after an Anishinaabe-led Impact Assessment. Cat Lake Chief Russell Wesley said the agreement was developed over more than four years, and that the assessment was completed in partnership with Lac Seul.
Sources
- First Mining Gold (PR Newswire): Cat Lake First Nation, Lac Seul First Nation and First Mining sign project agreementprimary source · Published