Diavik Diamond Mines President Joe Carrabba says it will be business as usual following a deal signed by federal, territorial and aboriginal leaders that gives the Tlicho (or Dogrib) nation exclusive control of nearly 39,000 sq. km in the Northwest Territories.
The land package includes the land on which Canada’s two diamond mines — Diavik, jointly owned by Rio Tino and Aber diamond, and Ekati, shared by BHP Billiton and prospectors Stuart Blusson and Charles Fipke — are situated.
“We’re quite comfortable with . . . the relationship we have with the Dogrib First Nation,” says Carrabba.
Negotiations to establish a self-governing territory for the Dogrib nation began in 1992, and Diavik made provisions for such an agreement in the original pacts it signed with aboriginal leaders.
The Tlicho final agreement creates legislative bodies with the power to collect taxes, levy resource royalties, and regulate everything from fishing to family law. The federal government will provide $152 million over 15 years plus annual payments of roughly $3.5 million. About 3,000 people will be affected by the agreement. Ottawa will keep control of criminal law, whereas the territorial government will retain powers over health care and education.
Meanwhile, the Tlicho have formed business relationships with Procon Mining and SNC-Lavalin and developed their own hydroelectric project.
The deal gives the Tlicho the ability to assess royalties on any mining or oil-and-gas activity.
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