NATIVE DEVELOPMENT

When Sa Dena Hes was launched with official fanfare last fall, a special ceremony, rare and probably unique in the annals of Canadian mining, caught the spotlight. The Kaska Dena nation bestowed on Curragh CEO Cliff Frame an honorary name in the Kaska Dena tongue. He was called, by the Kaska, “Ano Sede,” (he who travels far) the name of a previous Kaska chief known for his wide-ranging travels. This deeply moving ceremony symbolized the relationship that Curragh and the Kaska Dena have recently nurtured.

Only three years ago the Kaska Dena nation, a 5-band Indian organization whose 4,000 members can claim some entitlement to 94,000 square miles of British Columbia and Yukon wilderness, viewed mine development — indeed, development of almost any stripe — with suspicion, if not out-and-out hostility.

Not today. They have signed an agreement with Curragh Resources setting out details on native employment levels at the Sa Dena Hes mine and the Stronsay development, on a post-secondary school trust fund and even on an equity option in Sa Dena Hes excercisable in 1994.

They also have incorporated under the name Kaska Corp., which hauls Sa Dena Hes ore from portal to crusher, as well as maintains the mine road. (Kaska works in a joint venture with Northland Enterprises.) In addition, their close association with Curragh gives them a preview of any new contracts to be let. The Kaska Dena still have to bid the job.

Both the Kaska Dena people and Curragh’s top executives worked long and hard at forging a mutually acceptable agreement.

The framework agreement, the details of which are confidential, relates to several key areas: The Kaska Dena, for example, now have an option to buy up to 5% of the total equity of Sa Dena Hes. The option runs out in 1994. Native employment has been targeted to reach 30% of the Sa Dena Hes workforce. It is currently 20%. Preferential contracting to Kaska Corp. is also a feature of the document. As well, there is an agreement that Curragh will match an annual Kaska Dena contribution of $25,000 in a trust fund for post-secondary education for young Kaska Dena natives.

The process of forging the agreement took a long time and there were periods of frustration, Gleason said. “You won’t get all that you want.” But overall, she adds, “we’ve accomplished a lot and we’ve created a lot of employment for our people.”