January 11, 2012

Mine construction traffic resumes on Highway 27 after blockade removed

RICHARD GILBERT

Staff writer

Construction can resume at the Mount Milligan Mine, after a First Nations blockade was removed which halted industrial traffic on Highway 27, near Fort St. James, British Columbia.

The civil disobedience impacted logging, mine and construction vehicles.

“We are just happy the situation has been resolved and materials are moving again to the construction site,” said Jocelyn Fraser, directors of public affairs with Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.

“We had about 10 trucks that were delayed for a couple of days.”

The blockade was removed after a meeting that involved a spokesperson for the protestors, members of the band council, Mayor Lori Ackerman and John Rustad, B.C. Liberal MLA for Nechako Lakes.

Members of the Nak'azdli Band including hereditary chiefs and supporters from the Tl’azp’en nation blocked the highway at Necoslie Road at about 10 a.m. on Jan. 11.

“The blockade came down last night after some discussion and commitments by the government to undertake road upgrades and safety improvements, such as lighting and crosswalks,” said elected Nak'azdli band councilor Tamara Sam. “There are still outstanding issues, but after a meeting yesterday (Jan. 12), we decided to focus on the immediate issue of highway safety, due to the increase in traffic from resource extraction.”

In November 2010, the federal government approved the construction of the $915 million Mount Milligan copper-gold project mine, which will be located 90 kilometres north of Fort St. James.

According to Fraser, there are currently about 700 construction workers employed and living in a camp at the mine. ..dConstruction activity is taking place 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Initially, the protestors were upset by the continued extraction of natural resources from Nak’azdli traditional territory.

The chief and the Nak’azdli Band Council were not involved in the setting up of the blockade, but they support their goal of getting a deal on the sharing of resource revenue.

The Nak’azdli have not negotiated any agreements related to forestry, fishing, mining or mineral exploration.

The protestors allowed public vehicles and emergency traffic through the blockade, but industrial traffic to logging and mining sites was being asked to turn around.

Highway 27 is the only highway through Fort St. James and the only route to the Mount Milligan construction site.

“There has been a very noticeable increase in traffic due to Mount Milligan and there has also been an increase in the amount of timber coming out of Nak’azdli Territory,” said Sam. "This is a concern to many Fort St. James residents.”

After the blockade had been in place for a while, the protestors and the Nak’azdli Band Council shifted the focus of their demands to highway improvements.

The City of Fort St. John has a population of about 2,000 people with 700 more on reserve. The area has about 3,000 resident.

Each day, about 8,500 vehicles pass through the town on their way to and from all sorts of different industries, including logging operations, saw mills, mineral exploration camps and mines.

"The community members have said that as long as the government lives up to its commitments and speeding on the highway doesn’t continue, the information gateway or blockade will stay down,” said Sam.

Denver-based Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. completed the acquisition of Terrane Metals Corporation for $700 million in October 2010 and started construction after the project was approved in November.

Nak'azdli protesters were served with a court injunction by the new owners of the Mount Milligan mine in November 2010, after blockading a road and halting construction.

About 20 protestors parked a large recreational vehicle across Highway 27 at Rainbow Road and refused to allow anyone to leave the mine site or enter the road.

At that time, there were about 80 people on site, who were building the camp, doing initial work for the plant area, undertaking surveys and environmental monitoring, and finishing off the access road.

Workers employed by a Fluor and Amec joint venture, as well as a joint venture between and Ledcor and Duz Cho construction, weren’t allowed to enter the construction site.

The blockade was peacefully dismantled, with all but three of the protesters agreeing to cease blocking access.

Two women in their 40s and a 70 year old man were subsequently arrested.

The mine is being built on traditional Nak'azdli territory.

The Nak'azdli claimed the environmental assessment process did not recognize Aboriginal right or title, which is against the law.

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