First Nation takes the lead in mining exploration

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It's been five years since the leadership of Kasabonika First Nation met with provincial government representatives to talk about how the community could get benefit from mining developments in the area. Now the First Nation is taking the lead in mining exploration, training its people to work as prospectors, and sharing what's been learned with neighbouring communities.

The First Nation has entered into a partnership with the international diamond company De Beers in a search for kimberlites-the rock formations within which diamonds can be found-within Kasabonika traditional territory. Many of the sites being explored are located along the communities nine traplines.

The partnership means members of the community are directly involved in prospecting on traditional lands. It also allows them to continue to be full stakeholders in the lands, both now and in the future if developing a diamond mine becomes viable somewhere down the road, explained Kasabonika Deputy Chief Eno H. Anderson.

Anderson advises other First Nations to take the same approach as Kasabonika has, getting in on the ground floor at the exploration phase.

"Don't wait for the mine to be found-start right from the beginning," he said.

Since entering into the partnership, many of the 800 Kasabonika members have become trained in mineral prospecting, Anderson said.

Initially there were two community members who were licensed prospectors, he said. Now, that number has grown to 25.

That growth is a positive step that means the community will be ready for whatever comes.

"You need to get the community educated and established," Anderson said.

While Anderson is encouraged by the number of adults becoming trained prospectors, he is also buoyed by the number of young people taking an interest.

"We have been encouraging youth to go out there on the land and do the prospecting," he said. "It becomes a hobby for the youth to go out on the land because of the knowledge of geography they get."

In order to increase their knowledge base, members of the community have also begun to participate in mineral and mining symposiums taking place throughout the province where they have met and shared stories with other prospectors.

They've also begun to share the skills they've developed and the knowledge they've gathered with neighbouring First Nation communities through Kasabonika's Discover Prospecting course.

Thanks to funding from the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario and the Ontario Prospectors Association, Anderson and his group of trained prospectors have been able to travel to nearby communities to teach people about the trade of mineral prospecting. More than 200 people have taken the course so far.

"It is good when the prospectors are doing the training because there is no language barrier," Anderson said. "Its a practical training, not so much with the theory."

With the prospecting aspect of mine development firmly in hand, Kasabonika First Nation is now ready to move onto the next phase, Anderson said, that being property marketing.

"Now we are looking for junior exploration companies and major exploration companies to market these properties," Anderson said. "And hopefully we can negotiate an appropriate agreement with them."

Under such agreements, he explained, the First Nation would retain ownership of its traditional lands and would receive a percentage of the profits from any diamonds harvested from the lands.

"It's how you negotiate the arrangement," Anderson said. "That is your asset."

All the community's efforts won't amount to much until a substantial diamond find is made, but that doesn't dampen Anderson's enthusiasm.

"Our objective is to find a mine and we don't know how long it's going to take-it's going to take years and years," he said.

But if a mine were built, the benefits to the community would be substantial. The First Nation would get a share of any profit realized, direct employment would be created first during construction of the mine and then through ongoing mine operation, and indirect employment opportunities would be created with new businesses springing up to support mine operations.

And in the end, creating more opportunities for community members and a stronger economy for the community itself is the mother lode that Kasabonika First Nation has been searching for all along.