Tool kit aims to increase Aboriginal participation

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With much of the mining activity taking place in Canada today happening in the backyards of Aboriginal communities, it only makes sense that those communities should be benefiting from what's been taken out of the ground.

In an attempt to make it easier for Aboriginal people to get involved in the mining industry, a host of partners have joined together to create a mining 'tool kit' that will provide Aboriginal people with the information and guidance they will need to enter this lucrative sector of the economy.

In Saskatchewan, mining ranks as the province's third largest industry. Last year the total value of mineral sales in the province was $2.4 billion. Each year the industry invests more than $2 billion in the local economy through wages and the purchase of goods and services, and creates employment for about 20,000 people.

Funding for the toolkit is coming from Natural Resources Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Mining Association of Canada and the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.

The tool kit is being developed by the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association (CAMA), a non-profit organization formed in 1992 to build a bridge between the mining industry and Aboriginal communities, ensuring both parties understand the other's interests in the land and its resources.

The goal of the association is to promote economic development among Aboriginal communities while incorporating environmental protection and proper resource management into the mix.

"The development of the tool kit for Aboriginal people, designed for our needs and with our interests in mind, will be very useful to us," said Hans Matthews, president of CAMA. "Research CAMA conducted last year demonstrated a genuine need for this kind of product."

The tool kit will include information on the mining industry and on how Aboriginal communities can get involved in the industry at all stages of development, from exploration through to reclamation of decommissioned mines. It will also provide information about Aboriginal communities and businesses that have already successfully entered the sector, complete with success stories and contact information.

Information about the regulations governing the industry will also be included to help Aboriginal people make informed decisions when it comes to protecting the environment and their way of life in the face of new mining developments in their communities.

Getting more Aboriginal people involved in mining is good, not only for the Aboriginal community, but it is also good for the industry, explained Gordon Peeling, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.

"Mining and exploration often takes place on Aboriginal traditional lands," Peeling said. "Aboriginal people increasingly work at the mines, supply services and participate in research-an involvement that is beneficial to industry and to their communities. This is a trend we want to encourage."

"Mining explorationists are the first contact local communities have with the mining industry. The better prepared we are to work with communities and vice versa, the more likely exploration will be welcome and mining investment will take place," said Tony Andrews, executive director of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada. "The tool kit will help all of us."