“The Sahtu can be a major destination for responsible resource development,” the region’s MLA said as Rio Tinto applied for a permit to begin exploring for copper.
The mining giant hopes to start fieldwork in July, exploring an area of the Mackenzie Mountains near some outfitting camps and the Ten Stone Mountain Lodge, about 160 km southwest of Tulita.
Exploration is only the first step toward a potential copper mine, which could take decades to open – if it ever happens.
Even so, Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely submitted a letter to regulators endorsing the project as an example of the region’s potential during a difficult economic moment.
“The Sahtu region holds tremendous resource potential that, if developed responsibly and strategically, can attract world-class investment and create lasting economic opportunities for our communities,” McNeely wrote in his letter, submitted to the Sahtu Land and Water Board on May 6.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“With the right partnerships and a well-designed approach, we can leverage this potential to create employment, build local capacity, generate revenue, and establish infrastructure that will benefit generations to come.”
The CBC reported the project’s existence at an earlier stage.
Rio Tinto’s project arrives in embryonic form as Imperial Oil – the region’s largest economic driver – begins shutting down its Norman Wells oil field.
Rio Tinto says its exploration arm is working on an agreement to access the land with the Tulita District Land Corporation, which represents the Tulita Land Corporation, Tłegǫ́hłı̨ Got’įnę Government and Fort Norman Métis Community.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
The initial scope of exploration will be “aerial and ground-based surveys, sampling, staking and group prospecting and geological mapping,” Rio Tinto wrote, supported by helicopters. Up to 15 people at a time are expected to be involved.
The World War Two-era Canol Trail crosses part of the exploration area. Rio Tinto says exploration by other firms in the 1970s and early 2000s informed its decision to begin work there.
Rio Tinto is seeking a four-year land use permit from the Sahtu Land and Water Board. No drilling, permanent camp or road construction are proposed.
