Will this cause Newmont to favour Yukon over BCThe Tahltan recently invested $5 mill into Skeena so this FP piece will likely cause BIG discussion in Newmont's exec suite. Newmont already own 50% of Galore Creek (on hold) and with the recent $500 mill purchase of GT Copper now perhaps on hold as well, Coffee and a purchase of Casino may be in the works.
The Financial Post reports in its Monday, May 3, edition that a first nation group in B.C. has put Newmont on notice that it is unlikely to gain buy-in for a gold and copper project, amid concern that mining will encroach on a local town. The Post's Jeff Lewis writes that the pushback by the Tahltan First Nation carries extra weight due to the group's outsized influence in its territory. That authority may complicate efforts by Newmont to develop its early-stage Tatogga project, acquired in March from GT Gold. Tahltan central government president Chad Day says, "It's going to be a sensitive discussion with the nation." Residents of nearby Iskut, worry the Newmont project will limit their ability to hunt caribou, and bring more industry to an area that already includes Newcrest Mining's Red Chris copper and gold mine. The Tahltan nation has unique powers due to a combination of land rights, legal clout, financial heft and the ability to conduct its own economic and environmental assessments on projects in its territory. Miners from Teck to Rio Tinto have signed consent agreements with the nation. Like other British Columbia groups, the Tahltan Nation never ceded territory to European settlers.