Profits first ?The 2012 Feasibility if I remember right was calculated on Copper $3.25. which produced a suggested IRR of 11% Teck must be chomping at the bit to get this into production now. Last Copper close for March 20th contract $2.517. How would that difference affect the IRR ? Hmmnnn ! ! https://www.dailyfx.com/copper-prices I hear Fort hills is expected to be approved by the federal government. Teck is said to have the support of other oil firms in the region for the project. Plus Ron Quintal, the president of Fort McKay Mtis Nation, said his community signed on after years of consultation and shares a lot of the concerns regarding the environment but believes Teck will take all the necessary steps to lessen those impacts. “I respect everyone’s opinion, but I find in far too many circumstances Indigenous people are used as a lightning rod to polarize the issues like oilsands development,” he said. “I don’t agree with that. Indigenous communities should have the right to have their own voice and to be able to speak. Speaking on behalf of Fort McKay Mtis, we don’t want anybody coming in and telling us our business.”
Fort McKay Mtis Nation, located roughly 20 km north of the proposed mine, recently became self-declared and has about 112 members. The community relies heavily on the oil industry to provide work.
Quintal said the community has taken a lot of steps to become self-sufficient, including working with industry. He said he’s never seen the level of consultation that Teck has provided.
“At the end of the day, if those (environmental) impacts are going to continuously mitigate, I think that’s half the battle,” he added.
Bill Loutitt, CEO of McMurray Mtis, said with nearly 600 members, his community is the largest in the area. Like Quintal, Loutitt praised Teck for working with Indigenous communities in order to come to an agreement.
“They continue to develop in an environmentally friendly way,” he said. “That’s one thing that is in our agreement. There’s a lot of committee work, and when there are issues, we’re on the ground and we help them work through these to a solution. It’s very tough to develop oilsands without some environmental damage. By working with them, we feel we’re going to be able to help them reduce that amount of environmental impacts.”
Loutitt said the mine will do a lot to boost the community’s employment and mentioned they have promises from Teck that they will hire within the area.
Trudeau is courting first nation votes Canada wide and he is trying to appease Alberta voters who totally rejected his party over the former treatment of the Province.
Trump administration gives approval for Keystone XL pipeline on U.S. land
In Nebraska, the state Supreme Court removed the last major obstacle for the project in August when it ruled in favor of state regulators who had approved a route for the pipeline in 2017.
TC Energy intends next month to begin mobilizing construction machinery to areas designated for worker camps and pipeline storage yards in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, according to its court filings. It also plans to start toppling trees along the route in areas of South Dakota.
In April, the company plans to start building a 1.2-mile (2-kilometer) segment of the pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border. Construction of pumping stations for the line would begin in June.