A Vancouver junior mining company has come under fire for allegedly breaking an agreement with aboriginals in Canada’s premier iron ore district.
Industry watchdog MiningWatch Canada said it was “alarmed” Friday to learn Cap-Ex Ventures (TSX-V:CEV) was moving forward with exploration activities in the Labrador Trough in “direct violation” of alleged agreements made with the Unni of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam (ITUM).
“The behaviour of Cap-Ex is offensive to values of reconciliation and peaceful co-existence that Canadians have committed to through the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” commented MiningWatch program co-ordinator Ramsey Hart.
“Cap-Ex’s shareholders should be very concerned that their investments are being put at risk by this type of out-dated and irresponsible approach to exploration in the ITUM territory.”
According to MiningWatch, Cap-Ex, which is busy exploring for iron near Schefferville, Quebec, reached an agreement with ITUM in June regarding exploration near ITUM traditional territory.
MiningWatch has not released the details of the alleged agreement. Cap-Ex has made no mention of any agreement in recent news releases.
Armand Mackenzie, a spokesman for the ITUM, told Business in Vancouver his community reached a verbal agreement with Cap-Ex in June regarding exploration activity, but that agreement was never put into writing.
Subsequently, Mackenzie claims Cap-Ex used the details of the verbal agreement to submit a consultation report to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, which then allegedly issued permits to the company for exploration.
Mackenzie claims that, since the agreement was never formalized, it is null and void.
“This conduct is not honorable, but as well it goes below the standards that we’re trying to establish between the industry and indigenous peoples,” Armand said.
The ITUM have now asked the government to revoke Cap-Ex’s permits.
The Vancouver company could not be reached for comment. At press time, Cap-Ex’s shares were down $0.04 to $0.60.
Joel McKay
Twitter:jmckaybiv