As the commodity boom continues, more Vancouver mining companies will send people into the wilderness in search of the next big find.
The metals that miners seek often lie in sacred ground or places that First Nations communities have called home for thousands of years.
A history of poor deals and environmental degradation has fuelled mistrust and silence between B.C.’s aboriginal communities and resource companies.
But not every negotiation is a failure.
For 20 years, David Parker has travelled throughout the Americas to negotiate deals beneficial for First Nations and mining companies.
These days he’s vice-president of sustainability at Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.A/TCK.B).
The negotiations can take a long time and are by no means easy, Parker told Business in Vancouver, but Teck has developed a strategy that’s seen it ink deals that work for both sides, and helped the company become one of the world’s largest mining houses.
Growing up in Cape Breton I knew firsthand what it was like to live in communities where there was a significant degree of unemployment and lack of opportunity. I think in many ways, that’s the reality many of our First Nations communities face today: unacceptably high employment, unacceptable living conditions. I know the mining industry and the mines we put in place can address those socio-economic issues and provide opportunity and prosperity.
There still isn’t enough clarity and capacity in First Nations in order to respond and be proactive in terms of resource development in their traditional territories. Their first obligation is to future generations of their people. The environment is the cornerstone of that so they need to have the time and capacity to assess projects as they come forward, and that stretches resources and creates frustration.
One of the issues that is of concern is environmental stewardship, so looking at the land base, looking at traditional use, looking at cultural heritage aspects, ensuring First Nations people are consulted and their interests are accommodated. From a socio-economic perspective it’s creating opportunities in terms of business creation, employment and training.
What we learned firsthand in the Yukon [early on] is working with First Nations and collaborating provided more economic certainty around advancing projects. In terms of moving projects through the environmental assessment, it was important to consult with the local communities and, by and large, the communities were First Nations. That’s driven our thinking for many years now.
The preparation really begins with building relationships. One in 1,000 or one in 10,000 exploration projects becomes a mine, but we’re finding now a part of business is working early to establish a relationship. It’s a matter of respect and courtesy to inform your neighbours of the things you want to be doing.
It means face-to-face discussions, both formal and informal, with communities where we operate. That can be individuals or groups, it’s really trying to get a better perspective on issues.
It’s really important to be consistent. One of the challenges the industry is faced with is continuity. Projects can change hands several times before a mine is built. Oftentimes an elder from a village may be confronted by several companies and you lose the thread of continuity. What we try to do is establish roles for people in our workforce to have longer-term engagement and record the actual text of what is said. Text is important. When projects do change hands the commitments made are recorded, carried on and transferred to new owners
No. It continues and it’s important to agree on what you mutually want to achieve and track the results over time.
There have been periods of time where we don’t agree and there’s a hiatus in terms of discussion, but nothing that hasn’t ultimately resulted in a dialogue and productive relationship.
Sometimes people need to take a break and reflect and regroup. One thing about mining is we tend to be involved in projects that go for a significant term, so with any project they need to be worked at constantly. Even with First Nations there are changes in leadership and you need to begin again; it takes a lot of goodwill and dedication.
You have to look in terms of time frame. I think it’s normal practice today to consult with First Nations and develop participation opportunities, where 10 or 15 or 20 years ago that wasn’t the case.
I think that’s significant progress, and I think the level of capacity in some First Nations is improving their ability to articulate what their expectations are.