{"id":397,"date":"2014-06-17T19:06:34","date_gmt":"2014-06-17T19:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/?post_type=chapter&p=397"},"modified":"2014-09-02T15:36:35","modified_gmt":"2014-09-02T22:36:35","slug":"case-study-2-3","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/chapter\/case-study-2-3\/","title":{"raw":"Case Study 2: Carrier Nation and the Endako Mine","rendered":"Case Study 2: Carrier Nation and the Endako Mine"},"content":{"raw":"

Mining in BC and First Nations peoples<\/h2>\r\nIn BC, mines and potential mines often lie in or are close to the traditional lands of First Nations people.\u00a0The Province is legally obligated to consult and accommodate First Nations on land and resource decisions that could impact Aboriginal interests.\r\n\r\nMining is a double-edged sword for the Aboriginal people of BC:\u00a0on the one hand it provides employment and financial gain (when they are granted proper rights, which is not always the case), but on the other it\u00a0interferes with traditional use of lands and significantly harms the environment to which their culture is inextricably linked.\r\n\r\nAlthough BC mining laws do\u00a0provide some level of protection for First Nations, the laws still favour industry and do not regulate the protections over\u00a0First Nations land and rights. First Nations peoples face bureaucracy at every corner in terms of registering claims or addressing issues of exploration, production or closing of mining sites in BC.\r\n

Unemployment<\/h2>\r\nWhy do First Nations people engage with mining companies despite the fact that they face unjust treatment and bureaucracy? One of the most important reasons is the high\u00a0unemployment rates in the Aboriginal communities, especially among the\u00a0youth.\u00a0Consequently, many Aboriginal people support mining within their land as the industry provides employment and a regular income to many. Since 2001, Aboriginal people have benefited from\u00a0increased levels of employment in\u00a0British Columbia\u00a0due to the economic growth associated with mining, construction and the services linked to these (White, Michalowski, & Cross, 2006).\r\n\r\nSkii km Lax Ha,\u00a0a small band near Hazelton, is an example of an Aboriginal group that has\u00a0had a positive experience with the location of the mines on its\u00a0land. However, not all\u00a0experiences are\u00a0positive and often the local people suffer as does the environment.\r\n

Carrier Nation<\/h2>\r\nThe Carrier First Nation, located in the mid-interior of the province, is one group that has not benefited from mining.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_106\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"400\"]\"Figure<\/a> Figure 4.7 Communities within the Carrier language area[\/caption]\r\n\r\nOver the last several years there has been considerable increase in mining exploration and activities within the Carrier territory.\u00a0 Both the province of BC and mining companies are investing in inventories and exploration of minerals. Despite the fact that\u00a0billions\u00a0of dollars have been made from the mines on their land, the Carrier communities have gained little or no benefit.\r\n\r\nEndako Mine<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLocated West of Fraser Lake in BC, the\u00a0Endako mine is one of the largest\u00a0molybdenum\u00a0mines in North America, with\u00a0reserves amounting to 448.4 million tonnes of molybdenum ore\u00a0resulting in 148,000 tonnes of molybdenum. One of the older mines in British Columbia, Endako is owned by US-based Thompson Creek Metals and\u00a0began operations in 1965. It is\u00a0a major employer in the area and has recently been expanding its operations.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_107\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"400\"]\"Figure<\/a> Figure 4.8 Location of Endako mine[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLocal First Nations (Stellate\u2019en, Nadleh Wut\u2019en) have filed\u00a0lawsuits against Endako Mines for failure to consult on the mine expansion occurring today. Another concern is that\u00a0consultation did not occur initially\u00a0in the 1960s when the mine opened, and the courts have refused to acknowledge First Nations rights and title flowing from that time period to today.\r\n\r\nThompson Creek Metals' recent expansion of\u00a0its operations to Mount Milligan (halfway between Fort St. James and Mackenzie, just southeast of Fraser Lake), is\u00a0opposed by some First Nations,\u00a0but nevertheless the copper-gold mine has been\u00a0approved. The load out facility will be in Mackenzie and mining is regarded as a\u00a0new employment\u00a0asset\u00a0to the town which is primarily based around logging and\u00a0lumber.\r\n

Environmental Issues<\/h2>\r\nThe BC Ministry of Environment has identified that effluent<\/strong> from Endako mines is affecting aquatic environment in Francois Lake, just one of many environmental impacts of the mine to the surrounding area. Although the wastewater discharged from the\u00a0molybdenum mine does not exceed its permit limits (5.6 million cubic metres a year of seepage and run-off from tailings dams and the mine site, which is\u00a0enough discharge to fill more than 2,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools a year), monitoring indicates that effluent is affecting the aquatic environment in Francois Lake, the Endako River, and streams originating from the mine site.\r\n\r\nSpecifically, monitoring by the BC Ministry of Environment indicates that elevated levels of contaminants of concern\u00a0are reaching Francois Lake and influencing the physiology of the prickly sculpin, normally a bottom-feeding fish. The sculpin<\/strong> is a sentinel species, which can provide advance warning of dangers to the environment. These fish are experiencing reduced reproductive capabilities\u00a0and enlarged liver sizes due to the toxins.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_110\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]\"Figure<\/a> Figure 4.9 Sculpin fish[\/caption]\r\n\r\nA BC Ministry of Environment report showed that federal guidelines on BC water-quality guidelines were exceeded at the Sweetnam Creek outlet in Francois Lake, just south of the mine operation at Endako. Sulphate, phosphorus, aluminum\u00a0and molybdenum were all found in the water.\r\n\r\nDavid Bailey, Director of the Environment for Thompson Creek Metals, has said that the evaluation of the latest monitoring results was\u00a0preliminary, and that a\u00a0re-evaluation of its permit limits would be up for discussion as part of an ongoing analysis, including with Environment Canada (Hoekstra, 2014). However, he maintained that the company would only make changes supported by good science.\r\n

Moving Forward<\/h2>\r\nChief Martin Louie of\u00a0Nadleh Whut'en, says that all First Nations and local residents should be concerned that the Endako Mine being allowed to pollute the environment. The problem, in his opinion, is that the mine is old and is therefore operating using outdated practices\u00a0and poor standards. The pressure on the local ecosystems is of great concern to him and his people and there is a need for discussion with First Nations leaders, industries and government in order to\u00a0define\u00a0cumulative impacts.\u00a0The issue is ongoing for Endako and the land of the Carrier peoples.\r\n

Attributions<\/h2>\r\n