By Bryan Eneas

Shore Gold accused of not consulting First Nations on diamond project

Jun 15, 2016 | 12:13 PM

Not everything that glitters is always golden as members of the James Smith Cree Nation and Shore Gold shareholders know. Both parties feel the mining exploration company Shore Gold has not properly consulted stakeholders in its Star Orion diamond mining project.

“That’s our fight right now, Shore Gold, they’re not consulting with us,” Chief Wally Burns said. “About a month ago we had our meeting with Shore Gold, and the thing I brought up was our culture. You’re raping us from our fishing, hunting, and gathering; our inherent right of Treaty.”

According to a proposal put forward by Shore Gold on the Star Orion project, James Smith Cree Nation is listed as 95 km away from the mining site. In reality the mining site is only 4 km away.

“What they did was take point ‘A,’ and made a huge ‘U’ to point ‘B’ and said it is this far away, when really the distance is four kilometers away,” Burns explained.

The chief said the environmental impact of the open-pit mine on James Smith is great. Being in such close proximity, he is concerned about noxious fumes and air quality adding he, himself, was ill not long ago.  

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Distance is not the only issue James Smith has with the Star Orion project. The First Nation has traditional burial grounds in Fort a la Corne, as well as hunting and trapping grounds. In the company’s 2008 proposal, Shore Gold acknowledged the traditional use of the Fort à la Corne Provincial Forest by James Smith Cree nation.

Shareholders of Shore Gold have also voiced their displeasure. They accuse the company of not being  transparent according to David Wright, the Chairman of the Gold Shore Shareholders Association.

“It’s as if there’s always just that next hurdle and then we’re going to be fine, and then there’s another hurdle and we’re going to fine. It just seems at this point a never ending process,” Wright told a paNOW reporter earlier this month.

On June 13, a vote held in Saskatoon during the annual shareholder meeting to remove Harvey Bay, Kenneth McNeill, and Arnie Hillier from the board was unsuccessful. Wright also motioned to have regular updates made available to shareholders, which also did not pass.

The Star Orion Diamond Project is a proposed diamond mine east of Prince Albert. Shore Gold estimated in 2011 approximately US$8.3 billion dollars in diamonds could be mined during the project. Kimberlite has been mined at the site since 1988. In recent years, environmental studies have been conducted at and around the proposed mining site, however production has never begun.

paNow has attempted to reach out to Shore Gold regarding these matters, but has yet to receive a reply.

news@panow.com

on Twitter: @BryanEneas