Northern First Nation signs $600 million deal with Cameco, Areva

Cameco and Areva have signed a collaboration agreement with English River First Nation (ERFN) that will solidify the community’s relationship with the uranium mining companies.

The agreement provides economic assurances to the community in terms of business contracts, employee wages, and direct investments over the next ten years.

At the current level of mining operations, the value of these new policies will inject approximately $600 million into the area’s economy, according to estimates.

Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel said the company’s decades-long working history with English River First Nation factored into the agreement.

“We thought it was time to really sit down and talk about how we’re working together, what the future looks like and really putting down on paper some of the agreements between us to give the English River people some clarity and certainty going forward,” he said.

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Financial contributions for various community projects will also be part of the collaboration agreement.

“We will be making some direct payments on certain milestones that will go into a trust fund up here, administered by a group of people and those monies will be deployed in the community for things like sports, facilities, cultural pieces, it’ll be for the community to decide,” said Gitzel.

The agreement will also end a lawsuit over a treaty land entitlement claim that English River First Nation had launched against the province.

Cameco, Areva and ERFN have been negotiating the deal for a “number of years,” said Marie Black, ERFN vice-chief in a press release.

“We believe we are setting a precedent in our work with other industries for the future. We are moving forward,” she said later in the release.

Currently, Cameco is seeking approval for a mining operation called the Millennium Mine Project. If the project goes ahead, the value of the agreement with the English River First Nation could be worth significantly more than $600 million. The proposed underground mine, located about 450 kilometres north of Prince Albert could produce up to 200,000 tonnes of uranium ore annually, according to estimates.

English River First Nation has seven reserves in northern Saskatchewan and a population of about 1,400.

sleslie@panow.com

On Twitter: @_seanleslie