A mining company's search for nickel northwest of Fort St. James has raised alarm bells for an Indian band in the area.
The Tl'azt'en Nation issued a tersely-worded statement this week saying Fort St. James Nickel Corporation will need the band's permission to carry out any further exploration on its territory.
"Tl'azt'en Nation has not signed a treaty with the Crown and claims this area where the exploration is planned as their aboriginal title lands," the band said in the statement.
Fort St. James Nickel investor relations officer Nick Daniel said the Vancouver-based company intends to reach an agreement with the Tl'azt'en after initial drilling just before Christmas uncovered promising results.
"Now, it's time to start talking about doing something," Daniel said.
The Tl'azt'en issued a similarly worded statement in April 2011 to all mining companies thinking of carrying out exploratory work on their lands - an area of about 7,000 square kilometres north of Fort St. James.
Chief Ralph Pierre did not return a request for an interview Wednesday but in April, he said the community of about 1,300 members, most of whom live on the Tache, Nancut and Pinchie reserves, were frustrated with learning about exploratory project well after the permits were issued by the province.
Daniel was upbeat about the findings from six drill holes, although more work is in order to see if a mine is feasible.
"The potential for it is off the charts," he said. "This could be great for them [the Tl'azt'en] so it's important we don't step on anyone's toes, get an agreement in place so everyone's happy, and then we see what this turns out to be."
