James Magun says he’s come to an agreement with JDS Silver to discuss concerns over local employment opportunities for his Watson Lake trucking company.

Magun was involved with the March 23 blockade of the access road into the Silvertip mine.

At the time, he said he was frustrated by watching transport trucks rolling through Watson Lake driven by drivers from Alberta and B.C. while qualified locals were looking for work.

Since the upstart mine is located in Kaska territory, he felt more opportunities should be made available to the Kaska, including himself and his company, and to locals in general, he said.

Magun explained this morning he was not aware of the details of the agreement between JDS Silver and the Kaska Development Corp. that provides a mechanism if grievances arise.

He said he was not aware because the agreement is not public, and he was unable to contact the Kaska leadership regarding his concerns.

“I felt the blockade was my only course of action, as I was unable to contact leadership with the Liard First Nation,” Magun writes in a brief statement provided to the Star this morning.

“JDS and James Magun Contracting have come to the mutual agreement that the blockade was not the appropriate step to take and will be scheduling a meeting soon with all parties to discuss any further issues that there may be.

“JMC looks forward to a long working relationship with JDS and all parties involved.”

Magun used four of his trucks to blockade the access road into the mine site located in northern B.C.

The first 17 kilometres of the 25-kilometre access road run through the Yukon, off the Alaska Highway beginning seven kilometres east of Rancheria.

The blockade ended after five hours when a company representative met with the group from Watson Lake and agreed to a formal meeting the next day in Watson Lake with a senior representative of JDS Silver, according to one of the drivers involved in the blockade.

JDS has not responded to requests for comment.

In an interview last summer, former Watson Lake mayor Richard Durocher mentioned how JDS representatives had visited the community to look at how they could maximize local business opportunities.

JDS is in the midst of bringing the Silvertip Mine into production.

The Silvertip deposit was first discovered in 1955, and has changed hands a number of times.

Work to date includes 2.4 kilometres of underground workings.