MINTO MINE SITE The opportunities available to Selkirk First Nation members at the Minto copper mine are promising, says chief Darin Isaac, but there are also reasons for concern.

'It does have an impact with their (the workers') lives. They are here and their family is back home,' Isaac said last Friday following a signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Yukon government at the Minto mine site.

The $100-million copper and gold Sherwood Copper Corp. project is expected to come online by the spring of 2007.

But both the first nation and the Yukon government must be diligent in recognizing that members of the first nation and Pelly Crossing will experience some adverse social and economic impacts as a result of the mine, said Isaac.

There are currently 125 people working at the Minto mine site. Of them, 23 come from Pelly Crossing, which has a population of 294, approximately 70 of whom are members of the Selkirk First Nation.

Isaac said an estimated $1 million in wages have been brought to the community by the mine.

'As a first nation, we can't employ everybody in Pelly Crossing,' said Isaac. 'It's a great opportunity for employment for people to come here to work. A lot of the people are very happy to have jobs.

'But sometimes there's hardly anybody in the community because they are all out working here. The community is getting quiet in some cases.'

Beyond simply focusing on providing employment, training and environmental solutions at the mine, there must also be counselling and other services to help the 500-person-strong first nation adjust to life at a mining camp, said Isaac.

'This is the largest project that has ever come to our traditional territory and it's new to us. We don't have the expertise within the organization to deal with a project such as this.'

The signing of the MOU will partly help address such concerns, said Isaac.

The document highlights the administration of encumbering rights, fiscal arrangements, regional development impacts and opportunities and the use of land in Minto and Pelly Crossing.

The agreement shows the Selkirk First Nation and the government are willing to work together on matters related to the mine and the possible Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro power grid extension north from Carmacks. Extending the grid to Pelly would cost an estimated $20 million and would provide less expensive hydro power to Minto.

There's a demonstrated commitment from the government to help the first nation develop a strategy in relation to the mine, said Isaac.

'(It's) quite an extensive commitment by both governments,' said Premier Dennis Fentie. 'This partnership is designed to ensure that this exciting new mine development provides opportunities and benefits for the Selkirk First Nation and its members, as well as for Yukon and the people and businesses of the territory.'

It's an important agreement to have reached, said Fentie, and formalizes the working partnership with the territorial government and the first nation.

'It's going to be a financial engine for the community of Pelly, but also very much of the Yukon,' said Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang.

The goal is to work collaboratively to ensure local people have the greatest opportunity to net the benefits of jobs and contracts in relation to the mine, said Bill Dunn, general manager of the Minto mine.

Dunn said Minto is committed to giving anyone from the Selkirk First Nation, with the skills and the desire, work at the mine.

A co-operation agreement has been signed between the two and has already resulted in a catering and boating contract for the first nation totalling over $100,000 a month.

There will be a variety of ongoing employment and contracting opportunities, said Dunn.

Isaac said he hoped a contract for the barge service, road maintenance or the hauling of ore will become available in the future.

'There's not enough people to supply our needs so we're going to be training people on an ongoing basis,' said Dunn.

Isaac said he is encouraging Selkirk First Nation members to not simply see the mine as an opportunity for employment but a place for career development.

'They should build their skills and qualifications,' he said.

'I firmly believe the locals should have the opportunity to benefit from any development,' said Dunn, 'given the opportunity to have the jobs, to have exposure to the training so you can advance up the levels. We all start at the bottom and work up.'

Currently, the mine is stripping the 10.5-million tonnes overburden that is on top of the ore. There are an estimated 8.5 million tonnes of high-grade copper at the mine site, with an expected 8 1/2-year life span for the mine.

The work in the area, including the current preparation and the ending recovery projects, will last between 10 and 12 years.

After the ore is exposed, it will be mined and milled, with phase one of the project lasting about a year and a half.

The material containing copper is removed, ground into a fine powder, put through a flotation circuit, separated to get the concentrate and then shipped overseas to the smelter.

The contract to the smelters hasn't been decided yet, said Dunn, but with being trucked into Skagway, it will likely be going to Japan or China.

'Our people have been waiting for a number for years for the project to go ahead,' said Isaac. The mine was initially permitted in 1996 by Minto Explorations

The prospects are exciting, he said, and so far the co-operation, support and assistance from Sherwood Copper Corp. and the Yukon government have been outstanding.

The next step is to move forward with the implementation of the MOU and a consciousness of the issues associated with the mine, he said.

'We're just at the beginning of it and we just need to sit down with YTG and they will assist us in developing a strategy,' he said.