The Tahltan Central Council issued a“24-hour eviction notice” to Fortune Minerals on Wednesday night in an attempt to prevent mine development and seek permanent protection of the area the nation refers to as the Klappan or “Sacred Headwaters”
The TCC is the central administrative governing body for the Iskut Band and Tahltan Band in northern British Columbia and represents approximately 5000 members of the Tahltan Nation living on and off reserve.
More than 30 Tahltan elders and community members are camping out on the land in protest.
TCC president Annita McPhee flew to the protest camp on Thursday night to meet with Fortune president Robin Goad to discuss the eviction notice.
According to a press release from the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, the heated meeting failed to reach any beneficial conclusions and the nation’s protest against the development will continue.
Last month, the TCC passed a unanimous resolution to protect the Sacred Headwaters from industrial development and said it would continue to fight for the land for cultural and spiritual reasons.
The planned Arctos anthracite project would cover about 4000 hectares and, if approved, would produce an estimated 3 million tons per annum of anthracite coal over a 25-year life span.
The project is a joint venture between Fortune Coal and a subsidiary of South Korea’s POSCO, one of the world’s largest steel producers.
“We have been fighting this development for so long,” McPhee said in a statement on Thursday.
“It is time to start building long-term solutions that will protect our land and culture.
“Fortune Minerals’ project is located in a critically important area that requires long-term management and protection to preserve cultural and ecological values for the Tahltan people and all of BC.”
The Tahltan people have opposed mining in the region for decades.
McPhee said the group managed to convince Shell Oil to abandon its plans for coal bed methane extraction in the region last December, after years of roadblocks, protests and international attention.
“We didn’t fight Shell for 10 years so a coal company could come along and build an open pit mine in the heart of the Sacred Headwaters,” Tahltan elder Mary Dennis said in a statement.
“We’ve stopped bigger industrial projects before and we’ll do it again with help from our supporters and allies.”
According to the TCC, activists may set up a blockade against Fortune’s air travel in and out of the area, which may disrupt the company’s exploratory work.
