The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
To supply growing mine needs in BC's Golden Triangle, Yukon North of 60 Mining News – February 18, 2022
Sandvik is a global leader when it comes to the automation and electrification of underground mining equipment.
Sandvik Z50 battery-electric underground trucks charged with clean hydropower delivered by the Northwest Transmission Line are currently operating at the Brucejack gold mine in Northern BC.
In a move that will help ensure that the First Nations people and communities in British Columbia's Golden Triangle benefit from the rising mining activity in their incredibly mineral-rich traditional territory, Tahltan Nation Development Corp. has secured the rights to sell Sandvik mining equipment, parts, tools, and digital solutions in northwestern British Columbia and neighboring Yukon.
"Sandvik's global reputation for safety, quality, performance, customer service excellence, and commitment to economic, environmental and social sustainability through equitable Indigenous relationships, makes them an exceptional partner for TNDC," said Tahltan Nation Development Corp. CEO Paul Gruner.
BC's famed Golden Triangle is nearly synonymous with the traditional territory of the Tahltan, a First Nation that has taken an increasingly active role in ensuring that exploration and mining the rich mineral resources in its homeland is beneficial to Tahltan people and not detrimental to the cultural and environmental resources found there.
"It is imperative that exploration and mining companies wishing to operate within Tahltan Territory do so in a respectful manner, as they are guests in Tahltan Territory with provincial permits, most of which were not granted with Tahltan support or consent," Tahltan Central Government penned in a statement.
The roughly 96,000-square-kilometer (37,000 square miles) Tahltan territory covers approximately 70% of the Golden Triangle, an area of northwestern BC that is extremely rich in gold, copper, silver, and other valuable metals, as well as parts of southern Yukon.
With the development of a bulk-tonnage block cave underground mine at the large Red Chris copper-gold project, as well as the pending acquisition of Pretium Resources and its high-grade Brucejack gold mine, Newcrest Mining Ltd. is among several mining companies that are significantly increasing the scope of operations in the Tahltan territory.
Skeena Resources Ltd.'s Eskay Creek gold-silver project and Seabridge Gold Inc.'s KSM copper-gold-silver project host some of the other advanced Golden Triangle deposits that are expected to be developed into world-class mines in the coming years.
The Tahltan Nation is open to the economic opportunities these mines, and future mines, offer as long as this activity respects the culture and values of the region's first people.
Having mined in this region long before European prospectors arrived in the search for gold at the end of the 19th century, the Tahltan people understand the mineral riches their lands hold.
"Mining has always been part of our culture, both in the past and in present-day times. For thousands of years, our people prospected, mined, and utilized obsidian for tools, weaponry, and trade," said Tahltan Central Government President Chad Day. "More recently, Tahltans supported miners during the gold rush and have had operating mines in our homelands for multiple generations."
Today, TNDC continues this tradition of creating economic opportunities for the Tahltan people by providing services to the resource exploration, mine development, mining, construction, forestry, power, and infrastructure sectors.
The Tahltan Nation business arm's deal with Sandvik furthers its goal of positioning northwestern BC communities to benefit from sustainable mining.
"TNDC is the perfect partner for Sandvik in this rapidly developing region," said Sandvik Canada Managing Director Peter Corcoran.
For TNDC, the ability to offer equipment that makes mining in its region safer and more sustainable is an aspect of the partnership with Sandvik that fits well with its values.
"What really gets us excited is Sandvik is cutting edge, they are a world-class company that in terms of equipment and technical supplies to the mining sector, but even more importantly they are leading the charge around electrification and that really aligns well with our spirit of reducing the carbon footprint in the region," Gruner told Mining News.
The mining sector in Northern BC and around the globe has also increasingly embraced this spirit of more sustainable mining through the adoption of advanced technologies such as automated and battery-powered equipment.
This includes the transition to Sandvik battery-electric haul trucks for the Brucejack Mine.
Last summer, and before Newcrest announced its acquisition of the high-grade underground gold mine, Pretium put in for an order for at least seven Sandvik Z50 trucks. These 50-metric-ton underground trucks generate twice the peak horsepower, an eighth of the heat, and none of the exhaust of a similar capacity diesel fueled truck.
Powered by the hydroelectricity delivered to Brucejack via the Northwest Transmission Line, these trucks are expected to reduce the carbon footprint, increase productivity, and lessen the need for ventilation at Brucejack.
This is just one example of the technologies Sandvik is developing with the potential to significantly transform the mining sector, making it more sustainable and accessible to a broader group of people in the Tahltan territory and globally.
In addition to creating a cleaner underground operating environment with electric equipment, the autonomous and remotely operated equipment developed by Sandvik is moving equipment operators to stations in office environments on the surface.
As mines are often located in remote Indigenous areas such as the Tahltan territory, the introduction of these new mining technologies offers tremendous potential for exciting new career opportunities for the Tahltan people.
Sandvik says TNDC has the experience, business acumen, and connections to deliver its mining technologies to the Golden Triangle.
"The Tahltan have proven that they are highly capable and we have no doubt that this new partnership between TNDC and Sandvik will bring immense value to mines in the region," said Sandvik Canada Indigenous Engagement Manager Dany Gaudreault.
"We value Sandvik's confidence in TNDC's capabilities and look forward to working together to support the growing industry and create innovative opportunities for Tahltans, local Indigenous communities and all residents in the region," added Gruner.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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