A partnership milestone was achieved and announced at the PDAC Convention last week between IAMGOLD (Côté property), The Bucket Shop, and Mattagami First Nation. The group has entered an agreement to train and employ people from Mattagami First Nation, as well as a revenue-sharing plan from the Coté project that supports the First Nation’s community initiatives.
As a recipient of Côté revenue, The Bucket Shop’s Vice president, Paul Woodward, presented a cheque for $481,000 to the Mattagami AKI, the economic development group for Mattagami First Nation.
CEO of IAMGOLD, Renaud Adams, Mattagami AKI Chief Jennifer Constant, and Ontario’s Minister of Mines and MPP for Timmins, George Pirie, were all on hand for the announcement from the stage of the Northern Ontario Mining Showcase.
Woodward commented, “It’s great to see how the First Nation communities are taking these proceeds and they’re reinvesting into the communities. It’s about infrastructure. It’s about sustainability. Arenas are being built. Offices are being built. The community is under a bit of a transformation right now. We win and lose together. Those words were used today.”
The Bucket Shop recognized years ago that the path forward involved investing in those First Nation joint venture partnerships and that to be successful working on traditional lands, the industry must have solid relationships with those community partners.
“Today the traction that we’re seeing within the industry, the involvement of First Nation businesses within the mining sector, it’s multiplying. When we look at the attendance levels of First Nation groups and businesses here at PDAC, we’re seeing more and more participation.” Woodward continued, “Mines are involving the First Nation communities earlier on in the process. We’re seeing that the permitting phases are being expedited and we’re going from the possibility of a mine to the construction of a mine much quicker. And that’s thanks to the leadership, largely in part to Mr. Pirie as our Minister of Mines. Timmins is the place to be doing business. There’s no question about that. It’s the centre of activity at the moment.”
