Deh Cho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian and Wildbert Antoine, Northern Development Manager for Canadian Zinc are in the front of the picture. Ministers David Ramsay and Glen Abernethy are in the back and the man in the middle is NWT Premier Bob McLeod. (Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Lauzon)

Coming away from his first visit to Canadian Zinc's Prairie Creek mine in the Mackenzie Mountains, Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) Minister David Ramsay is pleased with the project's development and number of local, Aboriginal people working to date.
"It was quite impressive to get in and actually see what is on the ground there, and once the permits are realized, they'll be approximately eight months from getting into production, which is exciting for us," Ramsay told The Journal. "That region of our territory desperately needs jobs. It's 220 jobs in a region that needs it, so we're hoping that it can be moved along."

Ramsay, Premier Bob McLeod and Human Resources Minister Glen Abernethy visited the site on a tour of the Nahendeh region this month at the bequest of MLA Kevin Menicoche. They met with vice president of corporate affairs Joseph Lanzon, general manager Chris Reeves, community relations manager Wilber Antoine and Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian at Prairie Creek.

While the mine site, originally developed in the '80s but never operated, awaits final permitting for water and land use, Ramsay said young, Aboriginal people from the Dehcho are currently on the ground cooking, drilling, taking core samples and performing other geological exercises, as well as maintaining the facilities.

"There probably would have been about 24-25 people on site that I counted, maybe more, and a number of them were Aboriginal from local communities, as well, taking part in training exercises and programs," he said.

Though mine training falls under the department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), Ramsay - who chairs the employment and economic development subcommittee of cabinet - said it is a particular need the government is paying close attention to as it attempts to expand the resource sector.

"One of our biggest struggles as a government has been to counter the high unemployment rates in the smaller Aboriginal communities across this territory, and mining and oil and gas are certainly two sectors of our economy that we have a lot of promise in, and we're going to continue to move in that direction," Ramsay said.

The Prairie Creek mine has received a fair bit of scrutiny since it first entered the environmental assessment process a decade ago. Located in the heart of Nahanni National Park in the challenging geography of the Mackenzie Mountains, the mine site has been flagged as a danger to the surrounding environment and the traditional livelihoods of surrounding First Nations by organizations like the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society NWT and Mining Watch Canada.

Canadian Zinc, which has never operated a mine before, recently received a Failure to Comply Order from the federal government in relation to the mine's drilling program at Casket Creek, where it was determined the location was too close to water. The noncompliance issue has since been addressed.

Ramsay said there were no challenges with development brought to his attention while he, the premier and Abernethy were on site.

"I get a good impression of Canadian Zinc. I think they've done a great deal of working with the local communities in the Dehcho," he said, adding that the company has worked closely with the Mine Training Society.

Now, Ramsay said, the government and company anxiously await the necessary permitting and hope to see the project move forward on schedule.

"For the past 15 or 17 years, the Northwest Territories has rested a lot of its mining laurels on diamond mining, and it would be really nice to see a new mine go into production that's not diamonds," he said. "We have another diamond mine coming, but to diversify our mining portfolio is important as we continue to grow the economy here in the Northwest Territories."