KIA reaches benefits deal with Tahera

The Kitikmeot Inuit Association has struck a tentative Inuit impact and benefit agreement with Tahera Corp. for the company’s proposed Jericho diamond mine.

Such agreements, called “IIBAs” are required by the Nunavut land claims agreement.

Tahera’s $50-million Jericho mine, located near Contwoyto Lake, is only about one-twentieth the size of the massive Diavik and Ekati projects just across the border in the Northwest Territories.

But Jericho will be Nunavut’s first diamond mine, and KIA expects that its deal with Tahera will be a model for future IIBAs between Inuit and mining developers.

“[T]he agreement establishes precedents for future IIBAs with respect to water compensation and protection of the environment that will make it easier for mining companies to work with Inuit on mining projects,” a KIA news release says.

Right now, the two parties are calling their deal an “agreement-in-principle,” but they plan to sign at a ceremony early in 2004.

The deal will cover Inuit employment, training and contracting opportunities on the mine project, water use and environmental protection.