First Class Metals

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Today I want to talk about First Nations. This is the collective term used to identify indigenous peoples in Canada.

Many First Nations communities reside and hold title to the lands upon which First Class Metals explores. They have done for centuries.

So, we see building and maintaining relationships with these individuals as one of the most – if not the most – important aspects of what we do. Specifically, we’re committed to:

Engaging regularly and respectfully with local communities around our operations and maintaining an open platform for dialogue with stakeholders;

Understanding – and where possible responding to – local needs in relation to social investment, socio-economic impact, and environmental concerns;

Supporting local economic development by training and hiring community members, and by purchasing goods and services local where possible;

Establishing an accessible, timely and transparent process for communities to raise concerns or complaints; and

Identifying and minimising adverse effects on communities from our operations and minimising negative environmental impacts.

Clearly, this is a lot of work. It’s thanks to our CEO Marc that we are able to maintain such a powerful level of engagement.

But there are two reasons why we going to such lengths is absolutely vital…

Social and regulatory considerations
First, we respect First Nations. This goes beyond regulatory requirements – it’s one of our core principals.

We value the rights, culture, and aspirations of the indigenous peoples residing on the licence areas we hold. By establishing positive and long-lasting relationships with them, we do everything we can to protect their cultural heritage and also further it.

This involves taking on board their concerns and insights around the work we’re doing and planning. It also involves minimising the impact of our exploration on their lives and lands while enabling them to benefit from any discoveries we make.

📷The Seven Grandfather Teachings – a set of guiding principles held by many First Nations communities

You could call the above our social responsibility. So, it follows that the second reason we engage with First Nations so readily can be termed our regulatory responsibility.

The reality is, in Canada, explorers who ignore the rights of the indigenous peoples on whose ground their licences lay are on a hiding to nothing.

I’ll refrain from diving into the depths of complex legal debate relating to this. But under the Mining Act, Canada’s mining regulator has an obligation to ensure the relevant First Nations have been consulted before issuing an exploration permit. Even if the ground has already been staked under Crown law.

If they haven’t, new permits are unlikely to be issued and existing permits can even be rescinded. Back in the early 2010s, a long dispute between a First Nation community and a junior mining company ended with the latter having more than 23,000km2 of its land taken away.

Clearly, none of this is lip service on the part of the regulator. So, if we want to explore or mine ground in Canada upon which First Nation communities reside (which we obviously do), we need their consent. We can’t do our job for our shareholders unless their needs are met.

Model approach
Starting to see why engaging with First Nations is so important? Well, the good news is, we’re doing everything right.

The support we’ve received from the indigenous communities with whom we’ve engaged has enabled us to secure exploration permits for all of our flagship assets. The following from the Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg First Nation sums up our approach well:

“[We have] a long history of productive engagement with the mining industry and [support] mining activity in areas that are mutually beneficial to the First Nation and to its industry partners. We commend the importance First Class Metals places on engagement with our community, and its commitment to protect our lands and waters. FCM's pro-active engagement with NNFN is a model for other companies seeking to work in our territory."

I’m proud of the First Nations relationships we’ve built since we established First Class Metals. We fully intend to maintain them and build new relationships as our exploration portfolio continues to expand moving forward.

Why engaging with First Nations is so vital to FCM