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B usiness www.UpHereBusiness.ca CANADA $4.95 PM400449058 WHAT KIND OF A MINER ARE YOU? TAKE OUR TEST ON PAGE 70 THE MAGAZINE OF CANADA’S ENTERPRISING NORTH 20 GLASS HALF FULL An interview with Shear Minerals’ Pam Strand 32 CHASING THE MOTHERLODE A new Klondike gold rush 38 THE DUTY TO CONSULT A powerful new weapon for aboriginal groups 46 DO WE HEAR THE ELDERS? The use of tradi- tional knowledge NOVEMBER 2009 HAS AVALON STRUCK IT RICH? RISING DEMAND AND LIMITED SUPPLY HAVE THE WORLD WATCHING THE NECHALACHO RARE EARTH DEPOSIT PAM STRAND P20 *MINING SPECIAL*

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Page 1: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

Business

www.UpHereBusiness.ca

CANADA $4.95 PM400449058

WHAT KIND OF A MINER ARE YOU? TAKE OUR TEST ON PAGE 70

THE MAGAZINE OF CANADA’S ENTERPRISING NORTH

20GLASS HALF FULL An interview with Shear Minerals’ Pam Strand

32CHASING THE MOTHERLODE A new Klondikegold rush

38THE DUTY TO CONSULT A powerful new weapon foraboriginal groups

46DO WE HEARTHE ELDERS? The use of tradi-tional knowledge

NOVEMBER 2009

HAS AVALONSTRUCK IT RICH?

RISING DEMAND AND LIMITED SUPPLY HAVE THE WORLD WATCHING THE NECHALACHO RARE EARTH DEPOSIT

PAM STRAND P20

WHAT KIND OF A MINER ARE YOU? TAKE OUR TEST ON WHAT KIND OF A MINER ARE YOU? TAKE OUR TEST ON

* MINING SPECIAL*

Dig deep and deliver.It’s what you do and it’s what we do for you every day.

The simple truth is that no airline in the north brings more experience, innovation and determination to your exploration and mining operations than Canadian North. We’re your

strongest resource in developing the north’s natural resources. Now more than ever our specialized aircraft and equipment, together with flexible and cost-efficient charter services

provide the key to a rock-solid bottom line.

When the going gets tough, the tough get serious.

Page 2: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

24 NOVEMBER 2009 ● UPHERE BUSINESS UPHERE BUSINESS ● NOVEMBER 2009 25

Who would have believed that this ...

could be turned into all this? ➛

ISTO

CK

B y D a r r e n C a m p B e l l

In late September on a typically gray and drizzly fall day in Yellowknife, dozens of people squeezed themselves into floatplanes to make the 25-minute flight to a small exploration camp 100 kilometres southeast of the city.

the camp is known as thor lake and the visitors, includ-ing nWt premier Floyd roland and phil Fontaine, the former national chief of the assembly of First nations, had gathered at this place, dotted with spruce and poplar trees, for a ceremony.

the event was held to officially give thor lake a new name, an aboriginal name: nechalacho. the aboriginal people in whose traditional territory thor lake lies, the Yellowknives Dene First nation, had agreed to lend the name to avalon rare metals, the toronto-based company that’s been exploring on

this site since 2005. and so on a rocky point at the camp over-looking the lake, the 50-plus visitors listened to drumming and speeches and inhaled the smoke of burnt wood and tobacco in a traditional feeding-the-fire ceremony, as the Yellowknives leadership gave the renaming of thor lake their blessing.

and while the ceremony was a small one, the opportunity at thor lake is huge – for avalon, for the Yellowknives and for the nWt. that’s because under the surface here lies one of the largest undeveloped rare earth elements resources in the world and avalon aims to get at it and build a mine – one that could supply the world with these increasingly-in-demand commodities and provide jobs for the Yellowknives and other northerners for decades to come. COntInUeD ...

Two years ago, not many had heard of Avalon Rare Metals and the commodity it hopes to dig out of the ground near yellowknife: rare earth minerals. But a fortunate series of events –

rising demand for these elements and a limited supply – has the company on the cusp of opening a mine that could last a long time and employ a lot of people.

Page 3: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

24 NOVEMBER 2009 ● UPHERE BUSINESS UPHERE BUSINESS ● NOVEMBER 2009 25

Who would have believed that this ...

could be turned into all this? ➛

ISTO

CK

B y D a r r e n C a m p B e l l

In late September on a typically gray and drizzly fall day in Yellowknife, dozens of people squeezed themselves into floatplanes to make the 25-minute flight to a small exploration camp 100 kilometres southeast of the city.

the camp is known as thor lake and the visitors, includ-ing nWt premier Floyd roland and phil Fontaine, the former national chief of the assembly of First nations, had gathered at this place, dotted with spruce and poplar trees, for a ceremony.

the event was held to officially give thor lake a new name, an aboriginal name: nechalacho. the aboriginal people in whose traditional territory thor lake lies, the Yellowknives Dene First nation, had agreed to lend the name to avalon rare metals, the toronto-based company that’s been exploring on

this site since 2005. and so on a rocky point at the camp over-looking the lake, the 50-plus visitors listened to drumming and speeches and inhaled the smoke of burnt wood and tobacco in a traditional feeding-the-fire ceremony, as the Yellowknives leadership gave the renaming of thor lake their blessing.

and while the ceremony was a small one, the opportunity at thor lake is huge – for avalon, for the Yellowknives and for the nWt. that’s because under the surface here lies one of the largest undeveloped rare earth elements resources in the world and avalon aims to get at it and build a mine – one that could supply the world with these increasingly-in-demand commodities and provide jobs for the Yellowknives and other northerners for decades to come. COntInUeD ...

Two years ago, not many had heard of Avalon Rare Metals and the commodity it hopes to dig out of the ground near yellowknife: rare earth minerals. But a fortunate series of events –

rising demand for these elements and a limited supply – has the company on the cusp of opening a mine that could last a long time and employ a lot of people.

Page 4: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

26 NOVEMBER 2009 ● UPHERE BUSINESS UPHERE BUSINESS ● NOVEMBER 2009 27

ay down the end of the pe-riodic table, the 17 so-called “rare” earth elements with tough-to-pronounce names

like yttrium and praseodymium actually aren’t that rare at all. they can be found in the earth’s crust as abundantly as nickel or tin. but what is rare about them is find-ing deposits concentrated enough to justify commercial extraction.

nechalacho is one of those deposits, and it is the crown jewel of avalon’s stable – which also includes three rare metal projects in Ontario and one in nova Scotia – because it’s the biggest and the most advanced.

With a dazzling potential resource size of 64.2 million tonnes, such quantities could lead to a mine that operates longer than Yellowknife’s famous gold mines – Giant and Con. “It’s a huge resource,” says avalon CeO Don bubar, who estimates the mine would employ about 200 people. “produc-tion rate and mine life will be dictated by the markets for the commodities, but assuming they continue to grow and demand remains at least stable for rare earths and other rare metals, there are resources there that could last decades – maybe 100 years or more.”

So what is driving demand for rare earths and creating a buzz about avalon and its nechalacho project?

bubar can thank our addiction to fossil fuels and concerns about climate change. Cutting our carbon footprint is in and so is “green” technology. and it just so happens that rare earths elements are used in a host of products integral to that technology: from the batteries used in the electric mo-tors of hybrid cars to the magnets used in the production of wind turbines. (they’re also used in some not-so-green technology like the radar systems and lasers required in weapons like “smart bombs.”)

and where there is rising demand, there must be a corresponding rise in supply, and therein lies the problem. China has quietly cornered the market in rare earths, control-ling – by some estimates – 97 per cent of global supply.

One country or cartel in control of a much-needed commodity is never a good thing (think OpeC and the oil crises of the

1970s.) It’s particularly troubling when that country has recently made noise that its pro-duction of rare earths will not be enough to meet domestic demands and it plans to cut back on exports and maybe even ban them altogether. In fact, according to the Inner mongolia baotou Steel rare-earth Hi-tech Co. – owners of the largest rare earths mine in China, this has already happened. Chi-

nese exports fell 35 per cent, from 52,300 metric tonnes in 2006 to 34,600 in 2008. more cuts are expected.

the world is beginning to catch on to the implications of this pending supply crunch. During a two-week period in Sep-tember, media like the new York times, re-uters, bloomberg.com and Foreign policy magazine all published stories warning of

the potential shortage and the effect it will have on a world dependent on cell phones, ipods and laptop computers – all of which require rare earths to be produced.

but while the rare earths supply problem is a headache for companies like toyota, makers of the popular prius hybrid car, it’s the opportunity bubar and avalon has been waiting nearly a decade for. Global demand for rare earths in 2008 was approximately 124,000 tonnes. by 2015 that demand is ex-pected to rise to 200,000 tonnes. If China continues to limit its rare earth exports – and with few rare earth projects in advanced stages of development elsewhere – the supply will have to come from somewhere. nechalacho could be that somewhere.

recessions tend to be messy times for the junior mining sector, so it’s ironic that this downturn has been good for bubar’s venture. In 1995, bubar was focused on gold mining when the company he was working for bought a lithium/tantalum rare metals property in northwestern Ontario.

the acquisition was a flier. no one thought much of these commodities at the time because the gold market was hot. but then the bre-X gold scandal hit in 1997 and the junior mining sector tanked. Suddenly, the rare metal property bubar’s company had bought was the only one it could attract investment capital into. “We shifted gears and away we went with it,” says bubar. ava-lon was formed in 1997. COntInUeD ...

rare meTals CONTINUEd

W

■ CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Chris Pedersen, senior geologist for Avalon, explains the nuances of a rare earth core sample. Driller Herman Abel pauses while building a tent platform. Jan Fullerton, executive director of Skills Can-ada NWT, examines mineralization. Cook Diane Buckner pre-pares bread for the masses at camp.

daVE BROSHa

This is just the first step. We have to walk a fine line between protecting our land, our culture and economic benefits. We’ll see what happens. We have our stan-dards and our level of comfort.” Chief Ed Sangris

da

VE

BR

OS

Ha

daVE BROSHa/MIHRC

daVE BROSHa/MIHRC

Page 5: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

26 NOVEMBER 2009 ● UPHERE BUSINESS UPHERE BUSINESS ● NOVEMBER 2009 27

ay down the end of the pe-riodic table, the 17 so-called “rare” earth elements with tough-to-pronounce names

like yttrium and praseodymium actually aren’t that rare at all. they can be found in the earth’s crust as abundantly as nickel or tin. but what is rare about them is find-ing deposits concentrated enough to justify commercial extraction.

nechalacho is one of those deposits, and it is the crown jewel of avalon’s stable – which also includes three rare metal projects in Ontario and one in nova Scotia – because it’s the biggest and the most advanced.

With a dazzling potential resource size of 64.2 million tonnes, such quantities could lead to a mine that operates longer than Yellowknife’s famous gold mines – Giant and Con. “It’s a huge resource,” says avalon CeO Don bubar, who estimates the mine would employ about 200 people. “produc-tion rate and mine life will be dictated by the markets for the commodities, but assuming they continue to grow and demand remains at least stable for rare earths and other rare metals, there are resources there that could last decades – maybe 100 years or more.”

So what is driving demand for rare earths and creating a buzz about avalon and its nechalacho project?

bubar can thank our addiction to fossil fuels and concerns about climate change. Cutting our carbon footprint is in and so is “green” technology. and it just so happens that rare earths elements are used in a host of products integral to that technology: from the batteries used in the electric mo-tors of hybrid cars to the magnets used in the production of wind turbines. (they’re also used in some not-so-green technology like the radar systems and lasers required in weapons like “smart bombs.”)

and where there is rising demand, there must be a corresponding rise in supply, and therein lies the problem. China has quietly cornered the market in rare earths, control-ling – by some estimates – 97 per cent of global supply.

One country or cartel in control of a much-needed commodity is never a good thing (think OpeC and the oil crises of the

1970s.) It’s particularly troubling when that country has recently made noise that its pro-duction of rare earths will not be enough to meet domestic demands and it plans to cut back on exports and maybe even ban them altogether. In fact, according to the Inner mongolia baotou Steel rare-earth Hi-tech Co. – owners of the largest rare earths mine in China, this has already happened. Chi-

nese exports fell 35 per cent, from 52,300 metric tonnes in 2006 to 34,600 in 2008. more cuts are expected.

the world is beginning to catch on to the implications of this pending supply crunch. During a two-week period in Sep-tember, media like the new York times, re-uters, bloomberg.com and Foreign policy magazine all published stories warning of

the potential shortage and the effect it will have on a world dependent on cell phones, ipods and laptop computers – all of which require rare earths to be produced.

but while the rare earths supply problem is a headache for companies like toyota, makers of the popular prius hybrid car, it’s the opportunity bubar and avalon has been waiting nearly a decade for. Global demand for rare earths in 2008 was approximately 124,000 tonnes. by 2015 that demand is ex-pected to rise to 200,000 tonnes. If China continues to limit its rare earth exports – and with few rare earth projects in advanced stages of development elsewhere – the supply will have to come from somewhere. nechalacho could be that somewhere.

recessions tend to be messy times for the junior mining sector, so it’s ironic that this downturn has been good for bubar’s venture. In 1995, bubar was focused on gold mining when the company he was working for bought a lithium/tantalum rare metals property in northwestern Ontario.

the acquisition was a flier. no one thought much of these commodities at the time because the gold market was hot. but then the bre-X gold scandal hit in 1997 and the junior mining sector tanked. Suddenly, the rare metal property bubar’s company had bought was the only one it could attract investment capital into. “We shifted gears and away we went with it,” says bubar. ava-lon was formed in 1997. COntInUeD ...

rare meTals CONTINUEd

W

■ CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Chris Pedersen, senior geologist for Avalon, explains the nuances of a rare earth core sample. Driller Herman Abel pauses while building a tent platform. Jan Fullerton, executive director of Skills Can-ada NWT, examines mineralization. Cook Diane Buckner pre-pares bread for the masses at camp.

daVE BROSHa

This is just the first step. We have to walk a fine line between protecting our land, our culture and economic benefits. We’ll see what happens. We have our stan-dards and our level of comfort.” Chief Ed Sangris

da

VE

BR

OS

Ha

daVE BROSHa/MIHRC

daVE BROSHa/MIHRC

Page 6: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

28 NOVEMBER 2009 ● UPHERE BUSINESS UPHERE BUSINESS ● NOVEMBER 2009 29

he nechalacho deposit is not a new find. Highwood resources discovered it in 1976. From 1976 to 2004, over $12-million was spent

on exploration and development work on the property. Geological mapping, geo-physical surveys and nearly 200 holes were poked into the ground during that time. Underground development work was also

done, along with bulk sampling and market studies on the property’s north t deposit.

bubar’s chance to acquire nechalacho came up in 2004. “I’d been in the business long enough to recognize an opportunity was there, although it was hard to quantify,” says bubar. “In this business you’re oppor-tunistic and use your sixth sense to tell you when something is right. then you go for it.”

In this case, avalon did go for it, snatch-ing up nechalacho in 2005 from beta min-erals, a successor to Highwood. Since 2005, avalon has spent more than $9-million on exploration at nechalacho, and the com-pany is at the point of working on a pre-feasibility study – a key step that will flesh out avalon’s development model for the project and determine whether it makes economic sense to build a mine. bubar says that is on schedule to be completed by the first quarter of 2010.

nechalacho is still a long way from be-coming a mine. assuming the pre-feasibility study goes well, the company still has some major work to do: a bulk sampling program, pilot plant work and a feasibility study that will make the economic case for building the mine. and then there will be a regula-tory review to go through. If all goes well, bubar says avalon might be able to achieve production by 2013. bubar estimates the cost of developing the mine at $300-million, although he admits the cost and production date estimates are “very fuzzy” at this point.

Fuzzy as they might be, avalon is on a hot streak of late. In march, its share price was in the 50-to-60 cent range. but thanks in part to concerns about China cutting off supply and a spate of positive press, avalon’s shares were trading at around $3.50 on the toronto Stock exchange at press time. In September it secured $17.5-million in financing from CIbC World markets – an impressive feat considering banks are not exactly in a giving mood these days. the money will help finance future work, like the bulk-sampling program, that will keep nechalacho on track. also in September, avalon announced phil Fontaine, the high profile former national chief of the assem-bly of First nations, had accepted a position on its board of directors.

Victor Goncalves, a Vancouver-based mining analyst, has been following avalon and the nechalacho project. He likes what he sees. He predicts a bull market for rare earths is coming and when the bull arrives a lot of new companies will be on the scene looking to take advantage of it.

“It’ll be like the uranium boom a few years back. there was a flood of companies that showed up because there was money to be had there,” says Goncalves. “but booms flush out the wheat from the chaff. avalon’s got the expertise; they’ve got everything they need to turn [nechalacho] into an economic project. I believe avalon is the wheat.”

Goncalves’ praise for avalon is based on a few factors. First, he doesn’t see demand for the products that use rare earths cooling off. He also likes the size of the nechalacho deposit and the fact that it contains an un-usually large quantity of the more valuable heavy rare earths. rare earth element depos-its tend to occur in two subgroups: heavy rare earths and light rare earths, with the heavy stuff being the most valuable. avalon says the heavy rare earths make up 20 per cent of nechalacho, an unusually high number.

Goncalves also gives the company high marks for the work it’s done to get aborigi-nal people on board with the project – an important point considering how often aboriginal people and the mining industry have locked horns in the north over the years. While getting a high profile figure like Fontaine to join the board was a coup, Goncalves thinks the renaming ceremony held at thor lake, with the Yellowknives Dene leadership looking on approvingly, was more significant. “You have to have a lot of community endorsement for projects in the north,” he says. “Having the right people backing this is key. that’s why the re-naming of the project was a major win for avalon.”

However, it would be a mistake to view the Yellowknives’ involvement in the re-naming ceremony as signaling uncondi-tional support for the project. ed Sangris, the Yellowknives chief for the community of Dettah, says he’s happy with how his people have been treated by avalon thus far in the process. but he also cautions there is a long way to go before the Yellowknives consent to having a mine that could be operating for over a century in their backyard.

“this is just the first step,” says Sangris. “We have to walk a fine line between pro-tecting our land, our culture and economic benefits. We’ll see what happens. We have our standards and our level of comfort. We have to look at this from all angles. We have to get some questions answered.”

avalon appears keen to answer them. bubar has been at the forefront of improving relations between the Canadian mining in-dustry and aboriginal people for some time. Since 2004, bubar has served as chair of the prospectors and Developers association of Canada’s aboriginal affairs committee.

that is where he got to know Fontaine and worked with him and the assembly of First nations on developing and then sign-ing a memorandum of understanding in 2008 between pDaC and the aFn. the

mOU established a two-year plan to create partnerships, investments, education and employment opportunities for aboriginal people and aboriginal companies with the mining industry.

Fontaine says one of the reasons he joined avalon’s board after retiring as chief of the aFn was his high regard for how bubar and the rest of the company’s man-

agement deal with aboriginal communities. “Don knew of the legal requirements and the duty to consult and accommodate ab-original interests,” says Fontaine. “He knew development couldn’t be undertaken with-out full engagement with First nations. He reached out to our communities and I’m impressed with his understanding and ap-proach.” COntInUeD ...

rare meTals CONTINUEd

T

Expediting from anywhere in the world to the North:

Anywhere! Any time! That’s the BBE Group.www.bbex.com • 1-866-746-4223 • [email protected]

971-014 Up Here Business

Page 7: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

28 NOVEMBER 2009 ● UPHERE BUSINESS UPHERE BUSINESS ● NOVEMBER 2009 29

he nechalacho deposit is not a new find. Highwood resources discovered it in 1976. From 1976 to 2004, over $12-million was spent

on exploration and development work on the property. Geological mapping, geo-physical surveys and nearly 200 holes were poked into the ground during that time. Underground development work was also

done, along with bulk sampling and market studies on the property’s north t deposit.

bubar’s chance to acquire nechalacho came up in 2004. “I’d been in the business long enough to recognize an opportunity was there, although it was hard to quantify,” says bubar. “In this business you’re oppor-tunistic and use your sixth sense to tell you when something is right. then you go for it.”

In this case, avalon did go for it, snatch-ing up nechalacho in 2005 from beta min-erals, a successor to Highwood. Since 2005, avalon has spent more than $9-million on exploration at nechalacho, and the com-pany is at the point of working on a pre-feasibility study – a key step that will flesh out avalon’s development model for the project and determine whether it makes economic sense to build a mine. bubar says that is on schedule to be completed by the first quarter of 2010.

nechalacho is still a long way from be-coming a mine. assuming the pre-feasibility study goes well, the company still has some major work to do: a bulk sampling program, pilot plant work and a feasibility study that will make the economic case for building the mine. and then there will be a regula-tory review to go through. If all goes well, bubar says avalon might be able to achieve production by 2013. bubar estimates the cost of developing the mine at $300-million, although he admits the cost and production date estimates are “very fuzzy” at this point.

Fuzzy as they might be, avalon is on a hot streak of late. In march, its share price was in the 50-to-60 cent range. but thanks in part to concerns about China cutting off supply and a spate of positive press, avalon’s shares were trading at around $3.50 on the toronto Stock exchange at press time. In September it secured $17.5-million in financing from CIbC World markets – an impressive feat considering banks are not exactly in a giving mood these days. the money will help finance future work, like the bulk-sampling program, that will keep nechalacho on track. also in September, avalon announced phil Fontaine, the high profile former national chief of the assem-bly of First nations, had accepted a position on its board of directors.

Victor Goncalves, a Vancouver-based mining analyst, has been following avalon and the nechalacho project. He likes what he sees. He predicts a bull market for rare earths is coming and when the bull arrives a lot of new companies will be on the scene looking to take advantage of it.

“It’ll be like the uranium boom a few years back. there was a flood of companies that showed up because there was money to be had there,” says Goncalves. “but booms flush out the wheat from the chaff. avalon’s got the expertise; they’ve got everything they need to turn [nechalacho] into an economic project. I believe avalon is the wheat.”

Goncalves’ praise for avalon is based on a few factors. First, he doesn’t see demand for the products that use rare earths cooling off. He also likes the size of the nechalacho deposit and the fact that it contains an un-usually large quantity of the more valuable heavy rare earths. rare earth element depos-its tend to occur in two subgroups: heavy rare earths and light rare earths, with the heavy stuff being the most valuable. avalon says the heavy rare earths make up 20 per cent of nechalacho, an unusually high number.

Goncalves also gives the company high marks for the work it’s done to get aborigi-nal people on board with the project – an important point considering how often aboriginal people and the mining industry have locked horns in the north over the years. While getting a high profile figure like Fontaine to join the board was a coup, Goncalves thinks the renaming ceremony held at thor lake, with the Yellowknives Dene leadership looking on approvingly, was more significant. “You have to have a lot of community endorsement for projects in the north,” he says. “Having the right people backing this is key. that’s why the re-naming of the project was a major win for avalon.”

However, it would be a mistake to view the Yellowknives’ involvement in the re-naming ceremony as signaling uncondi-tional support for the project. ed Sangris, the Yellowknives chief for the community of Dettah, says he’s happy with how his people have been treated by avalon thus far in the process. but he also cautions there is a long way to go before the Yellowknives consent to having a mine that could be operating for over a century in their backyard.

“this is just the first step,” says Sangris. “We have to walk a fine line between pro-tecting our land, our culture and economic benefits. We’ll see what happens. We have our standards and our level of comfort. We have to look at this from all angles. We have to get some questions answered.”

avalon appears keen to answer them. bubar has been at the forefront of improving relations between the Canadian mining in-dustry and aboriginal people for some time. Since 2004, bubar has served as chair of the prospectors and Developers association of Canada’s aboriginal affairs committee.

that is where he got to know Fontaine and worked with him and the assembly of First nations on developing and then sign-ing a memorandum of understanding in 2008 between pDaC and the aFn. the

mOU established a two-year plan to create partnerships, investments, education and employment opportunities for aboriginal people and aboriginal companies with the mining industry.

Fontaine says one of the reasons he joined avalon’s board after retiring as chief of the aFn was his high regard for how bubar and the rest of the company’s man-

agement deal with aboriginal communities. “Don knew of the legal requirements and the duty to consult and accommodate ab-original interests,” says Fontaine. “He knew development couldn’t be undertaken with-out full engagement with First nations. He reached out to our communities and I’m impressed with his understanding and ap-proach.” COntInUeD ...

rare meTals CONTINUEd

T

Expediting from anywhere in the world to the North:

Anywhere! Any time! That’s the BBE Group.www.bbex.com • 1-866-746-4223 • [email protected]

971-014 Up Here Business

Page 8: GLASS HALF FULL CHASING THE Dig deep and deliver. 38 - Avalon …avalonadvancedmaterials.com/_resources/media/2009.11... · 2009. 11. 24. · is a headache for companies like toyota,

30 NOVEMBER 2009 ● UPHERE BUSINESS UPHERE BUSINESS ● OCTOBER 2009 31

ubar’s shown he’s got a good touch in his dealings with the Dene people in the nWt thus far. and he is no northern neo-

phyte. His first industry job was looking for tungsten in the Yukon and he knew some of the history between the mining industry and aboriginal people in the north wasn’t good.

So bubar and the company started con-sultations early – before avalon had done any work on the property. not only did ava-lon talk to people in ndilo and Dettah – the communities that would be most affected if a mine were operating at nechalacho – it also reached out to the two other commu-nities within the regional aboriginal organi-zation the Yellowknives are a part of: lutsel K’e and Fort resolution.

bubar believes the legwork has paid off. It has resulted in a cordial working relation-ship with the Yellowknives, one that has led to results like the renaming ceremony at thor lake.

“I know a lot of companies find it diffi-cult to arrange meetings and get any kind of feedback at all and they get frustrated and give up,” bubar says. “but we took the approach that a lot of First nations have limited capacity and the leadership have lots of different issues they have to deal with. meeting and greeting with an explora-tion company isn’t necessarily number one on their list of priorities. You have to recog-nize that and accommodate that and keep talking until you can establish a dialogue.”

that dialogue will have to continue, as avalon and the Yellowknives learn more about what each other’s expectations are and what they really want out of the necha-lacho project. Chief Sangris talks of the Yellowknives one day owning the mine and running it. bubar isn’t looking that far off. He’s more concerned right now about financing and future work at the site, the stuff that will keep nechalacho on track for a 2013 startup.

“rare earths are not in short supply today. but the whole issue is where are the supplies going to come from in four or five years if there are not new sources and Chi-na’s internal consumption keeps going up such that they don’t have anymore available for export internationally,” bubar says. “If we can get this moving forward and ready to enter that market in four or five years, it looks like it’s pretty much ideal timing to capture market share and have a good, solid business.”

rare meTals CONTINUEd

B

SPECIALIZING IN:✱ gravel, sand, rock hauling✱ intra-extra territorial trucking✱ heavy equipment & oil � eld hauling and construction✱ winch & highway tractors✱ loaders✱ end/belly/clam dumps✱ backhoes✱ road construction and maintenance-summer & winter (ice road/overland)✱ equipment rentals✱ excavation✱ bobcat work✱ snow removal✱ cats✱ graders✱ drilling: seismic/core/piling & rathole✱ truck trailers including: scissor necks, lo-boys, hi-boys & drop decks✱ bed trucks ✱ up to 40 ton pickers ✱ open camp available in Inuvik✱ emergency services available at James Creek Ladd 1

HEAD OFFICEKeith Spry (manager)P.O Box 2238,Inuvik NT X0E 0T0 Ph: (867) 777-4149Fax: (867) 777-4147

BRANCHESP.O Box 86,Fort McPherson, NT X0E 0J0Ph: (867) 952-2227 Fax: (867) 952-2038

FULL SERVICE GAS & DIESEL BAR ✱ COMPLETE TIRE SERVICE ✱ GAS BAR & CAR WASHCARD LOCK ON DIESEL FOR MASTERCARD AND VISA

PO Box 1509 Inuvik NT X0E 0T0 Ph: 867-777-7900 Fax: 867-777-7919

Gwìch’in nan, nakhwek’yùu ts’àt gwitr’it tthak nakhwidavee gwiheezàa eenjit Gwich’in land, culture & economy for a better future 

www.gwichin.nt.ca www.gdcgroup.ca

B • Commercial and Industrial electrical supply and install

• Fire alarm supply and install

• Electrical material supply• High voltage installations• Diesel generation supply

and install• Generator synchronization• Design/build installations• Automated control

installation• Underground mining

installations• Surface mining

installations• Dewatering installations• Sewage and water

treatment plant installations

• Power distribution

Greg Littlefair, GM Commercial DivisionHead Offi ce,Yellowknife, NT867-765-6100Darren Fraser, GMIndustrial DivisionSpruce Grove, AB 780-960-3601

• Industrial Mechanical Installations

• Pressure pipe fi tting, registered in NWT, Alberta and BC

• Pressure pipe fi tting welding, registered in NWT, Alberta, BC

• Structural welding, CWB registered

• Millwright services• Heat recovery installations• Mine site yard piping• Fuel tank farm piping and

dispensing systems• Process piping• Dewatering installations• Sewage and water

treatment plant installations

• Design/Build installations

Dave TuckerHead Offi ceYellowknife, NT867-765-6109Sixten Wanniandy, GMSpruce Grove, AB780-960-1850

• Commercial and Industrial installations

• Supply and installation of Structured Wiring Systems (Belden certifi ed)

• Supply and installation of CCTV

• Intrusion alarm, supply and install

• Card access systems• Telecommunications

systems• Fibre optic supply, install

and termination• Design/build installations

Doug Ashby867-669-9191

• Wind generation pre-feasiblity studies

• Wind monitoring and meteorological tower supply, install and monitor

• Data collection and analyzing for Wind generation feasiblity

• Design/tender wind turbine generation

• Wind farm installation

Ric Bolivar867-765-6121

Northern Canada Ventures Corp9 Nahanni Drive, Box 1835 Yellowknife, NTT: 867-765-6100 F: 867-765-6122

• Industrial mechanical installations

• Industrial electrical installations

• Telecommunications• Electronic survelliance• All services provided by

the other companies in this listing

Ric Bolivar867-765-6121

For information on

registration or to

confirm that a company

or individual is licensed to

practice in the Northwest

Territories and/or Nunavut,

contact NAPEG at

(867) 920-4055.

201, 4817 – 49th Street

Yellowknife, NT X1A 3S7

www.napeg.nt.ca.

Protecting the Public by registration of Engineers and Geoscientists

Look for the Designation:P.Eng.P.Geo.P.Geol.

P.Geoph.

Northwest Territories and NunavutAssociation of ProfessionalEngineers and Geoscientists

Northwest Territories and NunavutAssociation of ProfessionalEngineers and Geoscientists

Northw

est T

erri

tori

es A

ssoc

iation of Professional Engineers and G

eoscientists

WWW.ACMELAB.COM

Vancouver1020 Cordova Street East, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 4A3 Phone 604 253 3158 Fax 604 253 1716Email [email protected]

Smithers3064A Highway 16, Smithers, BC Canada V0J 2N0Phone 1 (250) 847 4548

Yellowknife300-349 Old Airport Rd. Yellowknife, NT, Canada X1A 36Phone 1 (867) 873 9484

CARECOMMITMENTPERFORMANCE

ASSAYING & GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS