TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum's annual conference got under way in earnest on Monday morning, with a plenary session on 'Canada's global impact', featuring industry bigwigs like De Beers Canada CEO Jim Gowans and Xstrata Nickel chief Ian Pearce.

But it was the question of how the mining sector handles its interaction with the nation's aboriginal people that turned out to be the real conversation starter.

In a direct appeal to the industry, Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine called for a new era of cooperation between mining and exploration companies and aboriginal communities, which often either own, or live near to, land where mines are built.

Relations between these communities and the mining sector have frayed at times, particularly as prospectors and developers are generally not required to engage with or, in some cases, even notify a local community of their plans.

Last year, six members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, in Ontario, received six-month sentences for failing to obey a court order to stay away from land where explorer Platinex had been granted rights, but which the community claimed.

The province of Ontario has recently proposed changes to its century-old minerals legislation, that would incorporate Aboriginal consultation in legislation and regulations, require Aboriginal communities to be notified immediately after a claim is staked, and of plans for exploration activities within their traditional lands.

But Fontaine emphasised on Monday that First Nation communities are not "anti development".

"We are pro-development, we want development, but in a way that respects our unique interests and is sustainable."

The aboriginal communities, which own resource-rich land, and the Canadian mining sector, which is expected to run into a shortage of skilled labour over the next decade, both stand to gain from increased engagement and co-operation, he said.

"We want to work with you, we want to be your partner," Fontaine urged. "We want to get out of the mess we are in, we are tired of being poor, we are tired of being dependent on government."

However, he added that he was not looking for the private sector to assume responsibilities that belong to government.

"We are talking about a business partnership."

Fontaine commended Gowans and De Beers Canada, for the diamond miner's approach to community engagement, and both Gowans and Pearce said that their companies have developed positive relationships with the aboriginal communities around their operations.

However, mining companies need to recognise that different community leaders have varying levels of experience in dealing with business, while balancing the needs of their people, Gowans told journalists.

The mining industry needs to recognise this, and can help develop these skills and capabilities in the communities with which they engage, he said.

International Council on Mining and Metals president Anthony Hodges added that both sides need to make a bigger effort to understand the other.

"It's really important for the mining industry to understand the nature of the aboriginal community, and it's equally important for the aboriginal community to try and understand the culture of the mining industry," Hodges said.

"We have got to move past our old conclusions that have driven us for so long."

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