TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Grand Council of the Crees, the Cree Regional Authority, the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation and private project developer BlackRock Metals on Friday announced that they had entered into the BallyHusky agreement regarding the development and operation of an iron-ore and vanadium openpit mine in the traditional territory of the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation.

Following extensive negotiations during which the Cree parties expressed a range of concerns relating to environmental protection, training, employment and contracting, as well as other issues, and having been satisfied that these concerns would be addressed, the Cree have expressed their commitment to collaborate with BlackRock during the construction and operations of this new mine in the Eeyou Istchee territory, east of Hudson Bay.

The agreement, which would be in effect for the life of the mine, contained a number of provisions regarding Cree involvement in the development of the project, including employment, business opportunities and training and education initiatives.

The agreement also aligned the parties' interests in the economic success of the project and ensured that the Cree would receive financial benefits through different payment mechanisms and participation in the profitability of the mine.

It is the same First Nation that halted uranium project developer Strateco’s Matoush project dead in its tracks.

In March, Quebec Environment Minister Yves-François Blanchet announced a moratorium, following ongoing legal proceedings aimed at forcing the provincial government to make a decision on the company’s flagship project.

Last year, after two years of public hearings, the James Bay Cree Nation enacted a permanent moratorium on uranium exploration, mining, milling and waste emplacement on their territory on the east shore of James Bay, known as Eeyou Istchee.

Despite this moratorium, federal regulators, including the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), allowed Strateco’s Matoush uranium project to proceed within the Cree territory. Nevertheless, before this project was given the go-ahead to proceed, provincial authorisation was also required, for which Strateco had already been waiting for two years.

The company in January filed a court order to force the Quebec government to make a decision on its exploration project in the province’s Otish Mountains.

In October, the CNSC granted an exploration licence to Strateco, allowing the company to do advanced exploration for uranium at the site.

The company in January said the Cree should not have the power to veto the project, and that it was up to the provincial government to make the final decision.

Strateco said it intended to look into the legality of the Minister's announcement, given that the Superior Court had not yet had the opportunity to rule.

A grass-roots Aboriginal protest movement known as ‘Idle No More’ staged demonstrations and blocked roads and rail lines across Canada late last year and early this year, in part to call attention to the improverished living conditions of many Aboriginals, especially in remote communities.