TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Project developer Fortune Minerals on Thursday welcomed the British Columbia government’s appointment of a mediator to help address the First Nations protest over the Arctos anthracite coal project, near Mount Klappan, in the north-west of the province.

Provincial Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad, Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett and Environment Minister Mary Polak on Tuesday reaffirmed the province’s support for the project, and appointed Geoff Freer with immediate effect, to act as an intermediary to facilitate dialogue between the Tahltan First Nations and Fortune Minerals.

“Government is supportive of the legal right of any company who has worked within our laws, regulations and processes to be able to safely perform work within the scope of their Notice of Work and subsequently the Mines Act permit,” the Ministers said in a joint statement.

Members of the Tahltan First Nation early this month began blockading a road leading to the project, which is also used to travel to traditional hunting camps.

The Arctos anthracite project’s 2013 summer field programme was being undertaken from a fly-in camp that opened on July 2, and which was now fully operational, using aircraft to fly staff and equipment to the site; however, some contractors could choose to use the road, despite the camp being designed as a fly-in, fly-out operation.

Tahltan community members said they were concerned that contractors started using the access road after the Iskut First Nation, in preparation for the hunting season earlier in the summer, repaired it.

Fortune on Thursday said protestors were currently hindering its work programme by encroaching on drill sites and other working areas, raising safety concerns for both workers and protestors themselves.

The company explained that its current activities were authorised through permits issued under the British Columbia Mines Act, various coal tenures and other provincial laws.

The permits authorised a limited amount of geotechnical drilling to gather information that would be used in the environmental assessment (EA) process. The EA process would result in an informed decision on the merits and impacts of the project, and would consider environmental, social, health, heritage and economic impacts, as well as traditional knowledge.

The EA process provided First Nations and other interested parties with extensive opportunities to participate in decision-making about a project, the company said.

The Arctos project was also consistent with the stated objectives of the 2000 Cassiar Iskut-Stikine Land Resource Management Plan, which was developed with many interested parties, including Tahltan representatives.

“Fortune respects the right to peaceful protest but it does not support illegal actions and will take all appropriate actions to protect its legal rights. It believes the appropriate forum to discuss interests and concerns is through the EA process where all opinions are heard and issues are examined in detail,” the company said.