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American Indians, BC, Bill Bennett, cancer, clean water, corruption, deforestation, First Nations, Fix Mining Laws British Columbia, forests, Free Entry, Fukushima, Gold Mining, indigenous rights, Land Access, mineral rights, mining claim, Native Americans, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, property rights, risk management, Salish territory, staking mining claim, uranium mining, Vancouver, water
Via Mining Watch Canada:
“Friends of MiningWatch
24 January 2017, 1.40 pm EST
First Nations Women Stake Mining Claim on Minister Bill Bennett’s Property
Fix Mining Laws
British Columbia Free Entry/ Land Access Indigenous Rights Women
Source: First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM)
Vancouver (Coast Salish Territory) In a twist on the ages-old story of First Nations’ lands being staked against their will and without their knowledge under pro-mining provincial laws and regulations, a group of First Nations women has now staked a claim on land owned by the minister responsible for overseeing this unfair and archaic system.
“We wanted to show how ridiculously easy it is to stake a claim on someone’s land. This should give politicians and all British Columbians an idea of how unfair the process is,” says Bev Sellars, chair of BC’s First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM).
FNWARM chose the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AME BC)’s Roundup week in Vancouver to stake the claim because it wants all politicians and anyone else dealing with mining companies to realize how the online staking laws can directly affect people. “If you thought it was something that only First Nations had to worry about, think again,” said Ms. Sellars, who is also the author of best-selling books on the residential school experience and on First Nations rights.
How easy was it to stake this claim? Ms. Sellars spent a few minutes at a BC government services centre to obtain a Free Miner’s Certificate for $25. Proof of identity was the only other requirement. Ms. Sellars then went on line and staked a claim – naming it FNWARM – for a fee of $104.89.
“Anyone can do it in just a few minutes – and they do not even need to ask for permission or even inform those persons whose land they are staking,” said Ms. Sellars. ““We think this is wrong, and we hope that Mr. Bennett might now be inclined to agree with us.”
AME BC has become increasingly active in seeking to preserve BC’s free entry claims staking regime, and in opposing efforts to reform it, yet it is this system that is at the root of confrontations and Title and rights issues with First Nations, and of bad mining projects being proposed and permitted in BC since colonization, said Ms. Sellars. It also can take much of the blame for the fact that thousands of abandoned mines litter BC, many of them still spewing toxic effects onto the land and into the water.
“We will have a lot more to say on this issue and related mining concerns in the coming months, but for now, we hope our staking this claim will get politicians and the public thinking,” Ms. Sellars said.
FNWARM has also revived a 2010 spoof ad to Roundup attendees. It is running today and tomorrow in the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province. It reads:
At the 2010 Vancouver Roundup, an ad was placed in this paper to highlight the unacceptable state of BC mining. Despite some improvements in attitudes and fine words, Mount Polley and other mining messes show things have not changed that much. So we have a seven-year itch to repeat our original ad:
“Attention BC AME Roundup attendees – are you a Prince Charming? First Nations women seek sensitive mining companies for meaningful long-term relationships. Must be good listeners, willing to share decision-making, and environmentally, socially and culturally aware. Must clean up after themselves. Money-grubbing gold-diggers need not apply: Contact First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining. info@fnwarm.com”
© MiningWatch, CC-BY-SA-3.0: http://miningwatch.ca/news/2017/1/24/first-nations-women-stake-mining-claim-minister-bill-bennett-s-property https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ (Emphasis our own. See more at link and at miningwatch.ca )
Mt. Polley disaster video: http://youtu.be/bGc6oHHPNGo
Mt. Polley disaster tailings dam failure zoom:
Mount Polley tailings dam failure from NASA:
“An earthen dam at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia breached on August 4, 2014, sending contaminated water surging into nearby lakes. Wastewater and metal-laden sand spilled from a retention basin and triggered a water-use ban in Likely, British Columbia, and other nearby towns. Local authorities had lifted the ban as of August 12.
The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured a view of the aftermath (top) on August 5, 2014. For comparison, the lower image shows the mine and the surrounding landscape on July 29, 2014, before the dam failed…
On August 5, nearly all of the wastewater in the retention basin had drained, exposing the silty bottom. Hazeltine Creek, normally about 1 meter (3 feet) wide, swelled to a width of 150 meters (490 feet) as a result of the spill. In the aftermath of the flood, a layer of brown sediment coated forests and stream valleys affected by the spill. Notice how much forest immediately north of the retention basin was leveled. Debris, mainly downed trees, are visible floating on Quesnel Lake. (Note that some of the variations in colors between the two images are caused by different lighting conditions and viewing angles.)
The breach released more than 10 million cubic meters (350 million cubic feet) of water and 4.5 million cubic meters (150 million cubic feet) of sand into Polley and Quesnel Lake, according to estimates from British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment. That is enough water to fill 4,000 Olympic-sized pools.
* References and Related Reading
* CBC (2014, August) Mount Polley mine spill, an aerial view. Accessed August 15, 2014.
* British Columbia Ministry of Environment (2014, August) Mt. Polley Mine Tailings Pond Breach. Accessed August 15, 2014.
* British Columbia Ministry of Environment (2014, August) Mt. Polley Mine Incident. Accessed August 15, 2014.
* The Globe and Mail (2014, August 5) What part of B.C. is affected by the Mount Polley mine waste water spill? Accessed August 15, 2014.
* Mining.com (2014, August 12) Satellite photo shows impact of Mount Polley breach. Accessed August 15, 2014.
* Imperial Metals (2014, August 12) Mount Polley Mine. Accessed August 15, 2014.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Adam Voiland.” http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84202
Canadian mining company Cameco’s Crow Butte In Situ Leach (ISL) Uranium Mine, Crow Butte Road Crawford, Nebraska, thought to impact water at Pine Ridge American Indian Reservation in neighboring South Dakota. It would also impact air in the environs of the mine with radon.
Mining Awareness + 
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