Innu promise action on mine

The Innu of Labrador are promising to take “direct action” to stop mining exploration near their sacred burial sites.

“The Innu Nation cannot participate in negotiations while drilling continues,” said Innu Nation President Peter Penashue in a press release.

“The company’s action leaves us no choice but to take direct action to defend the land and our rights.” Innu and Inuit are concerned about exploration by B.C.-based Diamond Fields Resources at Eimish (Voisey Bay in English), where the company has made a major find of nickel, cobalt and copper. A mining camp with two dozen workers has been set up on the scene.

Concerns are running deep because Diamond Fields is partly owned and cochaired by Robert Friedland. Friedland was president, chair and a major shareholder of Galactic Resources, a now-defunct company that was responsible for the infamous Summitville mine disaster. The disaster left a river in Colorado poisoned with cyanide and is expected to cost taxpayers $ 120 million.

The Inuit and Innu Nations have designated Voisey Bay a shared area. It is a traditional burial site with great cultural value.

“Diamond Fields is talking about jobs and opportunities, but we are talking about our land, our rights and our way of life,” Chief Simeon Tshakapesh of Mushuau (Davis Inlet) told reporters.

The Innu have gone so far as to threaten to evict mining prospectors from the area and have organized a protest camp at the Diamond Fields exploration site. The Innu say over 13,000 mining claims have been staked in recent months near Mushuau, which is about 50 km south of Voisey Bay.

Fifty Mounties were sent into the camp to protect equipment and “uphold the law.” Complicating the issue is the fact that a dozen of the workers at the mining exploration camp are Inuit.

The Innu protest brought operations to a halt in early February. Talks got underway in mid-February between the Innu, the Labrador Inuit Association and Diamond Fields on the mining operation. But the company’s offers fell far short of what the Innu and Inuit are seeking.