By Alex Létourneau
of Kitco News
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(Kitco News) - Goldcorp Inc.’s (TSX: G)(NYSE: GG) Éléonore project, located in the James Bay region of northern Quebec, Canada, is looking to apply the same type of relationship model it is currently sharing with the Cree community in Wemindji to its other operations internationally.
“The model with the Cree right now is an excellent model for us to try and export in our operations at the international level,” said Brent Bergeron, vice president of corporate affairs at Goldcorp. “We want to see how we can export that model to other areas where we operate to demonstrate to people that there are some significant economic and social benefits that can be had.”
A collaboration agreement was signed in February 2011 between Goldcorp and the Cree Nation of Wemindji, the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) as well as the Cree Regional Authority. It stipulates the participation of the Crees in the development of the Éléonore Gold Project throughout the approximate 20-year life of the mine, including employment, business opportunities, training and education initiatives.
Bergeron said that Goldcorp brought members of the Cree community, including Wemindji Chief Rodney Mark, to the company’s Marlin project in Guatemala so that they could share stories and personal experiences with the benefits mining in their community could provide.
“We’ve actually had the Cree come down and visit our mine in Guatemala and go out and speak to the local communities,” Bergeron said. “(Chief Rodney Mark) had the chance to speak to the local communities about his own experience, his father and grandfather’s experience in dealing with large-scale projects and how that has benefitted his community.”
While there has been success between the two in terms of working together, there are always issues and challenges that need to be worked out.
“I compare it to a marriage,” Bergeron said. “You do have issues that come up but the greatest part about it is that you have a structure, you have committees in place so that when there are issues you have a medium to sit down with the Cree and talk to them, and discuss it and find solutions to it.”
Mark said working with Goldcorp is going well but it is still a work in progress.
“There are many challenges but they’re all issues that can be fixed,” Mark said. “We’re in the process of implementing this collaboration agreement we established and it’s getting people to be aware of that.”
And that’s the real challenge because people are aware of the agreement but not aware of the magnitude of the agreement,” he added.
The collaboration agreement is not a standard agreement. It is a private agreement made between Goldcorp and the Cree without any government input.
“This agreement is quite different from regular agreements that were signed in Quebec,” said Bergeron. “What we try and do is work very closely in terms of identifying the local businesses in the area that can participate in a lot of the contracts that we’re going to be awarding.”
This year I believe it’s in the order of about $400 million that we’re going to be investing in contracting out to different companies so we want to make sure that as many benefits as possible goes to the local community,” he added.
Last year Goldcorp awarded roughly $50 million worth of contracts related to the construction and exploration of the Éléonore project. About 80% of those contracts, or approximately $40 million, went to Cree businesses in the area.
“Whether it’s training, whether it’s a commitment to using these projects to be levers for economic development, I think that’s something that’s very important,” said Geoffrey Kelley, Quebec’s minister responsible for Native affairs. “The Cree see this as a great opportunity. I was in Wemindji recently and Chief Rodney Mark sees a positive impact on his community in terms of employment.”
Éléonore Project On Schedule For October 2014 Production
The Éléonore Project remains on schedule to begin production in October 2014. The company’s focus is to secure the necessary permits to keep the project moving forward. The goal is to begin commercial production in 2014 but a logjam from outside interest in mining in Quebec, due to the provincial government’s $80 billion Plan Nord project, could slow down the process.
“Our biggest concern would be given the Plan Nord is starting to receive a lot of attention, not just in Quebec but at the international level,” Bergeron said. “There are some companies looking at Quebec right now as a possible investment industry and its always a concern for us, anywhere that we do business, is that is the government able to handle that kind of investment coming in?”
As of now I think we’re in good shape,” he added.
The Plan Nord project, announced in May, will see mining firms and the Quebec government invest $80 billion over 25 years to mine gold, diamonds, copper, molybdenum, rare-earth metals, nickel, lithium, cobalt, iron and uranium in northern Quebec.
A pre-feasibility study was conducted in 2011 at the Éléonore Project and it showed “robust, low-cost gold production,” the company said. Éléonore is expected to produce 600,000 ounces of gold per year during its mine life at a life-of-mine cash cost expected to be below $400 an ounce.
Goldcorp is a Canadian-based gold producer with operations and development projects located in across the Americas.
By Alex Létourneau of Kitco News aletourneau@kitco.com
