STANDOFF, AB – A proposed metallurgical coal mine in the Crowsnest Pass has been greenlit by several Treaty 7 First Nations despite little-to-no input from residents.

Riversdale Resources’ Benga Mining looks to build the Grassy Mountain Coal Mine seven kilometers north of Blairmore. The 1,500-hectare project would produce an estimated 93-million tonnes of coal over its 25-year lifespan.

As part of the mining approval process, both the federal and provincial governments require applicants to consult with Indigenous populations in the area of the proposed site.

Blood Tribe resident Latasha Calf Robe, however, has been raising awareness of the fact that this has not happened, at least not on a widespread citizen level.

Prior to the Blood Tribe’s Tribal Government issuing a letter of approval in July 2019, she says she, not anyone else in the community, had ever heard of the mine.

“As I started talking to more community members of the Blood Tribe and throughout the Blackfoot Confederacy, including the Piikani and Siksika Nation, it became more apparent that no community-level consultations were done in any of these communities.”

Last summer, the letter from the Tribal Government’s Chairperson Dorothy First Rider stated that “The Blood Tribe does not object to the above-named application and its related applications on the basis that Benga has adequately addressed its project-specific concerns. The Blood Tribe is therefore of the view that Benga’s consultation should be deemed adequate.”

After pressing for three weeks by LNN, an updated statement has been provided by the First Nation regarding the project dated November 20, 2020.