Organization gearing up to promote Indigenous-mining relationships: Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Minerals Development will be based in Sudbury.

• Date: 01 February 2020
• Author: Kelly, Lindsay

Dawn Madahbee Leach is hopeful that a newly forged partnership between Waubetek Business Development Corp. and Rio Tinto will be just the first of many positive working relationships between Indigenous people and the mining industry.

In November, the global mining giant announced it would invest $1 million over five years into Waubetek's Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Minerals Development, which is being established in Northern Ontario.

"Our partnership aims to grow the opportunity for Indigenous communities to participate in a meaningful way in the benefits that can come from responsible mineral development," said Simone Niven, Rio Tinto's group executive of corporate relations, in a Nov. 27 news release announcing the partnership.

"North America can provide many of the essential materials for the transition to renewable energy, such as copper, rhenium and cobalt. Indigenous communities will be able to better understand the mineral resources in their traditional lands and make informed decisions about whether to develop them."

Rio Tinto is one of...