First Nations groups buy British Columbia port serving Newmont mines

[Redator]

Two First Nations groups have partnered with a trucking company to buy a bulk terminal port near British Columbia’s border with Alaska serving Newmont’s (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) Brucejack and Red Chris mines that produce gold, silver and copper.

The Nisg̱a’a Nation and the Tahltan Nation Development Corp. (TNDC), together with Arrow Transportation Systems, will acquire the Stewart Bulk Terminal, a key shipping hub on the Portland Canal for mines in the province’s Golden Triangle and beyond, they said Monday. No cost was given but the BC government funded C$5 million towards the deal that’s expected to close within months.

“Together, we are making history,” Kerry Carlick, President of Tahltan central government said in a release. “The acquisition of the strategic asset will drive economic growth, create opportunities and strengthen our nation’s self-determination. BC Premier David Eby and Eva Clayton, president of the Nisga’a Lisims government, said the partnership furthered economic reconciliation.

The joint venture, named Portland Canal Holdings Limited Partnership, will give the Indigenous partners a rare controlling stake in strategic infrastructure, a deep-sea terminal that’s a key export hub for critical minerals, particularly copper concentrate. It currently operates at about 50% capacity, handling about 260,000 tonnes per year and is expected to play a growing role as new mines in the region move towards production.

‘Community prosperity’

“At Newmont, we believe in creating enduring value, not only through mining gold and copper, but also by facilitating community prosperity,” Abdul Rahman Amoadu, managing director for Africa and Canada, said in the same release. “Our commitment to the port of Stewart goes way beyond exporting minerals; it involves empowering our First Nation partners in owning the infrastructure that will define the region.”

Newmont, the world’s largest gold producer, had output of 6.9 million oz. last year. Brucejack produced 258,000 oz. of gold in 2024. Red Chris contributed 40,000 oz. along with 26,000 tonnes of copper.

BC’s northwest, stretching 500 km north from Stewart to the Stikine River and inland to Galore Creek, hosts around three-quarters of Canada’s known copper reserves and more than half the province’s exploration and mining sector. The area includes Seabridge Gold’s (TSX: SEA; NYSE: SA) C$8.8 billion Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) project, one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold projects in the world. 

Other advanced projects include Ascot Resources’ (TSX: AOT) Premier site while Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A/TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) holds its Schaft Creek development joint venture there with Copper Fox Metals (TSXV: CUU). 

The port deal is “more than infrastructure,” TNDC CEO Todd den Engelsen said. “It’s a gateway to global markets, improved logistics and economic growth.”