Vaughn Palmer: Coal deal heralds future of resource development – Vancouver Sun
Rights holders compensated and mine plan frozen, with possibility of future joint venture with First Nation
VICTORIA — When Mines Minister Bill Bennett met with reporters at the legislature late Monday afternoon, he announced an innovative solution to a dispute over some coal mining licences that also heralded the future for resource development in B.C.
The specifics involved some 61 privately held mineral licences, together forming the basis for an anthracite coal mine in the Klappan region in the northwest of the province.
Together they also formed the basis for a decade-long standoff between the two private company holders of the licences and the Tahltan First Nation, in whose traditional territory the mining property was located.
