Establishing the triangle of trust by creating a shared vision of prosperity

Historically, Indigenous communities have either been ignored or considered a final box to check when it comes to mining. These voices have been absent from strategic conversations around mineral development, but this is changing out of necessity. More than half of the key mineral projects currently proposed are on or near the lands of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. and around the world. Thus far, interactions with First Nations have fallen squarely in the bucket of “consultation,” using town halls and the like. We must move from consultation to participation and ownership. This includes royalty streams, which can then be used as a financial multiplier to attract ongoing investment, or equity. Making this shift requires dialogue before either the company or the government has a plan, so that First Nations are involved at the outset and can have an honest dialogue about trade-offs and incentives, helping to establish a triangle of trust.

A key first step to establishing that triangle of trust between companies, the government, and First Nations and catalyzing prosperity beyond the life of the mine is creating a shared vision of prosperity with all stakeholders and owners. Outlining clear roles for government, mining companies, downstream companies, and Indigenous communities is key, along with ensuring representation across all the stakeholder and owner groups. Radical transparency from everyone involved and legal frameworks that protect the interests of the entire group are important steps.

As companies take on the responsibility of creating shared value, it has a massive opportunity to grow prosperity both through and beyond the life of the mine for resource-endowed communities. Mining provides multiple value streams and can have an investment multiplier effect. Job creation, supply chain development, and in-country sourcing of goods and services is a temporary boon to local economies during the life of the mine. But social and economic development beyond the life of the mine — investing in infrastructure development such as power, water, and transportation. — brings longer-term benefits to communities. Setting up structures to encourage and enable investment into the region and building up education and healthcare systems are two examples.

There are several examples of successful equity-sharing partnerships with Indigenous communities we can look to as models. In 2022, Hydro One implemented an Equity Partnership Model that offered First Nations a 50% equity stake in new, future large-scale capital transmission line projects with a value over $100 million. To date, Hydro One and nine First Nations partners have agreements that provide the opportunity to invest in the Waasigan Transmission Line, which is under development in northwest Ontario. In an incredibly unique and effective approach, in New Zealand, the Māori own 100% of the Mōkai geothermal energy field and sold a 25% stake to Mercury Energy to fund the expansion and development of the power station as part of a public-private partnership. Tools like Aotearoa New Zealand’s resource management legislation, where the Māori is involved in any resource management decisions, are critical to making sure Māori have the most powerful voice in the development of their resources.

Another example of a successful partnership to enable equitably shared prosperity beyond the life of the mine is the South Africa Impact Catalyst, a cross-sectoral, multi-partner development initiative between Anglo American, the South African Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Exxaro, Zutari, and World Vision South Africa, who all share a vision of creating enhanced social impact in the mining communities in Limpopo and out to other provinces. Its early success led to the inclusion of two other regions. Core to its success was aligning on a shared definition of collective impact that began with a common agenda, established shared measurement, fostered mutually reinforcing activities and communication.

Groups like the First Nations Major Projects Coalition are coming together to champion Indigenous values and ownership in major mining projects in Canadian territories. The Nations Royalty Corporation is the world’s first mining royalty company that is majority-owned by Indigenous People. The Greenstone Gold Mines partnership, a partnership between Greenstone Gold Mines, Kenogamisis Investments Corporation, and Minodahmun Development LP, ensures First Nations involvement in the Greenstone region’s resource development project.

Recently, the Ontario government is investing $13 million through the Ontario Junior Exploration Program (OJEP) to help 84 junior mining companies finance early exploration projects. These projects have the potential to lead to promising discoveries of valuable mineral deposits and lead to future mines, which would boost economic growth and job creation for northern and Indigenous communities. The Canadian federal government recently unveiled the details of a loan guarantee program that could boost equity ownership for First Nations whose territories contain lucrative reserves of metals. The country’s Critical Minerals Indigenous Engagement Strategy aims to acknowledge, affirm, and implement the rights, interests, and circumstances of First Nations, Métis Nation, and Inuit. Similarly, the International Council on Mining and Metals’ (ICMM) guide for Indigenous engagement reinforces ICMM members’ commitment to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and set out equitable terms for impacts.

Rather than treating Indigenous communities as stakeholders that should be compensated, resulting in short-lived benefits, these efforts support a shift to viewing them as partners to share in the long-term development of their lands and sustained prosperity.

Peter Bryant is a managing director and board chair of Clareo and the co-founder and chair of the Development Partner Institute. Lana Eagle is an Aboriginal relations strategist and director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

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