News: ATU Anthracite Division Update, page-5

Was formally invested last year but sold in Oct last year as I felt local aboriginal opposition was going to potentially create significant friction to the Atrum business plan. Atrum is executing it’s business plan brilliantly, however I continue to believe that the potential aboriginal issue remains. A recent development on this issue has recently emerged that IMO do not bode well for this project.
The Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision 26 Jun 14 in the Tsilqhot’in Nation’s Aboriginal title case was the first case decided by the SCC granting Aboriginal title to an Aboriginal group in Canada. The case is of particular importance to resource-rich British Columbia where much of the provincially-owned land is subject to asserted, and often competing, claims to Aboriginal title and where many First Nations have not entered into treaties resolving their land claims with Canada. Previous to this ruling, governments had a duty to “consult” the SCC decision now mandates that “consent” must be obtained from the affected aboriginal group. On the positive side, this decision provides certainty to all parties. On the negative side it creates some issues such as whether consent has been obtained from the right person or group, the significance of overlapping and competing claims to Aboriginal title over the same territory and the significance of internal disputes within the groups with respect to land use and development.
On receiving the SCC ruling 26 Jun 14, The Tahitan Central Council immediately announced its intention to prepare an Aboriginal title and rights claim against the Province of British Columbia and Fortune Minerals Ltd against the $800 million CAD Arctos Anthracite Coal project proposed for Mt. Klappan in the Klappan area of Tahltan territory. They are using the same law firm that argued the the Tsilqhot’in Nation’s Aboriginal title before the Supreme Court. The Arctos project is 80km north of the proposed Groundhog project. I would suggest that Fortune Mineral (FT.TSX) Arctos Anthracite project would be an accurate peer.
The one thing that would change my mind would be impact benefit agreement between Atrum and the impacted aboriginal groups (whoever they may be). Checked the company website and they do not mention initiating any such discussions, so until they do I will remain a very interested bystander.