A new first-of-its-kind collaboration will bring industry, First Nations, and government together to protect caribou habitats in the Interior.
Those protections stem from commitments made by Artemis Gold in their newly introduced Caribou Mitigation and Monitoring Plan.
Under the plan, Artemis commits to not exploring or developing their mineral tenures over more than 11,000 hectares for the next 50 years.
It covers land located in and around Capoose Mountain and Tweedsmuir Park, which has seen undulate populations dwindle in recent decades.
Both the Federal and Provincial Governments, as well as the Lhoosk’uz Dene and Ulkatcho First Nations collaborated on the plan’s development.
That marks the first time that a company and First Nations have worked with the province to secure tenures to offset caribou habitat destruction.
Artemis will also invest over $2.7 million into habitat restoration projects led by the Nations, as part of the plan.
Last month, Artemis began major construction activities at their Blackwater Gold Mine, which straddles the territory of both Nations, but is located outside the securement area.
