A northern regulator is recommending that the federal government change rules that give mineral prospectors free entry to Crown land to stake their claims before they consult with local aboriginal bands about environmental or cultural concerns.

But a mining industry spokesman says if Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl accepts the recommendation, only large mining companies will be able to explore new resources in the North.

"What we're talking about is the end of mineral exploration by anyone except for large companies who can take up large tracts of land without knowing what's on them first," said Mike Vaydik of the Northwest Territory and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

Vaydik was reacting to a recommendation from the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board that the free-entry system of claim-staking come to an end for some parts of the territory.

In its decision to approve a diamond exploration project along Great Slave Lake about 60 kilometres southeast of Yellowknife, the board referred to the "potential for conflict between the duty to consult when aboriginal rights are infringed by mineral exploration and development and the free-entry system."

Holder bound to work

Under the free-entry system, any licensed prospector may stake a claim on any Crown land without notifying local people. That claim gives the holder legal rights on that land and binds him to perform a certain amount of work on it.

Aboriginals and environmentalists have long held that the free-entry system allows industry to chip away at environmentally or culturally significant lands before anyone has a chance to discuss where development should be allowed and where it should remain off limits.

"It's a system that doesn't fully acknowledge that there are other rights of equal or perhaps greater importance," said David Livingstone, Indian and Northern Affairs director of renewable resources and environment for the N.W.T., who spoke in favour of such a recommendation at hearings on the project.

It's almost impossible to establish a protected area or create a land claim on land with pre-existing mineral dispositions on it, Livingstone said.

"Once mineral rights are acquired, they tend to set the foundation for the discussion [for the land].

 "We've reached a point now in the context of aboriginal rights that aboriginal people are in some cases saying 'Hold it now, we're not sure we want mining in this area. If you're acquiring mineral rights, you're setting off on that path before we've had a chance to really discuss the long-term consequences of that."'

The issue has been most prevalent in the southern half of the N.W.T., where land claims are still being negotiated in the Akaitcho and Dehcho regions.

Board passes resolution

Earlier this year, the board rejected Ur-Energy's bid to conduct uranium exploration in the Thelon Basin, an area the Akaitcho Dene consider sacred. But last week, it recommended approval of diamond drilling near Drybones Bay, to which the Yellowknives Dene have objected.

Yellowknives Chief Fred Sangris convinced his fellow chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations last week to pass a resolution condemning the board's recommendation.

Livingstone said the free-entry system in the southern N.W.T. should be replaced by land-use plans that show prospectors in advance where development will be welcomed.

But mining, where information on deposits is closely guarded, doesn't work that way, said Vaydik.

"This is a highly secretive, highly competitive business," he
said. "A prospector is not going to share his knowledge of the territory with anyone prior to going ahead and staking a claim. It doesn't make any sense."

The board's recommendations are now at Strahl's office, and the minister will make the final decision.