Victoria, B.C.- Minister of Mines for B.C. Bill Bennett,  has announced the Province is moving to buy 61 coal licences in the Klappan . (At right, map  shows in red, the area in question. map courtesy BC Government)

Located in the northwest of B.C. between Stewart and Dease Lake, the area has special significance to the Tahltan.

Bennett says the move is being made  so the Province and the Tahltan can  develop a vision for the  area which is known as the Sacred Headwaters  of  the Skeena River.

The purchase is being handled through BC Rail, which although no longer operating, has cash reserves and the  mandate to buy the licences.  The purchase price is $18.3 million and is being labelled a “license deferral” as the two companies which  held the licenses, may be able to buy them back at that same price once the Province and the Tahltan  have  developed a plan for the region.

Fortune Minerals and POSCO Canada had held  the licenses  for more than a decade and planned  on developing a mine in the area.  According to the Province,  the  development schedule was  “moving more quickly than  discussions with the Tahltan Nation.”

“This is a fair solution that recognizes the investment made by the  companies, secures the potential value of these assets for the future and respects the position of the Tahltan Nation,” said Bennett.