It was a rock collection of pyrite or fool’s gold that piqued Hans Matthews’ interest in geology as a child growing up in the Toronto area.
That curiosity turned into a 30-plus year career as a geologist for the member of the Anishinabek Nation. Matthews lives in Wahnapitae First Nation, outside Sudbury. He was in Arizona working in a senior position when the Oka Crisis made headlines in Canada in 1990. The issue of land title or whether Indigenous groups had prior right to lands was at the heart of the conflict.
For example, when a community says the land is ceremonial, he would explain to the company what that means. Whereas mining execs may use terms like EBITDA, Matthews would explain to the community this means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. “We view joint environmental management as sort of like the leading edge or focal point that not only gives both parties equal footing to work on, but also is the first major step in promoting dialogue. Once they start talking about something in common then other things will come out.”“Engagement is best on a personal, face-to-face level," he said. “We didn’t see any value in just having Zoom meetings and conferences all the time.
CAMA has been involved with some major mining discoveries like Diavik in Yellowknife, Voisey's Bay in Labrador, and others in British Columbia and Northern Ontario including in Sudbury, Sagamok First Nation, and Wahnapitae First Nation.