In October 2019, Qalipu First Nation was approached by Marathon Gold, a gold resource development company focused on a gold reserve located in our territory in central Newfoundland. Representatives from the company expressed a desire to share plans and consult with our membership and were welcomed at several regular meetings of Council to share presentations and answer questions.

We aim to serve our members’ interests by ensuring that environmental stewardship is a top priority for Qalipu First Nation with respect to all major development projects in our province. Additionally, we wish to explore economic opportunities for our members and their communities. The Chief and Council appointed a committee of Council and senior staff to have focused discussions with Marathon Gold on these topics.

To date, we have continued dialogue with Marathon Gold on their Valentine Lake Project and are now ready to share preliminary plans for a Socio-Economic Agreement (SEA). We encourage our members to participate in a virtual meeting to discuss the draft SEA and provide feedback. This meeting will take place via Zoom on Thursday, September 17th at 7:00 PM with Band Manager Keith Goulding and Marathon Gold’s Jamie Powell, Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs.

Please pre-register for this meeting by emailing council@qalipu.ca