TNDC News

Red Chris Underground Project Celebrates Milestone With Tahltan Culture

October 1, 2021, marked an exciting project milestone at the Newcrest Red Chris Mine, celebrating the Red Chris Underground Project opening with the naming of the portal/decline. The “Naghā Decline” (Naghā is a Tałtan word for Wolverine) name was officially unveiled at site, complemented by a logo designed by local Tahltan artist Huey Carlick.

TNDC’s management team was thrilled to join the Newcrest team and project partner Barminco at the unveiling ceremony for Red Chris and TNDC TIA crews. TNDC is honoured to work with Barminco, Newcrest’s underground mining provider, on the portal/decline project. Construction of the portal site for an exploration decline is a vital component of Newcrest’s pre-feasibility study on development of an underground block cave mine. The exploration decline construction will provide access for underground drilling to provide more detailed geological and geotechnical information on the initial block cave.

Naghā was the winning name submitted by three Red Chris employees in response to Newcrest’s project naming contest. Engaging a Tahltan artist and selecting a name from the Tahltan language is a positive example of actions industry can take to meaningfully engage the indigenous communities they work in. We share Newcrest’s disappointment Tahltan Leadership were not able to attend this celebratory occasion, due to ongoing pandemic concerns.

We congratulate Newcrest for reaching this important milestone and express our appreciation for their continued efforts to engage and support TNDC and the Tahltan Nation. We also express our gratitude to our partner Barminco, and look forward to continuing our work with them to deliver on this important project for the future of the Newcrest Red Chris Mine.

Newcrest, Barminco and TNDC teams united to celebrate the Red Chris Underground Project opening, named wolverine in Tałtan language with logo design by Tahltan artist Huey Carlick. L-R: Jesse Nole (Barminco), Hankin Asp (TNDC), Jamie Gleason (TNDC), Bradley Creyke (TNDC), Hailey Carlick-Beck (Newcrest), Adrian Carlick (Newcrest), Shannon Wilson (Newcrest), Lorraine Callbreath (Newcrest).  Photo credit: Newcrest