May 12, 2010 |
Rainy River and Fort Frances Chiefs Secretariat to Sign Memorandum of Understanding |
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 12, 2010) - Rainy River Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:RR) (the "Company" or "Rainy") and the Fort Frances Chiefs Secretariat, as representative of Rainy River First Nations, Naicatchewenin First Nation, Mitaanjigamiing First Nation, Couchiching First Nation, Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, Lac La Croix First Nation and Seine River First Nation (together, the "First Nations"), are pleased to announce that Rainy and the First Nations have agreed in principle to a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") which will be formally executed at a signing ceremony to be held the Company's project site at 3:00 pm on Thursday, May 13, 2010.
The Company's Rainy River gold exploration project is located within the boundaries of the Grand Council Treaty #3 territories, and the seven First Nations communities are the first nations most likely to be affected by the continued exploration and development of the project. The First Nations and Rainy are entering into the MOU to reflect their commitment to forge a mutually beneficial relationship, founded on mutual respect, through a process of ongoing dialogue and regular interaction. To that end, the Company has agreed to inform the First Nations in advance of its exploration proposals and timetables, and to conduct all exploration activities in an environmentally responsible manner. Rainy has also committed to offer employment opportunities to qualified First Nations members, as well as the opportunity to bid on contracts for services and equipment in an open bidding process. The Company has also agreed to engage the services of a full-time First Nation Engagement Specialist to act as a liaison between the Company and the First Nations to ensure that the matters contemplated by the MOU are fully implemented.
Under the MOU, the Company and the First Nations have also committed to develop and implement an Impact and Benefits Agreement ("IBA") to realize their objectives in a mutually beneficial manner. The IBA will include provisions concerning:
-- Support for mineral production within the project area;
-- The relationship between the parties and the impact and benefits of the
First Nations communities and their traditional lands;
-- A process which sets out the requirements of notice and consultation
during the development, construction and operation phase of the Rainy
River project;
-- A process that will enable the First Nations communities to access
information to satisfy themselves that mining activities which are
carried out within their traditional territory comply with relevant
federal and provincial legislation including compliance with
environmental legislation;
-- First Nations rights with respect to access to and maintenance of their
traditional territory without adversely affecting the Company's
continuing operations;
-- The identification by the First Nations of registered trap lines and
"sensitive sites" having significance to the communities or individuals
within the communities, so that Company can avoid and protect such sites
to the extent reasonably possible;
-- The identification of the training needs and human resources capacity of
the First Nations communities, including employment, business
development, investment opportunities and other related enterprises as
both parties may see fit to include;
-- The identification of potential sources and responsible agencies to work
towards the establishment of a social-economic fund for the use and
benefit of the First Nations communities, with funding to be related in
a predictable and reasonable way to the economic scale and value of the
exploitation of the resource identified in the area designated as the
Rainy River project area; and,
-- A process for resolving disputes or disagreements arising out of the
terms and provisions or the interpretation of the IBA.
"This MOU symbolizes the strength and value of our partnership with Rainy River Resources," commented Chief Jim Leonard, on behalf of the seven First Nations represented by the Fort Frances Chiefs Secretariat. "It allows us to participate in the project in an active and meaningful way, while at the same time acknowledging and respecting our cultural values and connection to the environment. The opportunities that will be realized from this partnership will benefit not only our community members, but the surrounding local communities as well."
"We are very pleased to have reached agreement with the First Nations on the MOU and are looking forward to the signing ceremony on May 13," said Raymond Threlkeld, President and CEO of Rainy River Resources Ltd. "We believe that having a strong and respectful relationship with the First Nations is critical to the Company's success, and the MOU is an important first step in establishing a formal framework to achieve that goal. The MOU and IBA will put us on a sound business footing which will serve to mutually benefit the First Nations and the Company as well as the other local communities and all of Rainy's stakeholders."
About Rainy River Resources Ltd.
Rainy River Resources is a Canadian precious metals exploration company whose key asset is the Rainy River gold project. With over CAN$65 million in its treasury, the Company is well funded to conduct a dual-focused drilling program consisting of: 1) definition diamond drilling of the main gold resources in preparation for scoping and pre-feasibility studies, and 2) selective diamond drill testing of high-priority gold targets defined primarily by RC drilling within the large gold system centered in Richardson Township. The Company's property is extremely well located in the southwestern corner of northern Ontario near the U.S. border. It is accessed by a network of roads and is close to hydro-electric infrastructure. The Rainy River district has a skilled labour force and is one of the lowest-cost areas for mineral exploration and development. Ontario has low political risk and, according to the annual Fraser Institute global survey of the mining industry, has consistently ranked as one of the top jurisdictions embracing mineral development.
RAINY RIVER RESOURCES LTD.
Raymond W. Threlkeld, President & CEO
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include gold prices, results of exploration and development activities, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on the Company's forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
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