Tahltan Nation, partner provide charter service for Red Chris mine

A TNDC airport services employee gives a Central Mountain Air pilot ground safety clearance. Credit: Tahltan Nation Development Corp.

The Tahltan Nation Development Corp. (TNDC) and its partner Central Mountain Air (CMA) have secured a new five year-agreement with Newcrest Mining to provide air transportation for the Red Chris mine crews. The mine is located near Dease Lake in British Columbia.

TNDC’s goal is to be the Indigenous partner of choice – an integrated full-service provider and partner to industry. The central access point for the exploration and mining industry is Dease Lake, where TNDC is the airport operator of the Dease Lake Airport. TNDC is the only Indigenous organization to manage an airport in British Columbia.

TNDC already provides passenger transport by highway coach between the Dease Lake Airport and the Red Chris mine site, through another partnership. With TNDC’s partnership with CMA, which began in 2021, TNDC’s partnerships now provide the critical full transportation solution (ground and air) to the mining sector in northwest BC.

CMA charter services are provided weekly from several marshalling points –  Vancouver, Nanaimo, Kamloops, Kelowna, Williams Lake, Prince George, and Calgary – into Smithers, then onto Dease Lake.