New Indigenous-owned mining royalty company a first in Canada

In June of this year, a new company named **Nations Royalty Corp.** started operating on the TSX Venture Exchange.

With minimal fanfare, the company marked a milestone in Canada's aboriginal economic reconciliation, becoming the only mining royalty company in the world that is majority owned by aboriginals.

**Nations Royalty** was founded with the support of Frank Giustra, a prominent Canadian mining investor. The company plans to attract investors by offering access to indigenous franchises; An area that company executives say is the last untapped resource in Canada.

But for the Nisga'a Nation — a self-governing indigenous nation in British Columbia that owns 77 percent of the company — Nations Royalty is a way to achieve economic independence.

### A step towards financial independence
Charles Moron, the secretary-treasurer of the Nisga'a nation, said in this regard:
"One of our goals is financial independence. We still haven't been able to break away from Aboriginal law as we would like. "This company allows us to manage our own wealth, rather than depending on government funding."

The basic idea behind Nations Royalty is very simple. Almost all Canadian mining projects are located on Aboriginal lands. Mining companies usually sign "beneficiary agreements" with indigenous nations, which include royalty payments, in order to obtain permission to operate in indigenous areas.

By consolidating various royalties into a public company that pays dividends, Nations Royalty seeks to provide a diversified investment opportunity for investors and create a sustainable source of income for Indigenous owners and shareholders.

### Increasing scale and economic capacity
Nations Royalty CEO Rob McLeod said:
"We have the vision to become one of the top five companies in this space because the number and scale of indigenous franchises in Canada is so impressive."

Currently, the company owns concessions owned by the Nisga'a Nation on five mining projects in the "Golden Triangle" region of British Columbia, and is seeking to attract other indigenous nations to join the joint venture.

### Influence on financial markets
The important role of this company is also evident in empowering local communities to access financial markets. Shareholders can use their shares as collateral to obtain loans and invest in other projects.

Moron said about this:
"We have seen that there is discrimination in the financial markets. One of the largest franchise companies in the world assessed us as a risk when we approached them for investment.

However, Nations Royalty intends to provide natives not only with financial capital, but also with the necessary managerial capacity to exploit these funds.

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