Todd den Engelsen serves as the CEO of the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC), the business arm of the Tahltan Nation in northwestern British Columbia. Since joining TNDC in January 2024, he has brought extensive experience in executive leadership, human resources and organizational performance, with a strong focus on building partnerships that enhance access and opportunities for Tahltan people and communities.

As the economic engine of the Tahltan Nation, the TNDC drives growth across several sectors, from forestry to energy and at the forefront, mining. The Tahltan Nation territory encompasses 70 per cent of B.C.’s resource-rich Golden Triangle—home to numerous gold, silver and copper mines and projects. The region’s vast mineral potential and rich ecosystems make it one of Canada’s most strategically important resource areas.

On Aug. 25, the TNDC and the Nisga’a Nation, in partnership with transport and logistics company Arrow Transportation, formed Portland Canal Holdings Limited Partnership to acquire the fully permitted Port of Stewart bulk terminal. Located within Nisga’a territory at the northernmost point of the Portland Canal, the deep-sea shipping terminal is Canada’s most northerly ice-free port and plays a key role in transporting critical minerals such as copper concentrate from operations including Newmont’s Brucejack and Red Chris mines—both situated within Nisga’a and Tahltan territories.

The acquisition marks a historic milestone where for the first time in the province’s history, Indigenous nations will jointly own and operate a deep-sea port terminal.

In a conversation with CIM Magazine, den Engelsen spoke about the significance of the acquisition, TNDC’s visions for modernizing the port and what meaningful collaboration between their partners looks like.

CIM: Why was the Port of Stewart bulk terminal a strategic acquisition for the Tahltan Nation and important for your economic sovereignty?

Den Engelsen: If you look at our strategic plan, you’ll see that we’re very intentional about diversifying our revenue streams and making sure the nation is participating in as many economic opportunities as possible within our territory. The port is a strategic piece—not only for diversifying our revenue streams but also for allowing us to own and control the infrastructure that enables mining and the movement of critical minerals, products and services to go in and out of the region. This is Tahltan Nation’s territory, so why should they not have a say in the ownership and control of that infrastructure?

Those components of our strategic plan naturally came together when the port opportunity arose. It really came down to the matter of when the Soucie family, who owned the port for decades, wanted to sell. We had been keeping an eye on the port for a long time. As we built our strategic plan, and once we began conversations with the Nisga’a, Arrow Transportation and the Soucie family, it just made sense. The timing worked out, and we took advantage of it.

Economic sovereignty, or economic independence, is all about us not just standing on the sidelines and working for the organizations that are extracting minerals, but actually participating with them, partnering with them, owning the infrastructure, owning the flow from mine to market. That gives us greater control over the resources within our own territory. This is just the beginning of owning and controlling infrastructure and achieving sovereignty and lasting economic independence far into the future.

CIM: What plans do you have for expanding or improving the port terminal’s infrastructure?

Den Engelsen: We have plans to develop this port further, to modernize it and ensure that we utilize it to its fullest capacity. That’s about as much as I can share right now; I can’t reveal all the competitive secrets just yet, but our goal is to make sure that the facility is safe for the workers. There’s an opportunity to upgrade some equipment. There’s also an opportunity to expand its footprint [and] increase its flow of minerals as the development of critical minerals in our territory also increases.

CIM: How do you plan to collaborate with your partners, and where do you see the greatest opportunities for these collaborations to help realize your plans for the port?

Den Engelsen: From a collaboration perspective, we’re grateful for all of our partners. The provincial government has really stepped up; they’re very interested in developing the North. There are a lot of critical minerals in our area and it’s significant not only to the B.C. government but also to the nation of Canada.

As a sovereign nation looking after its own critical minerals future, our collaboration and partnership with the Nisga’a Nation is significant. The port is on Nisga’a land, and we couldn’t do it without them. For the Tahltan and Nisga’a Nations to be working together is significant. We’re two neighbouring tribes now working side by side in an economic union to develop our combined future, [which] is exciting.

Arrow Transportation has been a partner of ours for a number of years. That partnership started simply—they were hauling ore concentrate from the mine to the port. Now this acquisition of the port also includes the creation of new transportation business by consolidating Arrow Transportation’s Stewart Trucking Division and Tahltan-Arrow Transportation Limited Partnership trucking operations. It is the port and the trucking company together that makes this really work. Between the Nisga’a, Arrow and ourselves, we now own the port and the trucking company that hauls all the ore from the Brucejack and Red Chris mines directly to the port.

There may be lots of other opportunities beyond this, but I think this opportunity in itself is going to keep us busy for a while. As the trucking business grows, as the port grows, as we modernize, we’re going to be focused on optimizing this purchase. There’s no sense in just purchasing it and letting it run as it was. Together, we [will] share the risks and the opportunities to grow that business.

CIM: How do you see your nation’s ownership influencing mining logistics in the region, including operations for existing customers?

Den Engelsen: Northwestern B.C. is home to more than 50 per cent of B.C.’s exploration. There are significant minerals up here, many of them critical minerals, and this port is a key asset within the northwestern B.C. sector.

By us owning the port and the trucking company, it ensures that there is security in terms of these mines being able to deliver their product to market. It’s Canadian-owned, partnered with two Indigenous nations and a well-established trucking company, so there’s a lot of security around that. Any of the mines developing in the area know they’ve got a reliable source where they can ship their product out. As we begin to expand, there may be other opportunities for them to participate and grow with us.

When you think about all the products and services that need to move in and out of mining operations, they need a reliable partner—whether that’s for trucking and traditional rail, or trucking the whole way, or trucking and shipping outward. It’s all about security and ensuring that the mines in our area and even farther north into Yukon have access to a reliable port to get their products to market.

CIM: How do you see the Port of Stewart bulk terminal contributing to the development of the Golden Triangle and northwestern B.C.’s role in global critical minerals supply chains?

Den Engelsen: There is a national and international demand for critical minerals. Canada, the United States and the rest of the world want and need them. If we want to electrify our globe, we need copper—there’s no replacement for it—and we have lots of it. We want to make sure that we control it—not only as Canadians, but also as the Tahltan Nation, since it’s being extracted from our lands. We want to make sure we have a say and control over it.

This is one step towards that goal, in terms of our participation with the international markets. Does Canada want to get into smelting copper instead of shipping it to China? That’s a bigger, broader nation-building conversation that we need to have. It would be nice to be able to do that in our own backyard—to finish our products here rather than ship them off.

B.C.’s minister of mining and critical minerals, Jagrup Brar, mentioned that our ownership of this port helps position B.C. as a key player in the global critical minerals market. The B.C. government sees the alignment. We see the alignment, and we’re glad to be part of it. It fits not only with our strategic plan but also with British Columbia’s and Canada’s strategic vision to be a critical player in the global critical minerals market.