Posted on September 8, 2025
VANCOUVER — The Nisga’a Nation, Tahltan Nation Development Limited Partnership (TNDLP) and Arrow Transportation Systems Inc. have formed a joint venture called the Portland Canal Holdings Limited Partnership, which has entered into a binding agreement for the acquisition of Stewart Bulk Terminals Limited which owns and operates the Port of Stewart Bulk Terminal.
According to a release, the Stewart, B.C. deep-sea shipping terminal is fully permitted and its primary purpose is to facilitate the transportation of critical minerals, such as copper concentrate, including from Newmont’s Brucejack and Red Chris mines which are in the territories of the Nisga’a Nation and Tahltan Nation.
The terminal itself is located on six acres of foreshore located on the northern tip of the Portland Canal. In 1994, the Soucie family acquired the facility as it was strategically positioned next to British Columbia’s Golden Triangle and mineral rich, southeastern Yukon, explains a release.
It has opened market access to current and future mining operations in the region.
Today, it employs six-fulltime employees, while handling approximately 260,000 metric tons of copper and gold concentrate. The facility currently operates at 50 per cent of its rated capacity.
In conjunction with this acquisition, the partnership is also in the process of launching a new transportation business by consolidating two regional trucking operations: Arrow Transportation’s Stewart Trucking Division and Tahltan-Arrow Transportation Limited Partnership, which delivers bulk transportation within Tahltan Territory.
The Province of BC has provided a $5 million grant to the Tahltan and Nisga’a Nations to support the purchase of the terminal.
“Ownership of the strategic joint venture includes equal ownership for each partner in the port and transportation businesses, equal representation on the board of directors, and an equal right for each partner to the profits generated by both businesses,” adds the release.
