About
An Indigenous-owned project development advisory firm.
We are a project development advisory firm. We augment developer teams on major energy and infrastructure projects from feasibility through sanction, construction and operations — commercial strategy, negotiations, Indigenous and government relations, specialist diligence and execution planning.
Our work spans transportation, low-carbon fuels, solar, wind, geothermal and workforce lodging, from early feasibility through to operations.
What follows is how we are engaged: who we work with, and the way each mandate is run.
Entity
NineIrons Solutions Inc., operating as NineIrons Project Development
Ownership
100% Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-led
Based
Alberta
First engagement
A negotiation readiness assessment or an Indigenous participation plan
Founder
Luticia Miller
Principal, NineIrons Project Development · Vice President of Project Development, First Nations Major Projects Coalition
I am Cree-Métis, a member of Opitemisiwak, Métis Nation of Alberta, and I have spent my career on the development side of major projects — commercial strategy, negotiations, Indigenous and government relations, specialist diligence and execution planning.
NineIrons is the firm I built to do that work: project development advisory that augments developer teams, with a specialty in Indigenous relations and partnership development. The projects behind it carry a combined capital value of more than $7 billion, from concept through development, construction and operations.
I also serve as Vice President of Project Development for the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a not-for-profit that supports member Nations in equity participation in major projects, advising on structure, governance and commercial relations. I am a business owner and investor, and proud to call Alberta, Canada, home.
Who we work with
Four kinds of counterparty.
Select one to see what they are dealing with when they bring us in.
Indigenous participation, negotiations and procurement commitments that hold up with funders, regulators and partners.
Participation commitments scored in bids, then delivered, verified and reported after award.
Negotiation preparation, evaluation of equity and participation terms, and project development capacity.
Procurement targets, engagement capacity and reporting that stands up to review.
How we start
Most mandates begin with a 30-day diagnostic.
Who holds rights, where your organization stands, and what a realistic path looks like — mapped in 30 days, then a 90-day plan your team can run.
How a mandate is run.
Six things are true of every engagement, whatever the sector or the stage.
01
Scoped work packages
Each engagement is defined by deliverables, client inputs and named staff, priced as a fixed or capped fee. Retainers are invoiced monthly in advance; milestone packages carry a mobilization payment.
02
Conflict check first
Before a negotiation mandate starts, we run a conflict check and put the result in writing. Where we are retained by a proponent, any Nation-side role is declared and managed.
03
Counsel finalizes agreements
We draft term sheets and framework terms for benefit, participation, employment, procurement and equity provisions. We do not give legal advice, and each party's counsel finalizes the agreement.
04
Verification, not assumption
Every procurement plan carries a method for confirming Indigenous ownership and control, so reported spend and employment figures are defensible.
05
A small core, added only when needed
A development manager runs the schedule and registers on each mandate. Specialists in procurement, project controls, power and data-centre development are engaged only where a signed package requires them.
06
Records that carry over
Issues, positions, commitments and decisions are tracked in a register with owners and dates, so a project does not depend on who happens to be in the room.