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Year: 2012

Quebec miners in holding pattern as province finalizes royalty, exploration rules – by Nicolas Van Praet (National Post – November 26, 2012)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

MONTREAL — Companies mining in Quebec are expected to ship $9.6-billion worth of minerals this year, double the amount exported only five years ago. But the boom taking hold is being complicated by political uncertainty and competing visions over just how far taxpayers should go in backing companies digging valuable resources in their midst.

Quebec’s Chambers of Commerce Federation says several companies have told its officials they are currently suspending new natural resource and mining investments in the province until the Parti Québécois government finalizes a royalties regime and further clarifies exploration rules. But even established companies tapping existing mines are experiencing growing pains and finding it’s next to impossible to build definitive societal consensus for their projects.

Two particular events illustrate the difficulty miners are having in keeping Quebecers on side.

On Monday, Osisko Mining Corp., the Montreal-based firm operating Canada’s largest open-pit gold mine in Malartic near Val D’Or, confirmed that the head of the independent citizens committee monitoring the mine through to its eventual closure quit. Bernard Gauthier’s resignation came after another member of the seven-person committee said over the weekend the entire group was poised to quit on Wednesday to protest the alleged heavy-handedness of the company in their affairs.

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The Weird & Wonderful World of Mining – Edition 2

http://www.miningiq.com/

Mining IQ is proud to present the second edition of The Weird and Wonderful World of Mining. This mining guide eBook contains hundreds of interesting and valuable facts to be shared and enjoyed throughout the mining industry and community.

The business of mining contributes somewhere in the region of USD $24.5 Billion globally and engages over 100 million people who work in the mining industry. So this week the eBook focuses on The Business of Mining but then also looks at the lighter side of our industry with the Weird/ Wonderful/ Random.

  • Did you know that all of the platinum ever mined would fit in the average size living room? Neither did we until a Mining IQ member sent in the fact!
  • Did you know that gold is the most ductile (easily molded or shaped) of all metals, allowing it to be drawn out into tiny wires or threads without breaking. As a result, a single ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire five miles long. Gold’s malleability is also unparalled. For example, one ounce of gold can be hammered in a 100 square foot sheet.
  • Did you know that coal provides 29.6% of global primary energy needs and generates 42% of the world’s electricity.
  • Did you know that archaeologists have unearthed copper drainpipes from as far back as 3,500 BC, that are still in good condition.

Click here to download the eBook: The Weird & Wonderful World of Mining – Edition 2 and find out a whole bunch of other strange facts!

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NAN deputy grand chief says private road to Ring of Fire ‘totally wrong’ – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – November 26, 2012)

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief says that First Nations will not allow Ontario and the companies involved in the Ring of Fire to build a private road to the development without connecting communities of the region.

Les Louttit called Ontario’s plan to subsidize a private road from Nakina to the Ring of Fire that would provide industry a way to get ore from the mines to market, but not connect to First Nations along the route, ‘totally wrong’.

“That cannot be allowed to happen and we will make sure as a political organization that we pressure the government and industry that any transportation corridor that is going to go into the Ring of Fire development will have to have open access to the communities,” Louttit told Wawatay News.

“It will be going close by Aroland, Eabametoong, Neskantaga, Marten Falls and Webequie,” he added. “It doesn’t make economic sense, it doesn’t make moral sense and it’s just not going to happen that way.”

A spokesperson with Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines previously confirmed that the government plans to help build and operate and pay-for-use road to the Ring of Fire.

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NEWS RELEASE: Koniambo Nickel completes construction of first production line and readies for first molten metal by year end Koné, 23 November 2012

Xstrata Nickel, the industrial partner in the Koniambo Nickel Project, is pleased to announce that the construction of the first production line of the smelter (Line 1) is complete. The necessary support services and operational infrastructure are undergoing pre-operational testing and commissioning. First molten metal is expected before year end and we anticipate the first metal being tapped from Line 1 in January 2013.

Ian Pearce, Chief Executive of Xstrata Nickel, said: “We are very excited about the progress being made at Koniambo, including the successful delivery of Line 1. It is a testament to our dedicated project and operation teams at Koniambo Nickel that we can now focus on moving to first production.

“Our journey to this point has been a long and complex one, but Koniambo Nickel is finally close to becoming a reality and bringing mutual benefit to all the stakeholders who have a keen interest in its success. I am proud of the role Xstrata has played in making Koniambo Nickel a reality – including continuing construction throughout the global financial crisis – and the support we have received from our many partners in New Caledonia and France.”

With the completion of Line 1, the majority of our construction resources will now be devoted to the second production line, which is forecast to be complete in the second quarter of 2013.

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22 people die in China coal mine accident – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – November 26, 2012)

http://www.mineweb.com/

According to government figures out in October, 1,146 people have died in 650 mining accidents so far this year in the country.

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – 22 people have died and one remains missing after an accident at a coal mine in China’s southwest Guizhou province.

According to media reports, a coal-gas outburst hit the Xiangshui Coal Mine in Panxian County on Saturday morning while 28 people were underground. To date, five miners have been brought to safety and rescue workers continue to search for the remaining miner.

According to Xinhua, the State Administration of Work Safety and the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety launched an investigation following the accident and, as a result, Lu Hongzhuan, chairman of the mine’s operator, Pannan Coal Exploitation, the mine’s General Manager Wu Chao and Chief Engineer Zhao Qingping were sacked.

The newswire reported that, according to a statement from a temporary office designed to oversee the rescue work and the investigation, the deputy general manager of the Guizhou Panjiang Group, which controls the coal mine, also resigned.

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Banro calm in face of turmoil in Democratic Republic of Congo – by Peter Koven (National Post – November 26, 2012)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Amid one of the the world’s most troubled regions, Simon Village maintains that it is business as usual for his company. All the same, he will admit to being a little alarmed by recent events near his operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“If you remember, the M23 were just sitting in the bushes north of Goma. And then, all of a sudden, they were in Goma. It caught people by surprise,” the chief executive of gold miner Banro Corp. said in a phone interview from the DRC.

The Eastern Congo leapt into the news last week after the M23, a breakaway group of former soldiers, seized the city of Goma and promised to “liberate” the entire country.

The surprise move has de-stabilized the already-volatile border region near Rwanda, triggered fighting with the Congolese army, and displaced thousands. It is widely believed that the rebels are being backed by Rwanda, a country that has fuelled prior unrest in the Eastern Congo.

Goma is a city of one million people on the north end of Lake Kivu. Roughly 200 kilometres to the south, Toronto-based Banro continues to dig up gold at its Twangiza mine. Banro also has an operating office in Bukavu, a city on the south end of the lake that the rebels want to seize, according to reports.

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Trudeau apologizes for saying Alberta [oil sector] is ‘controlling our community’ – by Ian Bailey (Globe and Mail – November 24, 2012)

Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Justin Trudeau, stinging from his first major blunder in his bid to lead the federal Liberal Party, was forced to apologize for comments in which he criticized the dominance of Alberta politicians in Canada and touted the virtues of past prime ministers from Quebec.

“I am sorry I said what I did,” he told reporters Friday in Vancouver during a hastily called news conference at the end of a three-day trip to British Columbia. He added that it was “wrong to use a shorthand of Alberta when I was really talking about Mr. Harper’s government.”

Asked whether Canada would be better off with a prime minister from Quebec, Mr. Trudeau replied, “I think Canada is better off with a prime minister who chooses to pull people together and not play up insecurities and divisions and regional resentments any chance they can get.”

Mr. Trudeau also said his 2010 comments were focused on telling Quebeckers how important it was to stop voting for the Bloc Québécois and instead to start engaging with the “national discourse” in Canada and voting for a national party.

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Premiers of Quebec, Alberta to discuss moving oil east – by Jane Taber (Globe and Mail – November 24, 2012)

Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

An unlikely alliance between between the premiers of Quebec and Alberta to start talks on moving oil east is prompting discussion about whether it will lay the groundwork for a national energy strategy between provinces.

Meeting for the first time this week in Halifax at the premiers’ summit, Pauline Marois and Alison Redford agreed to form a joint working group to explore the idea of moving Alberta’s oil east to Quebec.

Although, Ms. Marois made it clear this was strictly a deal between her province and Alberta, other premiers, like Manitoba’s Greg Selinger, are viewing it differently.

“It’s part of a national strategy,” Mr. Selinger told The Globe and Mail as the meeting wrapped up Friday. “I think we have greater energy security in Canada by having a pipeline in Canada that goes to the east coast.”

New Brunswick’s David Alward has been meeting for several months with Ms. Redford about the idea of bringing Alberta’s heavy oil to the Irving refinery in Saint John.

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Why shale oil won’t save you at the pumps – by Jeff Rubin (Globe and Mail – November 23, 2012)

Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Jeff Rubin is the former chief economist of CIBC World Markets and the author of the award-winning Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller. His recent best seller is The End of Growth.

Move over OPEC: North America is about to become a net exporter of oil. At least, that’s the word from the International Energy Agency’s latest outlook. According to the IEA, the drilling boom for shale oil in states like North Dakota is putting U.S. crude production on track to pass Saudi Arabia. North of the border, output from Alberta’s oil sands is expected to notch a similarly grand expansion.

But the agency’s rosy forecast isn’t all that it appears – and it certainly isn’t going to lead to a significant break at the pump for you.

Notions of energy independence, however farfetched they may seem today, play well to the IEA’s target audience, which is largely American. But regardless of the political rhetoric we endured from both presidential candidates, energy independence isn’t really the issue confronting the U.S. economy or North American motorists. The real issue is the cost of oil – not its country of origin.

It doesn’t really matter whether the U.S. drills for its own oil, gets it from Canada, or ships it in from Venezuela or the Middle East.

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Family, MPP push for [mining safety] inquiry – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 26, 2012)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Jordan Fram had always wanted his mother, Wendy Fram, to go underground to visit where he worked at Vale’s Stobie Mine. Wendy Fram would tell her son: “Jordan, you’re never going to get me down underground. I can’t even get in that cage, let alone go under-ground.”

Wendy Fram did travel 3,000 feet underground at Stobie Mine late in the summer of 2011. She visited the spot where Jordan, 26, and his colleague, Jason Chenier, 35, were killed June 8 when they were overcome by a run of 350 tons of muck.

Fram wasn’t thinking about the need for an inquiry to review mining practices in Ontario when she went with her son Jesse, daughter Briana and their partners to say a prayer for the men and to lay flowers for them.

Still, Fram noticed even then there were changes that could be made. When Fram had heard the word muck before, she thought mud — not the huge boulders and rock and water she saw underground.

When she saw where her boy had worked, Fram said, “I couldn’t believe that people work in those conditions. I was devastated. I couldn’t believe it.”

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[Northern Ontario] Forestry in transition – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (November 26, 2012)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

RESOLUTE Forest Products has made two major announcements in Northwestern Ontario in recent days. The company is idling a kraft mill and paper machine at its pulp and paper plant in Fort Frances, due to what it calls challenging market conditions.

The Montreal-based forestry company said it is closing the mill indefinitely as the market for specialty printing papers is expected to remain tenuous. About 239 employees will be affected.

Within days, Resolute announced plans to build an industrial wood pellet plant in Thunder Bay that will turn residual material into a source of renewable energy. The company said construction of the $10-million plant is expected to begin shortly and should be completed in 2014. It will hire 24 new employees.

Herein lies the changing nature of forestry. One market is fading just as another emerges. But let us not assume paper is a thing of the past. And let us not count on burning yet more fossil fuels as the answer to our energy needs.

Fort Frances is complicated by plant limitations and the decision by its main kraft pulp customer in the U.S. to buy elsewhere at less cost. Here again the Canadian dollar’s high value hurts Canadian exporters.

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Canada’s last asbestos mine may have future as Mars stand-in – by Peter Rakobowchuk (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2012)

Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

MONTREAL — The Canadian Press – Canada’s last asbestos mine, now winding down its operations, may have a new celestial calling — as a stand-in for planet Mars. Quebec’s Jeffrey Mine hosted nearly two-dozen scientists recently for a simulated Mars mission initiated by Canada’s space agency.

The scientists from four universities made a pair of trips to the Asbestos region, this year and last year, accompanied by a micro-rover. “There are definitely areas (on Mars) that are much more like what we have at Jeffrey Mine,” said Ed Cloutis, a University of Winnipeg professor who participated in the project. The new vocation won’t exactly replace the once-mighty asbestos industry as an economic lifeblood for the region.

The mine had been counting on a $58-million government loan to renovate and keep operating. The simulated Mars mission, on the whole, cost $800,000 — and some local officials, including an alderman and the town’s director general, didn’t even appear to be aware of the project when contacted by The Canadian Press.

The goal of the project was to simulate as closely as possible a Mars rover mission to detect the presence of, and determine the source of, methane on Mars.

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Speaking notes for the Honourable Julian Fantino Minister of International Cooperation for the Economic Club of Canada ‘Reducing Poverty – Building Tomorrow’s Markets’

November 23, 2012, Toronto, Ontario

Good morning.

It has now been a few months since Prime Minister Harper asked me to be the Minister of International Cooperation, and I am enjoying the job immensely. It is a great honour and a privilege.

As you can imagine, it has been a busy time for me and a fascinating experience seeing international development work first-hand, as Canada continues to respond to situations around the world.

In my brief experience, it is clear that Canada is respected on the world stage for the work the Canadian International Development Agency does. You may know that my previous professional life was in law enforcement, spending the latter part of my career as an executive within various police departments.

However, as the Ontario Commissioner of Emergency Management and more recently, as Associate Minister of National Defence, I have had the opportunity to see CIDA’s work with my own eyes.

On a trip to Afghanistan as Associate Minister of Defence, I saw young Afghan girls heading to school, wearing their backpacks. And it reminded me of my own grandchildren. I was impressed then, and I remain so, knowing that these girls were going to school because of the assistance Canada provided.

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NEWS RELEASE: UBC, SFU to further global sustainable mining practices through $25M Institute

Media Release | Nov. 23, 2012

The University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University will lead an international coalition to help developing countries benefit from their natural resources in environmentally and socially responsible ways.

The establishment of the Canadian International Institute for Extractive Industries and Development (CIIEID), funded by a $25-million grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), was announced last October with an aim to sharing Canadian expertise in extractive industries. The selection of UBC and SFU to operate the Institute was announced today by the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation.

In 2008 alone, exports of oil and minerals from Africa, Asia, and Central America were valued at $1-trillion. Canadian companies, many headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., dominate the world’s mineral exploration and Canada relies heavily on its resource industries.

UBC’s research and education in the extractive sector spans nearly a century, with a strong emphasis over the past decade placed on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility through its Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering. SFU’s Beedie School of Business offers Canada’s longest-standing Executive MBA program for sustainable mining, and houses the Responsible Minerals Sector Initiative, fostering global dialogue for the extractive sector.

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MINING WATCH CANADA NEWS RELEASE: Poor Mining Companies? Parliamentary Committee Report Calls for CIDA Giveaway to Canadian Corporations

http://www.miningwatch.ca/

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Mining critics are calling yesterday’s parliamentary committee report on the use of Canadian aid money to support mining companies’ interests in developing countries “a wholesale handover of CIDA to the private sector.”

The report, by the Conservative majority House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, proposes to reconfigure CIDA to better serve Canadian corporations as they go abroad, starting with the mining sector.

The report prioritizes public-private partnerships, such as controversial projects with multi-million dollar mining companies that are already being piloted in countries such as Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Peru, as an “important tool of [CIDA’s] development programming.”

“This committee report doesn’t just tie Canadian aid to mining interests, it would actually restructure CIDA to better serve the interests of the corporate sector,” says MiningWatch spokesperson Catherine Coumans. “Aid money is meant to address poverty, not to promote the commercial interests of Canadian mining companies. Nor should it subsidize the obligations of mining companies to provide benefits to affected residents and rehabilitate damaged environments.”

In addition to CIDA partnerships with mining companies, the committee recommends:

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