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Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas

De Beers eyes expansion to mine project near Attawapiskat (CBC News Sudbury – August 15, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

Attawapiskat band members interested in negotiating a new Impact Benefit Agreement for the Victor Mine Extension Project.

De Beers Canada is looking into the possibility of extending its current Victor Mine project on northern Ontario’s James Bay Coast, on traditional land, 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat First Nation.

The company officially opened its existing Victor Mine site in mid-2008, after discovering the region’s lucrative kimberlite field more than two decades earlier. It was the province’s first diamond mine.

With an estimated five years remaining on that open pit diamond mine, the company has proposed the Victor Mine Extension Project.

The project is in an advanced exploration stage at the moment, meaning a final decision on whether to pursue the extension is still at least 18 months away, said Tom Ormsby, the director of external and corporate affairs at De Beers Canada.

An environmental assessment is currently underway, and core samples will be done to gauge the value of minerals in the ground.

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Northern Promise: Ring of Fire smoulders anew – by Peter Koven (National Post – August 13, 2013)

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

Northern Promise is a six-part series that explores the pace and progress of development in Canada’s remote communities. In this first instalment, Peter Koven covers the glacial-paced evolution of Ontario’s Ring of Fire.

Six years ago, there was no talk about uncertainty over environmental permits or First Nations disputes. The only mood surrounding the Ring of Fire was sheer euphoria.

When a then-unknown company called Noront Resources Ltd. announced its first discovery hole in the James Bay Lowlands in August 2007, it launched a staking rush and investor frenzy of unprecedented proportions for an Ontario project. Junior mining companies flocked to the region, and the mere mention that they had some land was likely to triple their stock price. It all culminated in Noront’s annual meeting that October, a giant party disguised as a shareholder meeting in which Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire was blared at full volume and then-chief executive Richard Nemis was treated like a rock star.

Sadly, that Noront AGM turned out to be the high point for the Ring of Fire story so far.

That is not due to the quality of the discovery. The Ring turned out to be far bigger than first anticipated, with an estimated $30-billion to $50-billion of minerals in the ground.

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Ring of Fire project still experiencing delays (CBC News Sudbury – August 13, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

Cliffs unsure when environmental assessment to resume

Talks are continuing around the future of the Ring of Fire chromite project. Frank Iacobucci and Bob Rae have been representing the province and First Nations in on-going discussions.

Mining company Cliffs Natural Resources said it’s happy with the progress that’s been made, but still can’t say when it may resume its environmental assessment. “I think it’s encouraging to have those kinds of discussions and certainly those kind of people involved in that,” Bill Boor, Cliffs vice president said.

“So certainly, it gives me some optimism that we will be able to find a good path forward and get things started like we talked about.”

The company temporarily put its environmental assessment process on hold in June, citing unfinished agreements with the province as one of the reasons for the delay. Speaking on the CBC television program Power and Politics earlier this month, Bob Rae said he had very specific goals for the ongoing negotiations.

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NEWS RELEASE: Partnership opens mining sector employment doors for First Nations members

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Ontario Mining Association member Noront Resources is the industry partner in a new alliance to provide training for future mining jobs to the people of Matawa First Nations. The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) has received $5.9 million from the federal government’s Skills and Partnership Fund to support that goal.

“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of State Responsible for the Ring of Fire. “It is important that all Canadians have the necessary skills and training they need to succeed.”

RoFATA was created through a partnership of Noront Resources, Matawa First Nations, Kikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) and Confederation College in Thunder Bay. RoFATA’s key objective is to provide training-to-employment opportunities to support Matawa First Nations people. The Matawa First Nation encompasses nine communities.

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Matawa First Nations to start training for Ring of Fire development – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – August 9, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) would receive more than $5.9-million from the Canadian Governments’ ‘Skills and Partnership Fund’ to provide training for employment in the mining sector for the people of Matawa First Nations, in preparation for development of the Ring of Fire mineral complex in Ontario’s Far North.

The Ring of Fire is a 5 000 km2 mineral-rich area in the James Bay Lowlands, situated within the traditional lands of two of the Matawa First Nations.

Nine specialised training and six pre-trade courses would be made available to Matawa First Nations members, with many courses to be presented in their First Nation communities and others locally in Thunder Bay. About 260 trainees would be trained on courses lasting between 5 weeks and 20 weeks, and 196 trainees would enter into employment through RoFATA.

The Matawa First Nations, Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), Noront Resources and Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology this week signed a memorandum of understanding, creating RoFATA partnership.

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NEWS RELEASE: Supporting Aboriginal skills development and training in Northern Ontario

Honourable Greg Rickford – Minister of State: Science and Technology, Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (Fednor) and Minister Responsible for Ring of Fire

August 8, 2013 11:00 AM – General – Federal Government News

THUNDER BAY, ON, Aug. 8, 2013 /CNW/ – Aboriginal people in Northern Ontario will be better equipped to find fulfilling, long-term employment, as a result of training provided through a project funded by the Government of Canada. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State (Science and Technology, and Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario) and Member of Parliament for Kenora, on behalf of the Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development).

“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity, across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Minister of State Rickford. “It’s important that all Canadians have the skills and training they need to succeed. By working with organizations such as Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services, we are ensuring that the members of local Aboriginal communities can take full advantage of the opportunities being generated by the rapidly growing mining industry, in particular in the Ring of Fire.”

Noront Resources Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer Paul Parisotto

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Matawa First Nations have chance to cash in on Ring of Fire jobs – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – August 9, 2013)

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

The federal government is providing almost $6 million for training Aboriginal people near the Ring of Fire mining camp.
The Skills and Partnership funding will help 260 residents from nine Matawa First Nations get the skills and experience they need to find good quality, high-paying jobs through a mining industry training project run by Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) in partnership with Noront Resources Ltd. and Confederation College.

Training will be provided for jobs such as heavy equipment operator, underground diamond driller helper, security guard, camp cook and environmental monitor.

The funding announcement was made Thursday at Confederation College by FedNor Minister Greg Rickford. “Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity, across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Rickford (C-Kenora).

“By working with organizations such as Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services, we are ensuring that the members of local Aboriginal communities can take full advantage of the opportunities being generated by the rapidly growing mining industry, in particular in the Ring of Fire,” he said.

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Feds supply $6M to get First Nations ready for Ring of Fire (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 8, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

260 people to be trained in trades like mining, welding and environmental monitoring

The federal government has announced almost $6 million in funding to train people from Matawa First Nations in the mining sector. The announcement was made at Confederation College in Thunder Bay Thursday morning.

“There’s no better time than the present, we want to get going on this, we know that this is a legacy project,” said Kenora MP Greg Rickford, who is also minister of state for FedNor, with responsibility for the Ring of Fire. “We want to make sure that all our ducks are in a row.”

The money will go to a group of stakeholders called the Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance, which includes Matawa First Nations, NorOnt Resources and Confederation College. Matawa CEO David Paul Achneepineskum said building partnerships like this will help First Nations succeed. But Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon thinks the process should be more grass-roots.

“I’m happy on one hand that we’re moving along, but there’s got to be a better method of how to move along,” he said. “And that means going to the communities and asking what each community wants.”

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Ontario: The ‘have not’ province – by Peter Andre Globensky (Wawatay News – August 8, 2013)

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

There is considerable evidence to indicate that the reckless and hell-bent-for-leather policy of developing the Alberta tar sands at all costs has been, in fact, quite costly. Not only to First Nations communities in northern Alberta who live “downstream” from the goo and the guck and the ravaged natural environment, but to the economy of the country – particularly to the economy of Ontario.

The rise in the value of the Canadian petro-dollar, fuelled by escalating oil prices, has made Canadian exports much more expensive for foreign buyers to purchase. The result: a too-rapid decline in Ontario’s manufacturing sector and an attendant decrease in commercial and industrial taxes have helped reduce Ontario to a “have not” province.

It is now a recipient of transfer payments from the federal government when once it was a contributor of those payments to other provinces. At one time not so long ago, Ontario had a well-earned reputation for playing a leadership role in the Canadian federation – being the mediator between the federal government and the other provinces who always seemed to have squabbling with each other and the feds as a favoured pastime. However, no longer can it claim that high ground.

What is even more disturbing, however, is how far Ontario has fallen behind other, more progressive Canadian jurisdictions in recognizing the need for and actively promoting a constructive dialogue around resource development and revenue sharing with First Nation communities. In that way as well, Ontario has become a “have not” province.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ring Of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) Prepares Matawa First Nations Members for Employment in Mining Sector

THUNDER BAY, ON, Aug. 8, 2013 /CNW/ – The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) is pleased to announce that it is receiving over $5.9-million from the Government of Canada’s Skills and Partnership Fund to provide training for employment in the mining sector for the people of Matawa First Nations.

Nine specialized training and six pre-trade courses are being made available to Matawa First Nations members, with many delivered in their First Nation communities and others locally in Thunder Bay.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Matawa First Nations, Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), Noront Resources Ltd. and Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology, creating The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) partnership. RoFATA’s key objective is to provide training-to-employment opportunities to support the Matawa First Nations people.

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Web portal aims at educating First Nations youth in mining – by Lenny Carpenter (Wawatay News – August 6, 2013)

http://wawataynews.ca/

An online web portal aimed at helping First Nations youth explore the world of mining was launched on July 25.
Learning2mine.ca is an interactive web portal developed by Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute that provides information on the mining industry and careers.

Rosie Mosquito, Oshki’s executive director, said the portal was developed with the upcoming mining opportunities within the Ring of Fire in mind as First Nations stand to benefit from such opportunities.

“With all the mining opportunities that will become available in the north, we want to see First Nations people employed as engineers, environmental technicians, project managers, geophysicists, and in administration,” Mosquito said. “This new portal encourages young people to prepare for a career in the mining industry and most importantly provides them guidance in how to get started.”

Learning2Mine.ca features a mining game called Waaniike, where the player explores the land and discovers resources and artifacts using mining gear and equipment. The game combines traditional knowledge and modern mining practices and aims to build “mining literacy” in the player.

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Queen’s Park: First Nations have iron grip on Ontario’s economy – by Ian Harvey (Law Times News – August 5, 2013)

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/index.php

Ian Harvey has been a journalist for 35 years writing about a diverse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His e-mail address is ianharvey@rogers.com

Ontario’s economic future is in the hands of First Nations who effectively control all resource development. Moving forward, there will be no oil flowing in a pipeline nor will there be any copper, gold, nickel, uranium or chromite pulled from the earth unless a First Nation has approved and is getting its cut.

It’s the result of years of neglect coming to fruition, says Bill Gallagher, a Waterloo, Ont.-area lawyer whose book, Resource Rulers: Fortune and Folly on Canada’s Road to Resources, is turning heads.

“Natives have amassed an unprecedented legal winning streak in the last decade, 185 wins almost in a row, across the resources sector,” says Gallagher, who spent 30 years negotiating deals in the resource sector, including at Voisey’s Bay, N.L., where he sees parallels with Ontario’s Ring of Fire mines. “Ontario is behind in dealing with this.”

The province is also the target of a $100-million lawsuit brought by Solid Gold Resources Corp. this year. The northern gold-mining explorer staked a claim in 2007, but before exploratory drilling, it was advised by the province, following direction in Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), to consult with the local Wahgoshig First Nation.

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Ring of Fire talks off to ‘productive’ start, Bob Rae says (CBC News Power and Politics – August 2, 2013)

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/

Northern Ontario mining negotiations a chance to ‘do development differently’

Former Liberal MP Bob Rae said negotiations between Ontario and First Nations over mining in the Ring of Fire region are off to a good start and mark an opportunity to “do development differently.”

Rae was named chief negotiator for the Matawa Tribal Council, representing nine First Nations communities in northern Ontario, in May while he was still the MP for Toronto Centre. In mid-June he announced he was quitting politics in order to focus on the Ring of Fire job.

The Ring of Fire area, about 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has one of North America’s biggest deposits of chromite, used in stainless steel. It’s also rich in nickel, copper and platinum. The federal government estimates the mineral content is worth $30 billion to $50 billion and will create up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.

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The [British Columbia] New Prosperity battle begins again – by Gwen Preston (Northern Miner – July 31, 2013)

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry. 

WILLIAMS LAKE, BC — Two very different scenes played out on opposite sides of the building hosting the public hearing on the proposed New Prosperity mine in the hours before the hearing got started.

On one side, the City of Williams Lake put on a barbecue for project proponent Taseko Mines (TSX: TKO; NYSE-Arca: TGB). Wearing blue scarves to show their allegiance, supporters chatted with each other and the media about what the huge copper-gold mine would mean for the small town. Taseko executives, representatives from the city’s business community and employees from Taseko’s nearby Gibraltar mine spoke of cautious optimism, quiet but strong support, and crucial economic benefits.

In the park on the other side of the building, chiefs and members of a dozen First Nations drummed and sang before a roster of speakers railed against the proposed mine. They spoke of the irreparable devastation the mine would bring to an area heavy with spiritual and cultural significance. They spoke of poisoned salmon, displaced grizzlies, disrespect for established First Nations’ rights, even of “cultural genocide.”

Then the two sides met. Carrying placards with messages like: “Chilcotin gold is more valuable in the ground,” and “Our fish equal our wealth,” the anti-mine group slowly and deliberately made its way into the quiet auditorium.

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A Canadian Mining Economic Powerhouse – by Ross Gallinger (August 1, 2013)

 

(L to R) PDAC Executive Director Ross Gallinger being interviewed by Paul Bagnell on BNN

http://www.pdac.ca/

Ross Gallinger is the Executive Director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).

Canada has long established itself as an international hub for financing as well as business leadership in mineral exploration and mining. Our expertise runs deep and investors around the world respect and value it. At home, mining has a substantial economic impact on our nation’s north and on Aboriginal communities. The mining sector is a powerhouse of Canada’s economy.

Of the world’s public mining companies, 58 per cent are listed in Canada. There are nearly 1,700 mining and junior mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). Together they are responsible for approximately 90 per cent of the world’s mining equity financings by number and nearly 40 percent by value. With the state of equity markets steering away from the resource sector, the Harper government has the opportunity to renew key investments that spur private sector activity and create jobs, to ensure domestic growth and activity for future Canadians, as well as maintain global leadership.

In northern Canada, development and jobs depend heavily on mineral exploration and mining. The number of land development agreements between Aboriginal communities and private companies is proof positive. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Commerce estimates that the diamond mining industry alone contributed more than $100 million to aboriginal communities as well as investing in education and job training. Nationally, mineral exploration and mining contributes more than $36 billion to our GDP.

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