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Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas

ANALYSIS-Miner Cliffs woes could douse hopes for Canada’s Ring of Fire – by Allison Martell (Reuters U.K. – April 16, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

TORONTO, April 16 (Reuters) – The future of Canada’s Ring of Fire, a remote cluster of rich mineral deposits in northwestern Ontario, is looking increasingly dim as the finances of its biggest private investor, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc, have taken a turn for the worse.

Crouched in swampy lowlands and named for a Johnny Cash song, the 4,000 sq km (1,500 square mile) zone has no rail lines, highways or reliable power. Canadian political leaders say the Ring of Fire could support a century of mining, but the cash-strapped government has yet to commit infrastructure funds.

But other challenges facing Cliffs may prove more difficult. The iron ore and metallurgical coal producer has proposed a $3.3 billion chromite project, including a $600 million highway that could open the region for smaller mining companies such as Noront Resources Ltd.

The project, Black Thor, would be North America’s first major chromite mine, and Cliffs touts the mineral – which is refined into ferrochrome, used to make stainless steel – as a natural next step for a company with long experience supplying the steel industry. But not everyone is enthusiastic.

“They have an infrastructure, logistical problem,” said Robert Yuksel Yildirim, president of Turkish industrial conglomerate and ferrochrome producer Yildirim Group, who considered investing in Black Thor.

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Cliffs’ excitement tinged with frustration in Ring of Fire – by Jody Porter (CBC News Thunder Bay – April 15, 2013)

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

Vice-president outlines two key hurdles to feasibility

The man in charge of Cliffs Natural Resources’ Ring of Fire project says two things need to happen before the company’s plans can proceed.

In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Bill Boor said he’s still waiting for a final agreement with the province to build a smelter in Sudbury and he said the company still needs to establish its surface rights to build a road to the mining area.

“The vision is very much intact,” Boor said of the American company’s plans to mine chromite out of muskeg in the James Bay Lowlands. “The mechanics of how to get there are very challenging and we expected that, but they continue to be challenging.”

Smelter deal yet to be finalized

Boor said talks with the province to finalize plans to build a chromite smelter near Sudbury were delayed because of the election. He said company officials have yet to talk with representatives of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government. “As we approach a year since the agreement in terms, that’s become more of a concern,” Boor said of the plans to locate the smelter.

“Part of the uncertainty that lies right now is whether we’re going to be able to get in on time and get this deal done so that we can wrap up the feasibility study.”

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OMA NEWS RELEASE: MINING COMPANIES HELPING TO OPEN EMPLOYMENT DOORS FOR FIRST NATIONS RESIDENTS

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.

Posted on Friday April 12, 2013

OMA members Barrick Hemlo and North American Palladium are opening doors for more Aboriginals to start careers in mining. These companies are the industry partners in the innovative Mining Essentials program, which is run through Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS) in Thunder Bay. AETS serves nine First Nations in northwestern Ontario.

The Mining Essentials program is a work readiness course for Aboriginals. It was developed by the Assembly of First Nations and the Mining Industry Human Resource Council (MiHR) with curriculum consultation by educators and industry. The program has been run at three training sites including Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Northern College in Timmins and Northwest Community College in Hazelton, British Columbia.

“Mining Essentials is a stepping stone to get entry level jobs,” said John DeGiacomo, partnership and development officer at AETS. “Industry has a chance to help First Nations that perhaps didn’t have that opportunity before to further their education.”

The program began in 2010 and since then, AETS has provided 22 of the 77 graduates in Canada. “Those who complete the common core training are qualified to work underground,” said John Hatton, training and development director for Confederation College. “The 12-week program involves two-thirds classroom work, with the rest on the job site. When they finish this, they can start work at any mine.”

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OMA NEWS RELEASE: Powering for the future: New company connects benefits to communities, mining company and the environment

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 Goldcorp and 13 First Nations in Northwestern Ontario have formed a partnership to create Wataynikaneyap Power. This new electricity company plans to develop a transmission line to connect remote First Nations to the provincial grid and provide more reliable power to communities and companies already linked to Ontario’s electrical network.

“We have partnered with Goldcorp to establish Wataynikaneyap Power with the goal of First Nations eventually owning 100% of this important infrastructure that will better serve our communities,” said Margaret Kenequanash, representing the 13 First Nations partners in Wataynikaneyap Power. “I look forward to the day we can connect our communities to the provincial power grid – it is safe, reliable and provides cleaner energy.”

“Wataynikaneyap Power is an example of how industry and First Nations can work together on projects that are good for the economy and the environment while benefitting communities in the region for years to come,” said Gil Lawson, Mine Manager for Goldcorp’s Musselwhite Operation. Goldcorp plans to facilitate the completion of phase one of the project and leave the Wataynikaneyap Power partnership once a long-term transmission partner is on board.

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Webequie dives into trades training – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Peter Pagnutti is spending 12 weeks introducing an enthusiastic class of First Nation students to the skilled trades, but the Cambrian College instructor readily admits the whole experience has been as equally rewarding for him.

“There’s not a day goes by where I don’t strike up a conversation with one of them and they teach me something,” particularly in feeding Pagnutti’s abiding interest in natural remedies.

Sudbury’s Cambrian College is providing hands-on learning to 15 students from Webequie through an introduction to the trades course geared toward eventually graduating heavy equipment mechanics.

The remote community of Webequie in the James Bay lowlands is the closest settlement to the Ring of Fire, the area of Ontario’s next great mining camp.

Last winter, the Ontario government announced $3.1 million in training funds to prepare residents for future job opportunities in six First Nation communities in the Far North, including Webequie.

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FedNor cuts will be ‘devastating’: Mulcair – by Sebastien Perth (Sudbury Star – April 5, 2013)

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

NDP leader accuses Tony Clement of ‘word games’ and calls Cliffs’ approach to Ring of Fire ‘really stupid’

The Conservatives are lying when they call cuts to FedNor “efficiencies,” federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said Thursday during a visit to Sudbury.

Mulcair talked about Conservative spending cuts, Liberal party polling numbers and the Ring of Fire development during a media scrum at NORCAT offices on Maley Drive.

Mulcair accused Tony Clement, the minister for FedNor, of playing word games, in a dispute over the FedNor budget. The NDP says the department’s budget will be slashed from $81 million in 2012-13 to $60.3 million in 2014-15. In a release, Clement said the cuts won’t affect FedNor’s ability to deliver programs– a claim Mulcair challenged.

“Unfortunately, the Conservatives’ cuts, the planned cuts of tens of millions of dollars from the budget of FedNor, will have a devastating effect in the whole region, particularly in centres of excellence,” he said. “(The cuts will be) 20% this year and 25% next year — those are the actual cuts to FedNor.”

“If Tony Clement says anything otherwise, he’s not telling the truth. This is not a matter of ‘he said, she said’ — these are facts, they are printed on a piece of paper.”

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Northern Ontario First Nations ask Minister to defer new mining rules – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – April 4, 2013)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A group of First Nations residing in the north of Ontario this week asked Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle to delay implementing new mining rules that came into effect on Monday, claiming that the new regulations had not gone through a proper consultation process.

The new mining regulations were part of a modernised Mining Act that was passed in 2009 to promote mineral exploration and development in a manner that recognised Aboriginal and treaty rights, was more respectful of private landowners and minimised the impact of mineral exploration and development on the environment.

The Anishinabek Nation, which represented 39 member communities and about 55 000 people in the mineral-rich north of the province, was calling for the establishment of a bilateral table on mining and a meeting with the Minister.

Grand council chief Patrick Madahbee has asked Minister Gravelle to postpone the mandatory implementation of the new mining regulations, saying the Anishinabek Nation was looking for a chance for its leadership to meet with their citizens to discuss concerns with regulations that “did not go through a proper consultation process”.

The Anishinabek Nation had concerns about the recognition of treaty rights, resource revenue sharing, environmental stewardship and the local capacity to permit First Nations to meet demands of the new regulations.

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NEWS RELEASE: 13 First Nations and Goldcorp incorporate new electricity transmission company


Northwestern Ontario transmission project will replace diesel generation and provide cleaner, more sustainable power to First Nation communities and industry

THUNDER BAY, ON, April 4, 2013 /CNW/ – Thirteen First Nations and Goldcorp today announced they have signed an agreement formally incorporating Wataynikaneyap Power. This new company is developing a transmission line that will connect remote First Nations communities currently powered by diesel generation, and will provide more reliable power to local communities and industry.

“We have partnered with Goldcorp to establish Wataynikaneyap Power with a goal of First Nations eventually owning 100% of this important infrastructure that will better serve our communities. I look forward to the day we can connect our communities to the provincial power grid – it is safe, reliable and provides for cleaner energy,” said Margaret Kenequanash, representing the 13 First Nations partners in Wataynikaneyap Power.

The company is proposing a single project with a two-phase development process. The first phase, a 300-km transmission line, will reinforce electricity transmission into Pickle Lake, including servicing Goldcorp’s Musselwhite mine. The second phase will extend transmission north of Pickle Lake to service 10 remote First Nation communities.

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Liberal leader says Ring of Fire has to be done in ‘right way’ – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – April 3, 2013)

http://wawataynews.ca/

The federal conflict of interest commissioner has cleared interim Liberal leader Bob Rae to serve as a chief negotiator for Matawa First Nations on the Ring of Fire.

Rae told Postmedia News that he has received guidelines on how to proceed from the federal ethics watchdog Mary Dawson. While the former Ontario premier said Matawa has as of yet made no official offer, he is willing to take on the position.

During a mining conference hosted by the municipality of Greenstone on March 25, Rae told a gathered crowd in Thunder Bay that the Ring of Fire has to develop in the “right way.”

“I would appeal to everyone to recognize that the message is not that First Nations people want to stop development,” Rae said during his speech. “What I’m hearing is that people want development to happen in a way that sustains long-term prosperity of each and every person and community.”

Rae, who will return to being a regular MP once a new Liberal leader is selected, said a change of understanding is necessary from everyone involved in the development.

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Forward-looking companies will make it in Ring of Fire: Mulcair (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – April 3, 2013)

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

The leader of Canada’s official Opposition says companies need to be “forward-looking” and respect First Nations if they hope to be successful in the Ring of Fire.

“We have to have everyone at the table,” federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said in Thunder Bay on Tuesday.

“There are good models that have worked. Manitoba has a great model, for example — when they develop new hydro projects, they have revenue sharing and 70-year plans and deals with First Nations. Quebec was forced to come up with a deal rapidly when the courts shut down the James Bay hydroelectric agreement some 40 years ago.

“So we’re looking at the behaviour of some of the companies,” he said. “Trying to exclude elders from giving expert testimony in court is just not smart, because what it does is it signals that the companies don’t get it. They’re not willing to work with First Nations and respect their rights.

“So we’re hoping that forward-looking companies will be involved in this, respect not only the rights of First Nations today, but the rights of future generations of all Canadians.”

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Northern Ontario First Nations seek delay on new mining rules – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – April 3, 2013)

The 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.

A group of First Nation communities in mineral-rich Northern Ontario is asking the province to postpone implementation of new mining regulations that went into effect this week, claiming the rules were drafted without full consultation.

The new regulations are part of a modernized Mining Act that was passed in 2009 to promote mineral exploration and development in a way that recognizes aboriginal and treaty rights and minimizes impact on the environment.

The Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 member communities and some 55,000 people in Ontario, says the new regulations should have the blessing of a bilateral table on mining that the government agreed to create in September.

“We had a very distinct understanding with Ontario as to the process by which we were going to do this work,” said Chief Isadore Day, a spokesman for the Union of Ontario Indians that represents the Anishinabek Nation.

In a statement penned by Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee, the Union of Ontario Indians also said the Anishinabek was concerned about recognition of treaty rights, resource revenue sharing, environmental stewardship and local capacity of First Nations to meet demands of regulations.

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Tony Clement and the Ring of Fire Interview – APTN National News (April 2, 2013)

Click here for interview: http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/04/02/tony-clement-and-the-ring-of-fire/ http://aptn.ca/pages/news/ The resources held deep beneath what is commonly known as the Ring of Fire is well known. For one, the mining industry believes northern Ontario has one of the largest deposits of chromite in the world. But getting a billion dollars worth of resources hasn’t been easy. Now the federal …

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Matawa wins early ruling in Ring of Fire legal fight – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 27, 2013)

http://wawataynews.ca/

A federal judge has ruled that three experts who Cliffs Resources tried to block from testifying can indeed give their opinions on Matawa First Nations’ Ring of Fire judicial review.

Cliffs and Canada had tried to block the experts – including Justina Ray of Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada and Professor Robert Gibson of the University of Waterloo’s Environmental Studies department – from testifying in the case.

The judge not only threw out the claims made by Cliffs and Canada, but also criticized the two parties for causing “unnecessary delays” in the case and set a strict timeline for the remainder of the hearing that should bring the case before the courts sometime this summer. The Matawa chiefs filed a legal challenge to the environmental assessment of the proposed Cliffs’ chromite project in November 2011.

The chiefs have repeatedly called for a Joint Review Panel of the Ring of Fire project, rather than the ongoing comprehensive study EA process. A Joint Review Panel would be a more in-depth review of the project, and include hearings in communities to get the perspectives of Elders and other community members.

Canada and Cliffs have so far ignored the Matawa chiefs’ calls for the stricter EA process, and pushed on with the comprehensive study despite the ongoing legal challenge.

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New law requiring aboriginal consultation takes effect April 1 – by Siobhan McClelland (Law Times – March 25, 2013)

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/

Changes to the Mining Act in Ontario will require companies to consult First Nations on any mineral exploration claims before the work begins. As of April 1, the act will require third parties wishing to stake mining claims to effectively take over the Crown’s duty to consult with First Nations.

But the lack of guidance on what they must do as part of that duty to consult leaves uncertainty for both First Nations and the mining companies. “What the mining industry needs now more than anything is some certainty,” says Neal Smitheman, a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.

The Divisional Court recently had an opportunity to clarify the duty to consult on Jan. 25, 2013, in ruling on the appeal in Wahgoshig First Nation v. Solid Gold Resources Corp. The case dealt with an appeal of an interim injunction prohibiting the defendant mining company from engaging in exploration activities on land the plaintiff had claims to.

The court granted leave to appeal with the leave judge noting that, in the absence of legislation, “it is important that the court clarify the respective obligations of the Crown and mining exploration companies operating in this province toward First Nations whose treaty rights or aboriginal [rights] might be adversely affected by exploration activities.”

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Share the mineral wealth, say First Nations – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – March 21, 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

Engagement with First Nations and respecting treaty rights must be “cornerstones” of this week’s federal budget, said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Harvey Yesno.

“Canada will not achieve its full potential unless First Nations are engaged in a meaningful way in the development of our traditional lands and wealth of resources they contain,” said Yesno, in a March 20 press release.

Leadership within the Thunder Bay-based political and policy organization is calling on Ottawa to “renew its treaty relationship with First Nations” by respecting treaty right and supporting agreement that ensure that they share in the wealth generated by natural resource extraction.

“First Nations are fed up with being portrayed as a burden on taxpayers and are ready to play a major role as contributors to the economic growth of Canada. We are not against development, but need to have meaningful input into decision-making on critical issues that directly affect our people and our lands.”

Aboriginal people and their role in the economy is expected to be a focus in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s budget.

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