Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 202

MINING WATCH CANADA NEWS RELEASE: Algonquins of Barriere Lake Affirm Opposition to Copper One’s Rivière Doré Project and All Claim Staking and Mineral Exploration in their Territory

March 19, 2013

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Source: Algonquins of Barriere Lake

(Rapid Lake, Quebec) Today, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake are re-affirming their opposition to the proposed exploration activities of the junior mining company Copper One (TSX-V: CUO) within their unceded traditional territory. Copper One’s Rivière Doré project is within the area of an existing co-management agreement that Barriere Lake signed with Quebec and Canada in 1991 (the Trilateral Agreement).

The Trilateral Agreement was negotiated in a spirit of coexistence with Quebec and Canada in order to share the responsibility and benefits of sustainably managing a portion of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake’s traditional territory. Mining was not a consideration in the agreement and there has not been a process established by which claim staking, mineral exploration or mining could be considered within our territory. Despite a well-established body of case law (for example the recent decisions in Ross River Dena Council and Wahgoshig First Nation) the Quebec government has not fulfilled its duty to consult, accommodate and seek our consent for claim staking or mineral exploration.

In the last decade, both Canada and Quebec have failed to uphold the spirit and letter of the Trilateral agreement. As a result the people of Barriere Lake have been forced to spend considerable resources and put themselves at risk of harm and legal retribution defending their land. The government owes the community the duty to consult and obtain the consent of Barriere Lake prior to any mineral exploration. As the duty rests with the government of Quebec, the community sees no reason to negotiate with Copper One, a private party that established an interest in Barriere Lake’s territory without consent.

Court overturns 2011 decision and rules province can grant logging permits in Grassy Narrows’ territory – by Alan S. Hale (Kenora Daily Miner and News – March 18, 2013)

March 19, 2013

http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/

Grassy Narrows received a major setback in its pursuit of controlling logging within its traditional territory on Monday.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has decided the wording of Treaty 3 does not prevent the Ontario government from issuing logging licences within the band’s traditional territory; overturning a lower court’s decision from 2011 which ruled the province could not do so because it impinged on Grassy Narrows’ treaty-protected rights to hunt and fish.

“We’re quite disappointed in hearing that the appeal was allowed and it was not in our favour,” said Grassy Narrows’ Chief Simon Fobister. “We’re definitely going to have to sit down with our legal counsel, the band council and the trapper (who originally brought the lawsuit) to review the decision … We’ll have to weigh our options and decide if we are going to appeal this to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“We knew that (going to the Supreme Court) was going to end up being an option regardless of whoever won the case, and we’re going to be making that decision in the next little bit.”

Monday’s decision means the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has the sole jurisdiction to grant logging permits, including the one it granted to Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (now called Resolute Forestry Products) in 1997 for a clear-cutting operation in the Whiskey Jack Forest inside Grassy Narrows’ territory, which caused the many years of litigation that lead to this point.

MINING WATCH CANADA NEWS RELEASE: Cliffs and Feds Causing Unnecessary Delays to Ring of Fire Court Case, Lose Bid to Exclude Expert Evidence

March 18, 2013

Monday, March 18, 2013 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

http://www.miningwatch.ca/

Ottawa – MiningWatch Canada was pleased to learn that on March 15 Cliffs Natural Resources and the federal government lost their bid to exclude expert evidence from a court challenge launched by Matawa Tribal Council. Matawa is challenging the federal government’s decision to conduct a bare-boned environmental review of Cliffs’ proposed open pit chromite mine, 350 km long access road into the Hudson Bay Lowlands and ferrochrome processing facility. Cliffs and the Attorney General of Canada took issue with affidavits from experts on wildlife, water quality and environmental assessment.

In November 2011 Matawa launched a legal challenge of the decision about how to review the massive project, arguing that the decision violated constitutional obligations to consult and accommodate the affected First Nations and that the federal government made errors in administrative law in making the decision.

MiningWatch has repeatedly echoed Matawa’s call for a negotiated joint review panel process that would give the project greater scrutiny, include greater First Nations and public participation and fully harmonise federal and provincial processes. Federal bureaucrats also recommended a different process but these recommendations also failed to sway decision makers.

The affidavits in question were from well respected experts in their fields. Professor Bob Gibson from the University of Waterloo is highly regarded for his publications and teaching about environmental assessment policy.

Shiny space rocks catch the eye of miners instead of Ring of Fire – by Wendy Parker (In Support of Mining Blog – March 2013)

March 18, 2013

http://insupportofmining.wordpress.com/

It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?

Seems everyone’s agog these days with the prospect of mining in space. Asteroids, Mars, the moon, the farthest spinning rock in the universe – you name it, and someone, somewhere, wants to spend huge sums of money to launch drill rigs into space, to extract gold, nickel, rare earths or whatever for hungry Earth-bound customers.

At the same time, the mining world seems distinctly ho-hum about Ontario’s far northern Ring of Fire mineral zone. Mention the region’s tasty potential – for chromite, nickel, copper, PGMs and more — and you’ll probably get a yes-but response that includes the slap of a rapidly closing wallet.

It may be the opportunity of a generation, but the Ring seems to have earned a reputation as a daunting target. Not a place where you want to spend a lot of money. At least not now. Maybe later. Maybe after others have made tangible commitments. Maybe after some of the problems have been ironed out.

At first glance, it’s easy to see why. In a March 7, 2013 piece in the National Post, Peter Koven enumerated some of the “staggering challenges” that impede progress in Ontario’s remote region, including “infrastructure, First Nations agreements, environmental compliance, transportation and more.” No roads, no electricity and no consensus on how development should go forward.

An advanced [mining] project moves forward [Northwestern Ontario] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal (March 18, 2013)

March 18, 2013

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

This is the seventh instalment of a multi-part series looking at the mining sector of Northwestern Ontario and the Ring of Fire.

Author Napoleon Hill, known for his writings on success, said that, “More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has been taken from the earth.”

While this may be true, a tremendous amount of gold has been mined out of the ground, but not without the thoughts and vision of the men and women who held firm in their commitment to stay the course of the long road from discovery to production.

Patience and persistence are essential virtues to anyone in the mining business. It can take years from the point of the initial period of exploration to construction of a producing mine. There are many challenges along the way and mining companies need to have a relentless but realistic optimism.

Osisko Mining Corp., the Montreal-based company founded in 1998 that is currently developing the Hammond Reef Gold Mine project 23 kilometres north of Atikokan, is one such company.

Osisko, whose motto professes a “fresh outlook on mining,” first became involved in the Atikokan project when it took over from junior mining company Brett Resources in 2010.

Canada aboriginal movement poses new threat to miners – by Julie Gordon and Allison Martell (Reuters Canada – March 17, 2013)

November 3, 2015March 18, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – An aboriginal protest movement that’s often compared with Occupy Wall Street has the potential to disrupt mining projects across Canada, threatening to undermine the country’s coveted reputation for low-risk resource development.

Idle No More, a grass-roots movement with little centralized leadership, swept across Canada late last year with the help social media. Protesters blocked roads and rail lines, and staged big rallies in the country’s largest cities to press a sweeping human rights and economic development agenda.

Mining companies are also in the movement’s sights as aboriginal bands seek to renegotiate old agreements and seize more control over mining developments, whether they are on lands designated as native reserves or not.

“We’ve existed in this territory for millennia. We don’t have a land claim – it’s beyond that, actually. Our rights exist throughout all of our territories,” Arlen Dumas, chief of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, said about the northern Manitoba land where HudBay Minerals Inc, a Toronto-based mid-tier miner, is building its Lalor project.

Protesters cut off access to the gold-copper-zinc mine for several hours in early March, demanding talks with the company on an ownership stake in the C$794 million ($773.84 million) project, which has started limited production.

Wasaya among companies examining airships for northern transportation – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – March 14, 2013)

March 18, 2013

http://wawataynews.ca/

As winter road seasons continue to become more unpredictable, a number of companies and governments are examining the possibility of transporting goods to remote communities by airships.

One of the companies involved in examining the use of hybrid airships for transport in northern Ontario is First Nations owned and operated Wasaya Airways.

“Our interest has always been to keep abreast of what is happening in the region so we are not left out,” said Wasaya Airways President and CEO Tom Morris.

Wasaya is working with a Toronto-based company, Solar Ship, to test a hybrid solar powered airship for use in supplying northern communities. “They’re not really balloons; it’s more like a solar ship,” Morris said about the hybrid airship being developed in Toronto.

Morris said the solar-powered emission-free airship could deliver materials and goods at a lower cost than other means of transport, but there are still a “lot of unknowns” about the project.

First Nations can’t do worse than Queen’s Park – by John R. Hunt (North Bay Nugget – March 15, 2013)

March 18, 2013

http://www.nugget.ca/

What is Bob Rae cooking up in the political kitchen? The experts in Ottawa may know. Ottawa knows everything but very little about Northern Ontario. What Rae is doing or reported to be doing will likely have a profound impact upon the North country.

I have found it very difficult to like him. When he was the NDP premier of Ontario he sent a pet hatchet man to my neck of the woods supposedly to save money. This socialist paragon closed the New Liskeard agricultural college, closed the Temiskaming Testing Laboratory in Cobalt and euthanized plans to locate 200 civil servants at Haileybury.

As first responder to the federal Liberals’ near death, he has applied expert political first aid. Soon he may make the Trudeau coronation almost respectable.

It is reported that at least one First Nations’ chief wants Rae to advise or consult on the best way for First Nations to get a decent piece of the pie when the Ring of Fire mining area is developed.

It is an outrageous thought but the native groups and Bob Rae may plan better than Ontario has in the past. I remember when Temagami had three sawmills and a copper mine nearby. Then came the Sherman mine at Temagami and its sister the Adams mine near Kirkland Lake. Now they have all gone.

Stepping stone: Aboriginal mining training program provides skill, confidence – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – March 2013)

March 15, 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.

An Aboriginal training program in northwestern Ontario is making strides to address a looming labour shortfall in the mining industry.

Optimism is peaking in the region that there will be a cluster of major mining camps developing over the next 10 years, but in the Thunder Bay area alone, the mining industry will require between 1,110 and 4,150 workers. Where those workers will come from is anyone’s guess.

One possible source for underground workers is from the Mining Essentials program being run through the Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS) in Thunder Bay.

Mining Essentials is the only work readiness training program for Aboriginal people in Canada. It was developed in concert with the Assembly of First Nations and the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), with curriculum input from educators and industry.

“Mining Essentials is a stepping stone to get entry level jobs,” said John DeGiacomo, the proposal and partnership development officer with AETS.

NEWS RELEASE: Report: NWT Diamond Mining Benefits Continue to Mount

March 14, 2013

For the full report, click here: http://www.miningnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Measuring-Success-Diamond-Benefits-to-NWT-March2013.pdf

Yellowknife, NWT (March 13, 2013)Diamond mining benefits to the North continue to accumulate according to a report released by the Chamber of Mines. “Measuring Success: The Positive Impact of Diamond Mining in the Northwest Territories” describes a variety of benefits provided by the three NWT diamond mines – EKATI, Diavik and Snap Lake. These benefits include:

• Training: $11.4 million in cash and in-kind investments were invested with the NWT Mine Training Society between 2004 and 2012 to provide training to 1,400 northern residents, supporting a new generation of millwrights, electricians, mechanics, underground miners, process plant operators, and providing a base of skilled Northerners. The vast majority of these trainees are Aboriginal. The 3 mines recently committed an additional $6.6 million in financial
and in-kind support over the next 3 years to the Society.

• Jobs: Collectively, EKATI, Diavik, and the Snap Lake Mine are employing significantly more northerners than the companies had predicted. In 2011, the mines provided 1,541 northern jobs, or 403 more jobs than were predicted during the mines’ environmental assessments.

• Business spending: Combined, the three mines spent $12.8 billion from 1996-2011 to build and operate the mines. Of this, $9.25 billion (72%) was with northern companies, including over $4 billion with Aboriginal companies.

In spirit of fairness and respect [First Nations and resourses] – by Xavier Kataquapit (Timmins Daily Press – March 14, 2013)

March 14, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – There are many success stories across Canada when it comes to resource development agreements and partnerships between First Nations, companies and government. Most non-Native people don’t realize this.

Even in my home community of Attawapiskat negotiations in general between my people and De Beers has benefited many. The process is obviously not perfect but at the very least, the company, First Nation leadership and governments have bargained in good faith to make a very large project happen in the middle of pristine wilderness.

This is a big change for my people considering that we were largely forgotten and through a process of assimilation and marginalization, my grandfathers and great grandfathers had little choice but to live off a limited amount of land and survive through hunting and gathering. Even though resource development companies and non-Native people were reaping the benefits of huge projects happening on traditional territories, we saw very little coming to us.

These days, people think that First Nations in southern areas such as Timmins, Kirkland Lake, North Bay and Sudbury were the recipients in one way or another of the many huge mining, forestry and hydro projects that occurred over the past 100 years.

If you check with First Nation leaders and Elders in these areas, you will quickly find out that Native people were very much left out of the loop when it came to all this development.

Chief sets out demands for Rae to negotiate – by Jody Porter (CBC News Thunder Bay – March 12, 2013)

March 13, 2013

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

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae considers representing First Nations in mining talks

The Chief of Neskantaga First Nation is already outlining what he wants Bob Rae to negotiate, even though the interim Liberal leader hasn’t officially declared he’s taking the job of representing northern Ontario First Nations in the Ring of Fire.

Chief Peter Moonias said he wants Rae’s help to convince the province of Ontario to respect the treaty rights of First Nations that will be affected by the massive mining development, 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay.

He added he wants to make sure his community isn’t any worse off than it is now, especially after the mine is built. There is no safe drinking water in Neskantaga, and a severe shortage of housing on the reserve, but people are able to rely on the land to hunt and fish and provide for their basic needs.

“We’re asking for a standard of living as good as anywhere in Ontario,” Moonias said. “Because [when the mine comes] we’re going to lose our way of life and we’re going to have to adjust to a new way of life.”

Moonias is among nine chiefs from the Matawa First Nations who have tapped Rae as their choice for lead negotiator if they can convince the province to engage in talks before the mining development proceeds.

Don’t take [mining] prosperity for granted, warns Rae – by Karen McKinley (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – March 12, 2013)

March 12, 2013

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

Northwestern Ontario may be on the brink of an economic boon, but the province can’t take that opportunity for granted, says federal Liberal interim leader Bob Rae.

Rae spoke Monday at a Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce luncheon. The former NDP premier of Ontario confirmed that he could become a negotiator for First Nations with links to the mining zone, and he would working with federal FedNor Minister Tony Clement.

But Rae said nothing about a new job will be finalized until his term at the Liberal helm winds up with the party’s leadership vote on April 14. Rae focused on the potential for prosperity in the region with the Ring of Fire.

“If we can’t take prosperity for granted and we have to work at it, then we must also mean we must not take this project for granted,” he said in his address at the Airlane Hotel and Conference Centre.

He said as premier of Ontario, he learned many hard lessons, like a province should never take prosperity for granted. Rae recalled that the day after he was elected in 1990, he was told that the province was going to go from a surplus in May to an $8-billion deficit in a very short time. By the next year, it was a $10-billion deficit due to falling revenues.

Ring ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – March 12, 2013)

March 12, 2013

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

The federal minister responsible for Northern Ontario continues to promote the economic potential of the Ring of Fire. Tony Clement, minister for FedNor, told the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in Toronto the Ring of Fire could create as many as 5,000 new jobs in the region if fully developed.

“The Ring of Fire represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create jobs, and generate growth and long-term prosper ity for Northern Ontario and the nation,” Clement said in a release.

“As minister for FedNor and as the federal lead minister on this initiative, I welcome the opportunity to work with all levels of government, as well as First Nations and industry stakeholders to prepare and implement the collaborative economic development approaches for the region.”

The Ring of Fire, located about 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay, is potentially the largest mining development ever seen in Northern Ontario, Clement told chamber officials. The region has significant deposits of nickel and copper and represents North America’s single largest deposit of chromite, the main ingredient in stainless steel.

With mineral content worth an estimated $30 billion to $50 billion, the Ring of Fire could create up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in Northern Ontario alone.

‘Rubik’s cube’ of development outcomes to be solved mutually – Clement – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – March 12, 2013)

March 12, 2013

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Minister of the Canadian government’s economic development organisation for Northern Ontario (FedNor) Tony Clement was on Monday promoting the federal government’s commitment to bring together all role-players from the private and public sectors, including the First Nations, to map the way forward for developing the Ring of Fire.

Clement underscored the economic development potential of the Ring of Fire and reaffirmed the Harper government’s commitment to mining development in the region and within the country.

“It’s kind of like a ‘Rubik’s cube’ of public policy development and the sequencing of events. No one said it was simple. No one said that you could easily tie up all aspects in a nice neat bow.

“All aspects will be reiterative and in five or ten years from now there will be similar issues that we would have dealt with already, that will lead to economic development,” Clement said.

Clement was in recent weeks placed in charge of coordinating the federal government’s efforts to develop regulatory and public policies with regard to developing the minerals-rich north of Ontario.