Twitter

Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas

ONTC unions pitch plan [Ring of Fire railroad] – by Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles (North Bay Nugget – October 19, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

The General Chairperson’s Association is asking the province to consider a proposal that would revitalize Ontario Northland and keep hundreds of workers employed.

The plan was unveiled Friday at North Bay city hall in front of Ontario Northland Transportation Commission employees, CEO Paul Goulet, politicians and CAW Local 103 president Brian Kelly.

Brian Stevens of the General Chairperson’s Association, representing unionized ONTC employees, called the proposal “economically sustainable” and said it would provide a new future for Northern Ontario.

“Not only will we save transportation services and hundreds of existing jobs in the North, but our plan will also create thousands more jobs by providing access to the Ring of Fire,” he said following the announcement.

The proposal includes transferring ownership of the provincial Crown corporation to a new ports authority under the federal Canada Marine Act. The first step in that process was recently completed with the creation of the James Bay and Lowlands Ports Trustee Corp., which would become a port authority if approved by the federal government. The corporation has already had discussions regarding the proposal with First Nations in the James Bay Lowlands, ONTC unions and Ring of Fire claim holder Canada Chrome Corp.

Read more

Resource development puts Treaties to the test – by Harvey Yesno (Wawatay News – October 19, 2012)

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

Harvey Yesno is the Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), an Aboriginal political organization representing 49 First Nation communities within James Bay Treaty 9 territory and the Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5.

In July of 1905 when the Treaty Commissioners began the process of securing signatures to the James Bay Treaty # 9, Chief Missabay and his men at Mishkeegogamang signed the treaty only after giving the request to enter into treaty with His Majesty due consideration, and he had determined that nothing but good was intended.

Resource development across the NAN territory (encompassing James Bay Treaty # 9 and Treaty # 5) will put the treaties to the test; as the future ahead for the families, people and communities of Nishnawbe Aski Nation is to participate in the economy and wealth that is contained within the lands and resources that surrounds us.

First Nations have been discussing the need for resource and economic development within our treaty territory for years. It has always been known by the people of NAN that one day Ontario will be on our doorstep; because the place we call home holds tremendous value and potential.

Today, however, the Province of Ontario is making significant changes in terms of legislation and policy with the passing of The Far North Act, Amendments to the Mining Act and now engaging First Nations on the Renewable Energy on Crown Land Policies.

Read more

Railroad proposed for Ring of Fire – by MM+D Staff (Materials, Management and Distribution Magazine – October 19, 2012)

 http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/distribution-and-transportation/news

NORTH BAY, Ontario—There may be a new railroad in northern Ontario, if a proposal being put before the federal and provincial governments is adopted.

The plan, which was unveiled by the General Chairperson’s Association, the organization which represents unionized employees at Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), proposes that the assets and ownership of ONTC, a provincial agency that operates more than 1,100km of track and provides passenger and freight rail, bus and telecommunications services to northeast Ontario communities like North Bay, Cochrane and Moosonee, be turned over to a newly created ports authority, The James Bay and Lowlands Ports Trustee Corporation, which operates under the Canada Marine Act.

The plan was developed in response to the Ontario government’s March 23, 2012 decision to divest the ONTC, which was followed by the shutdown of ONTC’s Northlander passenger train service on September 28, 2012.

Under the new ownership, ONTC operations would be evaluated for economic sustainability, and where needed, improved and financially strengthened. In addition, a new Ring of Fire rail line would be designed and built in order to transport the thousands of tonnes per day of chromite, nickel and other minerals being mined in the James Bay Lowlands.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Trading in KWG Resources Shares Halted For Third-Party Announcement

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Oct. 19, 2012) – KWG Resources Inc. (“KWG” or “the Company”) (TSX VENTURE:KWG) advises that trading in its shares was halted for an announcement this morning by the General Chairperson’s Association (GCA), representing unionized employees at Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

The GCA has announced a revitalization plan for ONTC that includes the proposed construction of a rail link to the Ring of Fire mineral deposits in the James Bay Lowlands, where KWG has extensive claims.

The new railway will form part of the Ring of Fire mining infrastructure and will be located within mining claims held by Canada Chrome Corporation, a wholly owned sub of KWG Resources. The GCA’s proposal calls for the railroad and other assets of the provincially-held ONTC, along with the new Ring of Fire railway, to be transferred to a new ports authority to be operated under the Canada Marine Act.

Canada Chrome has made a significant investment to study and secure mining claims.

KWG intends to continue discussions with the GCA and other stakeholders to advance this initiative, with the goal of creating the transportation links necessary for mining to proceed in the Ring of Fire, and thereby deliver new economic and job opportunities in Northern Ontario.

Read more

Aboriginal studies featured for mining institute – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 2012)

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.

A proposed mining institute at Thunder Bay’s Lakehead University will place a strong emphasis on acting as an “honest broker” in dialogue between industry and First Nations.

If there’s one focus of study that will be addressed as a Centre of Excellence in Mineral Exploration and Sustainable Mining Development takes shape it’s the need to bridge the cultural gap often widened by the lack of communication and consultation.

Geology professor Peter Hollings, who’ll head up the institute, said the goal of the centre is to be a one-stop repository of experts and research for both companies and Aboriginal bands. “We want the natural answer to be Lakehead.”

For years, both industry and First Nations have chafed at the lack of definitive government rules on consultation in Ontario. Hollings knows the frustration that exists on both sides.

“We hear it a lot from industry and the First Nation communities who don’t fully understand the difference between a junior company coming in to do prospecting and drill a hole, as opposed to Cliffs Natural Resources coming to develop the Ring of Fire.

Read more

Ontario’s new mining rules eliminate most exploration on private land – by Tom Spears (Ottawa Citizen – October 9, 2012)

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/index.html

OTTAWA — Big changes to Ontario’s Mining Act will prevent companies from looking for uranium and other resources on private land, and require consultation elsewhere from First Nations.

That makes Marilyn Crawford happy, mostly. She belongs to a group that opposed uranium exploration near her South Frontenac home, but she says there are still loopholes in the new rules. Some native groups think so too.

At the same time the mining industry is worried, believing exploration is about to become slower and more expensive. And one Conservative MPP predicts the industry will shun Ontario as the new rules drive delays and costs too high.

The source of this flurry is a century-old law that used to allow mining companies access to land where private owners own the surface but the Crown owns mineral rights under them. In the past few years a wave of exploration for uranium has stirred up resentment among residents of Lanark and Frontenac Counties, especially around Sharbot Lake.

Last week the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines issued a “modernization” of the Mining Act. Starting in April, it will oblige companies to consult with aboriginal groups who would be affected by their projects at an early stage in exploration.

Read more

First Nations want to be consulted first in mining talks – by CBC Radio News (October 5, 2012)

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

‘Complexities’ surrounding ‘duty to consult’ not addressed, First Nations leaders say

First Nations leaders in northern Ontario say new mining regulations that go into effect Nov. 1 don’t go far enough. The updated mining act makes changes to early exploration requirements to help minimize the impact on the environment.

It also includes some new rules about consulting with First Nations, and a plan to better protect sites of Aboriginal cultural significance. But Lake Huron Regional Chief Isadore Day said First Nations are still concerned about the consultation process.

“It’s very clear that … it didn’t go deep enough to look at the complexities that have to do with the duty to consult,” he said. The executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association said the province will inform First Nations if a claim is staked in traditional territory and put the mining company in contact with the correct person to consult.

“It’s always been a challenge to find the right person in the community to talk with,” Garry Clark said. “It’d be good because then we wouldn’t be exploring there and harming anything that has significance to the First Nations,” Clark said.

Read more

Ontario’s Mining Law changes aim to bring mining regulation into 21st Century – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – October 4, 2012)

www.mineweb.com

Key changes under Ontario’s Mining Act come into effect on Nov. 1, 2012, impacting exploration, bulk samples, assessment work credits, aboriginal consultation and mine closure.

RENO (MINEWEB) –  The administration of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Wednesday that key changes in Ontario’s Mining Act will come into effect on November 1 that will eventually mandate the filing of exploration plans and permits, Aboriginal consultation, and encourage voluntary mine rehabilitation of mine hazards.

“We’ve brought a 100-year-old piece of legislation into the 21st Century,” said Rick Bartolucci, Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines. “Through these regulations, as well as our ongoing work with industry and Aboriginal communities, we can all ensure Ontario continues to be a leading jurisdiction for mineral exploration investment for decades to come.”

Among the changes are voluntary submission of an exploration plan in order to undertake certain early exploration activities. Any surface rights owners must be notified of the planned exploration activities.

New criteria will help determine sites that are of social, cultural, sacred or ceremonial significance to Aboriginal communities in order to protect those sites from claim staking.

Read more

Ontario’s McGuinty government modernises Mining Act – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 3, 2012)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Ontario’s provincial government, under the leadership of Premier Dalton McGuinty, on Wednesday said new rules aimed at modernising the provincial Mining Act would come into effect in November.

The Ontario government announced new rules that would impose exploration plans and permits on anyone planning to undertake certain early exploration activities, requiring them to immediately inform private landowners or Aboriginal communities of the expected activity.

Exploration plans and permits would be voluntary from November 1, and become mandatory from April 1, 2013.

“We’ve brought a 100-year-old piece of legislation into the twenty-first century. Through these regulations, as well as our ongoing work with industry and Aboriginal communities, we can all ensure Ontario continues to be a leading jurisdiction for mineral exploration investment for decades to come,” Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said.

An exploration permit would now also be required to take bulk samples of Crown minerals for testing purposes.

Read more

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASE: More Progress in Mining Act Modernization

McGuinty Government Promoting Sustainable Mineral Exploration and Development

October 3, 2012 2:47 PM

Ontario is modernizing the way companies stake and explore their claims to be more respectful of Aboriginal communities and private landowners.

New rules under the province’s Mining Act include:

  • New requirements for notifying private landowners and consulting with Aboriginal communities potentially affected by proposed exploration activities.
  • New tools to help protect sites of Aboriginal cultural significance.
  • An awareness program for prospectors about the Mining Act changes.
  • More ways to keep mining claims in good standing.
  • New early exploration requirements to help minimize the impact on the environment.

The rules were developed in close partnership with industry stakeholders and Aboriginal representatives and take effect on Nov. 1, 2012. These changes will help ensure that mineral exploration and development in Ontario continues to occur in a balanced, socially and environmentally responsible manner.

Read more

Connecting First Nations with billion-dollar transmission line – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – October 3, 2012)

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

Planning for a northern transmission line that will connect remote First Nations of northwestern Ontario to the southern electricity grid took a big step forward last week, as the steering committee of Wataynikaneyap Power met with the Ontario government and released its Environmental Assessment notice.

The meeting between Wataynikaneyap and three provincial ministers marked a milestone in the estimated $1.1 billion project, as Phase 1 – upgrading the existing transmission line to Pickle Lake and running a line to the Musselwhite mine – gets closer to reality.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, there are lots of logistics and regulatory requirements, but this (transmission line) has been a priority determined by the communities that want their energy issues addressed,” said steering committee member Margaret Kenequenash.

Wataynikaneyap plans to be a 100 percent First Nations owned and operated company, with revenue from the transmission line going back to the communities that are part owners of the company. So far 13 First Nations have joined the company.

Read more

A good look at new mining – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (September 28, 2012)

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

THE Ring of Fire is on many minds these days. As miners prepare to dig into the James Bay lowlands, Northern Ontario communities jockey to provide services and employees. But the North’s new mining boom extends well beyond the Ring. A new analysis, commissioned by Ambassadors Northwest, showcases stunning opportunities that will transform the region. Billions of dollars are at stake. Communities will share handsomely if governments do what they must do to make it happen.

Conducted by university and college professors, the study looks at nine mining projects underway in the Northwest. It does not include existing mines. The Ring of Fire’s two biggies — Cliff’s Natural Resources’ Black Thor and Noront Resources’ Eagles Nest — are familiar. But seven other projects are similarly mature or near development with the potential to become producing mines in five years.

They are: Bending Lake Iron Property surrounded by Atikokan, Ignace and Dryden; Goldcorp’s Bruce Channel and Cochenour projects and Rubicon Minerals’ Phoenix Gold project in the famed Red Lake gold field; Osisko Mining’s Hammond Reef project near Atikokan; Rainy River Resources’ gold project; Stillwater Mining’s copper and paladium operation near Marathon; and Treasury Metals’ Goliath gold project in the Wabigoon and Dryden area.

The dollar value, employment and tax revenue potential of these projects is “substantial,” the study says. That’s an understatement. The total value of unmined metals and minerals is estimated to be $135 billion based on June commodity prices.

Read more

Boom in the making [Northwestern Ontario mining] – Kris Ketonen (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – September 28, 2012)

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

The full study can be found at:  http://www.thunderbayventures.com/upload/documents/mining-in-northwestern-ontario.pdf

Northwestern Ontario stands to reap huge financial rewards when the region’s developing mining sector matures, but a great deal of time and money must be invested to ensure the region is ready, a new study states.

Mining in Northwestern Ontario: Opportunities and Challenges examined several in-development mining projects, and found that when up and running, thy have the potential to create more than 13,000 jobs in the region alone, and the yet-to-be mined minerals and metals found here have a value of around $136 billion.

In addition, more than $16 billion in tax revenue is expected to be collected by the provincial, federal and relevant municipal governments during the average 17.5-year lifetime of the mines.

“There are a few objectives we had for this report,” Bahram Dadgostar, dean of Lakehead University’s faculty of business and one of the study’s authors, said Thursday after the release of the report.

“One is to make sure that communities are aware of the wealth that we have underground here, and the opportunities that we can have when we explore that. “And second is (to) make government aware of the wealth here and the profit that they can get out of it if they . . . effectively contribute to the process.”

Read more

Will Ontario get it right in northern Ring of Fire? – by Janet Sumner and Anna Baggio (Toronto Star – September 28, 2012)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Janet Sumner is executive director and Anna Baggio is director, conservation planning, for CPAWS Wildlands League.

As with most mining finds, the rich mineral deposits and metals discovered within Ontario’s far northern “Ring of Fire” have generated a lot of hype and optimism. It’s been called one of the “most promising mineral development opportunities in Ontario in almost a century”. In a recent letter to the federal government, Premier Dalton McGuinty was quoted as writing that this area has the potential to “rival Alberta’s oilsands”.

Well it might. We just don’t know because so far we have very few facts to go on. Much work remains to be done. While Ontario might dream of the dollars developing the Ring of Fire will bring, what about the costs we will all bear?

Scientists have long warned that poorly-placed infrastructure in the Far North will cause irreversible harm to aquatic systems and wildlife. In the meantime, the first major Ring of Fire mining proposal is barrelling ahead.

A U.S. owned company called Cliffs Natural Resources has received the go-ahead from Ontario to route a new 350 km all-weather road along a north-south alignment so that it can extract and process chromite ore and transport the concentrate to a smelter in Capreol, Ontario or to Asia.

Read more

Prentice issues energy warning [failed Aboriginal consultations] – Shawn McCarthy and Nathan Vanderklippe (Globe and Mail – September 28, 2012)

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.

OTTAWA and CALGARY — A prominent former minister in Stephen Harper’s cabinet has slammed Ottawa for failing to meet its constitutional obligations to consult first nations on West Coast pipelines, saying the government needs to move quickly to rescue projects that are essential to the country’s future prosperity.

In a speech delivered Thursday at the University of Calgary, CIBC vice-chairman Jim Prentice – who held several senior posts in the Conservative government, and is an expert on aboriginal law – delivered a scathing critique of complacency and short-sightedness in both the government and oil industry for failing to prepare more aggressively for the “seismic shift” under way in the global energy sector.

“The Crown obligation to engage first nations in a meaningful way has yet to be taken up,” he said in that speech.

A failure to consult with aboriginal bands is not merely a political misstep: It could have dire legal repercussions for the proponents of pipelines through British Columbia. The Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government has a duty to consult with aboriginal communities over developments that would impact their traditional land, and to accommodate their concerns. Failure to do so has triggered successful legal actions by aboriginal bands.

Read more