Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 220

SOLID GOLD RESOURCES CORP. PRESS RELEASE: Ontario Shuts Down Mining

July 18, 2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jul 18, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Solid Gold Resources Corp. (“Solid Gold”)

Mission: Regional Gold Exploration at Lake Abitibi, Ontario, Canada

“Certainty of title and access to Crown land is paramount to our industry, but only the Crown can provide the certainty required to secure major investment to develop projects like the potential new gold camp at Lake Abitibi, Ontario”, states Darryl Stretch, President of Solid Gold. “No obstacle should stand in the way because, like the Ring of Fire, the Solid Gold project may be a once-in-a-century economic opportunity to the benefit of all Canadians.”

The Government of Ontario (the “Crown”) distributed a draft set of guidelines for its Ministries to properly consult and accommodate aboriginals where required.

A rising gold price, an unequivocal ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada (Haida) confirming that third parties have no duty to consult First Nations, and encouragement from the Crown formed the basis for Solid Gold’s decision to conduct a regional exploration program at Lake Abitibi, Ontario, Canada.

Over several staking campaigns, beginning in the fall of 2007 through the summer of 2010, Solid Gold acquired mineral rights to a 200-square-kilometer property on Crown land at Lake Abitibi (the “Property”).

Federal agency finds holes in Taseko mine’s draft environmental report – by Dirk Meissner (Vancouver Province/Canadian Press – July 17, 2012)

July 18, 2012

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

VICTORIA — Taseko Mines has been ordered to rewrite an environmental impact statement about a proposed gold and copper operation in British Columbia’s central Interior after a federal agency concluded a draft was riddled with gaps, deficiencies and missing information.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency detailed its complaint in a report earlier this month dealing with Taseko’s controversial, $1.1 billion mine proposal near Williams Lake.

“The draft EIS does not meet the requirements of the EIS guidelines,” said the July 6 report. “There is substantial information missing from this draft EIS. The quality of all figures in the draft EIS is very poor.”

Williams Lake-area First Nations immediately seized on the report, saying the critical response from the federal agency confirms their view that the proposed project should be rejected. Tsilhqot’in Nation Tribal Chief Joe Alphonse said in a statement First Nations have known from the start the mine could not work.

Native leaders ponder the path of most resistance – by John Ibbitson (Globe and Mail – July 18, 2012)

July 18, 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.

The Assembly of First Nations, in conclave, inhabits a world not easily recognized by those outside the native community: one of occupation, sovereign rights and resistance. Native leaders passionately embrace that world, which informs the campaigns of the seven challengers seeking to unseat Shawn Atleo as national chief.

But the odds appear to favour Mr. Atleo nonetheless, for the reason expressed by one chief from a Prairie province who was listening at the back of the room. “We have to live with what we’ve got,” he said.

Chiefs speaking candidly in exchange for not being on the record criticized Mr. Atleo for acting as though the AFN were a government and he its first minister, able to speak on behalf of the first nations in negotiations with Ottawa.

He has too often co-operated with the Harper government, they said, when the national chief should be asserting the treaty rights of first nations and their rightful claim to a share of any natural resource wealth.

Shawn Atleo will defend post as national chief – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – July 17, 2012)

July 17, 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.

At any given moment, there are nearly 500 government lawyers challenging aboriginal treaty rights in Canada. There are 100 First Nations communities just like Attawapiskat — places of abject poverty with no adequate housing or hydro and almost as many reserves are without clean drinking water.

On some days, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, the 45-year-old national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, admits it is like he is knocking his head against the wall in trying to make real progress for indigenous people. But he is running for re-election Wednesday because he feels the “moment of reckoning” is now.

Canada is moving to develop precious resources in Alberta’s oilsands and Ontario’s Ring of Fire — where one of the world’s largest chromite finds in the James Bay lowlands is said to exceed $30 billion — but they have to deal with the First Nations living adjacent to these riches in order to do so.

“Canada will not be whole until it addresses its relationship with First Nations through a rights-based viewpoint,” says Atleo, emphatically. “We are not just stakeholders.”

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo Speech – THE ECONOMICS OF RECONCILIATION – April 23, 2012

July 16, 2012

This speech was given at the Canadian Club of Toronto on April 23, 2012

Check Against Delivery

THE ECONOMICS OF RECONCILIATION

I am honoured to be with you here again. I remember well being here last year speaking about the enduring relationship between First Nations and the rest of Canada.

I spoke of the proud heritage of indigenous nations and the Treaties made between our nations and the newcomers. The relationships set in Treaty are important to Canada and represent the way forward. As we discussed, the stark and tragic inequities First Nations face today reveal that this relationship has been denied too long. We shared views of the possibility of a new story – a story of hope and opportunity for First Nations.

Today, I want to continue this conversation but turn our focus sharply to the economic side of the story. Reconciliation is a complex concept but we can all agree it compels action – right now.

I will suggest that reconciliation can be best approached as the building of a re-newed foundation with four cornerstones: rights recognition, healing and education, capacity and a fourth which will be my principal focus today – seizing economic potential.

CEOs urge governments to promote native input in natural resource projects – by Heather Scoffield (Globe and Mail/The Canadian Press – July 15, 2012)

July 16, 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 — The Canadian Press – Canada’s aboriginal communities have found a powerful ally in their bid to be treated as equal partners in the discussion about tapping the country’s natural-resource wealth.

Big business wants them at the negotiating table, and is urging the federal and provincial governments to lend a helping hand.

A new report due Monday from the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, prepared for Canada’s premiers in advance of their meeting later this month, urges governments to make aboriginal communities full partners in developing energy and mining projects.

Governments should help train a growing aboriginal workforce and develop new ways to support aboriginal communities so that they can participate vigorously in business initiatives and negotiations to share the wealth, says the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press.

The Ring of Fire: Politics and intrigue – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – July 14, 2012)

December 27, 2012July 14, 2012

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

Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant, speechwriter and columnist who blogs at www.republicofmining.com. stan.sudol@republicofmining.com

On May 9, Cliffs Natural Resources announced the company was advancing its massive $3.2-billion chromite project in the isolated and infrastructure-challenged Ring of Fire region to the feasibility stage. Sudbury was selected as the best location for the proposed $1.8-billion smelter for a wide range of reasons, including rail, transportation, power supply and skilled workforce.

If you think that such a positive announcement should bring collective cheers across the North and an economically imploding southern Ontario, you would be wrong. The ensuing flurry of anguished and angry news releases from First Nations, environmental organizations, and some politicians was enough to make any reader despair that the Ring of Fire will ever be developed.

First, some essential background info before I continue: Discovered in 2007, the Ring of Fire mining camp, located 540 km northeast of Thunder Bay, in the James Bay Lowlands, will probably go down in history books as one of the most significant Canadian mineral finds of the past century. It is estimated that the chromite deposits are so large that we could be mining up there for the next hundred years and that the total mineral potential of the region — chromite, nickel, copper, PGMs, vanadium, gold — could easily exceed the legendary trillion-dollar Sudbury basin.

The fight for the soul of the AFN [First Nations resource issues] – by John Ivison (National Post – July 14, 2012)

July 14, 2012

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

Only in native politics could securing the Prime Minister’s undivided attention for a day, and hooking hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding at a time of austerity, be considered a sellout. Shawn Atleo, the AFN’s National Chief, persuaded Stephen Harper to attend a Crown-First Nations gathering earlier this year, aimed at making progress toward a goal both men covet — self-sufficient, self-governing native communities.

For his troubles, Mr. Atleo, who is facing a tough re-election fight next week, has been accused of “selling our souls to the devil” by one of his rivals, Pam Palmater.

“There is a sense that if you’re not intransigent and fighting the federal government, then you’re not doing it right,” said Joseph Quesnel, an analyst with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. “After the gathering, the whole ‘Atleo sell-out’ narrative started to take shape, which in my view was bizarre and unfortunate.”

Ms. Palmater, an aboriginal lawyer and academic, is one seven candidates running against Mr. Atleo to become National Chief – a line-up that includes an unprecedented four women.

Natural resources to define first nations leader’s next term – by Gloria Galloway and Nathan Vanderklippe (Globe and Mail – July 14, 2012)

July 14, 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 VANCOUVER – Two months ago, 23-year-old Brendon Grant left his northern British Columbia hometown for San Diego, where he now lives a 10-minute jog from La Jolla beach. He moved south to start work as a junior analyst with RA Capital Advisors LLC, a private investment bank that has worked on more than $60-billion in financial transactions. Next month, he intends to start training toward becoming an investment banker.

Mr. Grant is Haisla, and his is not a traditional career path for a young person whose grandfather taught him to fish salmon and halibut.

But there is a seismic change shaking the economic foundations of the Haisla – and indeed, first nations across Canada. It’s a change that will have ripple effects all over the country and profound implications on whether the large-scale resource projects that provinces are looking at as an economic panacea move ahead.

For the Haisla, it is natural gas, and a rush to build tens of billions of dollars in new export terminals near Kitimat, B.C., to connect western gas fields with Asian consumers.

NEWS RELEASE: ABORIGINAL WORKERS OFFER PART OF THE SOLUTION TO CANADA’S LOOMING LABOUR SHORTAGES

July 12, 2012

Ottawa, July 11, 2012 – Aboriginal workers can help address the labour and skills shortages that many Canadian businesses face, especially those located in the Northern regions where resource development is creating a growing demand for workers. Yet low levels of formal education and a lack of work experience hinder the success of Aboriginal peoples in Canadian workplaces, according to a new Conference Board of Canada report.

“Soon, Canada will not have enough workers with the right skills to meet its labour needs. The Aboriginal population, including Inuit, Métis, and First Nations, is the fastest-growing cohort in Canada, but it is underrepresented in the labour force compared to the non-Aboriginal population,” said Alison Howard, Principal Research Associate at the Conference Board, and co-author of Understanding the Value, Challenges, and Opportunities of Engaging Métis, Inuit, and First Nations Workers.

Integrating more of the Aboriginal population into Canadian workforces will require improving educational outcomes—especially high school completion rates—and providing better opportunities to gain work experience.

Landsdowne House blocks route to Ring of Fire – by Jon Thompson (Kenora Daily Miner and News – July 7, 2012)

July 9, 2012

http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/

Neskantaga First Nation (Lansdowne House) is throwing up a legal stop sign on the proposed road into the Ring of Fire.

The First Nation filed a legal intervention with the Mining and Lands Commissioner on Thursday, claiming the province has delayed consultation while it makes announcements on the 400-kilometre route into the chromite deposit on Neskantaga’s traditional lands. If the legal challenge is accepted, it could halt construction on the only road into the Ring of Fire, delaying the entire project.

The band’s legal counsel, Matthew Kirchner, said his clients are entitled to consultation before the government approves projects in their traditional territory.

“They have constitutional rights to respect the land. That’s confirmed under Treaty 9. The Neskantaga also assert that they didn’t extinguish their rights under the Treaty,” he said. “Because of the constitutional protection of those rights under Section 35 of the constitution, they’re entitled to be consulted before there’s a crown decision made that might affect those rights. It’s a constitutional duty on behalf of the crown to consult and if appropriate, accommodate them.”

Quebec rail plan stirs hope, concern in Canada’s iron belt – by Susan Taylor and Julie Gordon (Reuters – July 9, 2012)

July 9, 2012

http://in.reuters.com/

* Canadian National project backed by Quebec pension fund

* Railway needed for mine projects to proceed

* Junior miners fear transport costs may run too high

* Some miners discuss developing their own railway

* Project part of Quebec’s 25-yr plan to develop north

TORONTO, July 9 (Reuters) – Canada’s biggest railroad wants to build a C$5 billion ($4.8 billion) rail line to ship iron ore from isolated northern Quebec to port, a crucial link that could transform Canada into the world’s third-largest producer of steel’s main component.

Canadian National Railway Co’s ‘s 800-kilometer (500 mile) project, backed by Quebec’s public pension fund, is still years away from becoming a reality. Indeed, the 2017 projected start-up date looks ambitious, given the complexity of negotiations that lie ahead.

NEWS RELEASE: Northern Superior Resources, Neskantaga First Nation Re-Affirm Commitment to Continued Development on Ontario Properties

July 6, 2012

press release

July 6, 2012, 8:31 a.m. EDT

SUDBURY, ONTARIO, Jul 06, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Northern Superior Resources Inc. /quotes/zigman/507849 CA:SUP -5.26% (“Northern Superior” or the “Company”) and Neskantaga First Nation (“Neskantaga”) wish to assure the Northern Superior shareholders that both the Company and Neskantaga remain committed to advancing the Ti-pa-haa-kaa-ning (TPK), New Growth and New Growth Annex gold properties within Neskantaga’s traditional territory in northwestern Ontario. This, after Northern Superior’s name inadvertently appeared on a list of Company’s slated to receive eviction notices from the “Ring of Fire” of Northwestern Ontario, by a group of First Nations (including Neskantaga) opposed to the development of a chromite deposit in that area.

Chief Peter Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation comments: “Northern Superior and Neskantaga have a long-standing tradition of working closely towards the exploration and potential development of resources in Neskantaga’s traditional territory. We regret Northern Superior’s name appearing on this eviction list. Under the current agreement we have with Northern Superior, Neskantaga looks forward to their continued progress of exploration within our Traditional Lands.”

Ontario’s Ring of Fire: Politics and Intrigue (Part One of Two) – Stan Sudol

December 27, 2012July 6, 2012

Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant, speechwriter and columnist who blogs at www.republicofmining.com stan.sudol@republicofmining.com

This column was published in the Sudbury Star on July 14, 2012. http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/07/14/the-ring-of-fire-politics-and-intrigue and posted on the Canadian Mining Journal website: http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/news/guest-perspective-politics-and-intrigue-in-the-ring-of-fire-part-one/1001537458/

On May 9th Cliffs Natural Resources announced that the company was advancing its massive $3.2 billion chromite project in the isolated and infrastructure-challenge Ring of Fire region to the feasibility stage. Sudbury was selected as the best location for the proposed $1.8 billion smelter for a wide range of reasons including rail, transportation, power supply and skilled workforce.

If you think that such a positive announcement should bring collective cheers across the north and an economically imploding southern Ontario, you would be wrong. The ensuing flurry of anguished and angry news releases from First Nations, environmental organizations, and some politicians was enough to make any reader despair that the Ring of Fire will ever be developed!

First some essential background info before I continue. Discovered in 2007, the Ring of Fire mining camp, located 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, in the James Bay lowlands, will probably go down in the history books as one of the most significant Canadian mineral finds of the past century. It is estimated that the chromite deposits are so large that we could be mining up there for the next hundred years and that the total mineral potential of the region – chromite, nickel, copper, PGMs, vanadium, gold – could easily exceed the legendary trillion-dollar Sudbury basin!

NAN Chiefs-in-Assembly support the position of Matawa First Nations Council (Netnewsledger.com – July 5, 2012)

July 6, 2012

http://netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – Mining Now – Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose showed support for Neskantaga First Nation’s legal challenge to Ring of Fire development during today’s hearing by the Ontario Mining and Land Commissioner.

“I am pleased to support Chief Moonias and Neskantaga First Nation as they exercise their right to provide free, prior and informed consent before any resource development can occur in their traditional territory, as this is the international standard that NAN First Nations have demanded that the governments of Ontario and Canada must uphold,” said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose, who attended today’s hearings in Toronto.

“NAN Chiefs-in-Assembly support the position of Matawa First Nations Council that the development of the Ring of Fire will not proceed until a trilateral environmental assessment process is established, resource benefits and revenue are negotiated and the fundamental question of First Nation jurisdiction is addressed.”

Neskantaga has intervened in a dispute between Cliffs Natural Resources and junior mining company KWG Resources over the development of a road to access a proposed $3.2-billion chromite mine in the Attawapiskat River watershed, the homeland of Neskantaga First Nation.