Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 221

Ontario Regional Chief Beardy – His way is quiet, but solid steady and forward – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – June 27, 2012)

July 6, 2012

THUNDER BAY – His way is quiet, but solid steady and forward. Once again, Stan Beardy has likely surprised many with his election to the position of Ontario Chief for the Assembly of First Nations. Likely many people thought that the (now) former Grand Chief at the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) would have a tough time being selected as the Ontario Chief. Likely many of those were also the people who thought that Stan Beardy would not win a fourth term as Grand Chief of NAN.

However, Chief Beardy has steel behind his sometimes quiet ways. However his goal is bringing a louder voice from the North to Queen’s Park and Ottawa. In seeking to run for Ontario Chief, Beardy stated that “As a leader, I have been shaped by the direction of the Chiefs, the advice of the Elders, conversations with women and youth in our communities; and by the wisdom of leaders of First nations and indigenous people, in Ontario, across Canada and as far away as New Zealand”.

“As Regional Chief, I will fight for each First Nation and for all First Nations while respecting their autonomy and assisting them to build the protocols that will make their joint streghth greater”.

Chief Beardy was born and raised on a trap line at Bearskin Lake First Nation. He attended high school and college in Thunder Bay where he also worked as a welder-fitter for several years.

Neskantaga takes ‘American mining bully’ to court [over Ring of Fire road] – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – July 5, 2012)

July 6, 2012

http://wawataynews.ca/

Neskantaga’s fight to slow down the Ring of Fire and get First Nation consultation over mining hits a Toronto mining court today.

In a case with serious implications for the speed at which Ring of Fire development occurs, Neskantaga will argue to the Ontario Mining Commissioner that First Nation consultation has to happen before industry can buy and sell land on Neskantaga traditional territory.

The specific case revolves around a mining claim dispute between Cliffs Resources and KWG Resources. Cliffs wants to buy land claims from KWG on which to build its proposed Ring of Fire transportation corridor, but Neskantaga argues that First Nations hold rights to the land superseding those of industry.

“This is about a small First Nation in Northern Ontario standing up against an American mining bully hell bent on making a road and a mine no matter what First Nations say,” said Chief Peter Moonias of Neskantaga in a press release. “The McGuinty government continues to ignore First Nations and is desperate to see this northern Ontario mega project go ahead. We have Constitutional and Aboriginal and treaty rights on our side and we hope the Mining Court can help us put this project on hold so a proper consultation process can begin.”

Chief waits for MPPs’ replies [about Sudbury chromite smelter] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – July 6, 2012)

July 6, 2012

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

The chief of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek (Whitefish Lake) First Nation is waiting for replies from several Ontario cabinet ministers before weighing in on Cliffs Natural Resources’ plan to build a $1.8-billion ferrochrome smelter near Capreol.

Chief Steve Miller said he has asked Premier Dalton McGuinty and at least three of his ministers for meetings to discuss the possible impact of the smelter on his First Nation, located about 20 km west of downtown Sudbury. Miller has concerns about the environmental impact on the Vermillion River Watershed, which he said “flows right in front of our First Nation.”

He has written Sudbury MPP and Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci, Environment Minister Jim Bradley and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kathleen Wynne for meetings to get more information on the smelter.

What he reads about processing chromite ore is troublesome, said Miller. That cabinet ministers not getting back to him has only increased his anxiety.

“There’s so much on the Internet about chromite and nobody knows exactly the effect of it,” he said.

First Nation fights for control in Ontario’s ‘oil sands’ [Ring of Fire] – CBC Radio Thunder Bay (July 5, 2012)

July 5, 2012

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

Tiny First Nation takes on an mining giant at obscure provincial tribunal

Ontario’s Mining and Lands Commissioner will hear arguments Thursday about a road to be built in Ontario’s so-called Ring of Fire.

The nickel and chromite deposits in a vast area of the James Bay lowlands have been compared to Alberta’s oil sands in terms of economic potential. Tuesday’s case is a critical battle in the long fight by First Nations to control the pace of development in the most isolated part of the province.

U.S. mining giant Cliffs Natural Resources hopes to build a 340-kilometre road to truck its raw ore south for processing. It would snake across an esker — a long ridge — rising out of the muskeg, cross 85 waterways and three major rivers, and run right through the traditional lands of Neskantaga First Nation.

Chief Peter Moonias, wants a say in how — and even if — the road is built. “We’re not just stakeholders,” Moonias said. “We are people that live on the land that came from the land.”

Tensions rising over Ring of Fire – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – July 4, 2012)

July 4, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Matawa First Nations’ efforts to slow down development of the Ring of Fire and advance First Nation input over mining has received support from First Nations across northern Ontario. Both the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and Mushkegowuk Council last week released statements of support for Matawa’s stance.

Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Stan Louttit said offers of “small” Impact Benefit Agreements made by industry to affected First Nations are not enough, and that First Nation voices need to be heard when it comes to how and when mining happens in northern Ontario.

“We too are very frustrated with how the project is being aggressively advanced with little or no regard for First Nations rights and jurisdictions,” Louttit said. The Grand Chief said that Mushkegowuk First Nations are prepared to engage in direct action against Ring of Fire companies in support of the Matawa First Nations.

“We are ready to stand with our brothers and sisters to be heard,” Louttit said. “We have tried, but no one has listened. It is unfortunate indeed that we have to resort to this type of action.”

Ring of Fire eviction can be avoided, says Neskantaga chief – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining Markets – June 29, 2012)

July 3, 2012

http://www.miningmarkets.ca/

Six Ring of Fire First Nations communities have warned the companies hoping to develop the area’s rich chromite and nickel-PGM deposits, including international iron ore and coal miner Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF-N), that they’re about to be evicted.

In a press release on June 22, several communities warned that they were in the “final stages of issuing a 30-day eviction notice to all mining companies with exploration and development camps in the region” of northern Ontario’s James Bay lowlands.

“We are sending a strong message to Ontario and Canada that we need to negotiate a process for First Nation participation in the mining projects that will be changing our lives forever,” said Neskantaga First Nation Chief Peter Moonias in a statement. “Unless and until we have a table for government to government negotiations we will evict the intruders from our lands.”

Asked if the eviction could be avoided, Moonias said yes, and outlined several issues that first need to be addressed by government.
First, Moonias says that the relationship between governments and First Nations must be treated as a government to government relationship, adding that First Nations are not “stakeholders.”

Noront keeps its cool under First Nations eviction threat – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining Markets – June 28, 2012)

July 3, 2012

http://www.miningmarkets.ca/

Like all the companies working in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire, Noront Resources (NOT-V) may be about to receive an “eviction notice” from a coalition of six First Nations communities in the remote area of the James Bay lowlands.

On June 22, six northern Ontario First Nations communities issued a press release, warning that they were in the “final stages of issuing a 30-day eviction notice to all mining companies with exploration and development camps in the region.”

But for now, Noront president and CEO Wesley Hanson says it’s “business as usual,” noting that consultations regarding the company’s advanced-stage Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper-PGM project are ongoing. “In fact, the day after they issued the (warning of an) eviction notice, we were in one of the communities doing our consultations,” Hanson said in an interview yesterday, after a Richmond Club luncheon presentation in Toronto.

“Nothing’s official yet, so we’re going to basically conduct business as usual until we get an official notice,” Hanson said. “The government of Ontario is certainly aware of the threat of the eviction notice. My hope would be they would be proactive and try to nip it in the bud and address the concerns as quickly as possible.”

Find a way to get [Ring of Fire] started – by Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (July 2, 2012)

July 2, 2012

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

THE BIGGEST development in Ontario — and potential salvation of the troubled northern economy — is facing a new set of challenges from First Nations leaders. They are issuing an eviction notice to all mining companies with operations in the Ring of Fire mineral deposit. And they are suing the province for unpaid royalties on former development projects in the North.

There is so much at stake, and so much opportunity to uplift lives on and off reserves, that it would be a shame to let the development bog down if there are ways to make it happen in good time.

First, can we get a definitive statement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty, who have discussed the development, on why a lesser study for environmental assessment is sufficient for the project rather than a more comprehensive joint review panel? This approach fits with the federal government’s new policy push to lessen environmental oversight on large energy projects, but is it the right decision? Does McGuinty agree with it?

This project will see open pit mining for decades and a long road built through virgin forest from the James Bay lowlands to the CN rail line. Does it require an environmental assessment that results in public hearings in each of the affected First Nations as their leaders contend?

Matawa First Nations pledge to put brakes on Ring of Fire – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 28, 2012)

June 29, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Governments and industry are “running roughshod” over First Nations and ignoring Treaty 9 when it comes to the Ring of Fire, say the First Nations behind an upcoming eviction notice being sent to industry in the region.

Six First Nations plan to issue 30-day eviction notices to all mining companies with exploration and development camps on Matawa First Nations’ traditional territory.

“Cliffs, Noront and all the other mining companies active in the Ring of Fire will have 30 days from the time the eviction notice is served to pack up their bags and leave our lands,” said Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon. Chiefs from Nibinamik, Neskantaga, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming and Longlake #58 joined Gagnon in issuing the notices.

“We are sending a strong message to Ontario and Canada that we need to negotiate a process for First Nation participation in the mining projects that will be changing our lives forever,” said Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias. “Unless and until we have a table for government to government negotiations we will evict the intruders from our lands.”

Province has to lead [in Ring of Fire]: [states Noront] miner – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 28, 2012)

June 28, 2012

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

The provincial government has to take a bigger leadership role in consultations between First Nations and mining companies in the Ring of Fire, says one of the companies developing a mine in the area.

“I think the root of the problem, is that the First Nations are seeking a greater amount of consultation. Our hope is that the government would lead those discussions,” Noront Resources president and CEO Wes Hanson said Wednesday.

Six First Nation leaders have threatened to issue eviction notices to all mining companies working in the Ring of Fire mining belt.

Upset over a lack of consultation, the leaders of Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming, Longlake #58, Neskantaga, and Nibinamik say they are in the final stages of issuing a 30-day eviction notice to all mining companies with exploration and development camps in the region, and implementing an immediate moratorium on all Ring of Fire mining activity.

Questions and answers [about Ring of Fire] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (June 27, 2012)

June 28, 2012

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

DETAILS have a way of getting in the way of ideas. You just get rolling when something unexpected stands in your way. How you deal with it determines if you succeed, fail or get bogged down. That’s where the huge potential of Ontario’s giant mining development sits — bogged down in jurisdictional disputes and, as of this week, a fundamental misunderstanding of events among Ontarians who had never heard of the Ring of Fire before a pollster called.

The Municipality of Greenstone and Aroland First Nation, both of which had sought consideration as sites for a chromite smelter, released a public opinion poll which they say shows Ontarians support them. They might, but this poll doesn’t prove it.

Cliffs Natural Resources, lead player in the Ring of Fire, considered several locations for its smelter and chose Sudbury because it has existing infrastructure. Other locations would add considerable cost and “put the economic viability of the project in jeopardy,” William Boor, a Cliffs vice-president, wrote in an open letter in this newspaper last month.

Greenstone, Aroland and other First Nations, are seeking changes to the development and the poll seeks to bolster their case. A thousand people across Ontario were asked their awareness of the Ring of Fire which has been compared to Alberta’s oil sands in terms of development potential. Only 30 per cent had even heard of it.

Newly elected First Nations regional chief zeroes in on Ring of Fire – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – June 28, 2012)

June 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.

The new representative of Ontario’s First Nations is taking aim at protecting aboriginal interests as developers rush to haul the riches out of the Ring of Fire.

Stan Beardy was elected Ontario regional chief representing 133 provincial First Nations on Wednesday. Beardy, former Grand Chief of the northern Nishnawbe Aski Nation, narrowly beat out incumbent Angus Toulouse. Fifty-seven Ontario chiefs voted for Beardy and 53 for Toulouse.

Dubbed Ontario’s “oilsands” by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, the Ring of Fire is being promoted for development by both the federal and provincial governments. However, First Nations want a worthy piece of the economic benefits and they want to make sure proper environmental assessments of mining projects are carried out.

“The most important issue is the treaty relationship — when we sign a treaty that we never give up the right to cover ourselves or our aboriginal rights concerning natural resources,” he said from an airport hotel shortly after the vote.

Tim Hudak: Ontario should develop Ring of Fire like oilsands – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – June 27, 2012)

June 27, 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.

The mineral rich Ring of Fire is Ontario’s “oilsands” and the province should take a page out of Alberta’s playbook by developing it quickly, says Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.

The Tory leader visited the remote Ring of Fire area, located nearly 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, on Monday with other Tory MPPs to survey the swampy earth said to hold more than a $30 billion haul of chromite — the key material used to make stainless steel.

“In many ways, the Ring of Fire is Ontario’s oilsands — an enormous wealth beneath the earth that can break open a new frontier for job creation and investment in our province. Sometimes we look (with) wonder and awe at what Alberta can do; we can do that in Ontario and we can do that with the Ring of Fire,” said Hudak.

However, the Toronto Star reported on Tuesday Environment Canada has raised a number of red flags concerning the development of the area, which calls for an open pit mine and a transportation corridor to be built through one of the last intact boreal forests.

‘Plenty of wealth to share’ in Ring of Fire [PC leader Hudak visits mining camp] – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – June 26, 2012)

June 26, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Ontario PC leader tours James Bay lowlands

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak believes everybody with an interest in the Ring of Fire needs to keep their eyes on the prize. Hudak spent Monday touring the Noront Resources mining facility operating within the Ring of Fire.

His visit comes just days after First Nation leaders threatened to halt mining operations in the region by presenting an “eviction notice” to companies that have staked claims.

“There is going to be plenty of wealth to share,” Hudak told The Daily Press. “I think if we can align all our incentives towards job creation and new investment, that will probably make the biggest difference ever when it comes to addressing the poverty that afflicts so many of our First Nations, particularly in remote areas.

“This is a once-in-a-century economic development opportunity. It’s breaking a new frontier in job creation and investment in Northern Ontario. It has the possibility of surpassing the Sudbury basin and the Porcupine Gold Camp for mineral potential. We’re talking about over a hundred-billion dollars in value. So we need to move forward.”

NEWS RELEASE: NISHNAWBE ASKI NATION BILLS PROVINCE $127-MILLION FOR BENEFITS DERIVED FROM RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT CALLING IT A HISTORIC SWINDLE

June 26, 2012

Tuesday June 26, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy presented the Ontario government today with an invoice for $127-million for benefits derived from natural resources extracted from Nishnawbe Aski Nation territories. The annual billing invoice is calculated over 100 years at current day values and represents only a portion of the $32 billion owed.

A NAN Chiefs Resolution was passed in May 2012 where the Chiefs authorized NAN to set up a negotiation committee with a clear mandate to negotiate a resource-revenue sharing agreement on behalf of all NAN First Nations.

“Due to impending developments within the NAN territory, our Chiefs are responding by doing more than monitoring the situation, they are taking action,” said Grand Chief Stan Beardy. “We commissioned a report that focused on resource revenue for the past 100 years and quantified it for the NAN region.”

The report produced by Dr. Fred Lazar of the Schulich School of Business was commissioned in December 2011. The report relied on data from the Chiefs of Ontario Revenue Sharing Report, the Public Accounts of Ontario and various resources quantified for the NAN Region.