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Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas

Real Help for the North – by Peter Foster (National Post)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. This column was originally published in the Financial Post on January 4, 2011.

Whoever wins the contest for control of BIM, the people of Baffin Island are
far more likely to thrive being “exploited” by filthy capitalists than being
“helped” by governments. National Post, Peter Foster (January 4, 2011)

The Baffinland Iron mine Would Bring Desperately Needed Jobs

From a financial point of view, the takeover contest for control of Baffinland Iron Mines Corp., BIM, hardly registers. The latest round of bidding for the company puts a value on it of $570-million, a piddling amount when compared with, say, the $44-billion market capitalization of Potash Corp. In other respects, however, BIM may be more genuinely “strategic” than the Saskatchewan mining giant, a proposed takeover of which was deep sixed earlier this year because of the “S” word.

In fact, the rejection of BHP Billiton’s bid for Potash was all about electoral politics. However, the location of Bafflinland’s prime asset is genuinely strategic in terms of the Conservative government’s Arctic aspirations. Also, the project would bring desperately needed jobs and revenue to the region of Nunavut, where it costs Canadian taxpayers $1-billion a year to service some 33,000 people living in an area the size of Western Europe.

U.S.-controlled Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Inc. made a hostile bid for BIM in September. Since then, Luxembourg-based steelmaking giant ArcelorMittal has arrived on the scene as a white knight. Last week Arcelor upped its bid to $1.40 per share for all the Baffinland shares. Nunavut Iron Ore, which was set up solely to acquire Baffinland, immediately upped its own bid to $1.45, but for only 60% of the equity.

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The Crisis in Manitoba Mining Versus the Prosperity in Saskatchewan – by Stephen L. Masson

Stephen L. Masson, M.Sc. P.Geo. is the President, of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Prospectors and Developers Association

“Saskatchewan has now become a “have” province based on the enormous revenues of its mining industry plus oil and gas, whereas Manitoba struggles despite the huge mineral potential of the province.” Stephen L. Masson (December, 2010)

Another year of good metal prices but lower exploration costs has made for continued strength in the mineral exploration of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but far more in Saskatchewan than Manitoba.

Soaring gold has made it possible for even small juniors to fund their projects at whatever stage. Uranium in Saskatchewan and Rare Earth metal exploration in both provinces remains strong. Nickel exploration in the Thompson Nickel Belt continues at a good pace, although the shut-down of the Bucko Lake Mine offered a small wrinkle in this otherwise promising historic exploration real estate.

The Snow Lake, Flin Flon, and Sherridon Camps saw continued strong exploration, riding in part on the coattails of the huge Lalor Lake Zn-Cu-Au discovery in the Chisel basin of Snow Lake. Hudbay Minerals is now proceeding towards development of this large and very rich deposit. Continued success by Hudson Bay and VMS on the Reed Lake deposit promises a near surface deposit rich in copper, with a recent hole reporting 6.69 per cent copper over 71.69 m.

Flin Flon continues to dominate the Copper-Zinc news as one of the great mining camps in this country, which remarkably continues to turn out discoveries and world class deposits. Halo continues to increase its inventory of Copper Zinc in the Sherridon Camp and Rockcliff, along with VMS, Callinan, and Copper Reef, which are aggressively exploring in the Snow Lake and main Flin Flon Camps.

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Exclusionary Planning in Ontario [Aboriginal Conflict and Ring of Fire Mineral Development] – Canada’s North: What’s the Plan?

This posting is an excerpt from “Canada’s North: What’s the Plan?” , a Conference Board of Canada publication written by three nationally renowned Canadian scholars: Thomas Berger , Steven A. Kennett and Hayden King.

“Canada’s North: What’s the Plan?” Highlights:

Most of Canada’s natural resources—forests, metals and minerals, hydroelectric sites, oil and natural gas, and untapped resources that can be further developed—are in the North, and a warming climate is making them more accessible. Businesses, Aboriginal communities, and federal, provincial, and territorial governments will all want their share of the benefits of Northern economic development.

Canada’s North: What’s the Plan? draws on the different viewpoints of three nationally renowned scholars to explore the effectiveness of land use planning in Canada’s North from three very distinct perspectives. Their essays are required reading for those seeking to understand this important issue and draw their own conclusions.

Ontario represents the worst type of planning with Indigenous peoples—a seemingly complete disregard for the perspectives and opinions of the people who will be most directly affected by the land use plans. – The Conference Board of Canada Publication –  “Canada’s North: What’s the Plan?” (November, 2010)

Exclusionary Planning in Ontario

While Nunavut and Yukon have pursued land use plans through the relatively recent NLCA and UFA, treaties in Northern Ontario are over 100 years old and make no mention of planning commissions. There are also no stipulations for the co-management of surrendered lands in the North, and there is no consensus on roles and responsibilities. In fact, there is little consensus about who actually has authority in Ontario’s North. The Cree and Ojibwe feel that they agreed to share their territories in treaties 3, 5, and 9. Ontario feels that there was explicit surrender and, thus, the Crown has jurisdiction.

This is the unsteady footing from which planning proceeds in the province. Not evolving from the claims-based co-management common in the territories, Ontario’s experience might be described more as crisis-based, as it is a response to numerous high-profile confrontations. However, despite the differences between Nunavut’s and Ontario’s land use planning regimes, there are similarities—primarily, the exclusion of Indigenous peoples from the planning process. In Ontario’s case, the problem does not lie in the execution of plans, but in the drafting.

Ontario has an inauspicious history with First Nations communities in the province. That history has even occasionally resulted in violent conflict with the Haudenosaunee and Algonquin peoples, often over lands and resources. Of course, the province has witnessed the police shooting death of Dudley George at Ipperwash and the ongoing standoff in Caledonia, but most pertinent have been a number of recent conflicts in the North.

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2011 Ring of Fire Update Speech – by Ontario MNDMF Michael Gravelle

This Speech was give by Michael Gravelle Minister Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry at the Thunder Bay Rotary Club (Port Arthur Division) on January 4, 2011.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Check Against Delivery

Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. It’s a privilege to join you once again. And, I am especially honoured to help launch Port Arthur Rotary’s New Year. On that note, let me offer to each and every one of you my most heartfelt wishes for good health and good fortune in 2011.

Today, I will update you on two of Ontario’s major initiatives:

(1) modernizing the Mining Act; and

(2) the Ring of Fire development in the Far North of Ontario.

Let me start with a brief progress report on MAM — Mining Act Modernization. As you know, the minerals sector is one of Ontario’s major economic drivers.

When we set out to modernize Ontario’s Mining Act, we wanted to strengthen our minerals sector through clear rules and regulations, as well as with streamlined administrative processes. Amending the Act will result in a more balanced approach to mineral exploration and development, and will help keep our mining industry competitive and responsive.

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Mapping the Economic Potential of Canada’s North – Chapter 3: Metal and Non-Metallic Mineral Mining

The Conference Board of Canada is the foremost independent, not-for-profit applied research organization in Canada. It is not a government department or agency and conducts, publishes, and disseminates objective and non-partisan research on economic trends, as well as organizational performance and public policy issues. Click here for Mapping the Economic Potential of Canada’s North.

Please note that charts and maps are omitted from this posting.

The metal and non-metallic mineral mining industry has a long history of providing wealth and employment to Canadians. From the Klondike gold rush in the late 1800s, to the large-scale development and production of potash in Saskatchewan, to diamonds in the Northwest Territories, the industry has maintained its lustre on the global stage.

The industry has endured many boom-bust cycles in its history. In the 1960s, metal and non-metallic mineral mining directly accounted for over 2 per cent of the Canadian economy; by 2009, the industry’s share had shrunk to 0.5 per cent. But the situation is expected to turn around in the coming years as mining continues to be developed— particularly in Canada’s North.

The metal and non-metallic mineral mining industry
has a long history of providing wealth and employment
to Canadians.

Even in 2009—the worst year for mining in recent history—the industry contributed $6.5 billion to the
Canadian economy (in real terms) and continued to export a diverse variety of resources. There are many
spin-off benefits not included in the $6.5 billion: construction, transportation, utilities, warehousing, and
communications are some of the other industries that benefit directly from the development and production
of a single mine.

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Ontario’s First Nations Have Become Key Stakeholders in the Mining Sector

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.
 
 This posting came from the Ontario Mining Association’s 90th Anniversary Publication (October/2010): http://www.oma.on.ca/en/resources/OMAat90three.pdf
 

The Aboriginal Relations Committee was formed in 2006 to improve communications between the mining industry and First Nations, and to assist the government to develop consultation models to match evolving court decisions.

Jeremy Wyeth, De Beers’ representative at the Ontario Mining Association, was the first to suggest that the association set up the committee and served as its first chair. He later went on to be the OMA Executive Director for 2007 and 2008. The current chair is Jonathan Fowler, a geologist who has worked at De Beers for 42 years, 28 of which have been spent in Canada.

As an exploration geologist, Fowler was usually one of the first people De Beers sent in to investigate remote areas. In the field, he would talk to hunters and trappers and tell them about the work De Beers was planning. This practice evolved into communicating with local communities then with community leaders. Due to the remoteness of the exploration projects, the locals Fowler dealt with were usually First Nations.

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Ontario Mining: From the Past to the Future – by OMA President Chris Hodgson

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.
 
 This posting came from the Ontario Mining Association’s 90th Anniversary Publication (October/2010): http://www.oma.on.ca/en/resources/OMAat90three.pdf
 
 
Perhaps no industry plays a greater proportionate role in helping to develop First Nation capacity than mining. In Ontario there are in excess of 40 Impact Benefit Agreements
that have been signed between First Nations and mining companies. The industry is playing an expanding role in providing employment and entrepreneurial
 opportunities for Aboriginals. – OMA President Chris Hodgson, Oct/2010
 

This year, the Ontario Mining Associ¬ation is celebrating its 90th anniver¬sary – a worthy measure by any yardstick. We thank The Northern Miner for this special publication to acknowledge the OMA’s anniversary and for sharing in the association’s landmark occasion.

Celebrating important anniversaries provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on the past for individuals and organizations. These anniversaries also give impetus to look where we are today and to measure accomplishments of how much progress has been made. However, they should also be used to look to the future and predict where we may be at anniversaries yet to come.

The OMA is one of the longest-serving trade organizations in the country and its strength rests with its dedicated member companies.

Since 1920, there have been 15 different Canadian prime ministers, 17 different Ontario premiers and 32 different Ontario mines ministers. In 1920, we lived in a world without televisions, computers, internet, satellite communi¬cations, high-level medical diagnostic equipment, cell phones, super highways and global airline routes. Mankind has provided the ingenuity, and mining has provided the materials to create these advances in modern society.

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Ring of Fire’s Noront Resources Brings Santa and Hockey Stars to First Nation Community of Webequie

Todd Hlushko with Webequie youth during Noront hockey clinic - photo by Kaitlyn Ferris
 
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.
 
 
For video footage of the Noront Reources Christmas trip to Webequie: http://www.mikawaa.com/christmascard2010/

 

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Ontario Mining Association member Noront Resources employed a little magic to fly in Santa bearing gifts and two former National Hockey League stars to Webequie last week.  Webequie, which has no year round road connections and a population of 800, is located 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

“This is the second year for the Noront Christmas Cheer Event in which every child in the community under the age of 12 receives a gift,” said Leanne Hall, Vice President Human Resources and “special assistant” to Noront’s Santa.  “We started in 2009 giving gifts to children instead of sending cards to help make the children feel special and this year we provided 200 gifts in Webequie.”

It is estimated that $155 million have been invested in mineral exploration in
the Ring of Fire area. In Canada, mining is the largest private sector employer
of Aboriginals, who comprise 7.5% of the mining workforce — up from 3.6% in 2006.
– Ontario Mining Association – December 22, 2010

Former NHL players Todd Harvey and Todd Hlushko came with Santa on the flight from Thunder Bay.  They spoke with students and stressed the “stay in school and believe in yourself” message, signed autographs and showed evidence of their sporting success.  Mr. Harvey, who was born in Hamilton, won gold medals in 1994 and 1995 at the World Junior Hockey championships and Mr. Hlushko, who was born in Guelph, won the Olympic silver medal in hockey in 1994.  As well as playing for different NHL teams, Mr. Hlushko played for a number of years for teams in Germany.

Todd Hlushko and Todd Harvey with Webequie child - Photo by Engage Learning

 

“I had never visited a community like Webequie before,” said Mr. Harvey.  “It was an outdoor rink and we had to shovel off the snow before skating.  It was old school, like pond hockey, and through the day we probably had a couple of hundred kids on the ice.  We ran clinics concentrating on skating, stick handling and shooting and also had a community skate.”

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[Ontario Mining] Losing Ground – Karen Mazurkewich (Originally published in Financial Post Magazine, April 2010 issue)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. article was originally published in the Financial Post Magazine’s April, 2010 issue.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who stated in a February news conference that “we are not going to succeed in Ontario by pulling stuff out of the ground,” has changed his tune. “There is a tremendous amount of excitement over the economic potential of the Ring of Fire,” says Michael Gravelle, Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.

In Bygone Days, Good Bush Gear And Decent Maps Were A Mining Firm’s Greatest Assets. Today, Regulation And Bureaucracy Rule The Industry. Is Canada Paying The Price?

Don McKinnon, a grizzled prospector from Timmins, Ont., sports a whopping gold nugget on his finger — proof of his prodigious finds. The 80-year-old owns a stake in the nearby Hemlo gold mine and is still very much a player in the Canadian mining industry. He remembers when the staking was hard and the regulations were easy. To get a leg up on the competition, the hoary miner wasn’t above “dirty tricks” like buying up all the mine ministry maps in town. McKinnon still displays the 40 pairs of snowshoes he bought in the winter of ’79 to thwart competing prospectors during the Hemlo staking rush, and tells tales of being stalked by polar bears in the Far North.

But ask him his thoughts on the industry today, and he simply growls: “it’s tougher.” These days, McKinnon leaves the finer points of the mining business to his 27-year-old son, Gordon, president of Canadian Orebodies Inc., which has large claims in the James Bay Lowlands. The younger McKinnon doesn’t spend nights in the bush with a pick-axe. To be a player, junior miners need ample knowledge of stock market and the ability to negotiate impact benefit agreements with First Nations. In Gordon’s case, the list also includes overseeing an survey on caribou migratory patterns — a project he funded as part of an exploration deal in northern Ontario.

While his father still relies on his massive collection of topographical maps, Gordon eagerly awaits Ontario’s new regulations that permit online mapping. It’s staking made simple, but at a price: more bureaucracy. He processes more paper in a week than his father did in a year. “Before, the government saw a new mine as a new revenue stream; now they put us through hoops,” says the younger McKinnon.

Mining was the early economic engine of this nation, and swaths of Bay Street’s wealth can be traced back to prior generations of wheeler-dealers.

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Double-talk Dalton McGuinty [About Ontario Mining]- by Toronto Sun Columnist Christina Blizzard (Originally Published March 09, 2010)

Christina Blizzard is the Queen’s Park columnist for the Toronto Sun, the city’s daily tabloid newspaper.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

“In a highly competitive, knowledge-based global economy, we are not going succeed in
Ontario by pulling stuff out of the ground.” – Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Feb/11/2010

Premier Dalton McGuinty just pulled off the fastest head spin since Linda Blair grossed us all out in The Exorcist.

One minute the premier thought mining was a dying industry. The next, it’s alive and saving the economy.

In a news conference Feb. 11, McGuinty had this to say: “In a highly competitive, knowledge-based global economy, we are not going succeed in Ontario by pulling stuff out of the ground.

“Our natural resource sector is very important to us but we know that future growth will come on the basis of the development of our imaginations in innovative capacities.”

By Monday’s throne speech, McGuinty had put his imagination to good use — and changed his mind.

His message was mining will save the beleaguered northern economy.

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Ring of Fire – A Mine Project That Will Transform the Far North – Ian Ross

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. This article was published in the December, 2010 issue.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Two years ago, the Ring of Fire was a hot high-grade chromite discovery resigned to the back pages of the business section.

It had a quirky name inspired by the crescent shape of the mining claims laid down in the swamps of the James Bay lowlands and a Noront Resource’s mining executive’s affinity for all things Johnny Cash.

Then along came a deep-pocketed miner called Cliffs Natural Resources. The Ohio-based international iron ore and coal company has a keen interest in breaking into the stainless steel business and has blue sky ambitions for Ontario’s Far North.

The socio-economic impact for the region, especially for impoverished First Nation
people, will be simply transformational for generations to come.

What has been found, in the muskeg is the stuff of top-secret, high-level boardroom discussions and plenty of chatter in the communities that stand to benefit from a potential $2-billion mine, processing and railroad project.

The mineral potential at McFaulds Lake has been compared to the groundbreaking discoveries of nickel, copper and gold in the early 1900s that opened up the North and forever changed Ontario’s economy.

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Vale Contributes $525,000 to National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation for Launch of Innovative Mining Education Module

John Pollesel, COO Vale Canada and Director for Base Metals Operations, North Atlantic Region; Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO (NAAF)

November 12, 2010 – Sudbury — The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF), in partnership with Vale, launched a mining education curriculum module designed to inspire Aboriginal students to pursue careers in the mining industry. The launch event took place today at the N’Swakamok Native Alternative School at the Sudbury Friendship Centre.

As part of the launch, Vale announced a $525,000 contribution to NAAF to support the ongoing evolution of the program. The funds will support the research, development, design, DVD production and initial distribution of the module.

The innovative curriculum includes informative, relevant material that is being made accessible to high school teachers seeking to inspire students about possible career options in the mining sector.

“The Foundation’s partnership with Vale is invaluable. Together we are providing Aboriginal high school students with a unique opportunity to see what their future could be if they decide to pursue a career in the mining industry,” said Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. “By showcasing fantastic role models and providing key information, our youth are being inspired to recognize their full potential. Thank you Vale for your vision and commitment!”

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McGuinty’s Controversial Far North Act Passes – Ian Ross

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. This article is from the November, 2010 issue.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Far North Act (Bill -191) Brings Out Many Angry Critics and Universal Condemnation Throughout the North

The passage of the Far North Act into law at Queen’s Park this fall wasn’t greeted with sustained applause from Northerners, but with anger and condemnation from all corners.

Natural Resources Minister Linda Jeffrey said the act represents a “new era of social prosperity, economic certainty and environmental protection” that places Ontario as a world leader in fighting global climate change.

However, it’s raised plenty of questions on how the McGuinty government plans to both protect and develop the Far North in setting aside a still-to-be-determined 225,000 square kilometres of boreal forest, or 21 per cent of Ontario’s land mass.

But the highly controversial Bill 191, which places the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) as the lead agency to conduct the land use planning in the James Bay region, has many critics asking if the ministry is up to this herculean task.

Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner doesn’t know if the MNR has the manpower and resources to manage the upcoming flood of traffic, people and business in this sensitive region. Gord Miller said “clearly” the MNR must be the lead agency in Far North because they have legislated care and control of all Crown land in Ontario under the Public Lands Act.

But he’s uncertain if the ministry has the resources to take on the task.

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The Ring of Fire – Noront McFaulds Lake Project

This Corporate Profile Advertorial about Noront Resources Inc. originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of the Ontario Prospector magazine which is produced by the Ontario Prospectors Association and published by Naylor (Canada) Inc.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Exploration Activities in the Ring of Fire

Noront Resources Ltd. is focused on its McFaulds Lake Project, which includes a number of significant, multiple, high-grade nickel-copper-platinum-palladium, chromite, vanadium and gold discoveries in an area known as the “Ring of Fire,” an emerging multi-metals district located in the James Bay Lowlands of Ontario, Canada. Noront is the largest landholder in the Ring of Fire and continues to delineate and prove up its discoveries with NI 43-101 technical and economic reports and a well-funded and aggressive drill plan for 2010 and 2011. The company recently completed Canada’s first NI 43 101 technical resource estimate for chromite and updated its Eagle’s Nest Ni, Cu, PGM NI 43 101 technical resource report in March 2010. Noront is a publicly traded company and is listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange under the symbol NOT.

Noront’s plans for the future include a three-pronged approach: exploration and regional targeting for additional resources; development and feasibility of the Eagle’s Nest deposit to de-risk the project; and corporate social responsibility with a focus on the environment and aboriginal initiatives.

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Northern Ontario Needs Regional Control and Decision Making to Economically Prosper – by David Robinson

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.  Dave Robinson is an economist with the Institute for Northern Ontario Research and Development at Laurentian University. drobinson@laurentian.ca His column was published in the October, 2010 issue.

We all wonder why some resource-rich regions like Alberta and Saskatchewan do so much better than other resource-rich regions like Northern Ontario.  And why do some boreal regions, like Sweden, Norway and Finland become rich, creative powerhouses while young people flee others – like Northern Ontario? – David Robinson

Are you old enough to remember Van Morrison’s “Days Like This”? The song has a wonderful line about days when “all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit.” It was one of those days when I stumbled on a study from Harvard that answered some questions about Northern Ontario for me.

We all wonder why some resource-rich regions like Alberta and Saskatchewan do so much better than other resource-rich regions like Northern Ontario. And why some communities without resources – think of Singapore and Denmark, and Holland – do well and others basically go nowhere. And why do some boreal regions, like Sweden, Norway and Finland become rich, creative powerhouses while young people flee others – like Northern Ontario?

Now I know some people think Northern Ontario is doing pretty well – and we darned well should be. We are in the early stages of the biggest worldwide resource boom ever. Treading water in this economy is probably easier than sinking.

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