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British Columbia Mining

Compromises necessary in review of [B.C.] Prosperity mine – by Barbara Yaffe (Vancouver Sun – July 22, 2013)

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

Environmental interests must balance with job creation potential

VANCOVUER — As a Hollywood movie it would be titled Dead Mine Walking, according to a B.C. aboriginal group fighting a gold and copper development near Williams Lake.

In reality, the proposed New Prosperity Mine in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region is experiencing a “Take Two” moment, undergoing its second federal environmental review. An earlier Prosperity mine proposal, put forward by Vancouver-based Taseko Mines, was rejected back in 2010 by a similar federal panel.

The company has since overhauled its plans, pledging to preserve nearby Fish Lake, which it previously planned to use as a tailings pond repository. Taseko notes it is spending $300 million to mitigate impacts on wildlife and habitat in the area.

The company hopes such measures will help it win the nod from the review panel, which consists of an environmental assessment specialist from Calgary, a community consultation expert from Sidney, and a Victoria geologist.

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INDIA HUNTS FOR COAL IN BC (Asia Pacific Post – July 23, 2013)

http://www.asianpacificpost.com/

India has announced that it is exploring options for sourcing coal from British Columbia, including equity participation in assets and acquisition of mines just as Vancouver city council voted to ban the handling, storage and trans shipment of coal at its marine terminals and berths.

The ban, mostly symbolic, was passed as Port Metro Vancouver, the No. 2 exporter of coal in North America triggered controversy over planned expansion of its facilities. Vancouver city council has no jurisdiction over the port operations.

Even before the ink was dry on the 9 to 2 vote which aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions and set the air quality target to “breath the cleanest air of any major city in the world”, a high powered delegation from India met with British Columbia Premier Christy Clark to scour for coal resources.

The Indian delegation was led by Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma who is looking to feed India’s steel industry which is growing at a fast pace and needs additional quantities of coking coal. “The delegation held a series of discussions with the coal asset owners and various avenues for sourcing coking coal to India to meet its ever-growing requirement were discussed,” an official statement said.

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It’s a long way to Prosperity – by Ezra Levant (Sudbury Star – July 23, 2013)

 http://www.thesudburystar.com/

A company called Taseko Mines wants to build a copper and gold mine in central British Columbia. Hearings began on the proposal Monday in Williams Lake, B.C.

Taseko will invest $1.1 billion in the project and hire 550 people directly, plus 1,280 more indirectly in everything from construction to housing to restaurants.

Over the long life of the mine, it’s expected to generate more than a third of a billion dollars a year in GDP. For comparison, that one mine will produce more wealth than B.C.’s entire commercial fishing industry does. So, of course, Taseko must be stopped.

Taseko’s mine — well named as the New Prosperity project — already received provincial approval. But then Ottawa’s extremist Environmental Assessment Agency balked. You see, there’s a little lake nearby, called Fish Lake, that would have been drained by the original proposal. And those fish are more important to Ottawa’s regulators than nearly 2,000 families having well-paid jobs. To Ottawa, if no one else, those fish are worth more than gold.

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Taseko should expect local opposition at BC mine public hearings – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – July 22, 2013)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Tsilhqot’in First Nation on Monday said it was disappointed at being forced to once again oppose base metals producer Taseko Mine’s proposed New Prosperity mine, in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia, imploring the federal government to listen to community members, scientists and the public who were condemning the proposal for what it sees as “an environmental and cultural disaster”.

The Conservative Stephen Harper-led government in November 2010 rejected the mine proposal based on what then-Environment Minister Jim Prentice, described as one of the most “scathing” independent panel reports ever written.

The report documented both significant environmental and cultural impacts, many of which the first panel noted could not be mitigated with an alternative option proposed by the company.

“We look forward to the opportunity to share with this new panel all the reasons that this new proposal is just as unacceptable as the last one, regardless of the name or spin thrown out there by this company,” Xeni Gwet’in First Nation chief Roger William said.

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[KGHM] Ajax trolling city for ideas on convincing residents – by Bronwen Scott (Kamloops This Week – July 16, 2013)

http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/

The recent KGHM Ajax survey (‘Yes, that phone poll was from KGHM Ajax,’ July 11) appears to be aimed at trolling the public for ideas on how the company can convince Kamloops residents its proposed open-pit copper and gold mine could be environmentally friendly.

At least, that’s the impression when the company’s pollsters terminate the survey if respondents don’t agree that mining is an “essential part of the Kamloops economy” and only bother interviewing potential allies.

In fact, KGHM Ajax admits the survey wasn’t designed to find any statistical information or quantitative results. It’s just casting a wide net in the hopes of getting “an overall perspective and understanding of the [mining-friendly] residents’ opinion towards mining.”

The in-house team at KGHM Ajax doesn’t seem to be doing a credible job of informing or persuading a decent majority of the public that the mine’s a good idea — and good PR firms are expensive.

So, while we’re all forced to wait patiently and asked to withhold judgment until KGHM Ajax releases its meters-high stack of information and intentions this fall, the company keeps throwing money at community organizations and conducting surveys of the converted.

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Critics of B.C.’s Ajax mine project press federal Environment Minister for review panel – by Wendy Stueck (Globe and Mail – July 17, 2013)

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.

A group fighting a Kamloops-area mine proposal says it will ask new federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq to refer the Ajax mine to a review panel, even though previous minister Peter Kent turned down a request for that approach.

“We’re getting our ducks in a row and we are going to be asking for [the review panel],” John Schleiermacher, spokesman for the Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA), said on Tuesday. Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar is also seeking meetings with Ms. Aglukkaq and new provincial ministers of mining and environment to discuss the project.

The proposed Ajax mine would be an open-pit copper-gold mine that would fall partly within Kamloops city limits. Currently, the project is in the early stages of a joint federal-provincial assessment called a comprehensive study.

KAPA, formed in 2011 by residents worried about potential health impacts of the mine, would like to see the project go to a review panel – a panel of independent experts that, among other things, can hold public hearings and summon witnesses.

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Taseko Mines praises Ottawa ahead of environmental hearings – by Dene Moore (Canadian Press/CTV New – July 14, 2013)

http://www.ctvnews.ca/

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The company behind a rejected billion-dollar gold and copper mine in the British Columbia Interior has been lobbying for the federal government to change the environmental assessment process that previously rejected the project, documents show.

And Taseko Mines Ltd. likes what it’s heard, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press.

“I believe that yourself and the government of Canada are showing great leadership by taking an unapologetic approach to the responsible development of this country’s natural resources,” John McManus, senior vice-president of operations for Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO), wrote to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver following a January 2012 meeting in Vancouver.

The proposed New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine was rejected by a federal environmental assessment panel in 2010 over concerns about the environmental impact, specifically the plan to drain a nearby lake for use as a tailings pond. Public hearings before a new panel are to begin this week in Williams Lake, B.C., for a revised mine proposal. The planned site is located about 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

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Teck Joins Miners Benefiting From Loonie Drop – by Gerrit De Vynck & Ari Altstedter (Bloomberg News – July 5, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. (TCK/B) and HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM) are among resource companies poised to profit from a sliding Canadian dollar even as analysts call an end to the commodity boom.

Canada’s currency has fallen 5.8 percent to C$1.0515 per U.S. dollar from parity at the beginning of the year in the steepest first half slide since 1984. Miners with costs in Canadian dollars and sales in the U.S. stand to benefit if the slide continues and they repatriate revenue.

A further 5 percent drop would translate into a 25 percent jump in cash flow per share this year for Vancouver-based Teck and a 38 percent gain for Toronto-based HudBay, according to National Bank of Canada. (NA)

“It’s a silver lining,” Paolo Lostritto, a mining analyst at National Bank said in a phone interview from Toronto on June 27. “If the Canadian dollar weakens, the costs of doing business in Canada falls relative to the U.S., and therefore on a relative basis they should outperform.”

The foreign exchange boost, which may also benefit oil companies and other exporters, comes as commodity prices have plunged and growth in China, the world’s biggest commodity consumer, is forecast to slow.

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Tailings Dump at the Red Chris Mine: Will It Hold Water? – by Christopher Pollon (The Tyee.ca – July 4, 2013)

http://thetyee.ca/

More work needed to understand potential impacts of waste storage, industry-funded review finds. More work is required before anyone knows how an estimated 300-million tonnes of tailings from the proposed Red Chris mine will eventually affect water in the upper Stikine watershed of northwest B.C., concludes a confidential industry-funded review acquired by The Tyee.

The report, paid for by mine owner Imperial Metals at the urging of the Tahltan Nation, recommends a comprehensive field investigation including additional drilling, groundwater collection and monitoring wells be undertaken as a way of addressing existing information gaps.

“…Studies completed to date are not sufficiently detailed to fully assess/monitor potential environmental impacts due to seepage from the tailings storage facility on the downstream aquatic environment,” concludes the study presented early this year to a panel of First Nations, government and industry overseeing the permitting of the proposed mine, which is scheduled to begin operations by May 2014.

The report comes years after Red Chris received environmental approval from B.C. and the federal government — the latter the subject of a drawn-out legal battle with environmentalists that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

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Battle over workplace drug tests just heating up following court ruling – by Ian Mulgrew (Vancouver Sun – July 3, 2013)

htp://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

More and more Canadians are being asked to prove, in the name of safety, that they are sober and not addled before clocking in at work. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its first ruling on this incredible invasion of personal privacy and opened the discussion about when it can be allowed.

The high bench confirmed that drug-and-alcohol testing is lawful only under certain circumstances and it gave unions a means by which to challenge some of these policies by demanding better evidence of an existing problem.

In a case watched closely across the country, a majority of six justices on June 14 agreed random workplace drug tests at a New Brunswick pulp mill were unreasonable.

They said Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd. had no right to unilaterally impose mandatory, random alcohol breathalyzer testing. The court said an employer must establish a substance-abuse problem in a safety-sensitive work environment before such random screening can occur.

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Vancouver mining firm Barkerville admits big error in British Columbia field’s gold estimate – by Peter Koven (Vancouver Sun – June 25, 2013)

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

Frank Callaghan admits it: telling investors his company held 10.6 million ounces of contained gold last year was a big mistake. “I’ve learned that lesson. Not a nice way to learn it by the way, but I did,” the chief executive of Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. said.

Almost a year ago, Barkerville, a small junior mining company, stunned the mining community by stating its Cow Mountain project in British Columbia had an indicated resource of 10.6 million ounces of gold, and could hold up to 90 million ounces. Barkerville shares soared even though numerous experts thought the numbers were too good to be true.

One of the biggest skeptics was the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC). The regulator promptly cease traded the stock and voiced many concerns about how the data was compiled.

That put pressure on both Barkerville and Peter George, the independent geologist who calculated the resource. To address the BCSC’s concerns, Barkerville hired two consulting firms (Snowden Mining Industry Consultants and Apex Geoscience) to work with Mr. George on an updated resource estimate.

It took a long time, but they have finally finished their work. The new numbers are significantly lower, but in Mr. Callaghan’s view they prove Mr. George was on the right track.

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Mining’s relationship with First Nations has matured – by Zoe Younger (Vancoucer Sun – June 20, 2013)

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

Opinion: We see aboriginal people choosing the mining industry and building careers with us

Zoe Younger is vice-president, corporate affairs at the Mining Association of B.C.

As we celebrate National Aboriginal Day across Canada, it is timely to reflect on the evolving relationships between the mining industry and First Nations, in particular with respect to employment in the industry.

With a long history of working together, it is interesting to note how the partnerships between our industry and First Nations have matured, and the mutual respect for each other has deepened. Parallel to the evolving case law that has dictated changes in the regulatory process, and has better defined the relationships between the Crown and First Nations, the mining industry and aboriginal leaders across Canada have been reshaping their own relationships not based on what they have to do, but based on common interests, shared goals and values, and most importantly, communication grounded in mutual recognition and respect.

Aboriginal communities across B.C. have high levels of unemployment, and many of these communities are located in parts of the province that are economically depressed. In particular, rural and remote communities that were once dependent on a thriving forestry sector faced hardships as that industry waned.

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B.C. Liberals accused of breaking election promise over Klappan open-pit coal mine – by Larry Pynn (Vancouver Sun – June 10, 2013)

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

Tahltan First Nation objects to environmental ‘fast-tracking’ of project

The B.C. Liberals risk breaking an important election promise by “fast-tracking” an environmental assessment of an open-pit coal mine in the so-called Sacred Headwaters of the Klappan in northwest B.C., Tahltan First Nation charged Friday.

“There has been opposition and resistance by our people,” said Tahltan Central Council president Annita McPhee said in an interview.

“To have an open-pit coal mine right in the headwaters … our people are opposed to development there. We want to see long-term protection that excludes having a coal mine in that area.”

The planned Arctos Anthracite Project would have a footprint of about 4,000 hectares, not including a railway line, and would produce an estimated three million tonnes per year of anthracite coal over the mine’s 25-year life span. Anthracite coal has a high carbon content and burns with a clean flame. It is primarily used in steel and metal making.

The project is a joint venture of Fortune Coal Ltd. and POSCO Klappan Coal Ltd., whose parent company is a South Korean steel giant.

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Wyoming govenor to talk coal exports on trip to Canada – by Bob Moen (Associated Press/Seattle Times – June 11, 2013)

http://seattletimes.com/html/home/index.html

Looking for ways to export coal mined in Wyoming, Gov. Matt Mead said he will tour port facilities in British Columbia as part of a weeklong trade trip to Canada.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Looking for ways to export coal mined in Wyoming, Gov. Matt Mead said he will tour port facilities in British Columbia as part of a weeklong trade trip to Canada.

Mead will meet with provincial leaders and talk to coal and rail representatives during the visit beginning on Wednesday.

Wyoming is the nation’s leading coal-producing state, but state officials are concerned about falling domestic demand as a result of global warming concerns and new federal regulations on coal-burning power plants.

Some see the need for more power generation by growing Asian economies as an ideal market for U.S. coal producers. But sending coal overseas requires West Coast ports.

Mining companies want to ship coal through ports in Oregon and Washington. However, opponents of coal trains in that region have raised concerns about dust, congestion and climate change.

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Excerpt from “Lawyers, Families, and Businesses: The Shaping of a Bay Street Law Firm, Faskens 1863-1963″ – by C. Ian Kyer

To order a copy of Lawyers, Families, and Businesses, please click here: http://www.irwinlaw.com/store/product/712/lawyers-families-and-businesses 

Excerpt

For a time the Gooderhams considered buying one or more of the companies that had started to mine copper and nickel in the Sudbury basin but ultimately decided against it. Although Wallace Nesbitt personally invested in the Copper Company of Canada, which would eventually merge into Inco, the Gooderhams looked west. Tom had maintained his interest in the region and now focused it on several mines in the BC interior along the border with the United States. In the early 1890s gold, silver, and copper had been found in the Kootenays. Later lead mining would also develop. The Canadian Pacific Railway had linked British Columbia with central Canada and Tom became a frequent traveller on the CPR, visiting the small mining town of Rossland, near Red Mountain, and nearby Trail, along the Columbia River.

In January 1897 Tom Blackstock and George Gooderham’s eldest son, William George Gooderham, put together a syndicate that included Beatty and Senator George Albertus Cox. They paid $850,000 to buy the War Eagle gold mine and its associated mines, known as the Poorman, the Iron Mask, and the Virginia. Tom was given the task of overseeing these investments. He feared that War Eagle would be forced to pay exorbitant rates for shipping ore and for its refining, later explaining that “mining is in the nature of a manufacturing business which requires the utmost economy in every detail to enable it to be carried out successfully upon a large scale.”

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