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Canada Mining – North of 60

Yukonomist: Three questions on Yukon Zinc and China – by Keith Halliday (Yukon News – February 20, 2020)

https://www.yukon-news.com/

What would you like the Yukon government to spend $35.5 million on? Perhaps more nurses at the hospital? Some green power plants to fight climate change? Affordable housing? More front-line teachers?

Well, never mind. Judging from Yukon Zinc’s bankruptcy case, it looks like the government will be spending it cleaning up another abandoned mine. This case is particularly troubling. First, it’s recent. The mine opened in 2012. Unlike Faro, we can’t blame this one on 1960s-era mining techniques and long-dead mining executives and regulators.

Second, it’s on the Yukon’s tab. Devolution meant gaining authority over our own resources. It also meant that we would be on the hook for mining mishaps authorized by the Yukon government. The Yukon government is already going into deeper debt each fiscal year, and a $35.5 million hit will have to come out of the hide of other public programs.

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Agnico Eagle CEO takes blame as gold miner shocks market with poor 2020 forecast – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – February 15, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Investors and analysts punished Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. after the big Canadian gold miner shocked the market with a host of unforeseen operational problems across multiple mines.

Last year, Toronto-based Agnico put two new mines into production in the Arctic, but the ramp-up isn’t going to plan, with the company dealing with various challenges such as unanticipated equipment shortages.

At La Ronde, the company’s flagship mine in Quebec, Agnico is grappling with ground stability issues three kilometres underground, and reinforcements are needed. Also in Quebec, at its Canadian Malartic open pit mine, which it co-owns with Yamana Gold Inc., the company is processing lower grade ore than expected.

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Infrastructure Bank to advise on proposed $1.6-billion Manitoba-Nunavut hydro link – by Bill Curry (Globe and Mail – February 5, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Canada Infrastructure Bank will advise proponents of a plan to bring hydroelectricity and broadband internet from northern Manitoba to several communities in Nunavut.

Known as the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project, it would lead to the construction of a 1,200-kilometre, 150-megawatt transmission line joining Gillam, Man., to four Nunavut communities on the northwestern shore of Hudson Bay, as well as inland to Baker Lake. The project would also include a fibre-optic link, bringing broadband internet to the region.

Proponents say the project would bring environmental benefits by replacing diesel power, while also supporting Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.’s gold mining activity in the region.

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GUEST COMMENT: Former Mine Watch co-ordinator responds to publisher’s column – by Joan Kuyak (Yellowknifer/NNSL Media – January 28, 2020)

https://nnsl.com/nwtnewsnorth/

Joan Kuyek is an organizer and former national coordinator of MiningWatch Canada.

I am writing to object to your patronizing column, which completely mischaracterizes my position on mining in the NWT.

Any mining should take into account the awesome costs that are externalized to people and the environment. The money going back to governments from mining companies has to be equal to the terrible costs for this and future generations.

I believe that Indigenous governments/peoples should have their own mineral strategies. In the NWT, as elsewhere, most of these nations have been so dispossessed and impoverished by extraction that they feel they have little choice but to accept new mines. Of course, they should decide if they want them and, if so, regulate them.

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[Northwest Territories] Collateral damage – where do Indigenous economies fit in climate change crusade – by Bruce Valpy (Yellowknifer/NNSL Media – January 27, 2020)

https://nnsl.com/yellowknifer/

Bruce Valpy is publisher of Northern News Services Ltd.

There has been heavy criticism of the mining industry in our opinion newspages lately, notably Yellowknifer columnist and community commentator Nancy Vail and Joan Kuyek, formerly national coordinator of Mining Watch Canada.

Both are excellent writers and passionate advocates of all that is good and righteous in this day of climate change. Vail in her column Our own banana republic is dead set against mining while Kuyek in the story “Former head of mining watchdog calls for NWT to change industry” attempts to walk the line between being anti-mining and only allowing mining that doesn’t damage or alter the environment, certainly falling on the side that less mining is infinitely better than more mining, no mining is best.

Good reading but I’m left wondering where these thoughtful advocates are coming from when I read this week’s News/North. On pages 10 and 11: The headline on page 10 is Indigenous self-determination in mineral sector gets a boost. The page 11 headline is 83 percent of NWT inmates are Indigenous. Download the paper here if you didn’t see it – NWT News/North Jan. 24, 2020.

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[Northwest Territories] Notes from the trail: our own banana republic – by Nancy Vail (Yellowknifer/NNSL Media – January 21, 2020)

https://nnsl.com/yellowknifer/

With fires raging in Australia, Africa, Indonesia and the Amazon, it is irresponsible for any newspaper, elected official, private industry or senior level bureaucrat to be promoting increased mining without ensuring it is fully carbon neutral during this time of climate change crisis.

Make no mistake, we are a world in crisis and the worst is yet to come. And here in the NWT, we know that when senior level bureaucrats slide from senior positions in mining companies into senior level government positions, all chances for healthy, objective governing is gone.

We are one step up from a banana republic. When government leaders from around the world gathered in Davos, Switzerland on January 20 for the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman said in his opening address said that “adherence to the current economic system represents a betrayal of future generations owing to its environmental unsustainability.”

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Baffinland faces millions in liens over stalled expansion – by Beth Brown (CBC News North – January 27, 2020)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Mary River contractors take legal precautions to get paid, mine calls claims for assets ‘ordinary’

Construction companies are taking steps to make sure they’ll get paid for work they did for Baffinland’s Mary River Mine. Last year, the mining company purchased work and machinery with the expectation that its application for a production increase would be approved by this year.

Some equipment it purchased includes a specially designed iron ore handling system made to unload rail cars, crush and screen iron ore, and load it onto ships. Part of that processing plant for the expansion was shipped to the mine site during the summer from Germany.

But the Mary River expansion is in a state of stalemate and, in November, Baffinland scaled back work and cut contracts related to the increase, shortly after necessary environmental hearings were adjourned unfinished.

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Det’on Cho signs agreement to run operations at N.W.T. rare earths mine – by Avery Zingel (CBC News North – January 24, 2020)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Det’on Cho Nahanni Construction Corp. signs agreement with Cheetah at Vancouver mining conference

In what could be a Canadian first, an N.W.T. first nation has signed an agreement to run mining operations on a project in their own traditional territory.

Det’on Cho Nahanni Construction Corporation, owned by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, will run operations on the Nechalacho rare earth mineral project between the Dene communities of Dettah and Lutselk’e. It was announced at the Annual Mineral Exploration Roundup mining conference this week in Vancouver.

Yellowknives Dene Chief Ernest Betsina said the signing marks a transition from the first nation being “passive witnesses to major projects to being key participants.”

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Giant Mine’s shameful legacy toward the Yellowknives – Editorial (Yellowknifer – January 23, 2020)

https://nnsl.com/yellowknifer/

The concept of providing financial amends for historic injustices that have negatively impacted people to this day is getting renewed attention.

Reparations for American slavery, for example, is a proposal that argues that compensation of some sort should be paid to the descendants of slaves brought to this continent from Sub-Saharan Africa. But who would be paid, how much and, most importantly, where would the money come from?

The first prospectors and miners in North America were the first people to live here. Indigenous people utilized minerals for tools, weapons and in their artworks. Then came the Europeans who would revolutionize the way gems, minerals, oil and gas were extracted, forging a major economic component in our country’s development.

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[TMAX Resources] Arctic gold miner hopes metal rally can lift its fortunes as it looks for a buyer amid operational challenges – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 21, 2020)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Whatever happens to TMAC Resources could influence how investors view opportunities in the Canadian Arctic

Canadian gold producer TMAC Resources announced Monday it is looking for a buyer after hitting consistent operational challenges at its Nunavut mine that have hampered its ability to expand.

The Toronto-headquartered company said it is studying whether a sale, joint venture partnership or an alternative financing could buoy its share price, which has declined more than 57 per cent since July — even as gold prices increased during much of that time. The stock was down 5 per cent on Monday to $2.85 on the Toronto exchange.

Whatever happens to the company could influence how investors view opportunities in the Canadian Arctic. For years, mining industry leaders have said the vast undeveloped north will be the next frontier for exploration and development. But the operational challenges that TMAC faced, despite backing from industry veterans, highlight the risks associated with the Arctic.

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Nunavut review board seeks comments on Baffinland production extension (Nunatsiaq News – January 14, 2020)

https://nunatsiaq.com/

The Nunavut Impact Review Board is accepting comments on Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s request to extend its production limit at its Mary River mine.

The board issued a call for comments from interested parties on Jan. 8. Comments will be accepted until Feb. 3. Baffinland requested this extension, to continue mining up to six million tonnes of iron ore per year through 2020, on Dec. 16.

This follows a production cap increase granted in 2018, up from the 4.2-million-tonne cap set in the project certificate amendment that allowed trucked shipping to Milne Inlet under the company’s “early revenue phase.” That two-year production cap expired on Dec. 31, 2019.

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EBERHARD (EBE) SCHERKUS (Born – 1952) – 2020 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame was conceived by the late Maurice R. Brown, former editor and publisher of The Northern Miner, as a way to recognize and honour the legendary mine finders and builders of a great Canadian industry. The Hall was established in 1988. For more information about the extraordinary individuals who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, please go to their home website: http://mininghalloffame.ca/

The remarkable success and longevity of Agnico Eagle Mines owes much to Eberhard (“Ebe”) Scherkus, a multi-faceted geologist and professional engineer with an impressive track record of achievement. He joined the company as a project manager in 1985, became chief operating officer (COO) in 1998, and was president and COO from 2005 until he retired in 2012.

During this period he transformed Agnico Eagle from a regional single-mine company into a top-performing global gold producer with nine mines in Canada, Finland and Mexico. He also earned a reputation as a generous career mentor, environmentally responsible industry leader, and a builder of bridges with Indigenous Peoples and other stakeholders in Canada and abroad.

Born in Germany, Scherkus came to Canada as an infant and was raised in Val-d’Or, Quebec. He earned his B.Sc. Geology from McGill University in 1975, and worked for several companies before joining Agnico Eagle. The company was then headed by legendary founder Paul Penna, who needed a technical team to turn around a struggling, low-grade open-pit mine with limited reserves.

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Agnico CEO Sean Boyd on succession planning, investing in the North, and working in -79C wind chill – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 2, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Whoever assumes the top executive spot at Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. will have a tough act to follow. Sean Boyd, 61, is by far the longest-serving senior gold executive in Canada – and arguably the most successful.

An accountant by training, Mr. Boyd was originally the company’s outside auditor, then its chief financial officer and, after the death of company founder Paul Penna, he became its chief executive in 1998.

In the two decades since, the Toronto-based miner has grown from being a small producer with a single mine in Quebec, into the world’s third-most-valuable gold company, with nine mines in three countries. Its share price has gone from $6 to $80.

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Open and shut cases: North: How do Canada’s mine openings compare with closures for 2019 and 2020? – by Greg Klein (Resource Clips – December 18, 2019)

http://resourceclips.com/

One indication of the state of mining involves the vital statistics of births and deaths—the new mines that arrived and the old mines that left. To that end we survey each Canadian region for some of the major gains and losses that occurred over the past year or are expected for the next.

The first of this multi-part series looks at the country’s three northern territories, with each distinct jurisdiction contributing to a study in contrasts.

Yukon

Yukon without mining? That might surprise people better acquainted with the territory’s past than its present. But such was the case for nearly a year, following the suspension of Minto, Yukon’s sole remaining hardrock mine up to 2018. Nevertheless operations returned to this fabled mining region in September as Victoria Gold TSXV:VIT celebrated Eagle’s debut. By late November the company reported 10,400 ounces of gold and 1,600 ounces of silver from the heap leach operation.

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Editorial: Dig deep for better understanding (Nunavut News – December 2, 2019)

https://nunavutnews.com/

Let’s face it, not all mining companies play nice. Some mines in Nunavut have made gestures of good faith such as Agnico Eagle delivering million dollar donations to community groups and education initiatives in Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake earlier this year.

But, at the end of the day, these mines are most concerned about the bottom line. This became abundantly clear when 586 contractors were laid off at Baffinland’s Mary River iron mine mere weeks before the holiday season due to “uncertainties” with the regulatory approval process for the next phase of the mine’s expansion.

As Baffinland looks to increase iron ore output from six million tonnes of ore to 12 and build a 110-km railway on Baffin Island, it has been consulting with affected communities. To make sure this communication is thorough and sufficient, it’s important that everyone takes their time.

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