Mining Supply and Services Sector – Page 17

Outlook 2009 – Sudbury – When the Dust Settles Speech Prepared for the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce – David Robinson

April 5, 2015December 15, 2008

Laurentian Economics Professor, Dr. David Robinson is Sudbury’s answer to Toronto’s high profile Dr. Richard Florida – the famous American urban theorist who garners media headlines and currently teaches at the University of Toronto. Robinson is recognized as the “Godfather” of Sudbury’s Mining Supply and Services cluster highlighting the importance of this dynamic sector in the early part of the decade. He was instrumental in spearheading the plan for the School of Architecture at Laurentian which is garnering public and political support and continues to help change public policy on a wide variety of economic initiatives affecting Northern Ontario.

The Institute of Northern Ontario Research and Development (INORD)

Copper Cliff, Ontario
December 4, 2008

HOW I GOT INTO THIS

Let me start by telling how this speech got its title. A few months ago I was asked what I would talk about. We had a stock market commotion going on, a Canadian election underway, and an American election too. So I said I could either use the speech that I used two years ago, or I could wait until the dust settled.

I obviously made the wrong choice. I had no ideas of the interesting and surprising twists that that a parliamentary system can provide. We have a temporary resolution as of 11:45 this morning that seems to tell us the government is likely to abandon the contractionary policies announced last week by Finance Minister Flaherty. The government will be forced to adopt a program much closer to that proposed by the opposition parties that make up the “Coalition.” That is good news for Sudbury, I would argue, and it brings Canadian policy in line with our industrialized partners.

When I came through the door today I had not yet heard of the reorganization announced by the city’s largest employer. Vale confirmed it will close its Copper Cliff South mine for an “undetermined period.” The company’s Voisey’s Bay mine in Newfoundland, which ships nickel to facilities in Sudbury for processing, will be shut down during the entire month of July. The company also put off the development of its Copper Cliff Deep project, deferring the expenditure of $138-million (U.S.) for at least a year.

Vale had announced on Wednesday it is laying off 1,300 workers and putting 5,500 more on paid leave. Layoffs by Vale, one of Brazil’s two leading companies along with state oil company Petrobras are being taken as evidence that emerging markets have not ”decoupled” from the US as some economists hoped.

Dramatic Economic Times Impact Mining Sector – by David Robinson

April 5, 2015December 14, 2008

Dr. David Robinson is an economist at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. His column was originally published in Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury.

drobinson@laurentian.ca

For an economist, these are interesting times. The accumulating American triple deficit – on trade, the government budget and household spending – finally caught up with the people who live by lending. We get to see the most vehemently capitalist governments nationalizing banks and supporting the value of vast pools of imaginary assets. We even get to watch executives leaping off tall buildings with their golden parachutes.

For the mining industry and industry suppliers, the times are more than just interesting. Economic growth is utterly dependent on what the mining sector produces, and good times in the mining sector depend on economic growth.

The question on everybody’s mind as this column goes to press is whether the lunatics in the financial sector have actually pushed the world economy off the tracks. They have done it before.

The most common view out in the infosphere is that a world recession is almost inevitable. The majority of guesses say it could last six months to two years. There are a few who think the world will end, and a few who think that unprecedented co-operation among governments will have unprecedented results.

No one really believes that the long run story has changed. The BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and China – still have the population, the potential and the momentum they had when Goldman Sachs identified them in 2001. They have been driving world growth, with help from the American consumer. Those BRIC consumers are just getting going.

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese reminded shareholders in October that China’s economy is driven far more by industrialization and urbanization than by exports to the USA. The company expects demand in China to strengthen across a range of Rio Tinto products.

SAMSSA Hall of Fame 2008 Winners – Robert S. Lipic and Don Rastall

September 14, 2018December 6, 2008

The SAMSSA Hall of Fame recognizes management leaders who have developed and provided mining advancing technologies and/or products and services that have improved the efficiencies of mining globally and domestically and have built or assisted in building companies in Northern Ontario that have proven to be successful.

The leaders in the mining supply and service industry have proven that mining is only as efficient and productive as the quality of products and services provided from mining supply companies. Over 400 Northern Ontario mining supply and service companies can boast of their historical influence in mining camps worldwide and their significant employment opportunities for skilled personnel making this sector larger in number than all direct mining and refining jobs in Northern Ontario. – Dick DeStefano: Executive Director.

Robert S. Lipic – President & CEO
Mining Technologies International Inc.

Bob Lipic has had an extensive career in the mining industry and is well known in international mining circles. As President and CEO of Mining Technologies International (MTI), Bob Lipic has spent more than 30 years building, consolidating, expanding and adapting his company to the challenges of the mining industry. This Canadian owned company was established in 1995 as a result of a merger of several companies, with names familiar to the mining industry: Drillex International of Canada, Continuous Mining Systems, LHD Equipment, John Clark Inc., Drillex U.S. Inc., CMS Pacific, and Drilco Australia PTY.

Although the company has not been immune to industry recessions, MTI’s push for innovation has allowed the company to prosper and compete in both domestic and international markets.

SAMSSA Members Confident and Ready During Slowdown – by Dick DeStefano

September 14, 2018November 23, 2008

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA).

These past months have been difficult for the mining sector but Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) members have maintained a high degree of confidence with some caution that their value and expertise will eventually mitigate against the prevailing and relentless bad news.

Many SAMSSA members have been in business for over 40 years and understand the cyclical nature of their markets. They have survived at least three major slowdowns and continue to operate.

In recent months SAMSSA Members have attended a number of trade shows and visits to mining camps in Mexico and Brazil in order to develop business relationships in the long term. Next week, Sudbury will host a company from Chile who needs to spend over $500 million on a mine development and the Potash Corporation is slowly moving forward on their potash mine in New Brunswick.

Working closely with the Export Development Corporation and FedNor as supporting partners will allow our mining supply and service sector to maintain its viability in the long term.

Vale Inco’s New Invoicing System Causing Some Layoffs in Sudbury Supply Sector – by Bill Bradley

September 14, 2018November 23, 2008

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Bill Bradley’s article. www.northernlife.ca (This artilce was originally published on November 12, 2008)

Some Greater Sudbury businesses are having trouble getting paid by Vale Inco.

It is not because Vale Inco is broke, but because of a new invoicing system that is being implemented by the company, said small businesses in Lively and Vale Inco itself.

Harry Sheppard, owner of Home Hardware in Lively, said Tuesday morning that some smaller business customers cannot pay him for what they have purchased because they in turn have not been paid by Vale Inco.

“I do not have much business with Vale Inco myself. However, it is affecting a dozen businesses in the Walden area that deal with my store. They say they will pay me when Vale Inco pays them,” said Sheppard.

“These business customers of mine are good customers so the fault does not lie with them.”

Claiming Our Stake! Building a Sustainable Community (Part 2 of 3) – Stan Sudol

November 3, 2015October 2, 2008

INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS

I: COMPANY INVESTMENTS IN LOCAL OPERATIONS

Local Operations Managed by Two Major Mining Companies

lnco is planning capital expenditures of about $2 billion in the Sudbury Basin over the next five years to expand current production and build new mines. The company is embarking on the largest period of growth in Sudbury in more than 30 years. This is a conservative estimate and depending on the financial clout of the new owner, may be increased substantially, lnco has plans for new mine developments that include the Kelly Lake and Totten deposits, milling upgrades, smelter improvements, including investments in sulphur emission reductions and expansions at the nickel refinery. The company intends to maintain the stability of their workforce, with longer-term growth potential.

Falconbridge’s half billion-dollar Nickel Rim South project, currently under construction, may become the richest individual mine in Canadian history.

Prospecting for Gold Mines in the Supply Sector- by Dr. David Robinson

April 5, 2015September 5, 2008

Dr. David Robinson

Mining supply and service companies don’t normally own gold mines, but there are gold mines out there for companies that are looking. With mining booming and commentators expecting the good times to last, some innovations are getting long-overdue attention. Others are still waiting for the right company, or the right innovator to stumble across them. It is a good time to go prospecting.

To position your company for the long run, you might want to look at some of the wilder prospects right now. The trick is to figure out where to look. If it were easy, everyone would be rich. Strong prices and sustained demand are making a lot of our companies rich, in fact, but there are still some pretty interesting properties to stake. Here are a few hints.

Think about boots, for example. Everyone wears boots. Anyone who has spent a day on his feet at a mine site knows that boots aren’t perfect. The way to make money on boots is to find a way to make boots increase productivity, reduce injuries, and minimize time lost. But how?

The gold mine is probably in custom orthotics. Bad boots hurt workers and cost companies money. Custom insoles reduce fatigue, backache and stress on the knees. Fatigue causes accidents and backache calls for prescription drugs and time off.

A Growing Regional System of Mining Innovation in Northern Ontario – by Dick DeStefano

September 14, 2018September 4, 2008

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). His column was originally published in Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury.

Dick DeStefano

“We are reaching a point where the mining supply industry in Sudbury and Northern Ontario is as important for the global mining industry as the orebodies. This is exemplified by the fact that the large mining firms located in the area expend on average 80 per cent of their supply dollars locally as compared to 30 per cent anywhere else in the world”.

-Professor Jean-Charles Cachon, Laurentian University, Sudbury, July 2008

This reliance on the local supply sector translates into an estimated $750 million spent on a local basis, annually.

A recent comparative study entitled Innovation, Marketing & Management Strategies among Mining Supply Firms: A Comparison between Canada & Chile (Antofagasta) written by Jean–Charles Cachon and Huguette Blanco, School of Commerce & Administration, Faculty of Management, Laurentian University, demonstrates again that the Sudbury mining cluster is a world leader.

The study, completed in June of 2008, compared strategies for innovation, marketing, and management, including human resources training, financing and quality control.

Potash Corporation Courts Sudbury Mining Businesses – by Bill Bradley

September 14, 2018August 21, 2008

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Bill Bradley’s article. www.northernlife.ca

There is a lot of money to be made in potash. India, Brazil and China, which are expanding their agricultural production to feed their growing populations, do not have what Canada is blessed with in abundance, said Potash Corporation officials Wednesday at the Howard Johnson Hotel.

The $64 billion Saskatchewan company mining the fertilizer, sought out by the world’s farmers, was in the city courting the local mining supply and services cluster of companies (SAMSSA) for their expertise. Production for the company is rising from 10 million tonnes this year to 18 million tonnes in 2012.

“We are here because of the high quality of mining expertise that is in this city,” said Ralph Sanders, manager, corporate procurement, PotashCorp.

SAMSSA Welcomes Global Mining Partners – by Dick DeStefano

September 14, 2018August 3, 2008

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. (This column was orginally published June/2007)

Sudbury has become a global shopping destination for mining visitors in the past few months, especially from South Africa, Brazil and Chile.

“The attraction to our SAMSSA members is overwhelming and exciting to see and augers well for the future of Sudbury and all of Northern Ontario,” said Jeff Fuller, Treasurer of the SAMSSA Board and President of Fuller Industrial.

More than 50 business and government visitors from South Africa’s North West Province, Brazil and Chile have visited SAMSSA members and Sudbury academic institutions in one of the most active months in the history of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply & Service Association’s four-year existence.

Sudbury has become a destination point for mining industry people looking for equipment, technology and talent, and SAMSSA members are one of the main attractions for these global visitors.

Social Capital, Clusters and Connections in Sudbury’s Global Mining Sector – by Dr. David Robinson

April 5, 2015August 3, 2008

Dr. David Robinson is an economist at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury.

Scott Tiffin is a Canadian who lives in Chile. For the last five years he has been Director of Research and International Relations at the Universidad Alfonso Ibanez in Santiago, one of the best business schools in Latin America. Scott is an expert on entrepreneurship. He wants to help Chileans develop a dynamic mining supply sector, so last week Scott came to Sudbury to steal our ideas.

Scott especially wants to know how universities help resource sector businesses grow. He will look at Chilean, Canadian and Finnish or Australian examples to identify “best practices’’ that can be used to promote Chilean development.

The visit uncovered a few surprises: one Laurentian University Economics professor just back from Chile where he talked about how the supply and service sector developed, a team from the Faculty of Management collaborating with Chilean researchers to study small firms in the mining sector, and a couple of engineers just back from giving a course in Antofagasta. They didn’t know about each other’s work.

Mining Suppliers are the Engine for Innovation – by Dr. David Robinson

April 5, 2015July 31, 2008

Dr. David Robinson is an economist at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury.

Knowing how things work used to be the key to industrial success. Today, you have to know how things change. At the national level and in industry, innovation is the secret ingredient for success. Countries that innovate will grow wealthy. Companies with the best methods and the best technologies will grow. That’s the new gospel.

That’s why governments are looking for the magic policy to accelerate innovation and commercialization of new technologies. That’s why the mining supply and service sector is the key to the future of mining.

There has been a flood of research on innovation systems. Researchers have focused on the ends of the supply chain – on research institutions and final users. Acting on that research, policy makers created a Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) at Laurentian University to bring mining companies and university researchers together.

Global Prosperity to Impact on Mining – Dr. David Robinson

April 5, 2015July 27, 2008

The Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Dr. David Robinson’s column. This Sudbury-based magazine showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. (This article was originally published last winter.)

It is Christmas in the mining industry. Rio Tinto is handing out money to Alcan shareholders. China just signed a three billion dollar iron deal with Gabon. Xstrata has a $3.1 billion takeover offer for Perth-based Jubilee mines.

Talk of a takeover by BHP Billiton in September sent Rio Tinto shares up close to 18 per cent in just over a week.

South Korea is setting up a $22 billion fund to invest in global oil and gas projects, vying with China, Japan and India for resources as prices soar.

Where is all the money coming from? In a sense, it all comes from the imagination. The entire world is looking to a global society with a rich China, a rich India, rich Eastern Europe, and maybe even a rich Africa. The value of today’s ore deposits depends on whether you think they will be needed tomorrow.

The Beauty of Mining Machines – Dr. David Robinson

April 5, 2015June 20, 2008

The Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Dr. David Robinson’s column. This Sudbury-based magazine showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury.

Dr. David Robinson

Mining is a rough industry and nowhere is it as challenging as Northern Ontario’s deep, hardrock operations. The mines are hot, dirty and wet. The air has to be pumped in, as if miners were working on another planet. At the bottom of the deepest mines, the rock creeps like toffee under pressure. It can shatter like glass, killing and trapping miners.

In this harsh world, equipment must do miracles. Ventilation systems move minus -40° air to a depth of 2,493 m. Hoist cables lift 4,000 tons per day. There is no room for mistakes. Yet these may be the safest mines in the world.

No wonder Sudbury is the training ground for so many mining experts and the testing ground for some of the toughest machines. The knowledge accumulated by the people of the Sudbury Basin is a treasure. It will grow in value as the mining industry battles to keep up with demand over the next century.

CEMI: The High Cost of Split Jurisdictions – By Michael Atkins

December 8, 2010June 13, 2008

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Michael Atkin’s column. www.northernlife.ca

Michael Atkins

If you have even a passing interest in the politics of northern Ontario, and Sudbury in particular, you will take note of last week’s refusal by FedNor to support the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) at Laurentian University and weep.

The message came from a PR flake in Toronto or Ottawa (it doesn’t really matter where) who was kind enough to point out that it “would not serve to maximize FedNor’s priorities of promoting growth, economic diversification, job creating and sustainable, self-reliant communities in northern Ontario.

Of course, and the tooth fairy henceforth is declining visits to our children on the grounds it no longer fits her mandate.

You will note this piffle did not come from the Sudbury office. It didn’t come from the Sudbury office because the Sudbury office was involved in helping to imagine this project from the beginning and has supported it strongly.

In fact this decision has nothing to do with the merits of the project, pro or con.