Canadian/International Media Resource Articles – Page 28

B.C.’s opposition to Northern Gateway pipeline plan sends strong message – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – June 1, 2013)

June 3, 2013

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Those who hoped the re-election of Christy Clark’s Liberal government in British Columbia would mean her eventual endorsement of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline were reminded Friday the project has a long way to go to win the province’s essential backing.

In its final submission to the Northern Gateway Pipeline Joint Review Panel, B.C. says it cannot support the project as presented because proponent Enbridge Inc. has been unable to address British Columbians’ environmental concerns.

“We have carefully considered the evidence that has been presented to the Joint Review Panel,” B.C. environment minister Terry Lake in a statement. “The panel must determine if it is appropriate to grant a certificate for the project as currently proposed on the basis of a promise to do more study and planning after the certificate is granted. Our government does not believe that a certificate should be granted before these important questions are answered …‘Trust me’ is not good enough in this case.”

While environmental organizations applauded the tough talk, B.C. also said its position on Northern Gateway is not a rejection of heavy-oil projects. It says all proposals, such as Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion or David Black’s Kitimat Clean refinery project, would be judged on their merits.

David Black’s grand vision: Can newspaper publisher from Victoria beat the oil industry to Asia? – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – June 1, 2013)

June 3, 2013

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

VICTORIA, B.C. – It has been two years since West Coast newspaper mogul David Black started travelling to Alberta, arguing with the oil community that its plans to put bitumen in tankers would never be accepted in British Columbia, pining for support for his alternative plan to build a giant heavy oil refinery in Kitimat, B.C. to export fuels that are less environmentally harmful and enhance the Canadian economy.

“They were tone deaf,” he said. “They just didn’t understand the difference in mentality between Alberta and B.C.” Today, Mr. Black’s grand plan remains poorly received in Alberta, while advancing in many right places in his home province and elsewhere, including support from the newly re-elected provincial Liberal government and promises of $25-billion in financing from the Chinese.

Meanwhile, the oil community’s two pipeline projects between Alberta and the West Coast are mired in controversy, raising the question: Can a shrewd newspaper publisher from Victoria beat the oil industry to the Asian market?

In an interview in his century-old, ocean-front mansion overlooking the Juan de Fuca Strait, Mr. Black said he’s dead serious about moving forward with his plan, even if it means going at it alone.

Hundreds storm office of Canadian Centerra mine in Kyrgyzstan, 55 wounded in clashes – by Leila Saralayeva (Associated Press/National Post – June 1, 2013)

June 3, 2013

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

BARSKOON, Kyrgyzstan — Hundreds of stone-throwing protesters besieged a Canadian gold mine in Kyrgyzstan on Friday, clashing violently with riot police and prompting the president to declare a state of emergency.

Over 50 people were wounded and 80 detained in the clashes, authorities said. The protest also triggered widespread unrest in the southern city of Jalal-Abad, where hundreds stormed the governor’s office.

The twin developments threatened further turmoil in this impoverished Central Asian nation of five million, which hosts a U.S. base supporting military operations in nearby Afghanistan. Protesters want the northeastern Kumtor gold mine to be nationalized and the company to provide more benefits.

The mine, operated by Toronto-based Centerra Gold, is the largest foreign-owned gold mine in the former Soviet Union. It accounts for about 12% of the nation’s economy and has been at the centre of heated debate between those favouring nationalization and officials who believe that would deter much-needed foreign investment.

Miners lead transparency push for payments to governments – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – June 3, 2013)

June 3, 2013

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.

OTTAWA — HudBay Minerals Inc. is making its first big bet overseas with a $1.5-billion copper mine in Peru. As its engineers work on mine construction, the Toronto-based company’s accountants are proceeding with a related project – preparing to lay out, under contentious new U.S. securities regulations, precisely what revenues it pays to federal and local governments in the South American country.

While U.S.-listed resource companies like HudBay face such mandatory transparency reporting, companies listed only in Canada do not. Now, the mining industry is leading a charge in this country to adopt similar rules.

It’s a move that is dividing Canada’s mining and oil companies, and raises questions about whether payments to first nations should be also be made public.

And the federal government is now endorsing the adoption of mandatory reporting for both mining and energy companies, though Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver cautioned Sunday that it will have to be done in collaboration with the provinces, which have jurisdiction over resources royalties and securities law.

No Wynne on wind – by Lorrie Goldstin (Toronto Sun – June 2, 2013)

June 3, 2013

http://www.torontosun.com/home

Liberal record of forcing wind turbines on Ontarians is appalling

Premier Kathleen Wynne last week promised to give municipal governments a greater say in the location of industrial wind turbines (IWTs) in their communities, short of being able to veto them.

In other words, she’s promising residents across Ontario battling the imposition of industrial wind factories on their communities any and all assistance, short of help.

Given the Liberals’ appalling history on this issue, skepticism is justified about anything they say. Indeed, the determination of Wynne’s predecessor, Dalton McGuinty, to ram IWTs down the throats of communities across Ontario is one of the most shameful episodes in the Liberals’ 10-year record of government.

People who objected to IWTs were mocked as suffering from NIMBYism (not-in-my-backyard syndrome) by McGuinty. His Green Energy Act took away the rights of local municipalities to any say in the location of these giant, industrial wind factories.

How Ontario’s Liberals can win back rural Ontario – by Michael Warren (Toronto Star – June 2, 2013)

June 3, 2013

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.

Wynne is starting to deliver on commitments to rural and northern voters.

There is a method in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s madness. Firing Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) chair Paul Godfrey. Forming a four-minister task force to review rules for renewable energy projects. Negotiating with the horse-racing industry.

All these seemingly unrelated actions have one purpose. Winning back rural Ontario. Most of the 18 Liberal seats lost to the opposition in the last provincial election were in rural Ontario. It was northern and rural voters who said no to a Liberal majority government.

Former premier Dalton McGuinty governed from his bunker at Queen’s Park. He saw the big issues of the day through a metropolitan prism. His government developed a big city “we know best” attitude that infuriated rural voters.

His rural MPPs and cabinet ministers told McGuinty about the deepening sense of Liberal abandonment in their ridings. But he wasn’t listening. Almost all of them went down to defeat as a result. This didn’t go unnoticed during February’s Liberal leadership race. Every candidate talked about the needs of the North and the hinterland.

$18bn cut for Pilbara iron ore miners – by Malavika Santhebennur (Australian Mining – May 31, 2013)

May 31, 2013

http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/home

Pilbara iron ore producers could be in for an $18 billion annual revenue cut. The revenue hit comes as prices for steelmaking raw material fell to a seven-and-a-half-month low of $US112.90 a tonne. That is 22 per cent less than the average for the March quarter of $US145 a tonne.

This came as a result of new rounds of destocking by steel mills in China as steel prices decline and the industry faces over-capacity, The Australian reported. Based on the slumped prices, if production reaches 550 million tonnes this year, revenue would fall $18 billion of what was expected in the March quarter.

The share market closed 0.88 per cent lower due to weakness in iron stocks. Rio Tinto was down 1.35 per cent, BHP Billiton was down 1.18 per cent and Fortescue fell by 3.35 per cent. But smaller mining companies felt much of the brunt with Atlas Iron down 6.1 per cent and Mount Gibson down 4 per cent.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development downgraded its prediction for Australia’s economic growth this year, and the International Monetary Fund did the same for China, even as construction steel prices fell considerably there.

Cameco, Areva, sign deal with Saskatchewan First Nation for uranium mine – by John Cotter (Canadian Press/Global News – May 31, 2013)

May 31, 2013

http://globalnews.ca/toronto/

PATUANAK, Sask. – Uranium giants Cameco and Areva have reached a $600-million deal with a Saskatchewan First Nation that supports their mining operations and drops a lawsuit over land near the proposed Millennium project.

The collaborative agreement is with the English River First Nation, a band of more than 1,000 people who live on seven small reserves in the province’s northwest. Another 400 people live off-reserve.

“This introduces a level of stability and predictability around employment, business training and community investment and environmental stewardship,” Cameco vice-president Gary Merasty said Thursday.

“This is a little more certainty around project development. If there is a lawsuit hanging over, you know that introduces a level of risk to the project.” A formal signing ceremony is to be held Friday in the community of Patuanak, about 600 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

Most of the money is to flow to the First Nation over 10 years through contracts with band-owned businesses and wages to band members, who are expected to work at the mines and on community development projects.

Mining bill calls for local processing and more transparency – by Kevin Dougherty (Montreal Gazette – May 30, 2013)

May 31, 2013

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

Companies would have to pay full cost of restoring sites

The Parti Québécois government has presented its long-awaited Mining Act in the Quebec National Assembly. Bill 43 would require mining companies to put up 100 per cent of the cost of restoring mining sites to their natural state once the work is complete and calls for more processing of minerals in the province as a condition for granting a mining lease.

All mining projects would have to pass an environmental assessment, and the bill calls for dialogue between mining companies and nearby communities. In the name of transparency, mining companies would have to make public the tonnage of minerals extracted and the amount of royalties paid to the province.

Companies would have to make public their claims within 60 days and reveal operating plans 90 days before work starts.

Martine Ouellet, the PQ minister of natural resources, said it took almost nine months to frame Bill 43 because she consulted the mining industry and municipal governments about exclusion zones, where mining would not be allowed.

More ‘tough love’ in store at BHP – by Brian Robins (Sydney Morning Herald – May 30, 2013)

May 31, 2013

http://www.smh.com.au/

BHP Billiton has flagged its coal division is in for more ”tough love” as it puts underperforming mines on the block and winds back capital spending against the backdrop of a tough global market which is not expected to turn up any time soon.

BHP has forced suppliers to renegotiate contracts following a collapse in earnings of the division, which is barely breaking even following a sustained profit slide over the past few years.

Believed to be on the block is the Gregory coking coal mine in Queensland, which was partly shut down last year due to low coal prices. It has also shut the Norwich Park mine nearby as it moves to ”simplify” its portfolio.

BHP is also negotiating with the Navajo Nation over the sale of its mine in New Mexico, US, which, according to reports, could raise an estimated $US85 million.

”We will selectively pursue asset divestment opportunities with a firm focus on value,” BHP told analysts on Wednesday. ”Assets must earn their right to remain in the portfolio.”

President Zuma draws the line on wildcat strikes – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – May 30, 2013)

May 31, 2013

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

PRETORIA (miningweekly.com) – President Jacob Zuma on Thursday drew the line on wildcat strikes, implicitly declaring unequivocal zero tolerance on future industrial action that is outside of the law.

Announcing a new programme of action for the troubled South African mining sector, President Zuma said that Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and three Cabinet Ministers had been tasked with restoring stability and certainty to the mining sector, which he described as an essential “cornerstone of the South African economy”.

He was emphatic that all future strikes needed to be undertaken within what he described as South Africa’s “excellent” legal framework and the Constitution (see also attached video).

“You cannot allow the unions to engage in wildcat strikes,” he said in response to global news agency Reuters’ question on dealing with what was described as “the turf war” between the emerging Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the long-standing National Union of Mineworkers.

Leeway had recently been given to AMCU on the grounds of its inexperience.

Quebec mining companies lash out at proposed legislation involving ore processing – by RHÉAL SÉGUIN (Globe and Mail – May 30, 2013)

May 31, 2013

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.

QUEBEC — Quebec mining companies are reeling over proposed legislation that would require them to produce studies on the feasibility of processing ore in the province before proceeding with a new project.

The requirement is part of the new Mining Act tabled on Wednesday, in which the Parti Québécois minority government is seeking to maximize the economic spin-offs from major new mining projects.

“Processing [ore] could create three to four times more jobs than simple extraction,” Natural Resources Minister Martine Ouellet said. “We are aware that you can’t process 100 per cent of the ore mined in Quebec. But between what is being processed now and 100 per cent, there is a great deal of room for improvement.”

The Quebec Mining Association said it is not against promoting secondary industries around mining projects. But it lashed out at a plan it said would create an additional financial burden in a province that, according to the lobby group, has the highest production and transportation costs in the country.

“We aren’t against processing the ore here, but companies need incentives. What we are seeing here are more coercive measures,” said the association’s president and director-general, Josée Méthot.

Provincial bickering has no place in pipeline proposals – by Kelly McParland (National Post – May 31, 2013)

May 31, 2013

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

The premiers of Canada’s three westernmost provinces are getting together to talk pipelines.

As the National Post’s Claudia Cattaneo reported on Thursday, B.C. Premier Christy Clark, Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall expect to meet “shortly” as part of their New West Partnership to discuss several pipeline projects, including how to make them “more economically relevant” to British Columbia.

It might seem natural that the leaders of three provinces sharing a strong economic interest in the growth of the energy industry would meet to share ideas and strategies. But not in this case, for the typical Canadian reason that provincial rivalries and political gamesmanship have heretofore been allowed to intrude on the greater interests of all involved.

Alberta and Saskatchewan both have a need for new markets for their oil production, and for the means to transport it economically and efficiently. In addition to the Keystone XL pipeline now awaiting approval from Washington, two other proposals — the Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain projects — are on the table. The Northern Gateway would ship 525,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the B.C. coast, for shipment to Asia. Trans Mountain would twin an existing pipeline from Alberta to the lower mainland.

Work together, Canada, to clean up energy MESS – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – May 31, 2013)

May 31, 2013

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.

Canada’s energy policy is a MESS, and rare is the government that has sorted it out. MESS is an acronym coined by Prof. Monica Gattinger, a political scientist interested in energy policy at the University of Ottawa. Each letter of MESS stands for an important element of any energy strategy: markets, environment, security and social acceptability (or licence).

Governments invariably stress one or perhaps two parts of MESS, and pay less attention to the others. Increasingly, it’s clear that all of most of the four parts of MESS have to be pursued simultaneously. If not, either nothing happens, or happens only with great difficulty, as Canadians are seeing with energy projects at home.

The oil industry and its political boosters, such as those in Edmonton and Ottawa, start from M, market. No market, no production, no transportation, no jobs, no revenues. Market forces are their favourite paradigm.

For decades, it was assumed M would be always easy to locate. Oil and gas pumped in Canada would be snapped up by the United States. More recently, Asia was added as a sure-fire market. Within North America, the same was true for hydro. Build capacity and the Americans will buy. The market would prevail.

Controversy over Chinese miners in B.C. prompts flood of angry letters – by James Keller (Canadian Press/CTV News – May 31, 2013)

May 31, 2013

http://www.ctvnews.ca/

VANCOUVER — One resident of an unnamed British Columbia community claimed to personally know 40 unemployed miners who would be more than happy to work at a proposed coal mine in the province’s northeast that was instead slated to employ temporary Chinese workers.

Another lamented the mine’s hiring plan as just the latest example of Canadian resources leaving this country.
And yet another bluntly asked: “Are you trying to lose the next election?”

As a public debate swirled about Chinese-owned HD Mining’s plan to use temporary foreign workers at its proposed underground coal mine — prompting multiple government investigations and a lawsuit by a pair of unions — the province was flooded with angry letters from the public.

Four months of those letters, obtained through freedom of information laws, reveal deep anger about the province’s public support for the project and little sympathy for politicians and company officials who insisted there was not a single Canadian qualified to work at the mine. The dozens of emails and typewritten letters sent to the government on the subject between October and January stretch on for more than 70 pages.