Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 440

Bad air from Rio Tinto aluminum smelter forcing her to move, Kitimat resident says – by Andrew Kurjata and Robin Batchelor (CBC News British Columbia – August 23, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

Move highlights continued battle between company and community over air quality in Kitimat

A Kitimat woman says she is being forced to leave the community due to sulphur dioxide emissions coming from Rio Tinto Alcan’s aluminum smelter. Sheena Cooper blames an increase in SO2 [sulphur dioxide] in the air for a spate of asthma attacks that have put her in hospital and on increased medication.

“At this point, it’s we need to get out of this town so I can get healthy again,” Cooper said of the decision to move her, her husband and their two children to the nearby community of Terrace.

Cooper said she’s suffered from asthma since she was five years old, but until this year its effects have been mild. That changed in March, when she suffered a series of attacks and had to check into hospital seven times. She is now using prednisone, antibiotics and a higher dose of inhaler.

Executives believe they can survive lower metals outlook – KPMG – by Megan Van Wyngaardt (MiningWeekly.com – August 23, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Fewer than half of senior metals executives responding to KPMG International’s 2016 Global Metals & Mining Outlook survey voiced any level of confidence in the prospects for the global economy over the next two years.

This was particularly concerning given the tight relationship between the fortunes of the global economy and that of the global metals and mining industry, the advisory firm says.

However, while confidence in the global economy is low, the KPMG survey suggests that most metals executives believe they can survive and maybe even grow in the medium term.

Second worker this month injured at Agrium’s Vanscoy potash mine – by Alex MacPherson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – August 23, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://thestarphoenix.com/

A miner was airlifted to hospital in Saskatoon Sunday morning after suffering major injuries in the second underground accident this month at Agrium Inc.’s Vanscoy potash mine.

“He had serious injuries and had some surgery (Sunday) and he’s recovering from that surgery right now,” said Todd Steen, general manager of the mine, which is located about 30 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon.

Details about what caused the accident will be available when an investigation is complete, but it is “not related” to the Aug. 8 incident that led to the death of 29-year-old Chad Wiklun, Steen said. “It’s very unfortunate that we had another incident here, and we want to make sure we don’t have any more, and we want to make sure we get to the bottom of these.”

Rusoro says awarded $1.2 billion over Venezuelan seizure of gold assets – by Jim Finkle (Reuters Canada – August 24, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://ca.reuters.com/

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s Rusoro Mining Ltd RML.V said on Tuesday it has been awarded more than $1.2 billion by a World Bank tribunal that ruled Venezuela had unlawfully seized the company’s gold assets four years ago.

Shares in the Vancouver-based mining firm, which is backed by Russia’s Agapov family, more than doubled on Tuesday, trading for as much as 32 cents – their highest level since Venezuela’s asset seizure.

Rusoro, whose shares had a market value of C$83 million ($64 million) prior to Tuesday’s rally, was one of about 20 Canadian miners and other international firms that filed complaints with the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, over Venezuela’s action.

Wynne Liberals lead Ontario down Michigan’s path to pain – by Kelly McParland (National Post – August 24, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://news.nationalpost.com/

There is good reason to be gloomy about a new study contrasting Ontario’s prolonged stagnation to recent signs of revival across the border in Michigan state.

One is the simple embarrassment of being compared to a state that has become synonymous with failure. One of the few comforts available to frustrated Ontarians as the province slid steadily into economic torpidity was the knowledge that things immediately across the border were worse. Every article depicting Detroit as an urban apocalypse offered a little spurt of schadenfreude for Ontario: sure, things could be better, but hey, at least we’re not Michigan.

A more compelling basis for gloom lies in the relative state of mind of the two governments. Michigan knew it was in a mess and had to do something about it. When Governor Rick Snyder took office in 2011 he recognized that drastic measures were required, and set out to introduce them.

Gord Downie’s demand for courage – by Jesse Staniforth (Toronto Star – August 24, 2016)

August 24, 2016

https://www.thestar.com/

How much was the Tragically Hip singer praising Prime Minister Trudeau or challenging him to make life better for indigenous people?

Gord Downie could have stood for a lot of things on Saturday night, during the final performance of the Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem tour, and possibly of his life. But with the nation watching — 11.7-million tuning in on CBC — he called for non-Indigenous Canadians to take up the long, difficult process of decolonization.

His comments came framed as a compliment to Justin Trudeau, who was in the crowd (wearing a Canadian Tuxedo): “He cares about the people way up North, that we were trained our entire lives to ignore, trained our entire lives to hear not a word of what’s going on up there. And what’s going on up there ain’t good. It’s maybe worse than it’s ever been [ … But] we’re going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help. […] It’s really, really bad, but we’re going to figure it out — you’re going to figure it out.”

New CEO, directors at Encanto could advance potash project at Muskowekwan First Nation – by Bruce Johnston (Regina Leader-Post – August 22, 2016)

August 23, 2016

http://leaderpost.com/

A big shakeup at Encanto Potash Corp., which saw the CEO replaced and several directors resign from the company’s board of directors, could breathe new life into the company’s proposed $3-billion potash project at Muskowekwan First Nation, about 100 km northeast of Regina.

Norman Brewster, president and CEO of Cadillac Ventures Inc., was named CEO of Encanto earlier this month, replacing Jim Walchuk, who will stay on as an adviser. In addition to Brewster, six new directors were appointed to Encanto’s board of directors, including Muskowekwan First Nation Chief Reg Bellerose as First Nations special counsel. The company also moved its headquarters from Vancouver to Toronto.

Brewster said the financial markets haven’t been keen about financing new potash projects, especially since the price of potash plummeted from nearly US$900 a tonne in 2008 to less than US$200 per tonne in recent months.

STELCO SALE: Locals outraged at Ottawa’s “deafening silence” on steel industry – by Steve Arnold (Hamilton Spectator – August 23, 2016)

August 23, 2016

http://www.thespec.com/

Union leaders, Opposition MPs and even the Chamber of Commerce are pressing the federal government to help Canada’s struggling steel industry. Two Hamilton Members of Parliament, three chambers of commerce and union leaders at the local and provincial levels separately have called for help for the industry and especially for retirees and workers in Hamilton.

NDP MPs Scott Duvall (Hamilton Mountain) and Dave Christopherson (Hamilton Centre) have written to Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, saying the federal government has stayed on the sidelines too long.

“To date, your government has not been tangibly involved in any way to help protect the jobs, benefits and pensions of current and former employees of USSC/Stelco despite commitments previously made by colleagues and the Prime Minister,” they wrote. “Workers, pensioners, the business community and the City of Hamilton have all appealed for your help. So far, you and your government have been missing in action.”

Vale closer to $9 billion Chinese streaming deal – report – by Frik Els (Mining.com – August 23, 2016)

August 23, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

The world’s top iron ore producer Vale (NYSE:VALE) is getting closer to inking a commodity streaming deal with Chinese companies that could afford the Brazilian giant an up to $9 billion upfront payment.

Bloomberg reported over the weekend a deal with China Investment Corp, the country’s $814 billion sovereign wealth fund, could see Vale sell part of its future iron ore output to the Chinese over 30 years:

According to the report citing people familiar with the matter other Chinese companies and Japanese trading houses have also held discussions with Vale and considered alternative agreements including acquiring a minority stake in the company’s iron ore assets:

KWG and Chinese engineering group move ahead with RoF rail feasibility study – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – August 23, 2016)

August 23, 2016

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Junior exploration firm KWG Resources has appointed a China-based consulting engineering group to undertake a conditional bankable feasibility study on a proposed railroad from the mineral properties in Ontario’s Ring of Fire (RoF), to a junction with the CN Railroad at Exton, Ontario.

KWG on Monday announced that it has signed a framework strategic cooperation agreement with China Railway First Survey & Design Institute Group (FSDI) to undertake the study. KWG had hosted a delegation of eight railroad engineering specialists from FSDI earlier this year to conduct a reconnaissance visit to review the proposed railroad alignment and the field and design work previously completed by the company.

Under terms of a conditional bankable feasibility study consultation service agreement, the parties have agreed on the deliverables and timetable for FSDI. The study is expected to be complete by year-end.

EXCLUSIVE: Ring of Fire road study produces inconclusive results about transportation in Ontario’s remote north – by Jody Porter (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 22, 2016)

August 22, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Report suggests more study needed to determine viability of all-weather access for remote First Nations

A $785,000 study, jointly funded by Canada and Ontario, suggests more study is needed before deciding if an all-weather road should be built in a mineral-rich area known as the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario.

The study was announced in March 2015 at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto and was widely seen as a step towards getting “significant” nickel and chromite deposits out of the muskeg and off to markets.

“Today’s announcement represents our federal government’s latest meaningful contribution to helping the province enhance the economic potential of the Ring of Fire,” Canada’s then-Minister of Natural Resources Conservative Greg Rickford said at the time. But it turns out, the study was never really about mining.

[Tragically Hip] Downie praised for putting Trudeau on spot about indigenous issues – by Joe Friesen (Globe and Mail – August 22, 2016)

August 22, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Indigenous leaders across Canada expressed their support and gratitude to Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie for placing indigenous issues in the spotlight during the band’s nationally televised concert Saturday, and for applying public pressure to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action.

Mr. Downie, who announced in May that he has incurable brain cancer, told the audience that Mr. Trudeau “cares about the people way up North that we were trained our entire lives to ignore.”

“It’s going to take us 100 years to figure out what the hell went on up there but it isn’t cool, and everybody knows that. It’s really, really bad. But we’re going to figure it out. You’re going to figure it out,” Mr. Downie told the live audience in Kingston, Ont., and the millions watching and listening live on CBC.

Ottawa should make mining companies more accountable (Toronto Star Editorial – August 21, 2016)

August 22, 2016

https://www.thestar.com/

The Trudeau government should re-introduce — and strengthen — a bill to make Canadian mining companies act more responsibly.

Canada likes to think of itself as a principled middle power, projecting a moral voice in the world. But in the rugged fields of international mining, oil and gas, it is a muscular giant whose power is not always wielded in an ethical way.

That’s why Father Melo, a Honduran Jesuit priest who is under death threats for defending environmental rights, travelled to Toronto last week to plead for help from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He wants the prime minister to make Canadian mining companies accountable for respecting human rights and environmental standards, including a halt to displacement of local indigenous communities.

De Beers to begin drilling for diamonds in northern Saskatchewan – by Alex MacPherson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – August 19, 2016)

August 22, 2016

http://thestarphoenix.com/

The world’s largest diamond mining company is expected to launch the next phase of its search for the precious stones in Northern Saskatchewan later this month.

After collecting samples and completing a low-level airborne survey, De Beers Canada Inc. will begin drilling “targets” on the 43,000-acre Northwest Athabasca Kimberlite Project it optioned from CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. earlier this year.

“I think it ticks the boxes for kimberlites, and if you’ve got kimberlites, you should be looking at them for diamonds,” said CanAlaska president and CEO Peter Dasler, referring to the igneous rock formation named for Kimberly, South Africa.

Exclusive: Kinross to retreat from Chile, puts unit on the block – by John Tilak and Rosalba O’Brien (Reuters U.S. – August 19, 2016)

August 19, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Canada’s Kinross Gold Corp is looking to retreat from Chile and has put its main assets in that country up for sale, according to people familiar with the process.

The move comes at a time Toronto-based Kinross has suspended operations at Maricunga, its major mine in Chile, because of environmental concerns raised by the Chilean regulator.

The world’s fifth-largest gold miner by output has hired Bank of Nova Scotia to help find buyers for its two main Chilean gold mines, the sources said. They requested anonymity because the matter is not public. Interest has been very strong, with bids coming from mining companies from Canada, Chile and other parts of the world, the sources said.