Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 441

Canada — and particularly Alberta’s oil industry — paying higher price for climate change policy than U.S. – by Claudia Cattaneo (Financial Post – August 26, 2016)

August 26, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

As Alberta struggles with its most devastating recession ever, a new study highlights why different climate change policy choices made by Canada and the United States point to continued hardship for Canada’s top oil producing province.

The two trading partners are focusing on different areas for GHG reductions and are using different policy tools because of their unique resource endowments, geography, climate, history and politics, according to the study by IHS Energy, led by Kevin Birn.

In the U.S., the front line is power generation from coal, because that is its largest source of emissions. In Canada, the bull’s eye is on oil and gas, and particularly the oilsands.

Wesdome Gold Mines stock soars on new gold discovery at shuttered Quebec mine – by Peter Koven (Financial Post – August 25, 2016)

August 26, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

When Quebec’s Kiena gold mine was shuttered back in 2013, it was believed that all the best pockets of ore were mined out. Now that assumption is being tossed out the window.

Shares of Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. soared 49 per cent on Thursday, closing at $2.24, after the Toronto-based miner revealed spectacular drilling results from Kiena. They included a couple of long intercepts of more than 18 grams per tonne of gold.

Kiena, which opened back in 1981, was a relatively low-grade operation throughout its life. There was no recent indication that it had this kind of high-grade potential.

Five years after asbestos mine closure, Quebec town seeks new identity – by Morgan Lowrie (Canadian Press/Globe and Mail – August 25, 2016)

August 26, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

ASBESTOS, Que. — To residents of Asbestos, Que., the once-mighty Jeffrey mine that gave the town its identity is known simply as “the hole.” But almost five years after Canada’s largest asbestos mine stopped producing the controversial fibre, Asbestos is looking to move on from the industry that supported it for more than a century.

Key to the efforts is a $50-million regional diversification fund, put in place by the former Parti Quebecois government in 2012 after it cancelled a $58-million loan the Liberals had promised to help the mine renovate and reopen.

Mayor Hugues Grimard is hoping the subsidies available through the fund, paired with industrial know-how and a little hustle, will be enough to attract new businesses to the town of 7,000 residents two hours east of Montreal.

Plans for roads to Ring of Fire development in limbo with inconclusive study – by Bill Curry (Globe and Mail – August 25, 2016)

August 25, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

OTTAWA — Plans to provide road access to remote Northern Ontario First Nations and spur development of the Ring of Fire mineral deposits are in limbo after a government-funded consultation failed to produce a clear consensus on how to proceed.

A community study that cost $785,000 in combined provincial and federal funds has concluded that Ottawa and Ontario have not provided enough information for First Nations to make a clear decision on how to proceed.

“A ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decision for a community road or road corridor option cannot be made at this time,” states a section of the report that summarizes the conclusions and recommendations. The Globe and Mail obtained a copy of the three-page conclusions section but has not seen the full report. The four communities involved – Webequie First Nation, Eabametoong First Nation, Neskantaga First Nation and Nibinamik First Nation – have not made the report public. It is not clear whether the section obtained by The Globe is a draft or final version.

Has the federal government dropped the ball on Ring of Fire development? – by Jordan Press (Victoria Times Colonist – August 25, 2016)

August 25, 2016

http://www.timescolonist.com/

The Canadian Press – OTTAWA – “The Ring of Fire is a provincial initiative that the previous federal government was extremely detached from and uninterested in.” — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

When a local reporter went digging for answers from Justin Trudeau about stalled development in the so-called Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, the prime minister went panning for political points.

Far away from where he stood in Sudbury lies one of the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of chromite — a key ingredient in stainless steel — as well as deposits of nickel, copper and platinum. But development hasn’t budged in the last 10 years.

Trudeau pointed the finger at the previous Conservative government. “The Ring of Fire is a provincial initiative that the previous federal government was extremely detached from and uninterested in,” Trudeau said after a cabinet retreat in Sudbury, one of the cities that could benefit from Ring of Fire development.

Gold price drop triggers mining stocks bloodbath – by Frik Els (Mining.com – August 24, 2016)

August 25, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

Gold struggled on Wednesday losing more than 1% to exchange hands for $1,327 in late afternoon trade in New York. Gold is coming off two-year highs hit early this month and year to date the metal is still up more than 25% or nearly $270 an ounce.

Some of the biggest drivers of 2016 gold price surge have begun to lose steam in recent weeks. Large scale gold futures and options speculators or “managed money” investors such as hedge funds have been scaling back bullish bets recently and the frenzied buying of physically-backed gold ETFs have also moderated (see graph).

Hansen, chief commodity strategist at Saxo Bank, says while the fundamental drivers still support a higher gold price, but these investment flows have started to flash warning signals which “could indicate that gold, just like in May, could be facing another correction.”

Commissioning of Legacy potash mine underway: K+S (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – August 24, 2016)

August 25, 2016

http://thestarphoenix.com/

Just over a month after a major accident derailed K+S Potash Canada’s plan to bring its Legacy solution mine into production by the end of the year, the company has begun commissioning the massive $4.1 billion potash project.

“Legacy will make an important contribution to the future viability of K+S,” Ralf Bethke, chairman of the supervisory board of K+S AG, K+S Potash Canada’s parent company, said in a statement.

“The new plant will ensure that the company has access to high-grade resources for generations and will strengthen the position of K+S on the international potash market sustainably.”

Exclusive: Goldcorp struggles with leak at Mexican mine – by Allison Martell, Frank Jack Daniel and Noe Torres (Reuters U.S. – August 24, 2016)

August 25, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO/MEXICO CITY – Mexican regulators said they are examining whether mining company Goldcorp Inc (G.TO) broke any regulations in its handling of a long-running leak of contaminated water at Mexico’s biggest gold mine.

The move follows questions from Reuters about the leak, which until now has not been disclosed to the public. Levels of the mineral selenium rose in one groundwater monitoring well near Goldcorp’s Penasquito mine as early as October 2013, Goldcorp data reviewed by Reuters shows.

The Canadian company reported a rise in selenium levels in groundwater to the Mexican government in October 2014, after which the contamination near its mine waste facility intensified, according to internal company documents seen by Reuters, and interviews with government officials. Two weeks ago, the company told Mexican regulators that contaminated water had also been found in other areas of its property.

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.