Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 594

Cameco delays Millenium Mine – by Jason Warick (Regina Leader-Post – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

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

Cameco Corp.’s decision to delay construction of its Millennium uranium mine is one more reminder of Saskatchewan’s vulnerability to the whims of commodities markets, experts say.

However, the province’s economy should be strong enough to weather the recent troubles in the uranium and potash industries, they add. Robust oil prices, a record grain harvest and other factors provide reasons for optimism. “Saskatchewan has got everything the world wants,” said Colin Boyd, professor of management in the University of Saskatchewan’s Edwards School of Business.

Boyd said reliance on any single commodity “can be a roller-coaster ride,” but Saskatchewan is diversifying. “I think we’ll be absolutely fine,” he said.

Fellow Edwards School professor Brooke Dobni said there may not be record economic growth every year, but the long-term outlook is good. “We’re not at the peak, and there are so many variables we don’t control, but we’re still doing OK, Dobni, the school’s chair for Saskatchewan enterprise, said.

Cameco’s Millennium uranium mine project is 36 kilometres from the company’s Key Lake operation in the Athabasca Basin. Cameco owns 69.9 per cent of the project and serves as the operator, with Japan’s JCU Exploration Co. owning the remainder.

Anti-pipeline groups want to slay golden goose – by Lorne Gunter (Toronto Sun – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.torontosun.com/home

On Tuesday, a coalition of First Nations, environmentalists and lefty think-tanks vowed to fight the $12 billion Energy East pipeline to take oilsands oil from Alberta to refineries and ports in eastern Canada.

Although not formally aligned yet (they have held a closed-door strategy meeting in Winnipeg, but have not forged a single front organization), the groups pledged to oppose Energy East with as much ferocity as opponents of the Keystone XL project have used in the United States.

Many of these same groups and others also vehemently oppose Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan in B.C. Not all, but most of them are, indeed, opposed to oilsands development altogether.

But just so I’m clear, here, you groups all still want even more billions from Ottawa and the provinces for development on reserves and in other First Nations communities, right?

Just where do you imagine that money is going to come from? If you block the largest economic development projects in the country, from whom will the federal and provincial governments collect the taxes to pay for the social spending you dream of?

Liberals are idiots on green energy – Editorial (Toronto Sun – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.torontosun.com/home

Liberal MPP and former energy minister Brad Duguid says Tory Leader Tim Hudak is “completely irresponsible and out of his mind” for trying to extricate taxpayers and hydro consumers from the Liberals’ green energy disaster.

In fact, the only people who were completely out of their minds on the green energy file were Dalton McGuinty, Kathleen Wynne, Duguid and the entire Liberal cabinet and caucus.

First, their criticism of Hudak is a straw man. They charge Hudak would be irresponsible to tear up absurdly generous, 20-year contracts the Liberals signed with wind and solar power developers for expensive and unreliable electricity.

Except Hudak didn’t say that. He said he won’t cancel approved projects that are already supplying power to the electricity grid because it would cost even more to walk away from them.

He did say he won’t approve new contracts and will review on a case by case basis contracts awaiting final approval from the energy minister.

Clement says Wynne’s Ring of Fire letter shows election desperation – by Jessica Hume (Toronto Sun – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/home.html

OTTAWA – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s criticism of the feds’ contribution to developing northern Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire shows she’s become a “desperate” campaigner, Treasury Board President Tony Clement says.
She recently called for more cash for the project.

On Tuesday, Clement called Wynne’s letter “political positioning in the middle of an election.” “We’ve seen desperation in the campaign of Kathleen Wynne in the last few days and this is just another example of that,” he said.

The funding issue has caused tensions over the development of this vast territory, about 535 km north of Thunder Bay, Ont.

The minerals are worth billions, but before any mining can begin, plenty of infrastructure needs to be built. No roads connect the Ring of Fire to the rest of the province. Wynne says $2 billion is needed to build enough infrastructure to begin any work.

In her own recently announced budget, Wynne allocated $1 billion for Ring of Fire infrastructure in the hopes of inspiring other levels of government and the private sector to ante up.

Northern Policy Institute talks Ring of Fire infrastructure (CBC News Thunder Bay – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/ The fledgling Northern Policy Institute [NPI] will soon release research on the Ring of Fire that deals with issues such as road access versus rail access to the mining region. The think-tank was established to do independent studies on big issues affecting northern Ontario. “I’ve had opportunity … to hear [Matawa First Nations negotiator] Bob …

Barrick Gold seeks to restart suspended Pascua-Lama project after meeting with top Chilean officials – by Alexandra Ulmer and Fabian Cambero (National Post – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

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

Reuters – SANTIAGO — Barrick Gold Corp, the world’s No. 1 gold miner, has met with Chilean officials and is keen to move forward with its suspended Pascua-Lama gold and copper project, in which it has already invested more than US$5 billion, Chile’s new mining minister told Reuters.

Aurora Williams, who became minister in March after President Michele Bachelet assumed power, said in an interview on Friday the Toronto-based company wanted to resolve outstanding problems so it could continue with Pascua-Lama, which straddles the Chilean and Argentine border.

Barrick surprised financial markets in October, when it shelved the massive mine over problems, including political opposition, environmental permitting, labor unrest, cost overruns and a sharp drop in bullion prices.

“We received Barrick a few days ago,” Williams said in her first interview with a foreign news organization. “They’ve showed us their interest in solving (Pascua-Lama’s) problems and doing community work, which to us appears correct … What I understand is that there’s interest that the project continue.”

Ontario premier talks ‘nonsense,’ say feds [about Ring of Fire] – by Daniel Proussalidis (Toronto Sun – May 18, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://www.torontosun.com/home

OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford dismisses Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s recent trash-talking over a lack of federal funding for northern development as “nonsense.”

Earlier this month, Wynne accused the federal government of funding hydro development in Atlantic Canada and pipeline projects in the West, but neglecting infrastructure to develop the Ring of Fire – several promising mineral projects in Northern Ontario.

Wynne’s comments came in the context of a provincial election campaign, but Rickford rejected the criticism Sunday nonetheless. “That’s nonsense,” Rickford told CTV’s Question Period. “I wish that this had not been politicized the way that it has.”

He also says the province hasn’t yet mapped out how development should proceed “in any way shape or form,” leaving the investment climate unclear for private companies.

Ontario needs its own immigration program [Ring of Fire proposal] – by Viresh Fernando Tim Leahy (Toronto Star – May 19, 2014)

May 20, 2014

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.

Viresh Fernando is a chartered accountant, lawyer and international investment consultant. Tim Leahy is an immigration lawyer.

The Constitution grants concurrent power to the provinces and Ottawa over immigration. Quebec wisely took full control over immigration in 1991. It is time for Ontario to do likewise.

Quebec has used its immigration program to attract capital to fund Quebec businesses, thereby increasing employment, to target immigrants to fill skill shortages and to maintain and enhance French language and culture by attracting francophones. Quebec’s immigration program has been very successful on social, cultural, economic and political levels.

Other provinces and territories have lesser accords. For example, Ottawa allows Prince Edward Island to select “investor immigrants” who have a net worth of at least $2 million, who commit to invest $800,000 in approved projects within P.E.I. and agree to reside in the province. P.E.I. makes all selection decisions and the federal government’s role is limited to ensuring that these nominees are not medically or criminally inadmissible. Thus, processing of investor immigrants is expedited and, most importantly, P.E.I. directs where the investment is made.

Ontario election: On jobs, leaders offer some good, some bad, but little revolutionary – by David Olive (Toronto Star – May 17, 2014)

May 20, 2014

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.

The province that pioneered innovations from insulin to smartphones is falling behind.

In recent years, Nortel Networks Corp., BlackBerry Ltd., the U.S. Steel-owned Stelco Inc., the Caterpillar Inc.-owned Electro-Motive Diesel, Kellogg Co. and H.J. Heinz Co. have laid off more than 100,000 Ontario workers. That’s the short list. No sooner had the current Ontario election campaign begun than Unilever PLC said it would shut down its Brampton plant, maker of Knorr and Lipton foods, at a cost of more than 450 jobs.

Unfortunately, the job-creation centrepieces of the three major parties contesting the June 12 Ontario election would not curb that misery or do much if anything to recapture lost jobs.

Oddly, Hudak’s plan for creating jobs starts with destroying 100,000 of them, held by public servants. That’s 100,000 additional EI recipients draining the federal treasury. (There is only one taxpayer, as Tories like to point out.) Hudak, not gifted with a sense of irony, acknowledges that his own parents and his sister have been employed by government, as indeed Hudak himself has been for the past 19 years.

Robert Friedland’s son going public with African uranium play – by Peter Koven (National Post – May 17, 2014)

May 20, 2014

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

It is awfully tough for a mining company in the beaten-down uranium sector to raise money these days. But it doesn’t hurt if the executive chairman has the last name “Friedland.”

That’s Govind, not Robert. Govind Friedland’s company, appropriately named GoviEx Uranium Inc., has filed a final prospectus for an initial public offering on the Canadian Securities Exchange. It is a small deal expected to raise between US$1.5-million and US$5-million, with up to 2.3 million shares being issued at US$2.15 each.

There are more than 117 million shares outstanding today, though only 24.5% of them will be converted into freely-trading stock following the IPO. Vancouver-based GoviEx will use the proceeds to fund work on its Madaouela project in Niger.

Govind is the son of legendary mining financier Robert Friedland, and he has spent plenty of time working for his father’s companies. But he also made a name for himself with his uranium exploration work in Niger.

Between 2007 and 2011, GoviEx raised roughly US$100-million in private funds to pursue uranium opportunities in the West African nation, according to the IPO prospectus. The company attracted big-name investors like Cameco Corp. and Toshiba Corp. in that period.

Big Oil’s kindred spirit Jim Prentice must now convince ordinary Albertans – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – May 17, 2014)

May 20, 2014

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

It has been a while since Alberta’s oil community found a kindred spirit like Jim Prentice to take a run at the premier’s chair.

After weeks of orchestrated suspense, Mr. Prentice picked up his nomination papers on Thursday, the first step on a path that could make him leader of Alberta’s reigning Progressive Conservative party by the fall. Seen as a superstar candidate, Mr. Prentice has been deliberately tight lipped about his plans, which he is expected to formally announce next week.

If all unfolds as strategized, the 57-year-old Mr. Prentice — a former aboriginal claims lawyer, federal Indian affairs, industry and environment cabinet minister, bank executive, and self-described ‘honest broker’ between the oil community and British Columbia aboriginals to resolve differences over the Northern Gateway pipeline — would be the most qualified Albertan to become premier since Peter Lougheed.

Many in the corporate community admire what they see as a great personal sacrifice to return to public service. Mr. Prentice is trading a well-paid banking career and top-drawer corporate directorships for the leadership of a stale political party that after 43 years in power may not win the next election.

First Nations leader Phil Fontaine: An angry radical embraces compromise – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – May 17, 2014)

May 20, 2014

The 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 — At 30 years old, Phil Fontaine was an angry man.

A survivor of sexual abuse at a residential school, separated from his parents at a young age, forbidden from speaking his native language, the Anishinaabe from Manitoba was elected at the age of 29 as chief for the Sagkeeng First Nation, situated east of Lake Winnipeg. By his own account, he was impatient and belligerent, especially in his dealings with government bureaucrats.

The former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations mellowed over the years. He became convinced he could do more for aboriginal people through compromise and pragmatic action than angry radicalism. But he remains passionate about the need for Canada to address the appalling poverty among First Nations people. He sees resource development as one way to end that poverty.

Now 69, Mr. Fontaine works with some of this country’s largest companies – the Royal Bank of Canada and TransCanada Corp. – to advance their interests among aboriginal Canadians and to advise them on how to support First Nations communities and businesses.

First Nations have a say in resource development, not a veto -by Brian Lee Crowley (Globe and Mail – May 16, 2014)

May 20, 2014

The 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.

Duty to consult and accommodate. Remember those five words. Properly applied, they could help usher in a new era of co-operation between First Nations and natural resource development. Ignored or disregarded by governments, or used to raise unrealistic expectations of unlimited aboriginal power, they could herald a period of discord, mistrust and lost opportunity – including for indigenous people.

The words themselves are drawn from a Supreme Court decision on a British Columbia government decision to transfer some tree licences to a forestry company. The Haida First Nation sought an injunction to stop the transfer, because it believed it violated their aboriginal rights. The B.C. government claimed it had the traditional legal and constitutional authority to manage the province’s natural resources as it deemed appropriate.

When the issue reached the Supreme Court, neither party got what it wanted. Instead of confirming government power, or transferring some or all of that power to aboriginal peoples, the court created the duty on governments to consult and accommodate aboriginal interests when government decisions encroach on potential or established aboriginal or treaty rights.

Why Ontario is the Silicon Valley of the North– by Mark J. Barrenechea (Globe and Mail – May 16, 2014)

May 20, 2014

The 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.

Mark J. Barrenechea is President and CEO of OpenText Corporation.

California’s Highway 101 stretches 95 kilometres between San Francisco and San Jose, connecting small and large technology companies, students, innovators and venture capitalists. Nestled around Highway 101 is the largest innovation corridor in the world – Silicon Valley.

Similarly, Ontario’s tree-lined Highway 401 stretches 115 kilometres between Toronto and Waterloo, also connecting small and large technology companies, students, innovators and venture capitalists. Last year, this Ontario corridor surpassed all other cities and regions and became the world’s second largest innovation corridor. It is the Silicon Valley of the North.

In my 25 years in technology, I have traveled both valleys end-to-end and the similarities between the two corridors are more striking than their differences.

Silicon Valley employs approximately 380,000 tech workers; the Toronto-Waterloo corridor has nearly 280,000. The Waterloo Region boasts nearly 1,000 companies, contributing more than $30-billion annually to the global economy. In 2013, Startup Genome ranked Waterloo as 16th among the world’s 20 global startup hubs.

Are the clouds parting for junior miners? – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining Markets Magazine – May 16, 2014)

May 16, 2014

http://www.miningmarkets.ca/

Slow, volatile recovery under way; exploration interest remains limited

Junior miner Novo Resources (CSE: NVO) checks all the boxes: It’s led by a well-known, connected and respected geologist; it has several prospective gold projects (one of which has an inferred resource) in the low-risk jurisdiction of Australia; it has a tight share structure and supportive shareholders (including Newmont Mining [NYSE: NEM], which bought a 35.7% stake in the junior last year); and it has managed to deliver both positive news and an increasing share price over the past three tumultuous years.

But the next time Novo needs its next infusion of cash, company president and CEO Quinton Hennigh won’t be looking to the equity market. “I’m looking at alternative means,” he said in late April. “I can’t speak too much about it at the moment, but we have two opportunities that could actually bring money into the treasury without having to raise equity.”

The company won’t need to raise cash until 2015 — it has $10 million in cash and only plans to spend $4.5-5 million this year. But three years into the current mining downturn, it’s telling that Hennigh, who last led Novo to the market for an equity financing in December 2012 and who released an initial inferred resource of 8.9 million tonnes grading 1.47 grams gold per tonne at the Beatons Creek project last year, is seeking to avoid the equity market.