Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 602

Detour Gold founder resigns as miner struggles amid falling gold prices – by Peter Koven (November 26, 2013)

November 26, 2013

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

For many investors, Gerald Panneton was Detour Gold Corp.

It was Mr. Panneton, a veteran geologist, who saw the potential of the Detour Lake gold property back in 2006, long after most of the industry lost interest in it. He acquired the Ontario-based project for a mere $75-million, incorporated Detour Gold and took it public. Under his leadership, the company identified more than 15 million ounces of reserves at Detour Lake. And earlier this year, it began production at what is now Canada’s biggest gold mine.

But for Mr. Panneton, it is all over. Toronto-based Detour stunned the street by announcing his resignation on Monday. The stock dropped 12% on the day (after falling as much as 33% at one stage), as investors worried about the future of the company without its chief executive and visionary.

“Investors are obviously shocked by the news, the suddenness of it,” interim CEO Paul Martin said in an interview. “And they’re wondering if it has anything to do with the operational performance of the mine, which we confirmed that it does not.”

Wynne vows to push Harper on Ring of Fire – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – November 26, 2013)

November 26, 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.

Ontario will keep the heat on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to help develop the Ring of Fire, Premier Kathleen Wynne says

Ontario will keep the heat on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to help get the northern Ring of Fire mineral belt into production following a setback last week, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Monday.

Her comments came after Harper seemed cool to federal support for the potential $60 billion project in a remote area 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay last week.

“The prime minister and his ministers have sung the praises of the opportunities in the Ring of Fire and I believe it’s incumbent upon them . . . to take part in the project and to be full partners,” Wynne told reporters. “They have been full partners in other projects across the country,” she added, referring to energy projects in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Economic report paints grim picture of Ontario – by Martin Regg Cohn (Toronto Star – November 26, 2013)

November 26, 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.

After 12 years of looking ahead, Roger Martin’s Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress took a look back and found Ontario in a stall — not just exports, but domestic investment.

Something’s missing from a new task force report on the province’s economic progress: There’s no progress — just regress over the past decade.

“A highly disconcerting finding,” observes economist Roger Martin, in a grim echo of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.
Coincidentally, Gore dropped by last week to give Ontario an eco-hug. But it’s an economic-hug that we really need.

After 12 years of looking ahead, Martin’s Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress took a look back and found Ontario in a stall — not just in our outputs (exports), but inputs (domestic investment). Rather than closing a productivity gap with our American competition, Ontario is lagging further behind.

Harper’s Ring of Fire comments took Ontario by ‘surprise’ – by Susana Mas (CBC News – November 25, 2013)

November 26, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics

The Ontario government says it was taken by surprise when Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismissed development in the Ring of Fire region as the province’s problem, given that repeated calls for the federal government to play a role in the project have gone unanswered in recent weeks.

In a telephone interview with CBC News on Monday, Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle said Harper’s comments came “as a surprise.” “To simply be somewhat dismissive and say it’s a matter of provincial issue or provincial jurisdiction, certainly took me a little bit aback,” Gravelle said.

The prime minister was asked, during a news conference in Winnipeg on Friday, what role the federal government had in getting the development in the Ring of Fire back on track after a major U.S. mining company suspended its operations in the area a day earlier.

Harper said “this is a project that is primarily under provincial jurisdiction because ultimately resources belong to the provinces and resource development is a provincial responsibility.”

B.C. prepared to risk water quality on Elk Valley coal mine – by Mark Hume (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2013)

November 26, 2013

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.

VANCOUVER — When the provincial government issued an environmental certificate to Teck Coal Ltd. this fall it appeared pollution problems associated with a massive new coal mine in the Elk Valley had been resolved.

But background documents show that is far from the case. The British Columbia government has rolled the dice on the project and is hoping that Teck’s money – and experimental water-treatment plants – can save the Elk River.

A document that gives the minister’s reasons for issuing a certificate for the Line Creek mine, states the environmental assessment “was not able to conclude on the magnitude, reversibility and therefore significance” of an array of pollutants. Nor could it determine “the effectiveness” of two planned water-treatment facilities that will use new methods in an attempt to filter out selenium.

In other words, the government knows the new mine is going to pollute but it doesn’t know whether the water-treatment plan will work.

CBC News Sudbury Ring of Fire Interviews With Bob Rae and Greg Rickford (November 22, 2013)

November 25, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

CBC News Sudbury – Points North Jason Turnbull Interview with Bob Rae

Bob Rae who has been hired by the Matawa Tribal Council to negotiate resource revenue sharing and other aggreements with the Ontario government, reflecting on Cliffs’ decision to suspend Chromite project

Late Wednesday, Cliffs announced it was stopping work on the project because of an uncertain timeline and the risks associated to infrastructure like roads.

Click here for interview: http://www.cbc.ca/pointsnorth/episodes/2013/11/22/bob-rae-reflecting-on-cliffs-decision-to-suspend-chromite-project/

CBC News Sudbury – Points North Jason Turnbull Interview with federal M.P. Greg Rickford

Greg Rickford blames premier for Cliffs’ suspension

Detour Gold CEO steps down, stock plummets – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2013)

November 25, 2013

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.

Detour Gold Corp.’s chief executive and founder Gerald Panneton has resigned, the Canadian company said in a surprise announcement that sent its stock tumbling and fuelled speculation that the miner would soon take steps to bolster its financial position.

Shares of Detour Gold dropped 30 per cent to $2.97 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a level not seen since the rocky days of the financial crisis and lower than the $3.50 share price the company set when it went public in 2007.

The company’s chief financial officer, Paul Martin, will serve as interim CEO and Detour Gold’s vice president of finance, James Mavor, will serve as interim CFO, as the miner searches for a new chief executive.

The abrupt departure of Mr. Panneton, a geologist with decades of experience in the mining industry, comes one day after he had a discussion with Detour Gold’s board of directors that resulted in him tendering his resignation, according to the company.

Ontario urged to get act together to save Ring of Fire development – by Maria Babbage (The Canadian Press/Globe and Mail – November 22, 2013)

November 25, 2013

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.

TORONTO — The Canadian Press – The finger-pointing has begun as governments and critics look to assign blame over a big mining company’s pullout from the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, a massive mineral-rich area believed to have the economic potential of Alberta’s oilsands.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is suspending its operations indefinitely, saying it couldn’t keep spending money while the question of whether it would be able to build an all-weather road to the remote site remained in doubt. It’s a major setback for cash-strapped Ontario, which may not see the economic windfall the governing Liberals had promised anytime soon.

Greg Rickford, the federal Conservatives’ lead minister for the Ring of Fire, said he was surprised with the Cliffs decision, because the company was “very satisfied” with the federal government’s involvement in the project. But in some ways, it wasn’t that surprising, said the minister of state for FedNor, the economic development organization for northern Ontario.

Thompson’s future looks up as Vale studies mine potential – CBC News Manitoba (November 25, 2013)

November 25, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/

The northern Manitoba city of Thompson could be home to a new mining mega-development from Vale, which is exploring minerals deep underground.

News of a potential big development is being cautiously welcomed in Thompson, which was devastated by news in 2010 that Vale — the city’s largest employer — would shut down its nickel smelter and refinery there by 2015.

Vale is currently testing ore samples in a project area it calls 1-D, about 3,800 to 4,200 feet underground in the company’s T-3 mine shaft. Preliminary testing in 1-D shows a deposit rich in nickel and copper deposits and also containing some cobalt and precious metals.

Vale says it has been mining in 1-D for years, but officials believe now is the time to dig deeper in an largely untapped section of the deposit extending as much as 6,800 feet underground in some places.

According to the company, geologists have been pulling up core samples containing extremely high-grade nickel. Based on their tests, the geologists believe there are at least 10 million tonnes of nickel present.

Shrinking metals reserves puts Canada in precarious position – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – November 23, 2013)

November 25, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/

Amidst a drought in junior financing – which drives much discovery in Canada – Minex Consulting’s Richard Schodde casts a pall over metal reserve replacement in Canada.

HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) – In a wide ranging overview on the state of exploration in Canada, Richard Schodde of Minex Consulting draws a stark picture of the state of Canada’s declining reserves and the prospect they can be replaced given lengthening timelines for mine permitting.

“Canada needs to replace the metal it mines,” Schodde concludes in a presentation he published covering points he made at the recent Quebec Mineral Exploration Association conference in Quebec Cty.

He continues, “Over the last two decades, reserves and mine lives for most metals have shrunk – and the issue is now becoming urgent. Of concern is whether there is enough time left to discover and develop new mines before the existing ones close.”

Schodde’s blunt assessment draws on statistics showing that, by and large, base and precious metals reserves in Canada have plummeted in recent decades, while the time it takes to permit mines after a deposit is discovered has marched inexorably upwards in the past 100 years.

Premier Wynne goes to Ottawa, looking for the PM – – by Martin Regg Cohn (Toronto Star – November 24, 2013)

November 25, 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.

Does Ontario’s premier merit a meeting with the prime minister — or even a reply from his correspondence unit?

Last summer, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made time for Rob Ford on short notice. At a photo-op, he promised the mayor a big fat federal cheque bankrolling an unneeded subway through Scarborough’s low-density corridor.

Federal finance minister (and Ford family friend) Jim Flaherty followed up with $660 million in taxpayers’ money that same week — money down the drain for their gravy train. It’s never a problem getting federal funding or face time for Ford because, as our mayor still boasts, he heads Canada’s sixth-largest government.

But what of Canada’s second-largest government at Queen’s Park? Does Ontario’s premier merit a meeting with the prime minister — or a reply from his correspondence unit? We shall soon see Harper’s political calculus. On Dec. 5th, Ms. Wynne goes to Ottawa. And tries to see the prime minister.

Ontario urged to get act together to save Ring of Fire development – by Global News Toronto (November 22, 2013)

November 25, 2013

http://globalnews.ca/toronto/

TORONTO – The finger-pointing has begun as governments and critics look to assign blame over a big mining company’s pullout from the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, a massive mineral-rich area believed to have the economic potential of Alberta’s oilsands.

It’s a major setback for cash-strapped Ontario, which may not see the economic windfall the governing Liberals had promised anytime soon.

Solving ‘Ring of Fire’ delays up to Ontario, Harper says – by Margo McDiarmid (CBC News – November 22, 2013)

November 25, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his government is not getting involved in sorting out problems in Ontario’s mineral-rich region known as the Ring of Fire.

Harper was in Winnipeg Friday for an event with Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger to open a local highway partly funded by the federal government. Asked by a reporter if he was going to do anything to get the Ring of Fire back on track following the decision by a major U.S. mining company on Thursday to suspend its operations in the area, Harper said it isn’t his problem.

“This is a project that is primarily under provincial jurisdiction because ultimately resources belong to the provinces and resource development is a provincial responsibility,” Harper said.

“Obviously we have been talking to Ontario over the past few years in terms of regulatory approval processes, in terms of infrastructure investments and in terms of making sure First Nations continue to benefit,” he told reporters.

The Ring of Fire’s Future Is Now a Burning Question – by Sunny Freeman (Huffington Post – November 22, 2013)

November 22, 2013

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

Mining giant Cliffs Natural Resources’ decision to halt work on the largest project in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region has aroused a sudden interest in the lumbering development.

The opposition at Queen’s Park pounced to lay blame on the province for the squandered opportunity.

Financial analysts scurried to advise clients on what it means for their shares. And usually blasé news outlets called on pundits to discuss whether the loss of the U.S. mining giant was a death knell for the much-hyped but little-understood development.

The biggest player in the Ring of Fire, a 5,000 square kilometre tract of land in Ontario’s Far North that is said to hold a potential $50 billion in mineral deposits, announced late Wednesday it is halting work on its $3.3 billion chromite project indefinitely, blaming, for the most part, an “uncertain timeline.”

If Cliffs’ decision to stop development is the death of that high stakes mining discovery, it was anything but a sudden one.

COMMENT: Cliffs abandons Ring of Fire – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – November 21, 2013)

May 4, 2015November 22, 2013

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Cliffs Natural Resources, the American miner that was so hot to gain control of chromite deposits in Ontario’s Ring of Fire, is packing up and going home.

The news release is an understatement: “The technical project work including feasibility study, development and exploration activities are being halted and there is no restart date planned.”

In practical terms, Cliffs is closing its Toronto and Thunder Bay, ON, offices as well as the exploration camp. That leaves employees without an employer, although the company did offer to help find jobs elsewhere in the company for some of those affected.

Cliffs has had an uncomfortable relationship with local First Nations, provincial authorities and other explorers working in the Ring of Fire. Readers may wonder if the company had any understanding of how to deal co-operatively with First Nations or if it thought it could overlook their participation.