Canadian Media Resource Articles – Page 620

B.C. remains ‘high-cost environment’ despite lower LNG tax rates, industry group says – by Geoffrey Morgan and Yadullah Hussain (National Post – October 22, 2014)

October 23, 2014

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

CALGARY/TORONTO – The B.C. government slashed its tax rate proposal for its nascent liquefied natural gas industry in a bid to entice proponents to the West Coast, but some industry players still believe the province has not gone far enough to roll out the welcome mat.

Mike de Jong, B.C.’s finance minister, said he is confident the new rules introduced Tuesday are fair and balanced, but the province is not taking anything for granted. “These proponents have to make decisions worth billions of dollars, and there is still a lot of work to be done,” he said in an interview.

The new Liquefied Natural Gas Income Tax Act would tax an LNG project at a rate of 1.5% when production begins, rising to 3.5% after capital costs are recovered. That rate will rise to 5% after January 1, 2037 — when the government expects the LNG industry will be well established within the province.

“We believe this overall framework strikes the right balance between a competitive and economic environment and a fair return to British Columbians,” Mr. de Jong said in statement announcing the tax.

In February, B.C. floated the idea of a two-tiered tax system for proposed LNG projects, which super-cool natural gas into its liquid state for export off the coast. In addition to adding a third tier, the province Tuesday reduced the rate at which it would tax a project’s net income.

OBITUARY: Nelson Bunker Hunt, Texas tycoon who lost billions in silver gamble, dies at 88 – by Robert D. McFadden (Globe and Mail – October 22, 2014)

October 22, 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.

The New York Times News Service – Nelson Bunker Hunt, the down-home Texas oil tycoon who owned a thousand race horses, drove an old Cadillac and once tried to corner the world’s silver market only to lose most of his fortune when the price collapsed, died Tuesday. He was 88.

Hunt died after a long battle with cancer and dementia, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“A billion dollars ain’t what it used to be,” he said in 1980 after silver stakes he amassed with two brothers, Herbert and Lamar, fell to $10.80 from $50.35 an ounce. In barely two months, their holdings and contracts for purchases – corralling a third to half the world’s deliverable silver – had plunged from a $7-billion value in January to a $1.7-billion loss in March.

With the Hunts unable to cover enormous margin calls, the debacle endangered financial markets and brokerage houses, forcing federal regulators and the nation’s banks to step in with a $1-billion line of credit, a bailout that saved the system from a stampede and the Hunts from an immediate meltdown.

But for Bunker Hunt, who used his middle name, and his brothers – scions of one of the world’s richest clans – the boom and bust led to years of lawsuits, civil charges, fines, damage claims and bankruptcy proceedings that gobbled up vast holdings in real estate, oil, gas, cattle, coal, thoroughbred stables and other assets. Still, they managed to salvage millions and were not subjected to criminal charges.

Hopes for Ontario’s Ring of Fire doused as mining companies grow wary – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – October 22, 2014)

October 22, 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.

Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral belt was supposed to be a $60-billion natural resources treasure trove that would bring employment and economic prosperity to a remote part of the province’s north. It hasn’t worked out that way.

The project’s key player has given up, leaving the future of the deposit in question and hurting prospects that it will ever reach the lofty expectations of politicians.

Today, not much is happening in the Ring, a 5,000-square-kilometre crescent of mostly chromite in the boggy James Bay lowlands, 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

The region was said to be so rich in resources that it would rival Sudbury’s nickel basin and Alberta’s oil sands. Instead, the area remains undeveloped, a victim of the global slump in commodity prices and bureaucratic red tape.

“I’m disappointed that it hasn’t advanced more. It’s a long time, seven years after discovery,” said Neil Novak, the geologist who made the first discovery in the Ring and is now exploring for other metals as the chief executive officer of Black Widow Resources Inc.

In addition to the complete lack of infrastructure – there are no roads or power in the area – there is no real plan on how to mine the chromite, which is used to harden steel.

Maximizing the mess with Ontario’s electricity assets – by Parker Gallant (National Post – October 21, 2014)

October 21, 2014

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

Hydro One paid $93-million for Norfolk Power, about 28.5 times profits. That’s pure insanity

Ontario’s electricity sector is in rough shape, burdened with escalating costs and an interfering government. Not much change or improvement is likely if the government takes up the schemes promoted last week in a speech by Ed Clark, the former CEO of TD Bank who now heads the province’s “Advisory Council on Government Assets.” The objective of the council is to look at three current government monopolies so as to “maximize the value to the people of Ontario.”

We’ll leave Mr. Clark’s comments on the liquor business to others. When it comes to the two electricity monopolies – Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One – Mr. Clark and his council’s proposals seem destined to maximize the mess rather than the value of Ontario’s power sector.

On OPG, the $39-billion asset company that owns gas, hydro and nuclear power installations all over the province, Mr. Clark proposed that it be split into two entities: one to manage existing generation sources and another to manage the Darlington nuclear refurbishment. The speech is silent on what happens to the Pickering nuclear plant.

The OPG proposal looks like an effort to simply create another electricity bureaucracy. For that reason it is impossible to see what benefits will be generated that will “maximize value.” Many large European and U.S. generators successfully produce power from a variety of fuels and there is no reason why OPG cannot do the same if properly managed.

[Deltion Innovations] Sudbury company works to develop space drill (CBC News Sudbury – October 20, 2014)

October 21, 2014

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

Deltion Innovations is working to develop drill that would prospect for water and ice on the moon

A Greater Sudbury mining innovation company is getting to literally take some of its equipment out of this world. Deltion Innovations Limited is in the process of developing a drill for the Canadian Space Agency and the goal is to have the drill mine for water and ice on the moon.

CEO Dale Boucher said the drill is being developed in the company’s test facility in Capreol. Testing is being done by using a liquid nitrogen tank that is used to cool down the sample, filled with simulated moon dirt and water, he said.

This test phase involves trying to drill through material at liquid nitrogen temperatures — about minus 180 degrees Celsius. “The moon is a little bit cooler than that,” he said. “The moon is actually about minus 220 Celsius.”

Benefits of space mining

Boucher said the prospecting tool will look for water and ice near the south pole of the moon. “Water is kind of the ore of choice for space mining right now,” he said.

“Water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen using a very simple solar cell system. So, if you break it into hydrogen and oxygen you have a couple of things: you have oxygen to breathe, you have hydrogen and oxygen which is the most powerful rocket propellant that we know of.”

How Covergalls [Workwear] inked a $75,000 deal that includes new dragon Michael Wekerle – by Mary Teresa Bitti (National Post – October 20, 2014)

October 21, 2014

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

CBC’s Dragons’ Den is back with two new dragons who are wasting no time making their mark. Each week, Financial Post contributor Mary Teresa Bitti revisits the previous week’s episode. She captures what the cameras didn’t and in the process provides a case study for readers, zeroing in on what pitchers and dragons were thinking and what the challenges for the deal are going forward.

The pitch As sales director for an underground mobile equipment manufacturer, Alicia Woods spends her fair share of time underground, understanding the challenges of customers. She recalls the first time she had to go into a mine 14 years ago. She was handed full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), coveralls, belt, hard hat but nothing was designed for women. “I was given the smallest men’s sizes but nothing fit properly and it wasn’t convenient, especially if I had to use the washroom facilities, which are typically a port-a-potty,” Ms. Woods says.

The only alternative she found online was a shirt and pants. She preferred the coverall which offers better protection. She sketched a few concepts that got put to the side as her career started to grow and she and her husband started a family. For 10 years, she would have nothing to drink if she knew she’d be going down into a mine, to avoid having to use the washroom.

“Three summers ago, I was underground at a potash mine and before I knew it I had consumed three bottles of water because it was so dry and dusty,” Ms. Woods says. “I had to face what I had avoided for a decade. It was not a pleasant experience.”

RB Energy meltdown highlights tough times for lithium, rare earth firms – by Peter Koven (National Post – October 20, 2014)

May 13, 2016October 20, 2014

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

TORONTO — As RB Energy Inc. flamed out and fell into creditor protection during the past couple of weeks, investors were shell-shocked.

Despite some start-up problems in recent months, Vancouver-based RB seemed to be in an ideal position. It was emerging as North America’s only serious lithium producer, just as demand for the metal is set to soar because of its use in electric vehicle batteries. Its management team was linked to the legendary Lundin Group, a resource conglomerate with a fantastic track record of success. Lundin companies do not just melt down like that.

But RB did. It filed for protection last Monday after its stock price collapsed and it could not raise capital under reasonable terms.

“I can tell you it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the resource capital market crash as quickly as that,” chief executive Rick Clark said. “I would say the last time was back in the ‘90s.”

There was a time when RB, formerly known as Canada Lithium Corp., had a much easier time raising cash. The company has tapped the capital markets for about $268-million since 2009, according to Financial Post data. RB also received $92-million of debt financing from Bank of Nova Scotia and Caterpillar Financial Services that was partially guaranteed by the Quebec government.

RB Energy says TSX statement a key factor in CCAA filing – by Peter Koven (National Post – October 20, 2014)

October 20, 2014

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

TORONTO — The chief executive of RB Energy Inc. believes the lithium miner might have avoided insolvency if not for a two-sentence statement issued by the Toronto Stock Exchange.

CEO Rick Clark said in an interview the company thought it had a $70-million financing package lined up in mid-September that would have resolved its liquidity issues. But then the TSX, following its guidelines, issued a blanket press release saying it was conducting a de-listing review of the stock.

The TSX statement simply repeated what Vancouver-based RB said the day before. But the stock price collapsed as soon as it came out, and Mr. Clark said he could no longer line up financing on reasonable terms.

Instead, he elected to file for creditor protection last Monday. “We got absolutely hit in the side of the head [by the TSX statement],” said Mr. Clark, who was formerly CEO of market darling Red Back Mining Inc. Regardless, he said he does not want to blame the exchange for what happened.

The impact of the TSX announcement on Sept. 16th is undeniable. The stock plunged 25% that day, with 14.4 million shares changing hands. It then fell another 25% during the following five trading days and could not recover.

Miner Opposition [Canadian Global Mining Sector’s Reputation] – by James Munson (iPolitics.ca – October 1, 2014)

October 20, 2014

http://www.ipolitics.ca/

Where mining and violence meet

James Munson (bitly.com/MinerOpposition) traveled to Guatemala in July to explore the stories of mines caught up in a global debate over the responsibilities of Canadian-owned mining firms in developing countries. With Canada moving toward a new policy for the sector, Munson explores how the Fenix nickel mine in eastern Guatemala became the test case for bringing allegations of murder, rape and assault tied to the mine to an Ontario court room. Meanwhile, Goldcorp Inc.’s Marlin mine in the western part of the country has been the subject of protests and findings that its operations broke human rights standards. The stories of these mines, and the people who live beside them are the starting point for Miner Opposition — http://www.bitly.com/MinerOpposition (Produced with support of the Ford Foundation)

EL ESTOR, GUATEMALA— One night this past April, while poring over legal documents at around four in the morning, Manuel Xo Cu drifted to sleep and had the dream that would save his life.

The dream involved him grabbing onto the roots of two trees to keep from sliding into a dark hole. During a bus ride the next day, he was confronted by three armed men who asked him to move to the back of the bus. He refused, recognizing the back of the bus as the dark hole, and sat beside a woman who he would later use as an excuse to get off at an earlier stop, thinking the would-be assassins could identify him with more certainty if he were to get off at his regular destination.

Iron ore price collapse claims more victims (Northern Miner – October 17, 2014)

October 20, 2014

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) and London Mining (LSE: LOND) have become the latest casualties of falling iron ore prices, with Cliffs declaring a US$6 billion non-cash impairment charge in the third quarter on its iron ore and coal assets, and London Mining placed into administration.

London Mining says it will try to work with its administrator, PwC, to maintain its Marampa iron ore mine in Sierra Leone as a going concern, while Cliffs is working with its banking group to get an amendment that will eliminate the debt-to-capitalization covenant of 45% currently present in its revolving credit facility, as the non-cash impairment charge will increase the debt-to-capitalization ratio over that threshold.

Iron ore prices have fallen to five-year lows and are down about 40% so far this year at about US$80 per tonne. When London Mining’s Marampa iron ore mine in Sierra Leone entered production in December 2011, iron ore was selling for about US$140 per tonne, well above today’s levels.

It’s not the first time Marampa, which was operated between 1933 and 1975 by the Sierra Leone Development Company and William Baird, has suffered from depressed prices. The mine was closed for a period of time in the 1960s due to low prices for the metal.

AUDIO: [Covergalls Workwear] Sudbury’s Alicia Woods seals deal with dragons (CBC News Sudbury – October 16, 2014)

October 20, 2014

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

https://covergallsworkwear.com/

Founder of Covergalls appears on CBC’s Dragons’ Den

A Sudbury entrepreneur is one step closer to expanding her business, after successfully landing a deal on CBC’s Dragons’ Den program. Alicia Woods, the founder of Covergalls, was shown on the show during the premier Wednesday night.

The product is clothing for women who work in the mining industry. Woods said it’s the female version of the coverall. She said it has two features, the first being that it fits women properly so no extra material can get caught in equipment.

Woods said the second feature is functionality. “If you can imagine having to use the washroom facility and if you have a one piece coverall, you have to take everything off,” she said.

“So having the hidden rear-trap door just makes it a far more functional garment and easier for those bathroom breaks.” Three dragons took interest and a deal was made during the show between Woods, Arlene Dickinson, Mike Wekerle, and Jim Treliving.

“Having their … knowledge and experience is definitely going to help to grow the brand and get us into industries that we’re currently not in,” she said.

Renewable energy a tough sell for prospective RoF developers – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 16, 2014)

October 17, 2014

http://www.miningweekly.com/

RONTO (miningweekly.com) – Among the many challenges facing as many as 20 mining companies holding claims in the Ring of Fire (RoF) mineral region of Northern Ontario, the most significant might be the limited infrastructure.

However, besides having to deal with exploration, project planning, First Nations negotiations and local capacity building, project proponents were under mounting pressure from stricter legislation, environmental lobby groups and locals to include renewable-energy sources in their future project plans.

Ontario government RoF Secretariat senior policy adviser Blaine Bouchard on Thursday told delegates at the Renewables and Mining Summit and Exhibition, in Toronto, that the nine-member group of Matawa group First Nations, who inhabit the province’s Far North, had made it clear in multilateral discussions that current diesel-based electricity generation was prohibitive of economic development and posed serious environmental impacts.

The First Nations living in the remote region were completely dependent on diesel electricity generation for their energy needs, owing to the province’s energy grid only reaching as far north as the Dryden region.

Canada By Design: A plan to develop the ‘Mid-Canada Corridor’ – Anna Maria Tremonti interviews John van Nostrand (CBC The Current – October 15, 2014)

October 16, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/

Click here for a 27 minute interview: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2014/10/15/canada-by-design-a-plan-to-develop-the-mid-canada-corridor/

We Canadians mostly live in the words of humorist Arthur Black, like weather-stripping along the U.S. border. But North of our Southern metropolises and still South of the treeline lurks an economic sweet spot. Our series By Design considers the Mid-Canada Corridor, home to up to 70 per cent of Canada’s wealth but not a lot of its people.

Humourist Stephen Leacock wrote that he’d likely never go to James Bay, but he’d somehow feel lonely if it wasn’t there. Perhaps its the north that should feel lonely since so few Canadians live there. Today, as part of our ongoing project ;By Design, about design and the impact it has in our lives, we’re taking a look at the possibility of design on a national scale. Most of us Canadians live within a couple hours’ drive of the U.S. border. Vast stretches of Canada — full of resources — remain scarcely populated. John van Nostrand thinks that should change.