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Corporate Social Responsibility

Noront wants to be ‘world-class’ in First Nations-industry relations – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – April 26, 2012)

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Noront Resources, one of the big players in Ontario’s Ring of Fire, says it wants to set a new world-class standard for how mining companies work with First Nations communities around developments.
 
Noront’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Paul Semple made the claim during the company’s visit to Nibinamik First Nation on April 12.
 
“We believe there is an opportunity right now for industry and First Nations (in Ontario) to develop a world-class model of how we can work together,” Semple said. “Our goal is to set the standard, to supersede the current industry standard in how we work with Aboriginal people.”
 
Noront’s Eagles’ Nest mine is currently undergoing environmental assessment. The company hopes to start construction on the underground mine in 2013, with production expected to begin in 2015.

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Fishing hole shows promise [Sudbury Vale fish restocking] – by Kevin Priddle (Sudbury Star – April 21, 2012)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Members of Vale’s environmental department felt like ‘fish out of water’ when they launched the initial phase of their latest pilot project last November, which saw about 4,000 baby rainbow trout take up temporary residence at the company’s surface greenhouse in Copper Cliff.

But after five months of successfully raising the fish, the environmental team can now add “fish farmer” to their resumes and are excited to begin work on the next phase, which will establish a world-class sustainable fish farming operation 4,200 feet underground at the Creighton Mine greenhouse.

It’s an operation that will be the first of its kind, according to project leaders. The new initiative aims to restock fish supplies in local lakes that might have been stressed by recreational and commercial fishing, or environmental stresses from mining.

Vale has partnered with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, local fish expert Mike Meeker and professors at the University of Guelph to work on the project.

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Mining and Climate Change, Part 4: The NDP and the Wrong Carbon Pricing Policy – by Steve May (SudburySteve.blogspot.com – April 18, 2012)

http://sudburysteve.blogspot.ca/

Steve May is the CEO of the Sudbury Federal Green Party Association (Opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and should not be interpreted as being consistent with the views of the Green Party of Canada – Steve May)

Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, the New Democratic Party, should they form Canada’s next government (and let’s be frank here: there’s a very good chance that they will do just that), if it follows through on its policy (always a big “if” for the NDP), will establish a Cap and Trade emissions trading scheme which will see the sale of carbon offsets between various industrial emitters. Such a Cap and Trade scheme could conceivably involve about half of Canada’s emitters, in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon Trading

The Cap and Trade approach to carbon pricing will prove to be very problematic for business and industry, and for all Canadians. With their advocacy to implement carbon trading, the NDP may have struck upon a better policy than the Conservative’s regulatory approach, but with so many uncertainties and the opportunity for exemption and fraud in new carbon market, it’s far from the best option on the table if the goal is to reduce emissions. I’ve previously blogged about my concerns with Cap and Trade, so I’ll not go into significant detail here, as I’ve done so elsewhere (see: “Cap and Trade: Is this the Best that We can Come Up With?”, January 15, 2010)

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Mining and Climate Change, Part 3: Multiple Issues with Conservative Party Approaches to Emissions Management – by Steve May (SudburySteve.blogspot.com – April 15, 2012)

http://sudburysteve.blogspot.ca/

Steve May is the CEO of the Sudbury Federal Green Party Association (Opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and should not be interpreted as being consistent with the views of the Green Party of Canada – Steve May)

Is it sensible that the Conservative Party, which has embraced cutting environmental regulations and environmental assessment processes in the name of economic growth, could ever be a threat to Canada’s resource sector? On first blush, it would seem highly improbable that would be the case, but keep in mind that for the Conservative Party, not all natural resource sectors are created equally.

The Conservative Party’s policies significantly favour Canada’s fossil fuels sector over all other resource sectors. In fact, Conservative policies will actually jeopardize the important success of Canadian miners over the medium and long term. And it all has to do with carbon pricing (well, maybe not “all”, as I can’t help but recall the uneven and apparently arbitrary application of the “net benefit” provisions of the Investment Canada Act in the Potash Corp. matter a few years back).

Although the Conservative Party of Canada is not in any way, shape or form considering putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions, the fact of the matter is that it’s the only national political party in Canada which is opposed to carbon pricing.

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[Vale] Mining company to raise fish underground – CBC News Sudbury (April 20, 2012)

 http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

The tree nursery at Vale’s Sudbury Creighton Mine will become home to a fish hatchery
 
Nickel mining giant Vale will be pulling something new out of the ground in Sudbury — fish. Vale has already been growing tree seedlings in a green house deep in the warm underground for decades, but now the company wants to raise rainbow trout right next to them.

The trees are planted in Sudbury to re-green the landscape scarred by mining. And the fish will be put into lakes “that may have been stressed by mining activities in the past,” said Glen Watson, Vale’s senior environmental specialist.
 
“Northern Ontarians love their fish. Sudburians, in particular, love their fish. We have a lot of lakes to put them in.” Underground heat helps fish grow

Vale has spent the past five months raising Rainbow trout in an above-ground facility. On Thursday it released 4,000 fish in the Onaping River. Now that the system is tested, the project will begin underground at Vale’s Creighton mine.

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NEWS RELEASE: VALE STOCKS ONAPING RIVER WITH LOCAL GREENHOUSE-RAISED FISH

Mark Palkovits-Vale Environment Group (Vale Photo)

SUDBURY, April 19, 2012 – Lately, there have been more than just seedlings growing in Vale’s surface greenhouse in Copper Cliff.

In November 2011, Vale’s Environment Department initiated a pilot project to raise rainbow trout for stocking in Sudbury area lakes and rivers. Rainbow trout fingerlings were placed in two 1,500 litre tanks in Vale’s surface greenhouse. 

Vale consulted with local fish farming expert Mike Meeker of Meeker’s Aquaculture on Manitoulin Island in order to set up the operation and define the operating procedures. Vale also worked with the local office of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to choose an appropriate water body in which to release the Rainbow Trout. 

After five months of feeding and caring, the fish grew to approximately 20 centimetres long, and were transported to the Onaping River for stocking. This location was favoured by Vale due to historical mining impacts on the river system. 

(L to R) Lisa Lanteigne, Mark Palkovits, Glen Watson - Vale Environment Group (Vale Photo)

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Mining and Climate Change, Part 2: Canada’s Commitment to Reducing Greenhouse Gases – by Steve May (SudburySteve.blogspot.com – April 14, 2012)

http://sudburysteve.blogspot.ca/

Steve May is the CEO of the Sudbury Federal Green Party Association (Opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and should not be interpreted as being consistent with the views of the Green Party of Canada – Steve May)

In my previous post, I wrote about the growing importance of the mining sector to Canada’s economy, and about why it’s important for our governments to enact the right carbon pricing policies. In this post, I’m going to talk about Canada’s historic commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat climate change, and why Canadians continue to demand action, and how action may impact the mining sector.

The Crises with Our Climate

There is no doubt whatsoever that human industrial activity is causing global climate change to the point that our rapidly changing climate is leading towards a crisis unlike any we have encountered before. This crisis is already having planetary impacts. Coupled with rising prices for non-renewable energy resources, particularly oil, the climate crisis will change not just our physical environment, but our economic circumstance, and social and political institutions as well. These changes are inevitable. That’s why I believe it’s best to plan for them, rather than to let them overtake us.

The mining sector will not be immune from these changes.

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Mining and Climate Change, Part 1: Toward a Sustainable Future – by Steve May (SudburySteve.blogspot.com – April 13, 2012)

http://sudburysteve.blogspot.ca/

Steve May is the CEO of the Sudbury Federal Green Party Association (Opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and should not be interpreted as being consistent with the views of the Green Party of Canada – Steve May)

When people think about how Canada’s resource sector is driving economic growth, we tend to first think about the extraction of fossil fuels, such as oil and gas. Certainly, the stories about Canada’s growing fossil fuel sector are constantly found throughout the mainstream media, and tar sands petroleum companies have even been placing their own television and print media ads, in a public relations effort intended to combat negative environmental perceptions.

But there’s been a low-key success story which many Canadians aren’t aware of in one of Canada’s natural resource sectors. The mining industry has been quietly booming in Canada for some time now, and the future continues to look very bright (see: “Canada’s mining boom takes a back seat to no industry”, Globe and Mail, April 4, 2012). The mining industry’s success story doesn’t come as a surprise to Sudburians, and Northern Ontarians, because we see those successes almost daily. However, for other Canadians, especially those living in large urban centres, mining remains a somewhat remote afterthought.

Mining: the Bedrock of Sudbury’s Success

Sudbury’s history is the history of local mining.

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A Head of the Curve [Labrador Iron Trough Aboriginal Mining Successes– by Staff Report (Canadian Mining Journal – April 2012)

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication providing information on Canadian mining and exploration trends, technologies, operations, and industry events.

Working With Aboriginal Partners in the Race for Canada’s Iron Ore

Canada’s newest iron ore producer, Labrador Iron Mines Limited (LIM), is writing history with pro¬duction start-up from its James Mine, locat¬ed in the prolific Labrador Trough. Following the successful commissioning of the mine and adjacent processing plant in mid-2011, iron ore sales to IOC, with ship¬ments to China, began last fall and the company plans to reach commercial pro¬duction this year, with plans to grow annual production to 5 million tonnes by 2015.

To appreciate how historical an achievement it is, LIM’s reactivation of iron ore mining in the district comes after a hiatus of 30 years following the closure of the Iron Ore Company of Canada’s Schefferville iron ore operations in 1982. What’s more, probably for the first time in Canadian northern development, historic impact benefits agreements were forged with no less than six Aboriginal or First Nations communities.

The closest community to LIM’s oper¬ations is the town of Schefferville, located across the border in Quebec. Established in the 1950s by IOC for the very opera¬tions that LIM is developing today, this boom town was then home to more than 5,000 people, in stark contrast to what it became after IOC’s closure.

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OMA member Vale hits the right note with its sponsorship of musical events in Sudbury

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Ontario Mining Association member Vale is sponsoring a series of five concerts during the summer at the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre in Sudbury. Admission is free to all segments of the Vale Concert Series, which will showcase a variety of top-notch Canadian musical talent, and donations to the Sudbury Food Bank will be appreciated.
 
“This is the first event of its kind for Vale and we are thrilled to be bringing such wonderful Canadian talent to Sudbury for our community to enjoy, while supporting such a worthy cause,” said Kelly Strong, Vice President Mining and Milling (North Atlantic) and General Manager of Vale’s Ontario Operations. “We sincerely hope that members of the community come out to enjoy this concert series and this incredible talent.”
 
All shows begin at 7 p.m. The Vale Concert Series kicks off May 9 with Dave Gunning. He is a singer-song writer who has two Canada Folk Music Awards and six East Coast Music Awards to his credit. On June 20, the Juno nominated group Hemingway Corner take to the stage.

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Innovative CSR solutions for troubled Attawapiskat – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – April 5, 2012)

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.

Older CMJ readers will remember how the mining companies built remote projects in the middle of the last century. First they found and explored a deposit far from civilization. Next they made a development decision that included building a local town for the workforce. They moved their employees and their families into the town. When the ore ran out, the company moved on leaving the town with little or no economic basis for survival.
 
Thankfully, we now have better development model, one that does not abandon towns when mining ceases. Modern miners have invented what the Australians call FIFO, meaning fly-in/fly-out operations. We in Canada were pioneers in this practice. Workers are flown to the mine site for periods ranging from days to weeks. They are put up in modern accommodations, well fed, and given plenty of recreational opportunities. Then they fly out, returning to families and homes in usually in the south. Their families enjoy the amenities of city living including educational and employment opportunities. Such opportunities were lacking in small northern mining towns.
 
The FIFO model works well in developed countries, but it is not appropriate in undeveloped regions. Indigenous peoples in Africa and South America, for instance, do not want to leave their homes for extended periods or they wish to continue their traditional way of living. Canadian miners have again become leaders in the art of giving such people an economic or educational hand up without destroying their culture.

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Ontario Mining Association member supports First Nation community infrastructure

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Ontario Mining Association member De Beers Canada has helped enhance the infrastructure of the First Nation community of Attawapiskat over the winter.  De Beers Canada’s support of 370 kilometres of winter roads facilitated the arrival of needed new housing in the community and more than 1,100 tonnes of rock, which was donated, to provide the foundation for the construction of a new elementary school.

The 1,100-plus tonnes of rock were from the Victor pit.  It was crushed at the mine site over a 24-hour per day, four day period and shipped 90 kilometres east to Attawapiskat.  It was vital to get this building foundation material to the community before the winter road closed for the season.

De Beers Canada contributes substantial funding to the First Nation owned and operated 280 kilometre section of the winter road from Moosonee north to Attawapiskat.  The company contributes 100% of the funding to build and operate the 90 kilometre section of the road from Attawapiskat west to the Victor Mine site. 

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Noront Resources invests in Webequie youth – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – March 2012)

Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal is a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury.

Noront Resources, a junior mining company working toward the development of its Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper-PGE deposit in Ontario’s Ring of Fire, is lending its support to a youth empowerment program for First Nation kids who could one day end up working for the company.

DAREarts, a charity that works with youth in challenging circumstances, began its relationship with Webequie four years ago when youth and elders from the First Nation community exposed to DAREarts programming at a Junior Ranger camp asked for help.

“There wasn’t any money in the budget for Webequie, but I couldn’t say no to them,” said DAREarts founder and president Marilyn Field. “I put in some of my own seed money for the first few years until we eventually found some funding.”

The organization uses the arts, including storytelling, photography, dance, drama and music, to help young people build confidence and leadership skills. 

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Hewers of wood, maybe; but good at it: report – by Barrie McKenna (Globe and Mail – April 3, 2012)

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.

Click Here For: Towards a More Innovative Future: Insights From Canada’s Natural Resources Sector

OTTAWA – Hewers of wood, drawers of water. It’s the classic dig about Canadians — that far too much of what we do is focused on low-value extraction and export of natural resources.
 
To an extent, it’s true. Resources account for 11 per cent of the country’s GDP, half of exports, 37 per cent of foreign investment and a quarter of capital investment. Nearly 800,000 Canadians work directly in the sector.  

But a new report by the Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum tries to debunk the myth that relying on resources for our wealth is “like feasting on empty calories.”
 
Instead, the report makes the case that there’s more potential for innovation in the natural resources sector than in any other industry, and ultimately, a lot more on the line for society.

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Anmar Mechanical part of Vale’s environmental upgrade – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 31, 2012)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Anmar Mechanical and Electrical Contractors Inc. is one of dozens of local companies that will benefit from Vale Ltd.’s $2-billion Clean AER Project. The Lively-based company has won the contract to fabricate four converters that are a big part of the environmental upgrade of the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex.

Anmar president Gianni Grossi won’t reveal the exact amount of the contract, but says it is in the neighbourhood of $15 million — and could employ as many as 700 of his employees at the peak of construction.

Each of the converters is 44 feet long and 13 feet in diameter, and is made of two-inch boiler-plate steel that will stand up to high temperatures in the smelting process. Anmar has also bid on contracts for other parts of the Clean AER (Atmospheric Emissions Reduction) Project. His company is also involved in other work during shutdown and other times at Vale facilities.

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