Gold and Silver – Page 314 – Republic of Mining

Barrick’s Hemlo Operation leads the way with Towards Sustainable Mining honour

December 12, 2011

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.

Barrick Gold’s Hemlo Operation in Northwestern Ontario was presented with the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Leadership Award at a Mining Day on the Hill event in Ottawa last month. Other Ontario Mining Association members to receive TSM accolades were De Beers Canada, Teck Resources and Xstrata.

“Whether in Canada or abroad, Barrick strives to meet high standards for corporate social responsibility,” said Kelvin Dushnisky, Barrick Executive Vice President Corporate and Legal Affairs. “We are proud to see our Hemlo Operation recognized as a leader in responsible mining by Canada’s mining industry and congratulate everyone involved in this great achievement.”

“Barrick is only the second company to win a Leadership Award since the TSM Awards were inaugurated in 2006,” said MAC President Pierre Gratton. “We are honoured to be receiving this special award,” said Roger Souckey, Superintendent of Employee Relations at Hemlo. “At Hemlo, we place great value on our relationships with First Nations, local communities and on environmental stewardship.” Mr. Souckey has been a member of the OMA Education and Outreach Committee since its inception in 2006.

Why the heavens of Peru are a hell of a place to seek a fortune – by Jennifer Wells (Toronto Star – December 10, 2011)

December 10, 2011

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.

LA RINCONADA, PERU—Stepping from a brothel into morning in Rinconada, a suppurating wound of excrement and garbage and fuel exhaust.

Rough night. No heat. No running water. Ergo: no toilet. The wooden floors and cracker-thin walls of the bordello had served as efficient sound vectors for the heavy boots of the importuning miners, orchestral hosts to their loud and meaty door-banging fists. The only detail missing was the jangle of brass spurs.

The floors of the “hotel” rooms — bordellos offer the only lodging in town — had been doused in germ-killing gasoline, the fumes infusing the atmosphere with acrid, lung-invading top-notes. Thus the head: woozy, thick-feeling. Can barely breathe, not that breathing in this fetid atmosphere holds much appeal.

A metre in the distance, a stream of effluent bisects the packed mud path that serves as a primary artery through town. There are no paved roads. Panfuls of slop are heaved into the street.

NEWS RELEASE: First Nations to Develop New Power Line to Replace Diesels

December 7, 2011

This general sustainability video from Goldcorp includes the company’s Aboriginal engagement activities at the Musselwhite Mine in Northwestern Ontario.

SIOUX LOOKOUT, ON, Dec. 6, 2011 /CNW/ – Numerous First Nation Communities are working to bring transmission line connectivity and green energy development to remote First Nation communities currently operating on expensive diesel generators in Northwestern Ontario.

Wataynikaneyap Power is being formed as a First Nation led company to design, permit, construct, own and operate a 230 kV transmission line to bring additional grid connection to Pickle Lake. The Company is proposing a two-phase planning and permitting process to bring connectivity to the remote First Nations.

The first phase would reinforce the grid at Pickle Lake and the second phase would extend the grid north of Pickle Lake to service the remote communities. Significant pre-development work has been completed, including a routing study for the new line to Pickle Lake (Phase 1).

Peru declares emergency after talks fail on ending anti-mining protest – by Franklin Briceno (Toronto star – December 6, 2011)

December 10, 2011December 6, 2011

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.

LIMA, PERU—President Ollanta Humala declared a 60-day state of emergency Sunday to quell increasingly violent protests over the country’s biggest investment, a highlands gold mine, by peasants who fear it will damage their water supply.

The emergency restricts civil liberties such as the right to assembly and allows arrests without warrants in four provinces of Cajamarca state that have been paralyzed for 11 days by protests against the $4.8-billion (U.S.) Conga gold-and-copper mining project. U.S.-based Newmont Mining Corp. is the project’s majority owner.

Dozens have been injured in clashes between police and protesters, some of whom have vandalized Conga property. The general strike also shuttered schools and snarled transportation as protesters mounted roadblocks.

Humala said in a brief televised address Sunday night that protest leaders had shown no interest “in reaching minimal agreements to permit a return of social peace” after a day of talks in Cajamarca with Cabinet chief Salmon Lerner, who had been accompanied by military and police chiefs and was guarded by hundreds of heavily armed police.

Big [Nevada gold] discovery by Barrick Gold gets industry attention – by Rob Sabo (Northern Nevada Business Weekly – December 5, 2011)

December 5, 2011

Northern Nevada Business Weekly: http://www.nnbw.com/Default.aspx

Barrick Gold Corporation’s two new gold discoveries in Nevada represent the biggest mining story in the state for 2011, says Alan Coyner, administrator for the Nevada Division of Minerals.

In September, Barrick said it had found estimated resources of nearly 3.5 million ounces of gold at its Red Hill and Goldrush claims a few miles southeast of the company’s flagship Cortez mining operations 75 miles southwest of Elko.

Barrick is conducting further drilling on the claim area to determine the full scope of the discovery and to move the estimated, or inferred, resource amount into proven reserves.

“It is the story of the year because of its size,” Coyner told a standing-room crowd of top-level mining executives last week at the annual Northwest Mining Association conference at John Ascuaga’s Nugget.

[Kirkland Lake History] ERNIE’S GOLD: A Prospector’s Tale – by Brian (Chip) Martin

December 18, 2011December 4, 2011

For an autographed copy of Ernie’s Gold, please contact the author at: chipmartin@sympatico.ca.

Great Christmas Gift: $20.00 plus shipping!

In the early 1900s, young Ernie Martin immigrated from Staffordshire, England, to Canada to seek his fortune. He finally ended up in Kirkland Lake, where gold was to be found if you were willing to work at it. Ernie was. And so was Harry Oakes. The two of them became prospecting partners. Ernie and Harry worked hard and non-stop to find a vein of gold so they could start a mine.

When it finally happened, the mine grew into a huge money-maker for the two of them. Ernie’s first wife, Mary, also was a prospector, and in fact ended up financially far better off than Ernie. Why was that? How is it that multi-millionaire Ernie Martin arrived at the end of his life virtually a pauper? This is a book full of surprises and answers — and a few questions.

Excerpt from Ernie’s Gold: A Prospector’s Tale:

By the time Mabel (Fetterley) had arrived in the Swastika area, Mary Violette had already been in mining country for several years. Mary came from even farther away, the small farm community of Goshen, Indiana. She would have a significant impact on the life of Ernie Martin.

Mary was born in 1874 on a farm at New Paris, just south of Goshen, the second of five children of Benjamin and Caroline Violette. Hers was a prominent family in the area, some of whom opted to drop the final “e” in their name. Mary’s father was the youngest of ten children born to John Wesley and Chloe Violette, who were among the area’s first settlers. One of Benjamin’s older brothers, John H., was not content to stay in farming and in the spring of 1850 joined the California Gold Rush. He was twenty.

The people vs gold – a global battleground – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – November 29, 2011)

November 29, 2011

http://www.mineweb.com/

Recent public opposition to gold mining developments in Peru and in Bulgaria are indicative of a trend towards opposition to new mines which are accused of threatening water supplies.

LONDON – More and more it seems that local populations, perhaps stirred-up by often misleading information from environmental activists, are protesting – sometimes violently – against the establishment of significant gold mining operations in their areas.

For example, in Peru, there is an ongoing protest by the citizens of Cajamarca against the development of the Newmont/Buenaventura $3.4 billion Minas Conga gold mine while in Europe’s Balkan region the citizens of the town of Krumovgrad in Bulgaria are currently conducting a campaign against the development of an open pit gold mine by Dundee Precious Metals. Both these to an extent also pit the locals against central government which sees the potential benefits of the respective mining operations to their revenues and in terms of increased employment.

The above protests revolve around water supply concerns, as have a number of other recent protests against mining operations. In the case of Minas Conga, this is something of an embarrassment to Peru’s left-leaning new President, Ollanta Humala, whose government has so far supported the mining companies in this particular case because of its potential importance to the economy.

A giant step in the mining agreement process [Goldcorp and Cree Nation of Wemindji] – by J. Borsato (CIM Magazine – May, 2011)

November 21, 2011

Founded in 1898, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries.

Cree Nation sets the tone for future collaborations with mining industry

Mineral exploration and development in Canada typically occur in close proximity to Aboriginal communities. The positive impact such activities have on these communities are significant on many levels – agreements with First Nations on mining-related projects can result in job creation, skills training and economic growth at both the local and regional level.

If approached in a proactive, respectful and responsible way, companies can tip the balance in favour of a harmonious and profitable partnership. Moreover, when a First Nation is proactive in its negotiations, it is not only a recipe for success, it is a model to be emulated.

Historically, impact benefit agreements (IBAs) existed as bilateral agreements between the government and an Aboriginal community, to ensure local rights are respected and that employment opportunities are created for the people in the community.

Chief has concerns with gold project – by Chris Ribau (Timmins Daily Press – November 15, 2011)

November 15, 2011

Location of Sold Gold Resources discovery sparks questions from First Nation

The Wahgoshig First Nation has expressed concerns over a exploration project close to the borders of their community. It’s concerns centre on Solid Gold Resource Corporation and their exploration of an area immediately north of the Porcupine Destor Fault zone at Lake Abitibi.

“Our territory covers basically south of Lake Abitibi,” said David Babin, chief of the Wahgoshig First Nation. “Our territory is about 12 miles long and three miles wide. Basically starting from Twin Lakes to three miles east. They’re not in our boundaries, but they’re just outside of them.”

Babin is concerned about keeping the historical significance of the area undisturbed and intact, as well as maintaining their culture and way of life.

“What we want is to make sure they adhere to some of our values within the area,” said Babin. “We have burial sites, artifacts in the area, and members of the community collect medicine for the community from the territory.”

[Kinross Gold] Good times in the gulag – by Paul Christopher Webster (Globe and Mail – Report on Business Magazine – April, 2011)

November 6, 2011

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.

Vladimir Putin, Tye Burt and Kinross’s Gold Rush in Siberia

Looking like a luxury liner that took a wrong turn somewhere in the Pacific, the living quarters at the Kupol mine stand in surreal contrast to the surrounding moonscape of snow, ice and searing wind. Built largely in Alberta and trucked here to northeastern Russia from a port on the Arctic Ocean, the facility, which is operated by Toronto-based Kinross Gold Corp., boasts a huge gym, exercise rooms, high-speed Internet, extensive entertainment facilities and two spacious restaurants serving nearly 30 tonnes a month of remarkably palatable food.

Workers, who are flown in for four- to six-week stints from the city of Magadan, 1,200 kilometres to the south, peg their shift schedules to Sunday shashlik dinners. “I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere,” says Anatoly Orlinsky, a veteran of Russian resource development who runs Kupol’s power plant. “If this is the future for mining in my country,” he says with conviction, “it gives me hope.”

Here on Russia’s remote northeastern frontier, Kinross has secured its own private El Dorado just as gold prices head for the stratosphere. After 15 years of battling investor doubts about Russia, startling logistical improbabilities and sinister patches of resistance in a region first developed by prisoners of the Soviet gulags, Kinross has captured a prized part of Canada’s Cold War peace dividend.

[Kinross Gold] The gold standard for safety – by Mary Teresa Bitti (National Post – November 4, 2011)

November 4, 2011

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

Toronto-based Kinross Gold Corp. is a $17-billion market cap company with 8,000 employees in 10 countries on four continents. Its annual gold production is about 2.7 million ounces and it has more than 100 million ounces of aggregate gold and resources. It is one of the largest gold producers in the world and is working on a series of new gold mines that will also make Kinross the fastest-growing gold company in the world.

Kinross president and CEO Tye Burt says the company’s corporate culture is the adhesive that has allowed it to operate and grow safely and successfully, and that crosses cultures and geographies to link employees together and keep them focused on the same goal.

“Our culture starts from our four core values: putting people first, outstanding corporate citizenship, high performance and rigorous financial discipline,” Mr. Burt says. “These values define our top priorities. We try to live those values every day and reward our folks accordingly.

[Kirkland Lake] Canada’s Mile of Gold regains its luster – by Euan Rocha (Reuters Canada – November 3, 2011)

November 3, 2011

http://ca.reuters.com/

KIRKLAND LAKE, Ontario (Reuters) – With a gleam in his eyes, Sidney Hamden recalls the glory days of Kirkland Lake, the little Canadian mining town in northern Ontario that was long ago dubbed “The Mile of Gold”.

Hamden, a spry 82-year-old, remembers his first big break in 1947 at the Lake Shore mine, then one of the deepest gold mines in the world, producing 8.5 million ounces between 1918 and 1965.

“We had seven mines. I personally don’t know of any other place that had seven major mines within a radius of two miles,” said Hamden. “If I’m not mistaken, in 1948 there were approximately 50 different places to buy groceries around town. We had 17 different hotels in the Kirkland Lake area alone.” But Kirkland Lake’s fortunes waned through the 1950s and 1960s, as costs rose and the price of gold stagnated.

Family story provides literary gold [Kirkland Lake history] -by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – November 3, 2011)

November 3, 2011

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

A man takes his wife on a cruise around the world. A month later, she discovers his mistress on board and gets revenge on her husband the best way she can think of — by beating him and giving him a black eye.

The man in question was Ernie Martin, a prospector who came to Canada from England hoping to strike it rich. Ernie, who was worth $13 million in 1936, is rarely mentioned in history books and his story has never been told. Until now.

Brian Martin, a London Free Press journalist and author, penned Ernie’s Gold: A Prospect Tale, a book about the o r’s prospector’s life and how he made his money. He was in Sudbury on Wednesday for two public events at the Mackenzie Street branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library.

“Ernie’s Gold is a story about Ernie Martin, who is my great uncle, my grandfather’s brother.

Finding the golden lining [Nuinsco Resources] – by Thomas Watson (Canadian Business Magazine – October 19, 2011)

November 1, 2011

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/

Executives from Nuinsco Resources, a Toronto-based mineral exploration company, recently checked in to the Corinthia Hotel in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The oval-shaped structure is known locally as Gadhafi’s Egg; its construction was financed by the notorious Libyan leader. The executives were there to pursue mining opportunities in Sudan, a country with a rough reputation in the Canadian business community and where, until recently, only mad dictators would consider investing in real estate.

For more than two decades, Sudan has been ruled by the Islamist government of Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, who spent decades locked in a brutal civil war with Christian separatists in the south. Accused of genocide in the country’s Darfur region, al-Bashir is officially listed as a sponsor of terror by the United States and wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.

Nevertheless, he earned some credit for allowing the referendum that recently led to an independent South Sudan and effectively ended the country’s war. But Sudan must now confront a severe economic crisis. The country’s annualized rate of inflation was 21% in August, and its division this summer handed the south custody of most oil assets. As a result, the nation is looking to expand its minerals industry.