Mining Conflict and Opposition – Page 66

KI pulls out of Far North planning process – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 2012

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) has pulled out of the Ontario land use planning process under the Far North Act. “At the end of the day, when everything is completed and done it is the minister who has the last say,” said KI Chief Donny Morris. “We want control and to have the minister have the last say, that is not what we want. So that is why we pulled out.”

Morris sent the Aug. 31 letter to Dianne Corbett, director of Far North Branch, Ministry of Natural Resources, announcing the decision. Posted on the kitchenuhmaykoosib.com website, the letter stated that KI entered the land use planning process in a good faith attempt to work with Ontario to reduce land use conflicts in the KI homeland.

“When we do the land use planning, it is for our own community membership to determine the future of our resources, our lands and water, not the minister,” Morris said. Morris said it has become clear to the community over time that land use planning under the Far North Act would change the jurisdiction and authority of KI on its homeland.

“It is our view that the Far North Act acts to deny or limit the Aboriginal rights, Aboriginal title or treaty rights of KI and limits or defines the consultation and accommodation obligations between KI and Ontario,” Morris said in the letter. “In short, we cannot work within the limitations of the current legislation.”

Gold junior miner takes on [Ontario] government – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 2012)

September 19, 2012

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Darryl Stretch has his Howard Beale moments. Like the ranting fictional TV anchorman, emotion can get the better of the president of Solid Gold Resources when he discusses the exploration standstill at his Lake Abitibi gold play in northeastern Ontario.

The 25-year industry veteran admits to not being very polished, media-wise, in explaining his gloves-off approach in fighting to resume drilling at his Legacy Gold Project, a 200-square-kilometre property near the Quebec border that the junior miner has held since 2007.

“Everything we do in life is a double-edged sword,” said Stretch, whose torrent of colourful press releases attacking the province, the courts and First Nations as being “bullies,” “tyrants,” and speaking with “forked tongues” is the kind of vitriol that would make his company radioactive to investors.

“Even though I have a pretty pathetic-looking stock price (at $0.035 on the TSX Venture Exchange in mid-August), most of my shareholders are pretty comfortable with what I’m doing. We’ve been left with no alternative.”

Conflicting [Ontario junior miner] decisions call duty to consult [First Nations] into question – by Jennifer Brown (Canadian Lawyer Magazine.com – September 17, 2012)

September 17, 2012

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/

Junior mining company granted leave to appeal over injunction motion

A decision by the Ontario Superior court to grant leave to appeal an interim injunction obtained by a First Nation against a junior mining company could have significant implications for the resource industry, First Nation communities, and government.

On Sept. 4, the Ontario Superior Court granted leave to appeal [see attached pdf] an injunction obtained by the Wahgoshig First Nation against prospecting company Solid Gold Resources Corp., based in Thornhill, Ont.

Justice Wilton-Siegel granted Solid Gold leave to appeal a Jan. 3, 2012 injunction order from Superior Court Justice Carole J. Brown, who ordered all activity by Solid Gold stop for 120 days and they enter into consultation with the province and the First Nation regarding any further activity.

However, Wilton-Siegel ruled there is reason to doubt the correctness of the January order. He pointed to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Haida Nation v. British Columbia, which determined third parties do not hold the Crown’s duty to consult.

Greenpeace steps up activist campaign against Arctic oil drilling – by Associated Press (Toronto star – August 30, 2012)

August 30, 2012

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.

STOCKHOLM—Global warming has resulted in a rush to exploit Arctic resources — and Greenpeace is determined to thwart that stampede. Employing the same daredevil tactics it has used against nuclear testing and commercial whaling, the environmental group is now set on preventing oil companies from profiting from global warming by drilling for oil near the Arctic’s shrinking ice cap.

The campaign took off in May 2010, when oil was still gushing from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, Greenpeace was startled by reports that a small Scottish energy firm was proceeding with plans to drill for oil and gas in iceberg-laden waters off western Greenland.

“It felt slightly surreal,” recalled Ben Ayliffe, now the head of Greenpeace’s campaign against oil drilling the Arctic. “After what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, how can anyone respond to that by going to drill in similar depths in a place called Iceberg Alley?”

Greenpeace quickly arranged to get a ship to Greenland, where four activists attached themselves to a drilling rig for two days until a storm forced them to abandon the protest.

Media ignore German coal plants, tout propaganda film ‘Fuel’ – by Dr. Kelvin Kemm (Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow – August 28, 2012)

August 29, 2012

The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) is a conservative Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization whose stated mission is to promote free market solutions to environmental problems.(Wiki) http://www.cfact.org/

Dr. Kelvin Kemm is a CFACT scientific advisor. He holds a PhD in nuclear physics, is currently CEO of Stratek and lives in Pretoria, South Africa.

While Germany builds 23 new coal plants, the media gush over “Fuel,” in which super rich celebrities tell the rest of us to turn the lights off and do without!

It is amazing how biased the international media is when it comes to reporting on energy generation, specifically electricity.

In mid-August, Germany opened a new 2200MW coal-fired power station near Cologne, and virtually not a word has been said about it. This dearth of reporting is even more surprising when one considers that Germany has said building new coal plants is necessary because electricity produced by wind and solar has turned out to be unaffordably expensive and unreliable.

In a deteriorating economic situation, Germany’s new environment minister, Peter Altmaier, who is as politically close to Chancellor Angela Merkel as it gets, has underlined time and again the importance of not further harming Europe’s – and Germany’s – economy by increasing the cost of electricity.

Politically-divided commission narrowly approves new SEC ‘Conflict Minerals’ rule – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – August 23, 2012)

August 28, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Beginning in 2014, public companies listed on U.S. exchanges will have to disclose their reliance on minerals from the DRC and surrounding nations.

RENO (MINEWEB) – While not the only unhappy ones, it could be argued that the unhappiest stakeholders in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s adoption of a controversial provision governing conflict minerals may have been the Republican members of commission.

On a 3 to 2 vote, the commission voted for Section 1502, the “conflict minerals provision”, requiring companies listed on U.S. stock markets to examine their supply chains to determine and disclose if their productions contain minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or its neighboring nations.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and fellow Democrats Luis A. Aguilar and Elisse Walter voted in favor of the new regulation, while Republican commissioners Daniel Gallagher and Troy Paredes opposed the rule.

Behind a mining monopoly [Canada mining reputation] – by Aljazeera (The Stream – August 27, 2012)

August 28, 2012

Beneath Canada’s mines in Latin America lies an unregulated industry.

Canada is seen as a friendly nation but many indigenous communities say they have a dirty secret. Canada’s mining industry, the largest in the world, controls a majority of Latin American mining. Activists say they pollute and violate human rights without accountability from the Canadian government. Mining companies argue they build schools, health centres, roads and provide jobs.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Meera Karunananthan (@meerakar) from the Council of Canadians and John McKay (@johnmckaylib), Canadian Member of Parliament. Members of The Stream community also join via Google+.

Home to 70 per cent of the world’s mining companies, Canada’s mineral extraction economy is more robust and expansive than any other nation’s. Although its operations span from Ontario’s Ring of Fire to the Congo, Canadian mining companies are the most active in Latin America. The diagram below compares the exploration budgets of large Canadian mining companies with those of other countries.

New NAN grand chief [Harvey Yesno] pledges protection of lands – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – August 28, 2012)

August 28, 2012

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s new grand chief wasted little time in wading into the controversy over resource development on First Nations lands.

During a media meet and greet in Thunder Bay on Aug. 22, Harvey Yesno used his opening speech to declare that First Nations in NAN territory are willing to protect their lands by “whatever means possible.”

“One thing for sure, on the lands, its going to be all about protection,” Yesno said. “We’re not going to protest over our own lands. Nobody protests over their own property. But people will protect their property. And we’ll protect it by whatever means possible.”

Yesno’s comments come as conflict over the Ring of Fire mining development continues to brew. Neskantaga First Nation chief Peter Moonias has said he is willing to die stopping a bridge from being built over the Attawapiskat River. Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Stan Louttit has also made threats of direct action in the Ring of Fire.

KI paddlers embark on trip to Fort Severn – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – August 24, 2012)

August 27, 2012

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Promoting the traditional use of northern waterways and the need for protection of its watershed, a group of paddlers from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation has embarked on a canoe trip to Fort Severn.

Fourteen paddlers in seven canoes left KI on August 24. They expect to arrive in Fort Severn after nine or ten days on the rivers. Richard Anderson, KI’s watershed community worker, said the trip is about more than just following a trading route that his ancestors travelled every year.

“The trip is for awareness that we are protecting our watersheds for future generations,” Anderson said. “The Elders have taught us that our water is very important for us up here, and we should keep it that way.” Anderson has done the journey from KI to Fort Severn 11 times, and he still marvels at the efforts of his ancestors who used to do the trip there and back laden with supplies.

He said there are quite a few portages along the way, some retaining signs of their use through the ages. There are also a number of significant historic sites along the rivers, including grave sites that the community group will honour during the trip, Anderson said.

Andrew Nikiforuk denounces the Energy of Slaves – by Andrew Nikiforuk (Toronto Star – August 26, 2012)

August 27, 2012

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.

“Everything in modern life is congested—our politics, our trade, our professions and cities have one thing in common: they are all congested. There is no elbow-room anywhere . . . There can be but one path of escape, and that is backwards.”

— Arthur Penty, Guilds and the Social Crisis, 1919

Every oil company and petrostate today whistles a patriarchal tune. The American Petroleum Institute says the world needs more energy because oil drives “the American dream” and gives people the freedom to move anywhere, anytime. For Rex Tillerson, chairman and ceo of Exxon Mobil Corporation, the recipe for global prosperity is simple: “We must produce more energy from all available and commercially viable resources.”

Pipeline builders echo that the world is “clamouring for more energy.” With religious fervor, Shell executives swear that they will “produce more energy for a world with more people” so that millions can climb up “the energy ladder.”

New national park falls short – Toronto Star Editorial (August 25, 2012)

August 27, 2012

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 theme of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s annual trip to Canada’s North this year has been the supremacy of the resource economy — the “great national dream” of reaping the economic bounty of the region — over competing claims. And appearances to the contrary, his announcement of a new national park is consistent with that theme.

Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve, which comprises 4,840 square kilometres in the Northwest Territories, is a welcome new jewel in our rich parks system. It will protect large portions of the upper waterhead of the South Nahanni River, as well as the area’s grizzly and woodland caribou habitats. It will also preserve part of a place of particular spiritual significance to the First Nations peoples in the area.

There is, however, some concern about how the government will manage to maintain the site and facilitate access. While Harper has commendably announced no fewer than five new national parks since taking office in 2006, his government has also slashed Parks Canada’s budget, forcing many sites to reduce operating hours or cut other services.

Ghosts of apartheid haunt memorials at [South Africa] Lonmin mine – by David Dolan (Globe and Mail – August 24, 2012)

August 24, 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.

MARIKANA, SOUTH AFRICA – South Africans held a memorial service on Thursday at a mine where police shot dead 34 strikers, bloodshed that revived memories of apartheid-era violence and laid bare workers’ anger over enduring inequalities since the end of white rule.

Some 500 people crammed into a marquee pitched at the platinum mine, near what has been dubbed the “Hill of Horror” where police opened fire on striking miners in the deadliest security incident since apartheid ended in 1994.

Crowds spilled out into the scorched, dusty fields outside, listening to hymns and prayers. Women wrapped in blankets wept and mourners placed flowers at the scene. Other memorials took place around the country, including in downtown Johannesburg.

“Such a killing of people, of children, who haven’t done anything wrong and they didn’t have to die this way,” said Baba Goloza whose two sons died. He blamed mine owner Lonmin for not taking care of its workers at its Marikana mine, northwest of Johannesburg.

Unrest spreads in violence-hit South Africa mining belt – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters.com – August 22, 2012)

August 23, 2012

http://www.reuters.com/

RUSTENBURG, South Africa – (Reuters) – Labor unrest in South Africa’s platinum belt spread on Wednesday, raising concerns that anger over low wages and poor living conditions could generate fresh violence after 34 striking miners were shot dead by police last week.

The strike that started last week at Lonmin’s Marikana mine has driven up platinum prices and stoked worries about investing in Africa’s biggest economy, where chronic unemployment and income disparities threaten social stability.

At Marikana, a somber-looking President Jacob Zuma stood under a parasol held by an aide to address around 2,000 subdued miners. In the Xhosa and Zulu languages, he said there was no need for workers to die in a Labor dispute. “This is painful to all of us. It is not acceptable for people to die where talks can be held. But I do feel your pain and have come personally to express that,” he said.

The world’s top platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum, said on Wednesday it had received a demand for a pay increase from its South African workers, while Royal Bafokeng Platinum said a Labor action by about 500 miners interrupted work at a shaft at its Rasimone mine.

SA Chamber of Mines admits mistakes were made in lead up to Marikana massacre – by Christy Filen (Mineweb.com – August 23, 2012)

August 23, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Chamber Vice President, Mark Cutifani said Wednesday, talks should have taken place earlier between the various role players in the platinum sector and AMCU.

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb) – After expressing condolences and calling for all parties to be part of a solution to the devastating killings that took place at Lonmin’s Marikana mine last week, the Chamber of Mines of South Africa Vice President and CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, Mark Cutifani, has admitted that talks should have taken place earlier between role players in the platinum sector.

“Now in hindsight we probably all should have been talking even before the Impala issue and I think that we all agree that we’ve missed something in that process and we are trying to make that good” said Cutifani.

This comes on the back of the Chamber’s first meeting with rival union AMCU (The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) on Thursday afternoon. The response by Cutifani was in answer to a question as to why a meeting with AMCU had not taken place after three people were killed at Impala Platinum’s Rustenburg operations in February.

New Anglo Platinum wage demand a potentially ominous development – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – August 22, 2012)

August 22, 2012

www.mineweb.com

A new pay demand from Anglo American Platinum workers, bypassing the NUM union, is yet another disturbing development in the South African platinum sector.

LONDON (Mineweb) – The latest note from Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) reporting that it has received an unspecified pay increase demand from workers on the world’s largest platinum mine is a possibly ominous development for the South African platinum sector. The demand has come from workers directly, rather than through official National Union of Mineworkers (the principal mining union at the mines) channels, and this mirrors the demands at Lonmin’s Marikana mine where again no official demands were made to the mine owners via the union.

What is particularly worrying here is that the miners are bypassing the NUM suggesting a total lack of trust in the traditional mining union setup. The NUM appears to be being seen as a vassal of the ruling African National Congress political party – i.e. part of the new South African establishment – where it is beginning to be felt that miner’s interests are taking second place to political interests (in this case the preservation of a key part of the South African economy).

By Western standards South African mine pay at the main workforce level is low with the average miner probably earning between $500 to $1000 a month to work in what many outsiders would consider dirty and dangerous conditions.