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Mining Education and Innovation

Confederation College prepares future mining workforce – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 12, 2013)

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.

Ottawa is supporting Aboriginal training in preparation for coming development in the Far North. The federal government’s Skills and Partnership Fund is allocating more than $5.9 million for employment training in the mining sector for people in the nine communities of the Matawa First Nations.

It’s part of a new Ring of Fire Aboriginal Alliance announced by Ottawa, Matawa, the Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), Confederation College and Noront Resources, a junior miner working in the James Bay lowlands.

This fall, nine specialized training and six pre-trade courses will be made available for Matawa members with many delivered in their home communities and Thunder Bay.

The training programs include: mining essentials, environmental monitoring, basic line cutting, security guard, remote camp cook, remote camp support, underground common core, underground diamond drill helper and heavy equipment operator. The pre-trades programs are in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, welding, heavy duty equipment mechanic and construction craft worker.

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A red-letter day for Lakehead – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – September 5, 2013)

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

It was so refreshing to stand in a room filled with hope, pride and a sense of achievement. It was the opening of Lakehead University’s faculty of law, the first new law school in Ontario in more than 40 years.

You could almost hear buttons popping and chests filled with pride. The little gymnasium at the former Port Arthur Collegiate Institute was filled with a collection of local legal community members, university VIPs, community leaders and provincial visitors, not the least of which, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Minister Michael Gravelle and MPP Bill Mauro and Mayor Keith Hobbs. Provincial, regional and local representatives who are ever-present at university functions were at the opening in full force.

“What a great day,” seemed to be the first words out of the mouths of every speaker, and there were many — but the refrain never grew old. Everyone in the room was there to cheer a great day for Thunder Bay, Ontario and the country.
The new faculty will be somewhat unique as it offers a focus on aboriginal and environmental law.

The faculty of law, which received a slim $1.5 million from the province, is a huge investment for Lakehead University. Along with the medical school, Lakehead University has risen in the ranks of the Canadian university community by becoming truly comprehensive.

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NEWS RELEASE: Teachers benefit from their time in mining classrooms

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.

Forty six educators expanded their mineral industry knowledge through active participation in an enhanced Teachers Mining Tour. This was the fourth year for this program and the first year the week-long program had been held twice to help accommodate increased demand for the course.

Elementary and secondary school science and social studies teachers from across Ontario and parts of Quebec were exposed to all facets of mining from exploration and geology through to production and mine site reclamation and environmental activities. Twenty four teachers were in the first workshop from July 29 to August 2 and 22 teachers were in the second program from August 19 to 23, 2013. The base camp for the programs was the Canadian Ecology Centre, near Mattawa.

“The schedule is jam packed with classroom time, site visits and presentations,” said Lesley Hymers, Ontario Mining Association Environment and Education Specialist. “The teachers are a dedicated group of educators who have donated a portion of their summer holidays to gain a first-hand glimpse of one of Ontario’s most important industries and a better understanding of the broad range of career opportunities mining offers.”

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CEMI in running for $10 million research grant – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – August 2013)

This article was originally published in the August 2013 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

The Centre for Excellence in Mining I n n o v a t i o n (CEMI) is one of seven finalists vying for four $10 million research grants from the federal government’s Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program.

The program funds large-scale collaborative research networks that bring a wide range of research expertise to bear on specific challenges identified by industry. CEMI’s proposal is for an Ultra Deep Mining Network that will address challenges impacting resource extraction at depth.

More than 120 applications were whittled down to 54 in the first round of cuts, and then to seven. Matching funds from industry will provide CEMI with $20 million for the proposed four-or five-year research program.

“There are only two places you can go for a new mine,” said CEMI president Doug Morrison. “You can go to a remote location like the Ring of Fire (in northwestern Ontario), or you can go deep. Unfortunately, when you get down to around 2.5 kilometres, the heat and the logistical problems become very significant, so we see a need for changing the way we do things.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Partnership opens mining sector employment doors for First Nations members

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 Noront Resources is the industry partner in a new alliance to provide training for future mining jobs to the people of Matawa First Nations. The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) has received $5.9 million from the federal government’s Skills and Partnership Fund to support that goal.

“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of State Responsible for the Ring of Fire. “It is important that all Canadians have the necessary skills and training they need to succeed.”

RoFATA was created through a partnership of Noront Resources, Matawa First Nations, Kikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) and Confederation College in Thunder Bay. RoFATA’s key objective is to provide training-to-employment opportunities to support Matawa First Nations people. The Matawa First Nation encompasses nine communities.

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Matawa First Nations to start training for Ring of Fire development – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – August 9, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) would receive more than $5.9-million from the Canadian Governments’ ‘Skills and Partnership Fund’ to provide training for employment in the mining sector for the people of Matawa First Nations, in preparation for development of the Ring of Fire mineral complex in Ontario’s Far North.

The Ring of Fire is a 5 000 km2 mineral-rich area in the James Bay Lowlands, situated within the traditional lands of two of the Matawa First Nations.

Nine specialised training and six pre-trade courses would be made available to Matawa First Nations members, with many courses to be presented in their First Nation communities and others locally in Thunder Bay. About 260 trainees would be trained on courses lasting between 5 weeks and 20 weeks, and 196 trainees would enter into employment through RoFATA.

The Matawa First Nations, Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), Noront Resources and Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology this week signed a memorandum of understanding, creating RoFATA partnership.

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NEWS RELEASE: Supporting Aboriginal skills development and training in Northern Ontario

Honourable Greg Rickford – Minister of State: Science and Technology, Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (Fednor) and Minister Responsible for Ring of Fire

August 8, 2013 11:00 AM – General – Federal Government News

THUNDER BAY, ON, Aug. 8, 2013 /CNW/ – Aboriginal people in Northern Ontario will be better equipped to find fulfilling, long-term employment, as a result of training provided through a project funded by the Government of Canada. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State (Science and Technology, and Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario) and Member of Parliament for Kenora, on behalf of the Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development).

“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity, across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Minister of State Rickford. “It’s important that all Canadians have the skills and training they need to succeed. By working with organizations such as Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services, we are ensuring that the members of local Aboriginal communities can take full advantage of the opportunities being generated by the rapidly growing mining industry, in particular in the Ring of Fire.”

Noront Resources Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer Paul Parisotto

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Matawa First Nations have chance to cash in on Ring of Fire jobs – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – August 9, 2013)

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

The federal government is providing almost $6 million for training Aboriginal people near the Ring of Fire mining camp.
The Skills and Partnership funding will help 260 residents from nine Matawa First Nations get the skills and experience they need to find good quality, high-paying jobs through a mining industry training project run by Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) in partnership with Noront Resources Ltd. and Confederation College.

Training will be provided for jobs such as heavy equipment operator, underground diamond driller helper, security guard, camp cook and environmental monitor.

The funding announcement was made Thursday at Confederation College by FedNor Minister Greg Rickford. “Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity, across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Rickford (C-Kenora).

“By working with organizations such as Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services, we are ensuring that the members of local Aboriginal communities can take full advantage of the opportunities being generated by the rapidly growing mining industry, in particular in the Ring of Fire,” he said.

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Feds supply $6M to get First Nations ready for Ring of Fire (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 8, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

260 people to be trained in trades like mining, welding and environmental monitoring

The federal government has announced almost $6 million in funding to train people from Matawa First Nations in the mining sector. The announcement was made at Confederation College in Thunder Bay Thursday morning.

“There’s no better time than the present, we want to get going on this, we know that this is a legacy project,” said Kenora MP Greg Rickford, who is also minister of state for FedNor, with responsibility for the Ring of Fire. “We want to make sure that all our ducks are in a row.”

The money will go to a group of stakeholders called the Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance, which includes Matawa First Nations, NorOnt Resources and Confederation College. Matawa CEO David Paul Achneepineskum said building partnerships like this will help First Nations succeed. But Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon thinks the process should be more grass-roots.

“I’m happy on one hand that we’re moving along, but there’s got to be a better method of how to move along,” he said. “And that means going to the communities and asking what each community wants.”

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Web portal aims at educating First Nations youth in mining – by Lenny Carpenter (Wawatay News – August 6, 2013)

http://wawataynews.ca/

An online web portal aimed at helping First Nations youth explore the world of mining was launched on July 25.
Learning2mine.ca is an interactive web portal developed by Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute that provides information on the mining industry and careers.

Rosie Mosquito, Oshki’s executive director, said the portal was developed with the upcoming mining opportunities within the Ring of Fire in mind as First Nations stand to benefit from such opportunities.

“With all the mining opportunities that will become available in the north, we want to see First Nations people employed as engineers, environmental technicians, project managers, geophysicists, and in administration,” Mosquito said. “This new portal encourages young people to prepare for a career in the mining industry and most importantly provides them guidance in how to get started.”

Learning2Mine.ca features a mining game called Waaniike, where the player explores the land and discovers resources and artifacts using mining gear and equipment. The game combines traditional knowledge and modern mining practices and aims to build “mining literacy” in the player.

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NEWS RELEASE: NORTHERN AND CONFEDERATION COLLEGES PARTNER TO DELIVER HAILEYBURY SCHOOL OF MINES MINING ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN PROGRAM IN NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Tuesday, August 6, 2013

TIMMINS, ON: Northern College and Confederation College in Thunder Bay are collaborating to broaden educational opportunities and facilitate workforce development in northwestern Ontario. A newly established agreement between the two colleges allows Confederation to share delivery of the highly reputable Northern College Haileybury School of Mines (HSM) programming at its Thunder Bay campus enabling graduates of Confederation’s Mining Techniques certificate program to enter the third semester of the HSM Mining Engineering Technician diploma program at Confederation College.

The arrangement between Northern and Confederation stemmed from a pan-northern memorandum of understanding signed earlier this year involving six colleges in northern Ontario. The colleges collaborate in developing recruitment strategies to attract learners to career-specific programs with identified skill shortages to ensure graduates find meaningful work and employers in the north have access to a highly-qualified, competitive workforce.

“As exploration activities surge in northwestern Ontario, mining is quickly becoming a dominant economic driver. In order to meet the future workforce requirements of the rapidly growing mining sector, Northern and Confederation explored the possibility of making the HSM Mining Engineering Technician diploma program available in the region,” said Fred Gibbons, President of Northern College.

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Marten Falls youth win mining video award – by Christian Quequish (Wawatay News – July 14, 2013)

http://wawataynews.ca/

Youth from Marten Falls First Nation were the recipients of the best overall video award for the Ontario Mining Association’s 2013 So You Think You Know Mining video contest this past June.

The winning youth from Marten Falls were: Christian Peters, Matthew Waboose, Allen Waboose, Jared Peters, Drew Waboose, Craig and Skye Achneepineskum. The filmmakers travelled to Toronto to attend a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) that recognized the winning contestants.

“Visiting Toronto was awesome, I got to meet new people and visit the CN tower,” said Drew Waboose, one of the recipients of the mining video award of $5,000 and a trophy. “My mom was so proud when she found out we won first place. Hearing my group’s name get called I felt happy because we never thought we were going to win.”

Allen Waboose, another one of the filmmakers, said some of the challenges during production were getting a boat to use for the film and climbing on top of the community arena to get a good shot of a helicopter flying in supplies. “It started off with Kaitlyn Ferris (of Noront Resources), it wasn’t all my idea,” said Allen Waboose. “She came to my reserve and I just randomly joined the project.”

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Scientific curiosity fuels growth – by Carol Goar (Toronto Star – June 20, 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.

Peter Howitt, a transplanted Canadian at an Ivy League American university, proposes a sensible science policy for Ottawa.

Heartsick scientists have lobbied, pleaded and rallied Canadians, but the prime minister’s resolve is unshakable. The National Research Council (NRC), with its proud history of scientific breakthroughs — from canola to the electric wheelchair — must become a business-directed agency focusing on commercial innovation.

But basic science can still thrive Canada, says Peter Howitt, an expert on technological change, economic growth and national productivity. In fact, the professor emeritus at Brown University — a transplanted Canadian — regards Stephen Harper’s move as a step forward, one that could lead to a badly needed reorganization of the way Ottawa fosters and disseminates leading-edge research.

Howitt has just written a paper for the C.D. Howe Institute, From Curiosity to Wealth Creation, showing how Canada can use Harper’s decision as a jumping-off point to modernize its underperforming, resource-dominated, economy.

His plan may be too bold for the Harper government and Canada’s tight-fisted corporate leaders. But it is economically sensible and scientifically sound. It proposes a four-step transformation.

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MEDIA RELEASE: BULK MATERIAL HANDLING COMPANY WINS INNOVATION AWARD

Rail-Veyor® Technologies Global Solves Complex Material Haulage Problems

June 13, 2013 SUDBURY, ON – Rail-Veyor’s® Bulk Material Handling Solution for surface and underground applications earned the company this year’s Bell Canada Innovation Award. Rail-Veyor® was acknowledged as having successfully developed, commercialized and installed its material handling technology designed for the mining, aggregate and other bulk material handling industries.

“It’s an honour to be recognized by our peers in the community.” says Rail-Veyor’s President & CEO Ron Russ at the Bell Canada Excellence Awards. “It is rewarding to see the technology developed by the Rail-Veyor® team attract so much interest from so many industries world-wide,” adds Russ.

Rail-Veyor® provides a simple solution to handle complex industrial material haulage problems by offering the best of conveyors, truck haulage and heavy rail haulage in one complete package. Rail-Veyor® is an electrically powered series of 2-wheeled interconnected mini rail cars that can operate 24/7 and travel along a light rail track at speeds up to 8 m/s or 18 mph. The remote controlled Rail-Veyor® technology is comprised of simple components that allow continuous material haulage without diesel emissions and with significantly less capital and maintenance costs than other options. The simplicity, adaptability and its impressive financial returns make the Rail-Veyor® technology appealing to many industries.

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Sudbury mining workshop draws students from across Canada – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – June 10, 2013)

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.

Before Nick Joyce arrived in Sudbury last month, the city’s famed mineral exploration history was just something he had learned about in the classroom. But a visit to the city brought the story to life.

“It is one of those classic case studies we do go over in our mineral exploration classes, but to actually come here and see the rocks and go to a discovery outcrop and then go to one of the mines, it’s something different,” said Joyce, who recently graduated from the geology program at the University of British Columbia and will be working towards his Master’s degree in mineral exploration at Queen’s University starting this fall.

“It brings it to a whole new level of understanding.”

Joyce is one of 26 students who participated in the 2013 Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop (S-IMEW) hosted by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Using Sudbury as a base of operations, this year’s workshop, held from May 4 to 17, guided students through tours of Sudbury, Timmins and Rouyn-Noranda, which were complemented by lectures given by industry representatives.

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