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NEWS RELEASE: OMA and member Noront support student video workshops for SYTYKM

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.

The Ontario Mining Association and member company Noront Resources in partnership with DAREarts and Engage Learn recently held two mining movie making youth camps for high school students. The two-day camps held in Red Lake and in Thunder Bay are in support of the OMA’s high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining.

The teaching team included Lesley Hymers, OMA Environment and Education Specialist; Kaitlyn Ferris, Noront Manger Corporate Responsibility; Laura McKinnon, an art teacher from DAREarts; and, Eli Bardikoff from Engage Learn. Also, educators from the high schools involved participated.

The first mining movie making workshop was held at the Red Lake District High School. Twenty five students from a communications technology course and the specialist high skills major in mining program in Red Lake were involved. Several student teams completed shooting footage and recording voice overs for their productions, while others were able to initiate the film editing process.

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Campus talk raises ethical concerns about UBC’s role in new mining institute – by Vinicius Cid (The Ubyssey – November 12, 2013)

http://ubyssey.ca/

On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Social Justice Centre hosted a talk debating UBC’s role in a new mining institute, as well as broader ethical implications associated with the mining industry.

The Canadian International Institute for Extractive Industries and Development (CIIEID) will be funded by a $24.6 million grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which will go to both UBC and SFU. The institution is intended to help educate people in developing countries about the best practices for mining.

Yves Engler, a Montreal-based writer and political activist who has written several books critical of Canadian foreign policy, led the talk. Sam Stime, a UBC civil engineering graduate student involved with “Not From My Campus,” a blog critical of the CIIEID, opened the talk. He introduced the audience to the moral and ethical concerns surrounding overseas mining by Canadian companies and the implications of establishing the CIIEID at UBC.

“This is our time to ask tough questions to our government and universities,” Stime said. “Through this institute, there is now a link between us and the federal government’s agenda of imposition.

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HudBay Minerals Meets a Legacy of Guatemalan Violence in Canadian Court – by Joseph Kirschke (Engineering and Mining Journal – November 11, 2013)

http://www.e-mj.com/

Five years ago, officials at Canada’s Skye Resources Inc. had a simple goal: to become a mid-tier nickel producer representing 1% of the global market by 2015 through developing their open-pit Phoenix project in El Estor, Guatemala, with a local subsidiary.

But as with many things in the troubled Central American nation, the focus was doomed from the start. Within two years, the Vancouver-based miner and Compania Guatemalteca de Niquel (GCN) would stand accused of colluding with private security forces and the local military in the gang rape of 11 indigenous women and two other attacks that left one man dead and another paralyzed, while clearing land for operations.

Such incidents are not unique to Guatemala. Indeed, the nation of 13 million heaves equally under drug trafficking violence and the simmering legacy of a brutal 36-year civil war, which claimed more than 250,000 lives and displaced more than 1.5 million. What is novel about this case, however, was its arrival before HudBay Minerals Inc.—which bought Skye in 2008 and abandoned Phoenix in 2011—in three separate lawsuits in a Canadian court this summer.

These will be the first such trials in the world’s top mining nation following three attempts by other foreign plaintiffs to hold Canadian miners accountable to their own court systems since 1997.

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Miners urged to modernise CSR communications – by Simon Rees (MiningWeekly.com – November 1, 2013)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Mining companies that fail to engage with social media or other online platforms face the risk of increased criticism, scrutiny and protest by opposition groups, speakers told delegates at the Risk Mitigation & CSR Seminar in Toronto on October 17.

Many companies are also failing to successfully broadcast the benefits accrued by project stakeholders and, in doing so, are not realising the full value inherent in their CSR programmes.

TURN ON, TUNE IN AND TWEET

HigherEye Trade & Consulting president and CEO Radcliffe Dockery emphasised how perception can quickly dictate a narrative. This includes the impact of protests. “Perception is reality … Protests that gather steam [can] create a new reality,” he warned.

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NEWS RELEASE: Season six of SYTYKM begins — today

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.

The Ontario Mining Association officially launched season six of its high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining (SYTYKM) today. New features of the competition this year include an additional award category and an increase in available prize money to $40,000 from $36,500.

The new Teachers’ Choice Award carries a $2,500 prize for the video receiving the most votes from educators. Every teacher who votes will be eligible for a random draw to win $1,000 to acquire audio-visual equipment for their schools. “We want to make SYTYKM a little more exciting and innovative each year,” said OMA President Chris Hodgson. “The success of SYTYKM would not be possible without the interest and support of dedicated teachers across the province. The new award is a way to recognize the vital role of teachers in the SYTYKM program.”

The award for the Best Overall video will be $5,000 and most other Oscar-type award categories carry $2,500 cash prizes for winners. While the competition opens today, the deadline for submitting two to three minute videos – or a 30-second commercial – on the benefits of mining is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 21, 2014.

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NEWS RELEASE: $65M largest-ever philanthropic gift launches campaign for UWA

 

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Business leader Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola will make history today with what is believed to be the largest single philanthropic donation in Australian history – $65 million to attract the best minds to Western Australia. The gift launches a $400 million fundraising campaign for The University of Western Australia.

Named at the request of the University, a new $50 million Forrest Foundation will fund scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships across all five WA universities. Another $15 million has been provided to build Forrest Hall, a creative living space for rising research stars rivalling the best residential colleges in the world. Forrest Hall will be affiliated with St George’s College at UWA.

Inspired by the global success of the Rhodes Scholarships and the Gates Cambridge Scholarships, the goal of the Foundation is to attract the brightest young minds from around the world as part of a plan to establish Perth and Western Australia as an international knowledge and innovation hub.

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Federal government prepares $24-million oilsands advertising blitz – by Alex Boutilier (Ottawa Citizen – October 10, 2013)

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/index.html

OTTAWA – The federal Conservatives hope to counter “intense and sustained public relations campaigns” against Alberta’s oilsands with a $24-million international advertising blitz.

The two-year ad campaign will target political and business leaders, as well as media organizations and domestic political advocates in the United States, Europe and Asia. According to a request for proposals issued by Natural Resources Canada, the government believes domestic and international campaigns against the oilsands are partly to blame for proposed regulations that “unfairly target the oil sands” in the U.S. and Europe.

The document specifically references California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Section 526 of the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act, and Europe’s Fuel Quality Directive as proposals based on “preconceived notions about the oil sands that are not supported by science.”

“Canada has been, and continues to be, the target of intense and sustained public relations campaigns by domestic and international organizations, criticizing our domestic natural resource development policies and companies engaged in resource developments,” the NRCan document reads.

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Media agenda: China buys newsrooms, influence in Africa – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – September 12, 2013)

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.

NAIROBI — When one of South Africa’s biggest newspaper chains was sold last month, an odd name was buried in the list of new owners: China International Television Corp.

A major stake in a South African newspaper group might seem an unusual acquisition for Chinese state television, but it was no mystery to anyone who has watched the rapid expansion of China’s media empire across Africa.

From newspapers and magazines to satellite television and radio stations, China is investing heavily in African media. It’s part of a long-term campaign to bolster Beijing’s “soft power” – not just through diplomacy, but also through foreign aid, business links, scholarships, training programs, academic institutes and the media.

Its investments have allowed China to promote its own media agenda in Africa, using a formula of upbeat business and cultural stories and a deferential pro-government tone, while ignoring human-rights issues and the backlash against China’s own growing power.

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Standing up to big gold – by Roxana Olivera (United Church Observer – June 2013)

http://www.ucobserver.org/

A fight pitting Indigenous Peruvians against a multinational mining company highlights the real cost of the global boom in precious metals

n July 3, 2012, Peruvian police opened fire on a public demonstration in the Andean town of Celendin, killing four protesters. José Sánchez was shot in the throat; Eleuterio García in the chest; Faustino Silva in the head. César Medina — the youngest among the dead at only 16 years old — was also shot in the head. Dozens more were seriously injured, and several arrested without cause. They were among 3,000 people rallying against the Minas Conga, a proposed gold mine that threatens to contaminate their community’s water supply.

The government immediately called a state of emergency in Celendin and two other provinces, suspending civil liberties and mobilizing riot police and soldiers to the region. But the very next morning, police and soldiers again fired at unarmed anti-Conga demonstrators in the nearby town of Bambamarca, this time killing Joselito Vásquez, 26, and injuring and arresting several others.

News of the violence sparked indignation in Peru and abroad. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, along with a host of other human rights groups, condemned the brutality, calling for a thorough investigation.

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Quebec Disaster Spurs Rail-Versus-Pipelines Debate on Oil – by Jeremy van Loon & Gerrit De Vynck (Bloomberg News – July 8, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

A train disaster that killed five people in Quebec promises to touch off debate over the safety of shipping crude oil by rail or pipelines such as TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL. As authorities began investigating the explosion of refinery-bound tank cars hauled by Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd., Quebec’s Green Party demanded stricter regulations and an energy industry association predicted tough scrutiny ahead for rail carriers.

“People think rail is costless until something like this happens,” said John Stephenson, fund manager with First Asset Investment Management Inc., said from Toronto, where he helps manage C$2.70 billion ($2.65 billion). “This is another data point that shows how much costlier and riskier rail is compared to pipelines and will probably move Canada closer to having an energy strategy.”

The July 6 accident forced the evacuation of 2,000 near the town of Lac-Megantic as Montreal, Maine & Atlantic moved oil to Irving Oil Corp.’s Saint John refinery in New Brunswick. The cargo was part of Canadian producers’ growing use of rail amid tight pipeline capacity.

“It’s been a real shame that a lot of the public and especially the activists have pushed the public to sway so much from pipelines which are likely much, much safer over time,” said Arthur Salzer, chief executive officer of Northland Wealth Management, which oversees C$225 million. “It is going to be something that’s going to weigh on the public’s mind.”

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In La Rinconada, Peru, searching for beauty in ugliness [gold mining] – by Marie Arana (Washington Post – February 28, 2013)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Gold. The Aztecs killed for it. The Inca enslaved whole populations for it. Spain sent legions of marauding conquistadors up and down the Americas in a hallucinatory hunt, believing that gold was so abundant that chieftains rolled in it, washing away the glittering residue in their daily morning swims.

Down the centuries, the quest for El Dorado has held the South American continent in thrall, luring generations of fortune hunters to its far reaches, from 1st-century warlords to 21st-century adventurers. The earth beneath them has not disappointed. The geologic exuberance known as the Cordillera of the Andes has yielded a fount of treasure: the emeralds of Boyaca, the silver of Potosi, the gold of Cajamarca.

Indeed, when Pizarro conquered Cajamarca in 1532, he demanded a roomful of gold from the emperor Atahualpa; when it was produced, he chopped off the Inca’s head and established a new kind of Golden Rule. So it was that a mineral became king and a craze began.

Nowhere has Peru’s frenzy for gold been so fevered as in the mountains that surround Lake Titicaca. And nowhere has that fever been so intemperate as in a town tucked into a glacial aerie: La Rinconada, the highest human habitation in the world.

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The Shield – Riches Beyond Our Rocks (Sudbury History Video) – by Ontario Visual Heritage Project


For part one, go to the TV Ontario website: http://ww3.tvo.org/video/162962/shield-riches-beyond-our-rocks-part-1

For part two, go to the TV Ontario website: http://ww3.tvo.org/video/162677/shield-riches-beyond-our-rocks-part-2

The Ontario Visual Heritage Project presents films that teach, preserve and promote the history of Ontario. http://www.visualheritage.ca./index.html

News Release: Feature Length Documentary on Greater Sudbury History Available NOW!

SUDBURY, Ontario – Dec. 18, 2008 – After the launch of the City of Greater Sudbury installment of the Ontario Visual Heritage Project in July, the DVD of the production is now available through local museums and libraries. Entitled, ‘Riches Beyond Our Rocks; Stories
from Greater Sudbury,’ the DVD features a two-hour documentary film, which explores the intriguing history of the City of Greater Sudbury and its people through interviews with local historians, archival films and photographs, and re-enactments of historical events. The DVD is packed with additional interviews and stories.

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He has one tough city to sell [Sudbury image] – by Stan Sudol (Globe and Mail – July 15, 1998)

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.

Paul Brokenshire’s message to visitors: look beyond the image

Poor old Sudbury. Nowhere else in the country has been as much maligned. Polluting smokestacks, acid rain, nickel mines, labour unrest and a scarred landscape resembling the backside of the moon, are all indelible images branded into the Canadian psyche, whenever anyone mentions Sudbury. A public relations nightmare.

And yet the city with the bad rep has a convention and visitor’s department, whose mandate is to attract conventions sporting events, trade shows and special events.

According to Paul Brokenshire, its manager: “Absolutely, one of my major hurdles is overcoming the negative views that the national media routinely portray about Sudbury. My job has always been an uphill battle with this city’s negative image.”

He concludes that over the past 20 years, he has heard all the jokes and putdowns; but he soldiers on, while he and the city politicians politely laugh all the way to the bank. The convention and sporting events industry brought in about $38-million for the local community in 1996.

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Sudbury Dumped on the Slag Heap of History – Stan Sudol (Originally Published in the Sudbury Star – February 6 , 2004)

Nickel Tailings #34, Sudbury, Ontario – by Edward Burtynsky

Stan Sudol – “Sudbury Dumped on the Slag Heap of History” was an article I wrote back in February 6, 2004 about Sudbury’s failure at promoting this community in the critically important Toronto media market. It was recently sent out by Dick DeStefano, Director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association, to his extensive email list with a telling question as to whether much has changed on this issue over the past decade.

I have known Dick for many years and have considered him a great friend ever since his tremendous help with a policy document I wrote – Claiming Our Stake! Building a Sustainable Community – for the former Sudbury Mayor David Courtemanche in 2006, which outlined the community’s concerns about the impending loss of Sudbury’s two iconic Canadian miners to foreign ownership.

We have often discussed Sudbury’s negative image in the national media and how is affects the investment decisions of major corporations as well as the perceptions of provincial and federal politicians. Unfortunately,  the article is still very relevant today and most local politicians still fail to grasp the importance of promoting its many unique strengths and mining intelligence – as repeatedly highlighted by DeStefano – in a very competitive Canadian and international market for capital and investment.

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[Mining] Anti-slavery campaign targets Nintendo for protest day – by Colin Campbell (Polygon.com – June 19, 2013)

http://www.polygon.com/

http://www.walkfree.org/

A new campaign has been launched by anti-slavery organization Walk Free that aims to persuade Nintendo to tighten up its supply chain and avoid the use of ‘conflict minerals’ mined by slave labor.

Walk Free has launched a video lampooning Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi, which states that Nintendo has yet to respond to a forceful campaign to join an electronics industry audit program for conflict-free mineral supplies. The video points out that minerals sourced from some suppliers come from slavery operations in conflict regions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, where miners are often forced to work at gunpoint.

Walk Free’s website states that the campaign aims to tell Nintendo that “slavery is not a game.” It adds, “We’ve sent 430,558 emails calling on Nintendo to take concrete steps to ensure slave-mined conflict minerals are not in its gaming consoles, and we have heard nothing back.”

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