Mining Railway, Road and Other Infrastructure – Page 18

Excerpt From Call of the Northland: Riding the Train That Nearly Toppled a Government – by Thomas Blampied

May 15, 2015

To order a copy of Call of the Northland: Riding the Train That Nearly Toppled a Government, click here: http://www.northland-book.net/buy.html

Historian, author and photographer Thomas Blampied has been interested in railways for as long as he can remember. Growing up east of Toronto, he spent summer evenings sitting trackside with his father watching streamlined VIA trains race past and long freight trains rumble by. From these early railway experiences grew a lifelong passion for railways and rail travel which has manifested itself through model railroading, photography, writing, railway preservation and the academic study of railway history. This is his fourth book about railways in Ontario. He has studied in both Canada and the United Kingdom and currently resides in Southern Ontario.

Chapter 4: The North

The next station was one I had been looking forward to for many years – Cobalt. Legend has it that the town’s silver bonanza was set off by one Fred La Rose, a blacksmith, who threw a hammer to scare away a fox. According to the tale, when his hammer missed the animal and hit the ground, it uncovered a vein of silver. While this story might be true, the credit for the first silver find goes to J.H. McKinley and Ernest Darragh, who were scouting for suitable timber for railway ties.

Their claim predated La Rose’s by a month and, besides, La Rose incorrectly identified his silver vein as copper. The approach to “Silver City,” renowned for its steep and winding streets, is truly special as the line carves a long, sweeping curve around the lakeshore before passing the station. We were one minute late at 4:21 but, with nobody there, we rolled right by the large station and on past the preserved mine buildings. This is what I had wanted to see for so long. Some of the most iconic shots of the ONR over the years have been taken from the road bridge overlooking this spot – with the mine to the left and the railway snaking around an “s” curve to the right.

Excerpt From Call of the Northland: Riding the Train That Nearly Toppled a Government – by Thomas Blampied

May 14, 2015

To order a copy of Call of the Northland: Riding the Train That Nearly Toppled a Government, click here: http://www.northland-book.net/buy.html

Chapter 1: First Steps to the North

The day of the trip: before dawn. Up around five, I was packed and ready to go. My journey would take two trains: one west into Toronto and then one north to Cochrane. I had some breakfast, never much on travel or photo days, and got a ride to the Whitby Station. It was a cold and drizzly morning in late April as I waited on the platform for the 6:18 GO train to Toronto. I must have looked odd, standing with all my bags and winter coat in the rain, among the latest spring fashions.

The train arrived and I boarded with the commuters – all of them pushy and determined to have their seat. As usual, I sat up behind the crew, but was disappointed to see that the window separating the crew and passengers had been boarded up. I had liked looking through this window for years as I could see the track ahead from the crew’s point of view.

The weather did not improve as we rolled along the GO Subdivision (the operational name for a particular stretch of track, a subdivision is often referred to as a Sub), running parallel to Highway 401.

[Ontario Northland] Corina Moore, you are ignoring history – by Thomas Blampied (Thomas Blampied’s Railway World – May 9, 2015)

May 13, 2015

http://thomasblampied.blogspot.ca/

This past week saw the interim president of the ONTC, Corina Moore, spoke at the FONOM meeting in Sudbury. Unfortunately, her comments were not helpful and have alienated workers at the 113-year-old transportation commission.

As reported by CBC, Moore explained that the Commission was in a “crisis situation”. I couldn’t agree more. As my research into the ONTC showed, it has been losing money for the past few decades as inadequate subsidies and the precarious economic and demographic situation in the north made for a difficult market to operate in.

However, Moore went a step further, saying that the ONTC needed a “culture shift” away from “entitlement” and towards a more competitive framework. This reflects previous statements she made regarding the need for a more competitive organization, but also suggests that the ONTC has been some sort of spoilt child. I disagree, my experience with the ONTC showed hard-working people who provided essential services connecting, not only northeastern Ontario, but also the north to the south.

My real issue, however, is a comment that the CBC reports Moore made to the effect that “the future will be challenging because the company hasn’t seen much change in 113 years.”

Ontario Northland president: “We want to move away from entitlement” (CBC News Sudbury – May 8, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury

“We want to move away from the fact that, you know, we deserve things because we’re Ontario Northland.” Corina Moore says the company is bleeding.

The interim president of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission gave a stark warning to municipal leaders gathered in Sudbury this week for the Northern Ontario Federation of Municipalities conference.

“That highlights crisis situation for the agency,” said Moore. She said it has reached a pivotal point where Ontario Northland can’t continue to lose money if it expects to exist in the future.

Moore admitted the future will be challenging because the company hasn’t seen much change in 113 years.

“We want to move away from entitlement. We want to move away from the fact that we deserve things because we’re Ontario Northland. We are here to say that, starting now, we are focused on performance-based thinking and the way we do things. It’s a culture shift and it’s a tough one.”

Quebec prepared to buy rail to help rescue iron-ore mine – by Sonja Elmquist and Frederic Tomesco (Bloomberg News/Montreal Gazette – May 5, 2015)

May 5, 2015

http://montrealgazette.com/

Quebec is prepared to buy a rail line and port facilities that service a shuttered Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. iron-ore mine to pave the way for the operation to reopen under new owners.

The government also is open to buying 20 percent of the Bloom Lake mine to facilitate a deal, Economy Minister Jacques Daoust said. Purchasing the rail and port facilities could lower the mine’s operating costs by as much as $20 a ton, he said.

“We’re trying to ensure the survival of the mine,” Daoust said Friday in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. “If the last 20 percent is a problem, I will fix it.”

Cliffs suspended production at Bloom Lake in January and sought creditor protection for the operation. That put pressure on the Quebec government, which wants to boost economic activity in Cote-Nord, a region with 10.7 percent unemployment. Bloom Lake employed about 600 people when it was operational, according to Investissement Quebec, a government agency.

As recently as 2013, Bloom Lake was considered a critical part of Cleveland-based Cliffs’ strategy to build its export business to mitigate its dependence on U.S. customers.

Rail idea in Ring of Fire gathering steam – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – April 30, 2015)

May 1, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The City of Timmins this week gave its formal approval to the Mushkegowuk Council plan to create a new railway link from the James Bay coast to the Ring Of Fire mining development.

The issue was put forward in a resolution of support to be sent to the office of Premier Kathleen Wynne, to Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle and to the Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA).

The support from Timmins is for an initiative first described in a Daily Press news story back in January when Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Lawrence Martin said there were plans in the works for Mushkegowuk to buy the Ontario Northland railway.

Martin revealed that a Toronto-based rail investment group, TGR Rail, had the funding in place if the province was ready to give the go-ahead for the purchase. Martin explained that a new rail line could be extended beyond the existing ONR line that runs from Cochrane to Moosonee.

The Timmins resolution said the creation of a new rail link would not only see new economic development and growth for First Nations, it would also put Timmins in a prime situation to serve Ring Of Fire mining companies. This would also create the possibility that ore from the huge mining region could be processed or refined in Timmins.

Feds provide funding to save Algoma passenger train – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 1, 2015)

April 1, 2015

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.

The federal government will provide $5.3 million over three years so the Algoma Central Rail (ACR) passenger service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst can continue.

The announcement was made on April 1. CN, the current operator of the train, said it would cease offering the service as of April 1, after Transport Canada announced last year it would no longer provide the subsidy to keep it going.

According to a government news release, the City of Sault Ste. Marie will receive federal support for three years for the continued operation of the passenger rail service.

This would allow Railmark, the proposed operator, to demonstrate its ability to deliver on its business plan. A review will be carried out at the three-year mark to determine if additional funding is warranted.

“The Harper government is pleased to provide funding over the next three years to maintain operation of the passenger rail service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst,” Sault MP Bryan Hayes said in the release.

Deadline looms for passenger rail service in Algoma – Linda Savory-Gordon Interview by Jason Turnbull (CBC News Sudbury – March 25, 2015)

March 27, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury

‘There are resorts who are all booked up for this summer and they are frantic’

Advocates for rail service in the Algoma region say passenger trains will come to a halt at the end of the month without a deal with the federal government.

In February of 2014, CN Rail announced it was ending passenger service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst because the federal government was no longer willing to subsidize the route.

The federal government stepped in at the last minute to extend funding for an additional year to keep the trains rolling and allow time to make a business case for the service.

That one-year reprieve is almost over and there’s been no word from Transport Canada about what comes next for the rail line, which is the only way to access remote lodges between the Sault and Hearst.

“There are resorts who are all booked up for this summer and they are frantic and wondering if they are going to have to contact their clientele and tell them that there is no way they can come in,” said Linda Savory-Gordon with a group called the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains.

New rail-car standards coming too slow, agency says – by Kim Mackrael (Globe and Mail – March 18, 2015)

March 18, 2015

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.

OTTAWA — Canada’s transportation watchdog is questioning a federal proposal to phase in tougher tank-car standards over the next 10 years, saying a recent spate of fiery derailments is evidence that faster action will be needed.

The Transportation Safety Board made the comments in a progress report on its investigation into a crude-oil train accident earlier this month in Northern Ontario. The TSB is investigating the derailment of a Canadian National train near Gogama, Ont., on March 7, which spilled crude oil into a nearby river and sparked a massive fire that burned for more than three days.

While investigators did not come to a conclusion on what caused the accident, they said they found a section of broken rail that had been installed two days before the accident. The rail was sent to a laboratory in Ottawa for further analysis, the report said.

All of the tank cars involved in the accident were built after 2011 and complied with the current CPC-1232 standard, the TSB report said. That means they had steel cladding at the front and protection over the valves – added safeguards that were not present on the earlier-model tank cars involved in the Lac-Mégantic disaster two years ago.

Laughren, as new chair, sees great opportunities for ONTC – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – March 4, 2015)

March 4, 2015

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Former Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren sees a great opportunity for Ontario Northland to make better use of its assets and to generate more revenues and attract more clients.

Laughren, it was announced last week, has been nominated for appointment as chairman of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission rail and bus service.

Laughren’s nomination, as well as the nomination of board members Steven Carmichael, Ewen Cornick, Gaeten Malette and Ila Watson, is subject to the approval of the standing committee on government agencies. “I think we’re going to go in with the goal to create an entity that is sustainable,” he said. “New direction, new customers, new clients, that’s been one of the downfalls of Ontario Northland, especially on the rail side.

“We’ve just watched Resolute (the paper mill in Iroquois Falls) close. I’m sure Resolute would have been a huge user of Ontario Northland. We’ve seen the changes at the Kidd Metallurgical site (with the Hoyle smelter closing). So we all know the importance of rail but we also have to look at new opportunities and future opportunities.”

Mushkegowuk rail plan still on despite road study – by Len Gillis (Timmins Times – March 3, 2015)

March 4, 2015

http://www.timminstimes.com/

The federal and provincial governments announced on the weekend that more than three-quarters of a million dollars will be spent on a study for a new road in Northern Ontario.

The announcement was made Sunday at the annual Prospector’s and Developers Convention (PDAC) in Toronto. Federal Natural Resources minister Greg Rickford and provincial Northern Development and Mines minister Michael Gravelle said their governments are contributing 50-50 to a $785,000 expenditure through the FedNor Northern Ontario Development Program.

The money is for a joint venture to study the idea of building a road into the lucrative Ring Of Fire mining prospect.

“The study will examine the benefits of developing an all-season transportation corridor connecting First Nation communities in the area with existing roadways, enabling them to capitalize on opportunities related to resource development in the region,” said the joint news release.

Reaction to the announcement is generally good, but there doesn’t appear to be a lot of overwhelming excitement, based on comments from from at least two Northern leaders. “The word I am hearing is, there’s the announcement and some people are saying, what, another study?” said Lawrence Martin, the Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuk Council.

Moosonee railway extension gaining momentum – by Len Gillis (Timmins Times – February 25, 2015)

February 26, 2015

http://www.timminstimes.com/

Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Lawrence Martin will be joining the chiefs of the Matawa Tribal Council at the annual prospectors’ convention in Toronto next week to outline his plans for a new railway line running from Moosonee to the Ring Of Fire mining project.

Martin said he met with Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias earlier this week to outline the idea, but Martin said Moonias could not make any sort of a commitment on behalf of the Matawa First Nations, which is claiming territorial jurisdiction over the mining area. Martin said however there is growing support for Mushkegowuk.

Regardless, grand chief Martin said the idea is gaining momentum and more people are willing to listen to the idea. He said he expects mining executives at the Prospectors and Developers Convention next week will be interested in hearing the proposal, given the overall interest in the mining project.

The Ring of Fire is the name give to a huge deposit of chromite located in the McFauld’s Lake and Webequie area, about 600 kilometres north west of Timmins. Chromite is an important mineral element in manufacturing stainless steel. The Ring of Fire area could become the largest chromite mining site in North America, a venture measured in the tens of billions of dollars.

In January, Martin revealed the idea of creating a rail link across Mushkegowuk territory into the Ring Of Fire area with a two-pronged objective; one to bring in a rail link and secondly to bring in a high-voltage energy transmission line.

Commentary: Tough markets demand a rethink of rail in Labrador Trough – by Glen Ireland and Mark Apli (Northern Miner – February 13, 2015)

February 17, 2015

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

During its successful 2014 election campaign, Quebec’s Liberal Party vowed to revive Plan Nord — a cherished blueprint for opening up the province’s vast northern mineral wealth for development. Brainchild of former Liberal Premier Jean Charest, the plan was shelved for two years after his defeat to the Parti Québécois in 2012.

The mining industry has recently given its strong support for Premier Philippe Couillard’s refreshed Plan Nord, which includes an ambitious, greenfield 400+ km multi-user railway corridor and port connecting stranded mineral deposits in the legendary Labrador Trough to Sept-Îles on the coast. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Pierre Arcand, Plan Nord’s helmsman, announced in October 2014 a major technical study of the project by Montreal-based Canarail, whose fees will be paid by Quebec taxpayers and supportive junior miners.

While “Plan Nord redux” now appears to be back on track, some awkward but important questions are being asked: Can an infrastructure mega-project in the Labrador Trough be justified at current, heavily-depressed iron ore prices? And, is a new railway corridor really the only viable logistics solution for planned iron ore mines?

Soon after Premier Couillard’s government took office, a flood of iron ore from newly-expanded mines in Australia’s Pilbara, combined with perceived weakness in core demand markets, drove prices from US$130 per tonne to US$70 per tonne — a five year low.

City eager to work with chiefs on rail link to Ring of Fire – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – February 5, 2015)

February 5, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Lawrence Martin says the chiefs and Elders who gathered in Kashechewan last week agreed to the idea of taking over Ontario Northland Railway and extending rail service to the Ring Of Fire.

Along with that, Martin said he wants Timmins to be included in the venture with this city becoming the site of a new chromite ore refinery. Timmins Mayor Steve Black said he supports the Mushkegowuk initiative.

The idea, which was first revealed by The Daily Press two week ago, seeks to expand the Ontario Northland rail link north beyond Moosonee, to include other communities on the James Bay coast and on to the Ring of Fire.

Martin, who is meeting with government officials in Toronto this week, said he was more than pleased with the fact that the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council annual general assembly, held in Kashechewan last week, gave full support to the railway expansion idea.

“Yes, it went very well,” Martin said. “What we did first is show the people all the activity in and around the area, all the mining claims in our territories, some of the exploration work that is going on now and the expansion of De Beers and, of course, all this talk of the Ring Of Fire.”

Mushkegowuk Ring of Fire plan attracts railroader interest – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 3, 2015)

February 3, 2015

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.

The Mushkegowuk Council’s conceptual plan for a Ring of Fire railway, power corridor and James Bay port took a strange twist with possible partnership talk involving a private railway company with a keen eye on buying the Ontario Northland Railway.

Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Lawrence Martin caused a media stir at a Jan. 22 energy conference in Timmins when he told reporters that his northeastern Ontario tribal council was considering teaming up with TGR Rail to extend rail service to the coast and into the Ring of Fire.

TGR, a Toronto-based rail services company, claims it has the financing and the team in place to acquire and expand the rail assets of the North Bay-based Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

The company contacted Mushkegowuk last year when the tribal council on the eastern side of the Ring of Fire began floating the idea of an energy infrastructure corridor.

It calls for a multi-use easement corridor of power, fibre optic and rail links that would provide all-season access and grid-based electricity to isolated communities and the remote mineral deposits with a connection to a proposed saltwater port to move chromite ore to the coast.