How we (the NWT) lost $1 Billion! – by Gary Vivian (News/North – February 15, 2016)

http://www.nnsl.com/nwtnewsnorth/nwt.html

Gary Vivian, President of the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

One billion is an alarming number particularly when we learn it’s what our debt will soon be.

But how many people know we let $1 billion slip through our fingers, and have taken little action to fix it? “What,” you say? “How did we do that? Who is responsible?”

We lost it by turning our back on our mineral exploration industry, by ignoring investors’ needs, and worst of all, damaging our exploration reputation.

Finding mines is hard. It’s risky and expensive, requiring lots of investors’ money.

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LU cuts ties with Barrie – by Cheryl Browne (Barrie Examiner/Sudbury Star – February 15, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

After years of attempting to reconcile their differences, Laurentian University and Georgian College have decided to go their separate ways.

As with any two entities that agree to call it quits, once Laurentian attempted to become its own stand-alone university in Barrie — and failed — they found they just didn’t have the will to kiss and make up.

“It’s disappointing. I feel like maybe we could have had more notice. I’m just really surprised,” said Connor MacPherson, a 23-year-old psychology student studying at Laurentian. With an apartment, friends and family in Barrie, MacPherson said Friday’s news that her university would be closing up shop in Barrie before her post-secondary education was complete came as an unwelcome shock.

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Slumping commodity prices drive groundbreaking approaches to mining – by Ella Myers (Northern Ontario Business – February 12, 2016)

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Economic blasts are rumbling the ground on which the mining industry stands these days.

As nickel prices drop alongside copper and other local commodities, Vale’s general manager of mines and mill, Robert Assabgui, estimates that more than half of producers are losing money at the current prices, and these companies are forced to make major changes to their operations.

For students advancing onto the employment field in the next few years, the current bust in the cycle could be unnerving. “You can tell we’re in a bust because usually there’s pyro and a live band when I come on,” joked Jeff Fuller, owner of Fuller Industrial to a crowd of gathered students, Feb. 11.

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Mine idea explored – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – February 12, 2016)

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/

A large iron-ore deposit near Sioux Lookout that’s been known for decades is about to undergo a significant fine-tuning, possibly leading to an operating mine as early as four years from now.

Thunder Bay-based Rockex Mining Corp. said Thursday it’s on the cusp of securing $30 million from a New York investment firm to conduct a feasibility study and environment assessment on the property located about 100 kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout.

The financing from Diversified Innovative Marketing Enterprises (DIME) is expected to be firmed up by April 11, said a Rockex news release.

If the Lake St. Joseph deposit is deemed to be economically viable, it could support an operation for 30 years, creating a combined total of 700 mine-site and processing plant jobs.

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AEM ups estimate for Nunavut’s Amaruq to 3.3 million ounces (Nunatsiaq News – February 11, 2016)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.‘s Amaruq deposit may now hold at least 3.3 million ounces of gold, an estimate that’s 67 per cent higher than last year’s, the company announced Feb. 10.

That means the Amaruq deposit, located about 50 kilometres from the company’s existing mine and mill at Meadowbank in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, still holds the potential to serve as a satellite operation for Meadowbank after about 2019 or 2020.

“The company expects to ultimately develop Amaruq as a satellite operation to Meadowbank, with the potential to begin production in 2019,” Agnico Eagle said in its latest financial report..

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Feds won’t change Harper-era mining ethics office – by Peter Mazereeuw (Embassy News – February 10, 2016)

http://www.embassynews.ca/

The Trudeau government won’t be making changes to the role of a controversial corporate social responsibility counsellor for the mining sector, according to a government spokesperson.

The Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor has been criticized in the past by advocates for tougher action by Canada on human rights abuses connected to Canadian-owned mines abroad.

The office, created by the Conservative government in 2009, was only able to produce reports on five disputes related to corporate social responsibility that were investigated during the four-year tenure of the first counsellor, Marketa Evans, who resigned from the role in 2013. As well, the mining companies involved in three of those disputes refused to take part in the full review process, according to reports published by the office.

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Natural resources remain vital to Canadian prosperity – by Livio Di Matteo (Fraser Institute Website – January 29, 2016)

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/

Despite the hardship afflicting Canada’s energy sector, we should remember the long-term importance of Canada’s resource sector and dispel the tendency to write it off. Prime Minister Trudeau’s recent remark at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that, “My predecessor wanted you to know Canada for its resources. I want you to know Canadians for our resourcefulness,” unfortunately reflects an attitude of discomfort with Canada’s resource economy.

The last time this attitude came to the fore was the 1990s when the growth of technology and the knowledge economy generated a flood of commentary that the era of rocks and trees was over. Canada was no longer to be a country of “hewers of wood and drawers of water” but was to take its proper place in the fast lanes of the information highway.

The tech sector bust and commodity boom of the early 21st century of course demonstrated that resources were still important. Indeed, the resource sectors of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador with their focus on energy production, were a key reason why Canada weathered the 2009 recession period as well as it did.

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[DeBeers diamond mining and Attawapiskat] Negotiation Is Better Than Conflict – by Xavier Kataquapit (NetNewsLedger.com – February 10, 2016)

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

Xavier Kataquapit is a First Nations writer and columnist, who is originally from Attawapiskat Ontario on the James Bay coast.

THUNDER BAY – My people have come a long way in obtaining a life with more opportunity and hope. Through education First Nation people all over Canada are moving into leadership roles in government and private enterprise in Native initiatives and non Native as well. We have very intelligent, well educated, strong and capable leaders in politics, law, education, business and every sector of Canadian society.

I have seen much progress in First Nations first hand with the communities that make up Wabun Tribal Council up here in Northeastern Ontario. Over the past 20 years I have watched these First Nations led by their Chiefs and supported by an administration headed by Shawn Batise as they began to lobby government and the private sector resource industries. Over the years Wabun has become internationally known for negotiating all kinds of agreements with government and the private sector that provide benefits to Wabun First Nations.

Wabun is well recognized across Canada for its expertise in this area and Shawn and the Chiefs have shared their knowledge with other Native organizations. For so many years Native people were very much left out of the loop when it came to participating in any development on traditional lands.

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Black Swans Circling Canada’s Resource Sector – by Dennis Boyko (Seeking Alpha – February 9, 2016)

http://seekingalpha.com/

Ottawa Policies Are Shifting Under The New Leadership of Prime Minister Trudeau

“Times have changed, my friends,” Trudeau told the Calgary Petroleum Club. “Social licence is more important than ever. Government may be able to issue permits. But only communities can grant permission.”

The prime minister didn’t help defuse matters last week in Davos when he told international investors that his government wanted them to focus more on Canada’s resourcefulness than its resources.

“The fact is the future of our global economy will be low carbon. That is what was agreed in Paris,” he said in an interview with CBC Radio.

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New open pit mine in Timmins expected as Lake Shore Gold is merged with Tahoe Resources – by Alan S. Hale (Timmins Daily Press – February 8, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

Lake Shore Gold will soon become part of Tahoe Resources. The mining companies announced on Monday that Tahoe intends to buy a 75% stake in Lake Shore by exchanging shares in that company for Tahoe shares.

This announcement comes after trading on Lake Shore Gold’s shares were halted on Friday. It appeared at the time that it was to halt market speculation after positive news from an ongoing exploration project, but it now seems it was in anticipation of announcing the merger.

Under the agreement announced on Monday, each common share of Lake Shore Gold will be exchanged for a 0.1467 share in Tahoe which, when the markets closed on Friday, was worth $1.71. This would mean Lake Shore Gold shareholders would make a 15 cent profit on every share they own.

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Trading halted on Lake Shore Gold shares – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – February 5, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – There was so much excitement and market speculation about a Lake Shore Gold Timmins property that trading in company shares was halted on Friday and the company was asked by regulators to issue a public statement.

This follows the positive news that was released by the company on Thursday revealing the results of 13 drill holes for a high grade gold zone at the “Whitney Project” which describes the area located near the old Hallnor Mine property in Timmins.

The results are from the first surface exploration drilling done on the Whitney property since LSG became the new owners last fall. The Whitney property was a prospect that was owned and explored by Temex Resources Corp. Just last September, Temex shareholders approved a takeover deal by Lake Shore for all outstanding common shares.

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Time to step up for steel – by Mike Verdone (Sault Star – February 3, 2016)

http://www.saultstar.com/

Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti urged the federal government Wednesday to adopt a new trade policy to ensure fair trade for Canadian steel workers.

He said the current federal trade remedy system is antiquated and must be changed. “It’s more than 20 years old, it’s outdated. This system does not reflect the global realities of trade today,” Orazietti said.

He called on Ottawa to immediately embrace the Trade Remedy Modernization plan as outlined by the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) during a press conference Wednesday afternoon at his constituency office while flanked by local industry stakeholders, including union and company representatives from Essar Steel Algoma and Tenaris Algoma Tubes Algoma, as well as reps from retiree groups.

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Magnesium mine promising jobs, diversity in Timmins – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – February 1, 2016)

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A new mining project coming to Timmins has the capacity to create 1,000 local jobs and economically diversify the City With a Heart of Gold.

General Magnesium Corp. is set to start production this spring on a magnesium-talc mine that has an NI 43-101 resource estimate of close to 100 million tonnes, including 54,076,357 tonnes in the measured and indicated category, and 43,000,000 tonnes in the inferred category.

Last fall, following 16 months of due diligence, the company secured a multi-year, $4.9-billion deal with Hunter Douglas Metals, whose parent company manufactures aluminum blinds. Magnesium is a key component used as an alloy in manufacturing aluminum.

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Fast-growing mining and oil & gas industries, and the huge number of supply-chain jobs they create – by Joshua Wright (New Geography – September 18, 2013)

http://www.newgeography.com/

Please note this is a dated article, but very interesting – Stan Sudol

The fastest-growing industry in the U.S since 2010 isn’t large or well-known. In fact, nearly half of the estimated 5,100 jobs in support activities for metal mining are located in one state: Nevada. Nonetheless, employment in this niche mining industry has ballooned 53% since 2010, and it creates a huge number of supply-chain jobs in other parts of the economy.

Four of the five fastest-growing industries from 2010-2013, based on EMSI’s 2013.2 employment dataset, are related in some form to mining and oil & gas. These industries (e.g., oil & gas pipeline construction and support activities for oil & gas operations) have been carried by the boom in oil and natural gas production in pockets of the U.S., from North Dakota to Pennsylvania to Texas. And their growth has sparked new jobs in other sectors.

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‘Resourceful’ reputation must be earned – by William Watson (London Free Press – January 26, 2016)

http://www.lfpress.com/

That’s a nice line the prime minister delivered at Davos about how we want the world to know us for our resourcefulness, not just our resources. Nice. Not necessarily wise.

“Resourceful” says, literally, “full of resources.” We still are full of resources. They’re just worth a lot less than they were not long ago. If your resources lose value, then, sure, something other than resources is a useful second best. But when your resources are going for a high price, selling them is not actually cheating.

And, by the way, our resources don’t just show up at the border already packaged for export. We have to be very resourceful to get them there. In fact, a great first resourcefulness test for a new federal government focused on that quality would be to figure out how to get land-locked Alberta energy across pirate provinces hostile to it, and thence to world markets.

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