Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 181

What the heck’s happening with the Ring of Fire? – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – May 28, 2015)

May 29, 2015

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Iacobucci tight-lipped on progress on North’s massive mineral deposit

The Ring of Fire may appear to be a garden of agony for the mining companies involved, but Ontario’s lead negotiator charged with working out a crucial and historic agreement with affected First Nations assures all that real progress is being made to advance development in the Far North.

Former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci talked at length before a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce lunch crowd on May 26 about Canada’s evolving relationship with Aboriginal people in righting the wrongdoings of the past with a new partnership based on mutual respect.

But he didn’t reveal much about what progress has been made since a much ballyhooed regional framework agreement was signed by Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Matawa chiefs in 2014, except to confirm that a second round of negotiations is coming up.

“A lot of work has been going on. We don’t work in the public arena. We work behind the scenes.”

Liberals ‘out of touch’ [Northern Ontario and mining sector] PC leader says in Sudbury – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – May 29, 2015)

May 29, 2015

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The Liberals are “out of touch” with Northern Ontario and the mining sector, and that’s why little progress has been made developing the Ring of Fire, Ontario’s new PC leader says.

In an interview with The Star, Patrick Brown referred to a statement made a few years ago by former Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty that Ontario “must stop pulling stuff out of the ground” if it wanted to create new wealth and jobs.

“That shows how out of touch the Liberals are and their comprehension of the mining sector,” said Brown during a visit to Greater Sudbury on Thursday. “This is a $60-billion opportunity.

“Northern Ontario could be an economic driver for the entire country. And the NDP, they have gone along with their (Liberal) policies when it comes to mining and forestry.”

The so-called Ring of Fire is a mineral-rich find in northwestern Ontario containing chromite, nickel, copper and other minerals. At one point, Cliffs Natural Resources planned to ship chromite from a mine in the Ring of Fire to a plant in Capreol. Those plans have since been cancelled and Cliffs has withdrawn from the Ring of Fire.

Change needed to reboot [Ontario] exploration – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – May 28, 2015)

May 28, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – A Northern geologist who represents one of the key players in the Ring Of Fire mining project, says Ontario needs a friendlier investment climate to reboot the mining exploration industry.

Without continued exploration and the discovery of new mineral deposits, the mining industry in Ontario will eventually fail according to Moe Lavigne who spoke at the opening of The Big Event on Wednesday.

Lavigne, a Timmins native, is the vice-president of exploration and development for KWG Resources Inc. which has a large stake in the Ring Of Fire.

Lavigne is taking part in an exploration forum at The Big Event and said Wednesday he was pleased to be part of the Timmins mining show, but somewhat disappointed that there were fewer exploration companies on site, compared to past years.

“Exploration or grass roots exploration in Ontario has come to a grinding halt,” Lavigne told the audience.

Details still elusive on Ring of Fire progress – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – May 27, 2015)

May 27, 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.

In July 2013, Iacobucci was appointed Ontario’s lead negotiator in discussions with the chiefs of the Matawa First Nations, a tribal council of communities closest to the mineral deposits in the James Bay lowlands. Matawa’s negotiator is former Ontario premier Bob Rae. He reports to Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle.

[Mining] Berm altering Timmins skyline – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – May 27, 2015)

May 27, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The landscape in the heart of Timmins is changing and with the arrival of spring, the change has become that much more obvious. Motorists travelling into downtown Timmins from the East End can now easily see the new rock berm rising in the west, behind Schumacher.

The berm is the work of Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines, which is installing it to surround the new Hollinger open pit mine. It is designed to lessen the impact of dust, noise and vibration that is expected to occur during the mining operations.

Work on the new berm is especially noticeable for anyone driving along Vipond Road in recent weeks.

Rick Dubeau, city councillor and chairman of the Hollinger Project Community Advisory Committee (HPCAC), referred to the change in his most recent community report. “You can see the skyline of the city drastically change as the berms are constructed,” he wrote.

PGM has indicated that the berm will be covered with earth and eventually landscaped once the mining work is done, sometime in the next eight or nine years.

Steady decline in FedNor funding – by Alan S. Hale (Timmins Daily Press – May 27, 2015)

May 27, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Funding for Northern Ontario initiatives through FedNor has been reduced by 25% since the Conservatives came to power in Ottawa in 2006.

In addition to those cuts, over the past six years more than $14 million of available funding for the region was not spent at all. That’s according to annual financial reports that are accessible to the public online.

FedNor (Federal Economic Initiative for Northern Ontario) money is used fund anything from major infrastructure upgrades for Northern Ontario municipalities, to helping support fledgling businesses and small non-profit organizations.

The apparent scaling back of the program under the Conservatives has outraged MP Charlie Angus (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) who believes the Conservatives have sacrificed a program vital to the region’s economy to pay for their pre-election recent budget surplus.

“Quite clearly, the Conservatives are bad for business in Northern Ontario,” said Angus. “Cutting money from economic development is not how you build an economy. Tools like FedNor are essential for us to make sure we have a diversified economy because we are a boom/bust economy.

Patience key, judge tells Sudbury audience – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – May 27, 2015)

May 27, 2015

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Negotiating with First Nations in the Ring of Fire may be tricky, and take time, but the country can no longer justify ignoring or exploiting its aboriginal communities, a former supreme court judge said Tuesday.

“The project does illustrate how government and industry can, and should, take First Nations seriously in economic development,” Frank Iacobucci told a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce luncheon series audience.

The veteran lawyer, who brokered an agreement in 2013 with the Matawa Tribal Council chiefs on behalf of the Ontario government, said he has been impressed with the leadership of aboriginal communities and the efforts they have made to engage their members.

“With that leadership and that engagement, there is more opportunity for agreements,” he said, while cautioning patience is often required. “It’s not a matter of being quick,” said Iacobucci. “It’s a matter of being right.”

As deputy minister of justice in the Mulroney government of the 1980s, Iacobucci worked on a constitutional amendment that would have afforded more political autonomy to First Nations.

‘Tragic [mining] milestone’ – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – May 26, 2015)

May 26, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

BLACK RIVER-MATHESON – It appears Alexie Dallaire-Vincent may be the first woman to die on the job in an underground mine in Ontario. The 22-year-old tram operator at the SAS St. Andrew Goldfields Holt Mine, was killed Saturday afternoon, according to the Ontario Ministry of Labour

It was reported the woman, a native of the Kirkland Lake area, died from injuries after being struck by an ore-haulage car on the 925 level in that mine, located east of Matheson.

A number of local veteran mining inspectors and investigators reached by The Daily Press on Monday said they could not recall a previous incident in which a woman died on the job, working underground in an Ontario mine.

“I’m not sure, to be honest with you, but I do believe that is the case,” said Ministry of Labour district manager Pete Lefebvre, who is also a former mine rescue officer.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour communications office in Toronto could not confirm it, as the ministry does not keep gender-based statistics, said spokesman William Lin.

HISTORY: In 1923 Timmins already bustling – by Karen Bachmann (Timmins Daily Press – May 23, 2015)

May 26, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – A few stories from the year 1923… let me first, however, set the mood. According to a number of news sites, some of the big news events for that year included the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb (in February), the eruption of Mt. Etna in Sicily, which left over 60,000-plus homeless (in June) and the Great Kanto earthquake that nearly flattened Tokyo (over 100,000 people were killed).

Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as president of the United States after the death of President Warring Harding in August of that year – Harding had suddenly died while he was staying in the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Calif.

In Canada, William Lyon McKenzie King continued on as Prime Minister, and, overseas, a young Adolph Hitler led the Nazi Party in a failed coup d’état in Germany (known as the Beer Hall Putsch). On the popular culture scene, Time Magazine was launched (and is still in print today), women’s one-piece bathing suits were all the rage (woo-hoo!) and Agatha Christie cranked out another Hercule Poirot mystery (“The Murder on the Links”).

So while the Cotton Club opened in New York City, Pablo Picasso built the stage sets for Jean Cocteau’s production of “Antigone” and Albert the Duke of York married Elizabeth Rowes-Lyon (later known as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth), this is what was happening in the Porcupine in 1923…

New PC leader [Patrick Brown] urged to speak up for Ring of Fire – by Staff (Sudbury Star – May 25, 2015)

May 25, 2015

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle is calling on the new leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives to stand up to the Harper government and demand federal funding for the Ring of Fire.

Patrick Brown is the former Barrie Conservative MP who won the provincial PC leadership earlier this month. “Mr. Brown is no longer part of the federal Conservative caucus and has the opportunity to speak freely,” said Gravelle. “I hope he uses this as a chance to stand up for the North.”

Gravelle said the Liberal government of Premier Kathleen Wynne has committed $1 billion to develop the Ring of Fire and reached a regional framework agreement with the chiefs of the Matawa Tribal Council.

“Meanwhile, the federal government hasn’t stepped up to the plate,” said Gravelle. The Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP said Brown recognized the importance of the Ring of Fire in a leadership debate in Sudbury on Nov. 24, 2014.

Gravelle said Brown told an audience he believes there’s tremendous opportunity “for our party to highlight a credible plan for how we’re going to make sure … the Ring of Fore develops, and it’s going to be extremely beneficial to all Ontario, but especially Northern Ontario.”

Ontario’s new PC Leader [Patrick Brown] tours Ring of Fire with Nipissing MPP – by KA Smith (Bay Today – May 22, 2015)

May 25, 2015

http://www.baytoday.ca/

After a helicopter tour of the Ring of Fire, Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown met with supporters at the Discovery North Bay Museum early Friday evening.

Brown told reporters, “I wanted to make my first trip as the Ontario PC leader to Northern Ontario to show it’s a priority for me.” Brown toured a parcel of the Ring of Fire with representatives of NORONT Resources and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli.

Brown is calling for the Ring of Fire to be at the centre of any economic plan for Northern Ontario. Brown denounced the Liberal government for their inaction. “Talk is cheap. There hasn’t been a single application. There hasn’t been a foot of road built and there hasn’t been a foot of rail built.”

“I just feel we’ve let down this opportunity. It is tremendously fortunate for Ontario to have resources like that, whether it’s the chromite or the nickel. Seeing the tests, and seeing the base camp reminds me sort of like a new frontier. This is an opportunity in North Ontario that we have to forge.”

Brown says there has to be an easing of red tape, energy costs have to come down and there must be a plan for transportation.

Laurentian Exploration and Research: MERC looks to the future – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – May 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.sudburyminingsolutions.com/

The Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) has committed itself to an ambitious, five-year business plan. The mineral exploration research arm of Laurentian University’s Department of Earth Sciences, MERC boasts a global reputation as a centre of excellence for research focused on Precambrian ore deposits.

The five-year business plan will help guide MERC’s growth and allow it to play an even more important role in the global search for mineral deposits.

Completed in November 2014, the business plan sets six key strategic directions, including a greater focus on Precambrian shields around the world, the establishment of a science advisory council, the hiring of research associates to assist with project management, and the recruitment of more corporate members.

With increased financial resources from courses, workshops and membership dues, MERC will allocate $20,000 annually for pre-research investigation and establish a one-year operating reserve to offset shortfalls due to cyclical downturns in the mining industry.

Between Friends (Canadian Mining Movie – 1973) Accent: 1973 film shot in Sudbury a neglected classic – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 26, 2014)

May 22, 2015

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

“What are you watching?” a character named Chino asks his pal Toby, slumped in front of a TV set. “It’s a commercial,” Toby replies. “They just interrupt it every now and then with a movie.”

The scene is from Between Friends, an overlooked gem of Canuck cinema shot in Sudbury in 1972. It appeared in 1973, made a stir on the festival circuit, then sank like a stone.

It did resurface briefly in 1985, long enough for me to see it as an undergrad at Queen’s. I remember leaving the lecture hall — there was no theatre at the university, not then, but there were projectors that could unspool a 35-mm reel — in a kind of fugue state. I had never seen a Canadian movie as gritty or as good as Between Friends.

I still haven’t. A tale of betrayal, broken dreams and a bungled plan to rob the payroll of a nickel mine, the film’s action takes place between Toronto, looking rather grey and grim, and Sudbury, where things get greyer and grimmer.

The latter isn’t named, but couldn’t be mistaken for anywhere else: Multiple images of the Inco smelter and surrounding slagscape, yet to undergo a greening makeover, form a key part of the film’s tone, not to mention a metaphor for the characters’ lives, which are progressively stripped of hope and purpose.

A Mining Investor’s Guide to Toll Milling in Peru – by Jamie Keech (CEO.ca – May 21, 2015)

May 21, 2015

http://ceo.ca/

In the late 1990s a small Canadian junior mining company bought an exploration property in southern Peru with a plan to capitalize on the newly opened market after two decades of internal conflict and civil war.

Just 100 km north of the Atacama Desert, the driest place on earth, the property consisted of hard earthen mountains, trickling riverbeds and the occasional cactus. Nestled in one rocky corner was a small, half-built gold processing plant. The mill came with the exploration property, almost as an afterthought, a redundancy that was easier to give away than tear down.

The junior was headed by Jean Martineau, a French-Canadian pulp and paper mill operator turned broker turned CEO.

Jean’s days as a broker had left him with one overriding view of the junior mining sector: it ran on a terrible business model – constantly raising money, diluting value, and rarely benefitting investors.

An experienced operator, Martineau decided the best way to fund exploration was to generate cash by getting the small mill on site up and running, purchasing ore from nearby small-scale miners as feed and processing it at a profit.

Western Nunavut miner calls feasibility study “very compelling” (Nunatsiaq News – May 21, 2015)

May 21, 2015

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

But Sabina Gold and Silver Corp. will look at trimming project costs

“Very compelling” — that’s how Sabina Gold and Silver Corp. describes the results of a new feasibility study for its Back River gold project in western Nunavut.

Bruce McLeod, Sabina’s president and CEO, said in a May 20 news release that the feasibility study “demonstrates the potential of Back River to be a significant Canadian gold producer.” But getting the mine up and running will take deep pockets.

The feasibility study calculated the initial capital cost of the Sabina mine at $695 million, with another $539 million needed to sustain operations.

On the other hand, over the mine’s 10-year proposed lifespan, its gross revenues could reach $4.5 billion. However, Sabina said it recognized that “financing such a project in current market conditions would be challenging.”

So Sabina may look for a “more easily financeable project in the current capital markets environment,” the release said.