Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 199

Roots run deep in Sudbury’s reclamation efforts – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – November 21, 2014)

November 24, 2014

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.

Still lots of work to be done, though

Forty years, $28 million and 9.5 million trees after reclamation efforts began, the moonscape that was once Sudbury is taking on a greener hue — but only half the job is done.

A total of 81,000 hectares have been impacted by the city’s industrial activity, which started with the logging industry in the early 1800s, and intensified in the early days of mining when open roasting beds sent high levels of sulphur dioxide into the air, raining down metal particulate across the landscape.

Since its inception in 1973, VETAC (the Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee) has brought together volunteers from science, industry, academia, government and Sudbury’s citizenry to return the land to its original state, said Dr. Peter Becket, a reclamation, restoration and wetland ecologist with Laurentian University who’s dedicated his life’s work to the task. But it hasn’t been easy.

“The estimate is that we have about 7,000 hectares to do,” said Beckett, who gave the keynote address during the Nov. 20 gathering of the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).

Federal government right to question province for plan, Ring of Fire stakeholder says [KWG Resources] – by Jamie Smith (tbnewswatch.com – November 21, 2014)

November 21, 2014

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

THUNDER BAY — A major Ring of Fire player says the federal government is right in asking the province to show their plans for the massive mining project.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford (Con., Kenora) said recently that the province hasn’t spent any money despite making a $1 billion commitment to the project.

KWG exploration and development vice-president Moe Lavigne said the commitment is putting the cart before the horse and mining companies don’t have a social license in the area without an actual plan to bring infrastructure to the North.

“It’s great to make that commitment for a billion dollars but you need a place to spend it,” he said. “You need a plan and that doesn’t exist.”

The plan is supposed to be developed through the province’s development corporation but so far no one from the province has contacted KWG or any First Nations to be a part of the organization. “There’s absolutely no update there. We haven’t had any contact with anybody in the development corporation,” he added.

Meanwhile, a former Ring of Fire stakeholder continues to declare its skepticism that the region will ever become a profitable venture for private interests.

Lies we wish were true [Ring of Fire transportation] – by David Robinson (Northern Ontario Business – November 2014)

November 21, 2014

Dave Robinson is an economist with the Institute for Northern Ontario Research and Development at Laurentian University.drobinson@laurentian.ca

Here is a fantasy about Northern development and the Ring of Fire. Everyone in the story really exists. Not a single event in the story has happened — yet.

In late 2014, the chief of the Moose Cree First Nation, Norm Hardisty, wrote to Stephen McGlennan, CEO of Hybrid Air Vehicles in Britain, asking if their Airlander 50 would be a suitable vehicle for CreeWest, a First Nations-owned air carrier. Hardisty didn’t have a clear plan in mind, but he knew that if First Nations controlled an essential transportation system they would be big winners in the development of Ontario’s North. McGlennan phoned Hardisty back saying he would fly a half-dozen people to the hangar in London where the radical airship is being built.

According to the International Business Review, McGlennan’s super blimp has a top speed of 160 kilometres per hour, can carry 50 tons of equipment, and can operate in the most extreme weather. If there is no runway, it can deliver 20 tons to any clearing bigger than a football field. In comparison, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter can only lift a maximum of 10 tons. And helicopters are fuel hogs. The Airlander has much better fuel efficiency than any conventional aircraft.

Province on defensive after federal accusations of Ring of Fire inaction – by Jamie Smith (tbnewswatch.com – November 20, 2014)

November 20, 2014

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

The provincial and federal governments seem to be in a war of words over the Ring of Fire. Federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford (Con., Kenora) said in the House of Commons Wednesday that the province’s much-touted $1 billion for infrastructure and development corporation in the Ring of Fire isn’t actual policy.

“Ontario has not committed a red cent and has set up a development corporation that is not supported by First Nation communities, the private sector, and it is not a policy option for this government in its current form,” Rickford said.

“We have made significant investments in the Ring of Fire and will continue to demonstrate our commitment by working with First Nation communities and the provincial government should it identify the Ring of Fire as an actual priority.”

He was responding to a question by MP David McGuinty (Lib., Ottawa South) on whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper will meet with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne by the end of the year on the issue.

In Queen’s Park Thursday Ontario Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle (Lib., Thunder Bay-Superior North) said the province is absolutely committed to the project despite the absence of the federal government.

Tumbler Ridge Residents Fear for Town’s Future – by Jeremy J. Nuttall (The Tyee.ca – November 18, 2014)

November 19, 2014

http://www.thetyee.ca/

‘It’s not nice’ in region that brought in foreign workers.

Two years after politicians rushed to defend a mining company that was hiring workers from China over locals in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., residents are worried about their town’s future after layoffs at two nearby mines.

“It’s not nice,” said Clayton Knowles, who lost his job at Wolverine mine seven months ago. “Every day I’m counting the hours I get to make sure I can pay my mortgage.” As residents fret about their economic futures, local politicians are conspicuously silent.

“The federal government, the provincial government are not going to help this town,” Knowles said. “They haven’t yet, have they?”

A local newspaper recently quoted Tumbler Ridge’s deputy mayor as estimating that the unemployment rate in the town of 2,700 was as high as 70 per cent. And some local residents told The Tyee that people are leaving their homes behind as they flee the desperate economic circumstances of the town.

In April, Tumbler Ridge was walloped with news that Walter Energy’s Wolverine coal mine would be idled due to poor coal prices. Months later, Peace River Coal said it would follow suit at the end of the year, also citing low prices and a need for maintenance.

MPP says Ontario dragging its feet on Ring of Fire – by Jeff Labine (Timmins Daily Press – November 19, 2014)

November 19, 2014

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The MPP for Timmins-James Bay is blaming the Liberal government for squandering the proposed Ring of Fire project and causing friction with mining companies.

Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa delivered his fall economic statement, saying the government is working to meet fiscal targets despite modest economic growth and later than expected revenues. He said the revenue projection for 2014-15 is $118.4 billion – $509 million lower than first forecast.

In that same report, Sousa once again called on the federal government to match the Liberal’s $1-billion investment into the Ring of Fire.

New Democrat MPP Gilles Bisson said because the Liberals have dragged their feet, major companies like Cliffs Natural Resources have left the project. He said Cliffs and many other mining companies continue to voice their frustration with the government.

“They have been talking about the Ring of Fire for eight or nine years,” he said. “They have mentioned it now in two or three budgets and a couple of Throne Speeches. Now they got this fallacy going on that they are going to do something when it comes to infrastructure in the Ring of Fire but we have to wait for the feds.

Feds prepared to spend billions on Ring of Fire – by Len Gillis (Timmins Times – November 18, 2014)

November 18, 2014

www.timminstimes.co

Federal mines minister Greg Rickford said this week the federal government is ready to ante up its share of infrastructure funding for nationally significant projects such as the Ring of Fire mining development.

But he made it clear that the Province of Ontario will have to pay a share of those costs as well. Rickford, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, was speaking at the annual Mining Day event on Parliament Hill on Tuesday. The event was sponsored by the Mining Association of Canada. The Timmins Times requested a copy of his speech.

Rickford, the government MP for Kenora, said he recognizes the importance of mining on both the provincial and national levels, in that it continues to generate tens of billions of dollars to Canada’s GDP (gross domestic product).

“Bottom line – mining is a cornerstone of Canada’s economy and our quality of life,” he said. He admitted that as a Northern MP, he has a continuing local interest.

“My riding has a dynamic mining sector, with some of this country’s biggest mines. As your own figures show, the sector is directly responsible for providing more than 380,000 jobs. The industry is a major employer of Aboriginal Peoples, providing employment to over 10,000 individuals,” Rickford told the audience.

How big miners are reliving the late 90s bust – by Steve Todoruk (Business Excellence Mining – November 18, 2014)

November 18, 2014

http://www.bus-ex.com/

Steve Todoruk, a mining veteran who joined Rick Rule in 2003 at Sprott Global Resource Investments Ltd. says he’s seeing some key similarities between today and the last big bear market for resource stocks, which lasted from around 1998 to 2001. Many of today’s mining legends made their reputation and their fortune during that time.

The last time we saw this happen was in the late 1990s. Gold was around $300 per ounce; silver was near $6; and copper was $0.60 a pound.

Commodity prices had fallen so much that big miners were producing near or below the sale price of their product. In some cases, the more they produced the more money they lost. Many mines had been shut down or were in the process of closing due to their inability to produce a profit.

Copper miners needed around $1.10 per pound to make a decent profit. At $0.60 these companies were losing their shirts. In the gold space, Goldcorp was one of the very few miners to eke out a small profit because they had only one mine, which happened to be one of the richest high-grade gold mines in the world.

Today, most industry experts believe that the ‘all-in sustaining cost’ to produce one ounce of gold is somewhere between $1,000 and $1,300. The all-in sustaining costs include all the costs of running current mining operations plus cash spent finding new ounces to replace mined reserves.

NORCAT training centre at Collège Boréal – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – November 17, 2014)

November 18, 2014

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – NORCAT, the Sudbury-based mining research and innovation agency, has opened a training and development centre in Timmins. The facility is set up at the Timmins campus of Collège Boréal.

NORCAT Timmins, as the facility is called, will provide programs, services and training resources that focus on such things as reducing injuries, saving lives and enhancing productivity in the workplace, said Ken Stewart, the manager of training and development for NORCAT Timmins.

Stewart said Northern College had previously established an e-learning training partnership in Timmins but he said there was a market demand to “grow the business” in Timmins.

“Certainly we will have classroom training and this will enhance their e-learning courses. We have in excess of 50 courses,” Stewart said.

NORCAT has set up two training and e-learning classrooms at the college and Stewart said he is confident that Northeastern Ontario mining operations will soon be taking advantage of the facility.

“Of course, the big thing now is simulation training. That is huge. NORCAT has a simulator in Sudbury. We can look forward to seeing either that simulator, or a stand alone simulator, come to Timmins to be used with the local mining community,” said Stewart.

Vale has new base metals boss – by Staff (Sudbury Star – November 18, 2014)

November 18, 2014

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

Jennifer Maki has been appointed executive director of Vale’s Base Metals division after its previous executive director, Peter Poppinga, was named executive director of Ferrous Minerals for the company.

Maki has worked for Vale since 1993, and since January has been the chief financial and administrative officer for Base Metals. She also participated in the management of Base Metals businesses outside Canada.

Maki has an undergraduate degree in business from Queen’s University and a postgraduate diploma from the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

After working at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 10 years, Maki joined Vale as assistant controller, holding several positions including vice-president, treasurer and chief financial officer.

She has been a member of the board of commissioners of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (PTVI) since 2007 and recently became its president commissioner.

As executive director of Vale’s Base Metals division, she will be responsible for the company’s operations in Sudbury.

Quebec mining giants, Plan Nord promoters meet as industry slumps – by Jane George (Nunatsiaq Online.ca – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Major new mining projects for Nunavik have stalled

Dig below the surface and you may find that hope and fear are the underlying themes at this week’s Quebec mines conference, Nov. 17 to Nov. 20, in Quebec City.

The Quebec mining sector faces sharply decreasing commodity prices at a time when the Quebec government wants to promote resource development, the centre-piece of its long-touted Plan Nord, relaunched in 2014 by the new Liberal government.

But low gold prices and falling demand for nickel and iron in China means the 2,000 delegates expected at the conference, whose sponsors include Quebec’s department of resources and energy, its mining association and other industry players, may end up bemoaning a bust in resource development rather than applauding its boom.

Key major mining projects in Nunavik have already stalled. Oceanic Iron Ore Corp., whose company officials recently accompanied Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on his junket to promote Plan Nord in China is still looking for a Chinese partner for its ambitious Hopes Advance iron ore project near Aupaluk on Nunavik’s Ungava Bay.

The iron mine project, which looked so promising in 2013, has enough resources to produce between 10 million and 20 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore concentrate product every year for up to 48 years.

Northern Ontario Mining Cluster Maturing into “Four Pillars” – by Dick DeStefano (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November 2014)

November 17, 2014

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). destefan@isys.ca This column was originally published in the November 2014 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

It is quite evident that the Northern Ontario Mining Cluster has developed as a “mature cluster” based on studies by major agencies and institutions who study this concept.

SAMSSA is 11 years old and is now one of the most sophisticated mining supply clusters globally because it continually meets all the established criteria. In many cases it goes beyond the standard definitions.

What is unique is that the model operating in Northern Ontario has four dynamic clusters working in partnership making it viable and distinct.

It all began in 1991 when Paul Krugman took Alfred Marshall’s work of 1890 and then Michael Porter’s of 1990 which popularized his manifesto called The Competitive Advantage of Nations. The concept of cluster development has a long history. SAMSSA took the best parts and implemented their own design.

The distinctiveness of SAMSSA is the four pillars that hold it together. The first pillar is the historical presence of mines that extract, mill and refine. The history of the Sudbury basin along with the gold fields in Timmins in this region have proven to be an asset.

The second cohesive part or pillar is the existence of over 500 mining supply and service companies within the boundaries of Northern Ontario.

‘It’s history, like it or not’: the Significance of Sudbury’s Superstack – by Mike Commito and Kaleigh Bradley (Active History.ca – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://activehistory.ca/

Standing at a height of 1,250 feet, the Sudbury Superstack is the second tallest chimney in the world and runner-up to the CN Tower for the tallest structure in Canada. Until 1987, Sudbury Ontario had the dubious honour of having the world’s tallest smokestack. Today, the Stack is seen by some as a marker for Sudbury’s rich mining heritage but for others, it is also part of a much larger history of health and environmental problems.

Since the nineteenth century, Sudbury’s landscape was ravaged by the effects of the mining industry; over the years the vegetation disappeared with acid rain, and farmers found themselves unable to grow crops in the highly acidic soil. The International Nickel Company (INCO) built the Superstack in 1972 to disperse sulphur dioxide (SO2) and other pollutants away from the area, thereby addressing health and environmental concerns.

The Stack’s construction coincided with a community regreening movement, which has reversed some of the environmental damage. The Superstack redcuced local emission rates in recent years, but one could argue that INCO simply passed the buck, and the dispersion of SO2 became somebody else’s problem. Moreover, the Sudbury area continues to have higher rates of asthma and lung cancer than other parts of Ontario. But, for better or for worse, the Superstack has been a landmark along the Sudbury skyline for over forty years. And when Vale (formerly INCO) recently proposed demolishing the Superstack in the local media, we watched as an interesting public debate about the significance, history, and future of the stack ensued.

On November 3rd 2014, Kelly Strong of Vale announced that the company considered demolishing the Superstack. This news is not surprising and is in keeping with Vale’s ongoing $1 billion Clean AER Project, designed to reduce SO2 emissions.

Superstack Removal Symbolic of Mining Industry’s Green Efforts – by Steve May (Sudbury Star – Novmeber 15, 2014)

November 15, 2014

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

www.sudburysteve.ca

Last week in Sudbury, Kelly Strong, Vice President of Vale’s Ontario and U.K. Operations, announced that Vale was considering taking down the iconic Superstack – a symbol of both Sudbury’s mining prosperity and of environmental degradation.

Mining has a reputation of being one of the world’s least environmentally-friendly enterprises. Along with scars left imprinted on natural landscapes, toxic chemicals released from processing and refining poison our soils and water. Massive amounts of energy, often from fossil fuel sources, are used to power industrial mining processes.

Yet, the world has a voracious appetite for minerals and metals. According to the Ontario Mining Association, mining contributes approximately $10 billion annually to Ontario’s economy, and employs around 23,000 workers directly and in support activities. Although we could be doing a much better job at recycling existing mined materials, it is expected that demand for new resources will remain high.

The story of the mining industry’s impacts on the natural environment isn’t all that different from that of other industries, except perhaps for the scale. Throughout the 20th Century, the mining industry was prodded to clean up its processes coincident with the public’s demand for healthier communities. In the 1960’s, the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” kicked off an environmental awakening culminating in the early 1970’s with new federal and provincial laws to protect the environment. With the public demanding real action from government and industry, INCO, Vale’s predecessor, was at work planning to reduce dangerous emissions.