Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 200

Vale clear to tear down Sudbury’s Superstack – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 7, 2014)

November 7, 2014

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

Vale Ltd. won’t need approval from the Ministry of the Environment to tear down the Superstack if the company chooses to do so.

But it will require ministry approvals for any replacement smokestack it intends to build. Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Canada and UK operations, told a business group this week that the Brazil-based mining company is conducting an analysis to determine if it should replace the 1,250-foot chimney.

Company officials will likely decide by the end of the year what to do with the structure, which was built in 1972 at a cost of about $25 million.

Speaking to reporters after a presentation to the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, Strong said he realized any talk of disposing of the structure was going to stimulate conversation in the community.

Very little sulphur dioxide is travelling up the Superstack, said Strong, so it doesn’t make sense to use it any longer. Vale is completing the $1-billion Clean AER (Atmospheric Emission Reduction) Project that will cut current S02 emissions by 85%.

Kate Jordan, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment, said Vale wouldn’t need ministry approval to remove the stack.

Donald Lindsay: Mining is in Teck chief’s blood – by Melanie Jackson (Business Vancouver – November 4, 2014)

November 6, 2014

http://www.biv.com/

From underground mining in Saskatchewan to the top corporate tier, Donald Lindsay’s career has been a lifelong love affair with the industry

As part of Teck Resources Ltd.’s (TSX:TCK.B, NYSE:TCK) Emerging Leaders program, president and CEO Don Lindsay greets aspiring vice-presidents, aged 30 to 45, by saying:

“It’s an honour to be selected to this program. It means that you’ve worked awfully hard. You’ve been successful and you’ve accomplished great things. But I’m here to tell you that you can never get yourself promoted again. It’s over.”

Lindsay pauses. At this point his listeners could be forgiven for thinking, What on earth? Then he explains, “The only people who can promote you from here on are those around you. If they don’t want you to succeed, if they don’t want to be led by you, you won’t be.”

Lindsay seeks leaders people want to have around – as opposed to those who try to intimidate or make them feel inadequate.

“The ones who are going to be really successful are going to go and talk to the customer, or talk to the potential partner, find out what their concerns are, find out what their needs are, find out how they like to work.

Studies confirm mining as an economic driver – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – November 6, 2014)

November 6, 2014

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Timmins Chamber of Commerce president Al Thorne said he can only be encouraged by the fact the province has helped to finance a couple of in-depth reports that are favourable to Ontario’s mining industry.

One of those studies outlines the value of the gold mining industry, while the second identifies the economic importance of the mining supply industry.

Timmins is considered a leader in both of those sectors. The first report, recently released by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), outlines the economic impact for the creation a new gold mine in Northern Ontario. It was authored by Peter Dungan and Steve Murphy of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

The second report, produced by the Canadian Association for Mining Equipment and Services (CAMESE) and released last week, looks at the challenges and opportunities for the mining supply and service sector in Ontario.

It also recommends more tracking of the economic impact of the mining supply and service sector to better understand its importance. The reports were released just in time for the Meet The Miner’s event held at Queen’s Park. The event is held annually to keep the government apprised of the contributions and concerns of Ontario’s mining industry.

Mining supply, services sector contribute 41K jobs: Study – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – November 05, 2014)

November 6, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

In 2011, Ontario’s mining supply and services sector contributed $3.9 billion to the province’s gross domestic product, and sustained around 68,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to to a new study published by the Canadian Association of Mining Equipment and Services for Export (CAMESE).

CAMESE managing director Jon Baird said the study’s finding are historic, because economic contributions from the mining supply and services sector had never been studied to such a degree.

“Nothing was known, or next to nothing was known about the economic impact of mining supply before this survey,” Baird said. The association partnered with PricewaterhouseCoopers to analyze questionnaires it sent out to 913 supply and service companies across Ontario.

The Pan Ontario mining supply and services sector economic impact study determined 41,000 people in the province are directly employed by mining supply and services companies, while another 27,000 people rely on the sector indirectly, as suppliers or service providers themselves.

Around 78 per cent of the companies that responded to the survey reported doing some business outside of Ontario, while 70 per cent of respondents did business outside of Canada.

Hampton to advise federal NDP on Ring of Fire – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 6, 2014)

November 6, 2014

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

A self-confessed “recovering politician”, who was Ontario New Democratic Party leader for 13 years and represented Kenora-Rainy River for 24 years, has been appointed special advisor to federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair for the Ring of Fire.

Howard Hampton has worked the last three years for Fasken Martineau law firm, advising mining and forestry companies in Northern Ontario about how to work with First Nations.

Since 2011, Hampton has been involved in discussions with First Nations, mining companies such as Cliffs Natural Resources and Noront Resources, and engineering firms that conduct environmental assessments and do mine construction.

While Hampton will be contracted to advise the federal NDP, he said he has watched in recent years as the Government of Ontario has “dropped the ball a number of times and made a number of miscues” in trying to develop the chromite deposits 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

His take on the federal is that “it is just not engaged” in Ring of Fire discussions, said Hampton, and has been largely absent from them. “Governments are supposed to show some leadership and governments are supposed to bring people together. That hasn’t happened,” he said in a telephone interview.

Some progress on Ring: Chamber – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 6, 2014)

November 6, 2014

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

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is at work on a report, grading the Government of Ontario on its performance on 13 steps it recommended in February the province take to develop the Ring of Fire.

The goal of the first report, Beneath the Surface: Uncovering the Potential of Ontario’s Ring of Fire, was to raise awareness about the impact mining the Ring of Fire would have on the economies of Ontario and Canada.

Josh Hjartarson, vice-president of policy and government relations for the Ontario chamber, said governments’ priorities are determined by the pressure people put on them, so his group is trying to “generate some virtuous pressure on all levels of government.”

Hjartarson compares the Ontario chamber’s public awareness campaign to what Canadian petroleum producers did to promote the Alberta oil sands. Many observers have compared the importance of the Ring of Fire on a national scale to the oil sands and Churchill Falls generating station.

Petroleum producers successfully turned the “this is just an Alberta play to this is of national importance,” said Hjartarson, “and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is trying to do that.”

Mining sector ripe for increased M&A activity: report (Canadian Manufacturing.com – November 5, 2014)

November 5, 2014

http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/

TORONTO and MONTRÉAL—Canada’s mining sector will see a new era in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as a near perfect alignment of factors takes place, according to a study released by advisory firm Grant Thornton.

Following last year’s tepid M&A performance in which deal volumes failed to breach the $90 billion mark, Grant Thornton’s report Gathering Momentum suggests a fertile environment will lead to a doubling in the value of M&A in the mining sector compared to 2013.

The resurgence of M&A is predicted to come from four main factors identified through feedback from 250 senior mining executives:

One-in-ten junior mining exploration companies are likely to enter administration, and a quarter of major mining companies anticipate challenges with financial covenants, resulting in significant numbers of distressed assets and low valuations
Excellent environment for matchmaking, with a third of executives at mining companies looking to make an acquisition (35 per cent of junior mining exploration companies and 32 per cent of major companies)
Approximately the same amount of firms are showing an appetite for selling (36 per cent of junior mining exploration companies and 27 per cent of larger companies)
Lower commodity prices will be a driver for M&A, pushing companies to band together to generate scale and lower productions costs

Still no Ring of Fire plan, says fed finance minister – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 4, 2014)

November 5, 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.

Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver says the Ontario government is causing delays in the federal government’s plan to devote nearly $11 billion to infrastructure investments in the province over the coming years, according to a Canadian Press story.

Oliver said Oct. 3 in Toronto that he was still waiting for the Liberal government to submit its list of preferred infrastructure projects under the Building Canada Plan, which is designed to give predictable long-term funding to provinces and territories.

In a speech at a public-private partnership conference, Oliver said provincial governments must submit their list of priority projects before the money can roll out as part of an 11-year funding plan.

“Unfortunately we are experiencing a delay under the provincial-territorial component of the Building Canada Plan,” he told the conference in Toronto. “The Government of Ontario has yet to put forward its submission. We hope to receive it soon.”

The federal government doesn’t have an official deadline for submissions, although Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Manitoba have put forth their lists of preferred projects.

Ring of Fire development needs attention – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 4, 2014)

November 4, 2014

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

The government of Ontario must stop stalling and get serious about bringing partners together to plan and build transportation infrastructure for the Ring of Fire.

Not one ounce of the estimated $60 billion worth of chromite and other minerals in this area of Northern Ontario can be mined until a transportation system and power grid are built. And that can’t start until the much-vaunted Ring of Fire Infrastructure Development Corp. is fully functioning.

A year ago, the province announced creation of the development corporation to design, engineer, construct and maintain transportation infrastructure for the Ring. Since then, the Liberals have re-announced it three times, the last when it was formally established in August with an interim board of four Ontario public servants.

The “mature” corporation is to be comprised of representatives from government, the mining sector, First Nations and other communities. So it was disappointing to learn four bureaucrats were the only appointees. First Nations leaders and mining company officials are furious about not being drawn into infrastructure talks after a year of dilly-dallying.

Sudbury’s Superstack could be coming down: Vale – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 4, 2014)

November 4, 2014

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

A Sudbury landmark, rated 10 out of 45 attractions to see in the Nickel City, could be coming down, depending upon the result of an analysis by Vale Ltd. The mining company may decommission the 1,250-foot Superstack that has become synonymous with Sudbury’s regreening efforts.

It cost about $25 million to build the giant smokestack in the early 1970s to move sulphur dioxide emissions miles out of the Sudbury Basin where it was killing vegetation and polluting the air.

Because today’s mining processes produce so much less SO2, the Superstack may be superfluous and a much shorter stack could likely do the job.

Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Ontario and United Kingdom operations, made the announcement about the Superstack study at a noon luncheon Monday of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

No business person asked questions of Strong, not even about the Superstack, when Strong finished his 25-minute presentation to 260 people. Strong told reporters after the luncheon that talk of disposing of the giant stack is bound to create a buzz in the community.

[Ontario mining and manufacturing] Rip-it-and-ship-it Versus Value-added – by James Cuddy (Northern Policy Institute Blog – October 2014)

November 4, 2014

http://northernpolicy.wordpress.com/

James Cuddy, Senior Policy Analyst with Northern Policy Institute

It’s a common concern that Northern Ontario is not developing industries that will add-value to raw mining and forestry materials before they are exported for use elsewhere. So, why can’t we build processing and manufacturing facilities and then sell the value-added products to the world?

Mike Moffatt puts it simply: “If there is a business case to do so, then absolutely [we can].” The notion that there is a ‘business case’ to develop processing and manufacturing facilities embodies the concept of comparative advantage.

Northern Ontario’s primary industries exist because the region has an abundance of minerals in the ground and trees on the land that can be extracted and exported. Northern Ontario is endowed with natural resources that not everyone else has; this is what gives the region its comparative advantage in these industries.

On the other hand, it is not necessarily clear that the region has a comparative advantage in value-added forest and mining products – i.e., processing and manufacturing of raw materials. Since a processing facility can be located almost anywhere, there are many additional factors – over and above having raw materials nearby – that affect where Northern Ontario’s comparative advantage (or disadvantage) lie for value-added industries.

Vale could demolish Sudbury’s Superstack – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – November 3, 2014)

November 4, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Some call it an eyesore, while many others see it as one of Sudbury’s most easily identifiable and iconic landmarks. By the end of the year Vale is expected to determine the future of the Superstack, and decide whether or not it should be demolished.

“The reality is that there’s very little SO2 (sulphur dioxide) coming up the stack and it doesn’t make a lot of sense for use to use the stack further,” said Kelly Strong, Vale’s vice-president of Ontario and UK operations.

Strong addressed the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Monday, where he updated the city’s business community on Vale’s operations and plans for the future in Sudbury.

Strong’s update on the Superstack was the day’s big announcement. “It’s a huge change for our community,” he said. “There’s a correlation between Sudbury and the Superstack. It’s a huge landmark.”

When it was built in 1972, the 1,250-foot (350-metre) Inco Superstack was the world’s tallest chimney, and the tallest freestanding structure in Canada. Today, Toronto’s CN Tower is the only structure in Canada to surpass the Superstack in height, at 1,815 feet, or 553 metres.

Sudbury letter: Uncertainty dogs Ring development – by Peter Best (Sudbury Star – November 4, 2014)

November 4, 2014

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

Re: Carol Mulligan’s Ring of Fire column, Oct. 30.

Stan Sudol hopes that “political sanity” will prevail and then the Ring of Fire will be developed. There can be no political sanity without underlying legal sanity, and right now, in this area of Canadian life, we don’t have that. The Supreme Court of Canada, with its “consult and accommodate” rulings, has handed First Nations band elites a virtual veto on all new developments on Crown lands, and they are using it with devastatingly negative consequences for us all, especially the vast majority of powerless natives. This was the unacknowledged elephant in the room in Carol Mulligan’s otherwise excellent article.

When George Smitherman was the Matawa Tribal Council’s spokesman he declaimed on their behalf that “First Nations will have the ultimate say on how the Ring of Fire mineral developments will unfold.” In 2012, Neskatanga Chief Peter Moonias threatened “blockades and even acts of mischief” if his little band’s demands for a proper piece of the action weren’t met. The fiscal, legal and law and order uncertainty caused by this type of selfish and irresponsible thinking foretold ultimate doom for the project.

Combined with the above was and is the McGuinty/Wynne government’s enthusiastic embrace and support of these Crown sovereignty-destroying court rulings. Wynne cabinet minister David Zimmer recently inanely lauded the framework agreement with the Matawa Tribal Council as a “government-to-government” agreement. A government’s first duty is to protect its own sovereignty.

Quebec premier promotes Plan Nord in China, Iceland – by Jane George (Nunatsiaq Online.ca – November 3, 2014)

November 3, 2014

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

“An exemplary sustainable development project”

From China to Iceland, Quebec’s premier Philippe Couillard promoted Plan Nord last week, touting the massive development scheme for northern Quebec to potential investors.

In Iceland, Couillard described Plan Nord as a sustainable project of unprecedented scope, a great project for the future, and one that is also “tailor-made” for investors.

After signing scores of economic and cultural deals in China from Oct. 26 to Oct. 31, Couillard wrapped up his round-the-world junket with a Nov. 1 pitch to an international audience of academics, government officials, indigenous representatives and business interests at the Arctic Circle forum in Reykjavik, a rival to the federal government’s Arctic Economic Council, which met in September behind closed doors in Iqaluit.

“Through the Plan Nord, we hope to develop northern Quebec’s vast potential in order to make of it an exemplary sustainable development project,” Couillard said. “It has been designed and will be carried out in a close, ongoing partnership with local communities to ensure that northern development concretely benefits the communities and protects the territory’s environment and distinctive biodiversity.”

Plan Nord will require a “massive investment” of money— but it’s a safe project for investors, Couillard said — because there’s a “clear, predictable framework” for Plan Nord which will be developed with local communities, he said.

Mining sector lacks support for innovation: Industry expert – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – November 03, 2014)

November 3, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Pierre Lassonde to address mining sector challenges at Laurentian Nov. 6

The mining industry lacks the government support needed to innovate, says Pierre Lassonde, chairman of Franco-Nevada Corporation.

Lassonde is scheduled to speak at Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium Thursday, Nov. 6, where he plans to address many of the issues Canada’s mining sector faces.

“The Ontario government blew $300 million on MaRS (Innovation) here in Toronto for high technology that has gone nowhere, producing nothing,” Lassonde said in a phone interview with NorthernLife.ca. “Why don’t you invest that money in exploration and find billion-dollar ore bodies that are going to produce a billion dollars worth of taxes?”

Lassonde said there have not been any major technological breakthroughs in the mining sector since the 1980s. While machinery has gotten bigger and more efficient, and exploration techniques have gotten more refined, nothing has changed dramatically, he said.

“We’re reaching the limit of many of the technologies we’ve been using for the past 50 years,” Lassonde said. The advent of reflection seismology in oil exploration increased the rate of new discoveries from one for every 10 drill holes, to seven for every 10 drill holes, Lassonde said, but there has been no such advancement in mining exploration.