Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 204

Life in Northern Ontario Depends on Transportation – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – September 22, 2014)

September 23, 2014

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – Life in Northwestern Ontario is a life filled with variety. From the urban centres like Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, Dryden, Kenora, Atikokan and Fort Frances to the far reaches of the North, in communities like Fort Severn, Sachigo Lake, Webiquie, Kashechewan and Attawapiskat, there are many contrasts.

Shopping/Food Prices

While many people in the “Southern” parts of Northwestern Ontario enjoy a great variety of choices for shopping, in the North, prices for groceries, and the selection of many products is far more limited, and often far more expensive.

While a case of soft drinks are usually about $3 – $4 in Thunder Bay, in northern communities prices of up to $26 is not uncommon. Prices are equally high for milk or juice. One can of mini-ravioli in an isolated community is around $9.00, the price in Thunder Bay is usually $2.00 or three for $5.00.

Getting fresh fruits and vegetables can bring what is in effect prices more like the diamonds that are mined at the DeBeers mine near Attawapiskat.

Cliffs says it’s weighing its options in the ‘Ring’ – Star Staff (Sudbury Star – September 20, 2014)

September 22, 2014

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

Reports are suggesting that Cliffs Natural Resources is looking at selling its Ring of Fire chromite properties.  If so, the move would be full circle for Cleveland-based Cliffs, which at one time planned to have an open pit mine and ferrochrome refinery in Capreol, creating as many as 600 jobs in the Sudbury area, by the middle of this decade.

In the fall, however, Cliffs halted all exploration and technical work on its Big Daddy chromite deposit and suspended spending on the project. In the summer, it sold off its remote exploration camp to Noront Resources.  The Globe and Mail is now reporting that Cliffs sent a letter to First Nation chiefs in the area that it was considering selling its chromite properties in the James Bay region.

The letter, obtained by the newspaper, included a statement from Cliffs vice-president of corporate development Bill Boor, that a sale of the project was among those options.

The Globe is also reporting that KWG is looking at buying Cliffs holdings in the Ring of Fire area.

Cliffs spokesperson Patricia Persico, reached on Friday, said a potential sale of Ring of Fire properties is only one of several options the company is considering. “Cliff’s is exploring alternatives with the chromite project,” Persico said. “Potential sale is an option, but it’s a range of strategic options we’re looking at.

New planning tool could lead to ‘better results, less confrontation’ – by Bryan Phelan (Wawatay News – September 18, 2014)

September 19, 2014

http://wawataynews.ca/

Representatives of environmental groups and Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) had preliminary talks earlier this year about Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (R-SEA) as a new planning tool for the Ring of Fire.

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment once praised R-SEA as “an inherently proactive approach” and “a means to ensure that planning and assessment for a region support the most desired outcomes rather than the most likely one.”

There are numerous examples from around the world where R-SEA has been used successfully, including in Vietnam, Mauritius, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, says Anna Baggio, director of conservation planning for Wildlands League. “It produces better results and helps avoid confrontations and legal challenges.”

Baggio organized a meeting in February when informal discussion of an R-SEA for the Ring of Fire took place. In addition to Wildlands League, other environmental groups represented at the gathering were Mining Watch, WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) Canada, and Ecojustice. Also present were various Matawa advisors and experts, Baggio said.

She anticipated a follow-up meeting after the nine chiefs of the Matawa tribal council and the Ontario government signed a framework agreement in March for negotiations on development in the Ring of Fire.

Environmental groups pitch planning solution for Far North – by Bryan Phelan (Wawatay News – September 18, 2014)

September 19, 2014

http://www.wawataynews.ca/radio

Ontario’s three major political parties promised during the 2014 provincial election campaign to speed mining development in the Ring of Fire.

At the same time, however, two environmental groups were making finishing touches on a report calling for the province to put the brakes on that development, at least for now.

Just four days after the Liberals were re-elected to power in June, the environmental groups Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada and Ecojustice released a report suggesting Ontario needs a whole new approach to planning for the Far North. In the meantime, no Ring of Fire projects should be approved, the groups said in their report, titled Getting it Right in Ontario’s Far North: The Need for Strategic Environmental Assessment in the Ring of Fire (Wawangajing).

The existing legal framework for industrial development in the region is “broken,” said Anastasia Lintner, a lawyer and economist who co-authored the report on behalf of Ecojustice along with a conservation scientist from WCS, Cheryl Chetkiewicz. Part of the problem, they showed, is that planning taking place now is piecemeal and narrowly focused on individual projects or pieces of projects. “The Far North faces uncoordinated resource development with little consideration for cumulative impacts (of multiple projects),” the co-authors wrote in the report’s summary.

Lalor and Reed mines officially opened – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – September 19, 2014)

September 19, 2014

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000. editor@thompsoncitizen.net

NDP Mineral Resources Minister Dave Chomiak attended official opening ceremonies for Hudbay’s Lalor and Reed mines in the Snow Lake area Sept. 16, saying the projects would create 373 jobs and pour millions of dollars into the local and regional economy.

“Mining has been an important part of Manitoba’s economy for decades and these new mines will produce real benefits for local communities including employment for more than 370 workers,” said Chomiak in a news release. “These are good jobs that will help improve living standards and create significant economic growth.”

The Lalor mine is 13 kilometres west of Snow Lake and contains gold, copper, zinc and silver and is expected to be in production until 2030 and beyond. The total budget for construction of the mine is $441 million and its ore will be processed at the refurbished Snow Lake concentrator, which now has a capacity of 2,700 tonnes per day.

The Reed copper mine, which was approved on Sept. 24 last year, is in Grass River Provincial Park, 45 kilometres south-southwest of Snow Lake, and is a joint venture between Hudbay and VMS Ventures Inc., 70 per cent owned by Hudbay. Chomiak said the copper reserves at the Reed Mine have an estimated value of $800 million. Highway 39.

Nunavik’s young mine workers pave way for future generations – by Sarah Rogers (Nunatsiaq News – September 17, 2014)

September 17, 2014

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

“Sometimes it’s hard, but I keep at it because I’m always learning something new”

KUUJJUAQ — Siasi Kanarjuak never imagined working at a mine. Growing up in Kangiqsujuaq on Nunavik’s Hudson Strait coast, she was aware of the nickel mine operating only 60 kilometres to the south. She knew people from her community who commuted there for work.

But in her mid-20s, something clicked. Looking at her job options across Nunavik, Kanarjuak realized that work at a mine could offer benefits that other jobs couldn’t.

“So I went for an interview at Raglan (Glencore’s nickel operation in Nunavik) and I found out they cook for us,” Kanarkjuak told a meeting of Kativik Regional Government councillors last week at their meeting in Kuujjuaq.

“Then I would be home for two weeks — not just a weekend — and that was very appealing to me,” she said. “It gave me time to travel. If you look at it, it’s like having five months off [a year.]”

Today, Kanarjuak, 29, works to bring new Inuit staff to the Raglan mine site, as Inuit recruitment supervisor under the KRG’s Tamatumani on-the-job training program.

She’s one of roughly 160 Inuit employees who work at Raglan, about 18 per cent of the mine’s total workforce. And her job involves trying to entice more Nunavimmiut to look to the mine for jobs.

Northern companies establish Saskatchewan mining presence – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – September 16, 2014)

September 16, 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.

It was during a trip to Toronto about a year ago that Wayne Ablitt and Don Croteau realized they were both thinking of expanding into Western Canada with their respective companies, Jannatec Technologies and Schauenburg Industries Ltd. But with expansion comes considerable expense, not to mention the challenges of breaking into a new market.

“We stopped and looked at each other and said, ‘Why not do something together rather than duplicate things?’” recalled Croteau, managing director of Schauenburg’s North Bay office.

So Croteau and Ablitt devised a plan to bring the two companies together, sharing costs and resources, and a year later, D3 Mining Solutions is ready to debut from its Saskatoon office.

Joining the partnership are suppliers Porcupine Canvas out of Timmins and Maslack Supply out of Sudbury, along with a Winnipeg-based dome manufacturer. The companies will retain their individual identities and home locations, but will operate in Saskatchewan together under the umbrella company D3 Mining Solutions.

Goldcorp’s Massive Eleonore Mine Has Potential To Grow – Chuck Jeannes – by Alex Létourneau (Kitco News – September 15, 2014)

September 16, 2014

http://www.kitco.com/

Denver (Kitco News) – Goldcorp Inc.’s (TSX:G)(NYSE:GG) massive Eleonore mine, located in the James Bay region of northern Quebec, has the potential to produce beyond its anticipated 600,000 ounces of gold annually.

The company is currently expecting first pour in the fourth quarter of 2014, with commercial production expected in the first quarter of 2015. Ramp-up to its full potential of 600,000 ounces annually is expected to go through 2018.

Speaking with Kitco News at the 25th Denver Gold Forum, Chuck Jeannes, president and chief executive officer of Goldcorp, said that while the mine will be a large gold producer, there’s still potential for more.

“This is the kind of deposit – a Hemlo style deposit – that can continue to grow significantly, Jeannes said. “We haven’t seen the bottom of it, we continue to have success looking at new areas of the deposit, both to the north and the south, so we’re a long way from figuring out what’s there.

“We’ve always believed that there’s potential for a district scale opportunity and we’ll be the first ones looking for it.” Jeannes said that his team at Eleonore is working diligently to speed up the ramp-up process. “It’s a vertical dipping ore body so development takes longer and it’s a steady ramp-up over that period, “ he said. “The guys there are trying to find ways to advance that ramp-up schedule.”

$8bn mining private equity needs to be spent. And soon – by Frik Els (Mining.com – September 14, 2014)

September 16, 2014

http://www.mining.com/

Countercyclical investors sitting on $8 billion unspent funds have been waiting for clear signs of a market bottom. The wait may well be over.

The mining M&A market is not exactly in robust health at the moment. Mining and metals deal values during the first half of this year tanked 69% to $16.7 billion, deal volumes are down 34% and nearly 9 out of every ten agreements were were valued at less than $50m according to the latest Ernst & Young market barometer.

One reason for the slackness, the consulting firm notes, is that “the much anticipated influx of substantial capital from new mining-focused private funds is taking longer than expected to hit the market.”

Back in February Michael Rawlinson, co-head of mining and metals investment banking at Barclays the Indaba conference in Cape Town put it this way: “They’ve all set up, no one’s done anything. The sand is going through the hourglass and the money is going to get taken away if they don’t start spending.”

Ernst & Young said much the same in its report – “contributors to these funds are unlikely to wait much longer to see their investments put to use”:

Ring of Fire development picture looks no clearer, strategist – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 15, 2014)

September 15, 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. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

A management shakeup at Cliffs Natural Resources has some mining analysts believing the possible departure of the Cleveland-based mining giant from the Ring of Fire camp could open the door for other international producers to make a move.

But that’s not the opinion of Bill Gallagher, a leading mining strategist. With competing and divergent stakeholder agendas at play, combined with a muddled development picture, the overall uncertainty in the remote James Bay mineral exploration camp may drive off any new investment or mining entrants.

“You could not get a more polarized set of opinions around a non-existent project,” said Gallagher. “How many (news) reports have to come out that show that everybody’s on a different page? There’s nobody singing a unifying theme.”

Gallagher is a former federal negotiator, a strategist specializing in mining and First Nations negotiations, and a published expert on Native empowerment in the Canadian resource industry.

Cliffs won a major court ruling in July to gain overland access to its Black Thor chromite deposit. But the timing of the decision may be too late for the Ohio iron and coal miner to see its proposed $3.3-billion Black Thor chromite mine and Sudbury refinery project come to fruition.

‘Building our society and economy’: Government and industry should be open to new approaches, Webequie chief says – by Bryan Phelan (Onotassiniik Magazine – Fall 2014)

September 15, 2014

http://onotassiniik.com/

Cornelius Wabasse says he has focused his three terms as chief of Webequie First Nation on community development; on finding ways for his community to prosper.

At the same time, “We have a lot of community needs, social problems as well,” Wabasse said as a panelist at the Ontario Mining Forum. It would take $28 million to bring infrastructure for the 765 people in Webequie up to the Canadian standard, according to a band study finding made public last year.

Webequie is located 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, where the Mining Forum took place June 18-19. It’s also close to the Ring of Fire, a geologically rich area of minerals.

Wabasse and leaders of eight other First Nations that make up the Matawa Chiefs Council signed a framework agreement with Ontario in the spring to guide regional negotiations for mining development in the area.

“We must enter into enduring agreements, new relationships, with both (the federal and provincial) governments and industry as part of the Ring of Fire development,” Wabasse said of the challenges ahead. “We must be involved in ways that respect our treaty rights, support our communities, protect our culture, and build our society and economy. We expect both government and industry to be open to new and innovative ways for these benefits to be realized.”

Conflict minerals and the integral role of everyday Canadians – by Kristen Pue (The Varsity – September 14, 2014)

September 15, 2014

The Varsity is the University of Toronto’s student newspaper.

Kristen Pue is the Advocacy Director at STAND CANADA, a youth-led anti-genocide organization. She is a student in the Faculty of Law.

When consumers contribute to humanitarian crises

We all know about the crisis in Ukraine. We all know about the Ebola outbreak, and we are all aghast at the advance of ISIS in the Middle East. But are you aware of the single deadliest conflict since the World War II? More importantly, do you know if you are inadvertently contributing to this humanitarian catastrophe?

Although it is rarely in the news, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has claimed 5.4 million lives since 1996 and remains one of the world’s worst active crises. In addition to its high death toll, it is notable for its rampant sexual violence: an average of 48 rapes are committed per hour.

The conflict in the DRC is multifaceted, but here is the gist: the Rwandan genocide provided the trigger for the First Congo War, but the despotic rule of Mobutu Sese Seko certainly was an underlying factor. Following the genocide, Tutsi rebels took control of Rwanda. Two million refugees flooded into the DRC, most of them Hutu. Hutu extremists were among civilian refugees and used the eastern DRC as a base to continue the Rwandan civil war.

This stoked instability, and eventually resulted in an uprising. Rwanda and Uganda joined to help depose Mobutu.

Wabauskang First Nation set to appeal after Ontario Superior Court rules against band – by Alan S. Hale (Kenora Daily Miner and News – September 12, 2014)

September 15, 2014

http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/

Wabauskang First Nation says it will attempt to appeal a ruling by the Ontario Superior Court that the provincial government had not unlawfully delegated its constitutional responsibility to consult with the First Nation to Rubicon Minerals which wants to open a gold mine near Red Lake.

The local aboriginal community has applied to the Ontario Court of Appeal for permission to launch an appeal of the decision released by the superior court on Aug. 28 which ruled the province had fulfilled its obligation to consult Wabauskang and so its approval of the closure plan for Rubicon’s mine project was valid.

“I am persuaded that the institutional process established by Ontario by which it assessed the potential or actual impact of a claim was reasonable,” reads the judgement. “I am also satisfied that the assessment made by Ontario regarding the mine production stage in this case was reasonable: it recognized that (Wabauskang First Nation) had rights under Treaty 3 (and) it considered all potential effects deriving from (Wabauskang’s) Treaty 3 rights.”

Not surprisingly, the chief of Wabauskang, Martine Petiquan, does not agree with the court’s assessment, and so they intend to continue taking the issue to the next level.

“Our Treaty rights and our relationship and responsibilities with our lands and territory must be respected,” said Petiquan.

Former AFN executive promotes P3 model for Ring of Fire infrastructure – by Bryan Phelan (Onotassiniik Magazine – Fall 2014)

September 12, 2014

http://onotassiniik.com/

Public-private partnerships, also known as P3s, will be considered as a mechanism for building the power supply, roads and other assets needed to enable mining development in the Ring of Fire. Dale Booth, who has held senior positions with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANDC), is sure of it.

“I can guarantee it, P3s are going to be … looked at very closely for the Ring of Fire, and not only for the power transmission, not only the transportation,” Booth predicted during a presentation on the topic at the Ontario Mining Forum in June.

The P3 model should also be considered for building infrastructure in First Nations near the Ring of Fire and elsewhere, said Booth, president of Tiree Innovation, a First Nations company located in the Mohawk community of Akwesasne.

“It allows communities access to external capital for their infrastructure and … it’s an effective model to get things done on time and on budget,” he said.

How does the P3 model work? Essentially, federal and provincial governments fund and finance the infrastructure, along with private equity sources, Booth explained, and a private sector partner builds and maintains it.

The P3 model has been applied to more than 200 projects across Canada, from roads to schools to hospitals, although the approach is relatively new to First Nations, said Mark Romoff, president and CEO of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships.

High cost of mining a challenge in Far North – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – September 11, 2014)

September 11, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Mining Association of Canada CEO raises challenges for mining sector

The high cost of doing business in Canada, especially in the Far North, is the biggest challenge the mining sector faces nationally, said Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.

Gratton, who was the keynote speaker at a Chamber of Commerce event for the North America Mining Expo in Sudbury on Sept. 9, said according to Mining Association of Canada research, it can cost up to two and a half times as much to build a remote mine there, than a mine near a populated urban centre in the south.

“The fact is, while a vast country rich in resources, Canada has lost ground,” Gratton said. “We were a top-five producer of 14 major minerals in 2007, but today (Canada is on top) of only 10.” What’s more, mineral reserves for most commodities have been plummeting since the 1980s, he said.

To address the high cost of doing business in remote regions, like northwestern Ontario’s Ring of Fire mineral deposits, government needs to partner with mining companies, Gratton said.

Building infrastructure in those regions, which often benefits remote First Nations by connecting them to transportation routes and electrical grids, constitutes a public good, Gratton said.