[Ontario’s] North has voices at Wynne’s table – Editorial (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 24, 2014)

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

If three key Northern Liberal ministers end up back in the Ontario cabinet today, as anticipated, it will be another one of those political ironies that, this time at least, worked in this region’s favour.

Some may recall that Northern Liberal stalwart MPPs Michael Gravelle, Bill Mauro and David Orazietti did not back Kathleen Wynne’s bid for party leader. Despite their support for Liberal warrior Sandra Pupatello, all three were eventually appointed to cabinet after Wynne became the province’s first woman premier.

Wynne’s decision in 2013 to put Gravelle back into Northern Development and Mines and give Orazietti, of Sault Ste. Marie, his first cabinet post at Natural Resources were in keeping with a political strategy to keep key parts of the North in Liberal hands.

This strategy became more apparent when, on the eve of this spring’s election, Mauro was promoted to cabinet to oversee a fairly tricky ministry — Municipal Affairs and Housing.

On the face of it, the appointments seem fairly obvious, especially when one considers how much time Wynne spent in Northern Ontario charming local mayors, as both premier and, before that, in various minister roles that included transportation, municipal affairs and housing, and aboriginal affairs.

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Co-operation accord underscores China’s global gold market ambitions Deal signed in Vancouver at international gold – by Gordon Hamilton (Business Vancouver – June 23, 2014)

http://www.biv.com/

Summit could increase investment in B.C.’s resource sector

China took an important step June 18 toward playing a larger role in global gold markets that could lead to more investment in British Columbia’s mining sector, according to the head of the country’s gold mining association.

Xin Song, chairman of the China Gold Association, said a co-operation agreement signed in Vancouver between the association and the World Gold Council (WGC) is a sign of China’s determination to become a more active player in the global gold industry. China’s emergence can be expected to have an impact on the B.C. mining sector, he said.

The accord between the Chinese association and the gold council, which represents the world’s largest mining companies, was the highlight of a daylong gold summit on the world’s most valuable metal. It’s the first time the London-based gold council has held such a meeting in North America.

“Why in Vancouver? Because Vancouver serves as the gateway to Asia and the Pacific and is a mining capital,” said Song. “Signing in such a venue has international impact for us.” Song, who is also president of China’s largest gold company, China National Gold, singled out B.C. as a destination for investment.

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‘Mining heroes’ inspire Sudbury artist – by Laura Stradiotto (Sudbury Star – June 21, 2014)

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

There’s more to mining then meets the artistic eye. Below the surface and into the depths of darkness lies no ordinary workplace.

What artist Oryst Sawchuk sees is not only a space rich in metals, but also a scene as impressive as the Northern landscape captured by the Group of Seven.

His latest exhibition, MiningArt, is a tribute to the unsung heroes of Sudbury’s history and a memorial to those miners killed on the job. The series of acrylic paintings and pen and ink drawings, including four new works inspired by the recent deaths in Sudbury’s mining community, are on display in Gallery 2500, a new art space located in the United Steelworkers Local 2500.

“It’s mining that actually defines us as a community,” says Sawchuk. “If you talk to anybody anywhere in the country and you say ‘Sudbury’, they say ‘mining.’”

Sawchuk set out to capture the personality and historical significance of mining in his work. Art is more than something to beautify a living room, it should make a statement, he says, and what better place to do that than a union hall. “The miners are heroes,” says Sawchuk. “They go underground in a very alien environment.”

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30 years later, Sudbury mining tragedy lingers – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – June 21, 2014)

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

For almost a week, Anne Marie MacInnis started and ended her day staring at four faces looking back from the middle of an eight-page flyer, lying on her kitchen table, published by Sudbury Mine Mill & Smelter Workers Local 598 in November 1984.
It’s a reprint of a report on the deaths of four men June 20 of that year at Falconbridge Mine.

MacInnis had many thoughts about Sulo Korpela, Richard Chenier, Daniel Lavallee and Wayne St. Michel leading up to Friday’s 30th anniversary Workers’ Memorial Day.

Where they married? Did they have children? Brothers and sisters? If they had lived instead of perishing in a tragic rockburst, what would their lives have been like?

Like so many others in Sudbury, MacInnis, 49, remembers where she was when news broke about the seismic event at the 4200-foot level that instantly killed all the men except St. Michel.

Members of the union of which MacInnis is the first female president, the city and much of Canada held their collective breath while mine rescuers worked 27 hours to get to St. Michel, with whom they were communicating. Tragically, the 22-year-old was killed by a fall of material 10 minutes before rescuers reached him.

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Gold price breakout sparks massive move into mining stocks – by Frik Els (Mining.com – June 19, 2014)

 http://www.mining.com/

In a surprise move after months of subdued trade, the gold price jumped more than $48 or nearly 4% an ounce on Thursday, its best trading performance since September last year.

Gold ended the day at its high of $1,320 an ounce on Thursday, fighting back from lows of $1.244 at the beginning of this month. The metal is up 10% in value this year. The silver price jumped nearly 5%, climbing back above $20 an ounce for the first time in two months.

Gold’s positive momentum sparked heavy buying of gold counters with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX), holding stock in the world’s top gold miners, soaring 5.4% bringing its gains so far this year to 23.5%.

The bellwether for the industry for decades The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (INDEXNASDAQ:XAU) gained 5% and is back to levels last seen in March when gold hit a 2014 high of $1,379 an ounce.

By the close on Thursday, Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:ABX, TSE:ABX) was up 3.2% with 4.3 million shares changing hands, more than double usual volumes for the world’s number one producer of the metal.

It was revealed earlier this week the company has been in talks about about possible partnerships with China’s largest gold producer, China National Gold.

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Coal mining could make comeback in Crowsnest Pass – by Sam Dodson (World Coal.com – June 19, 2014)

http://www.worldcoal.com/

Straddling the border of Alberta and British Columbia, just south of Calgary, the Crowsnest Pass boasts a rich history of coal mining, dating back to opening of the first mine in 1900. Over the course of the 20th Century, all the coal mines on the Alberta side of the Canadian municipality closed, as the companies that operated the mines struggled with fluctuating coal prices, bitter strikes and industrial action, as well as fallout from underground accidents. A single coal mine operates just across the British Columbia border in Sparwood.

All this could be set to change, however, after a Calgary-based company received regulatory approval to begun exploratory drilling.

Altitude Resources Inc. has been granted permission from the Alberta Energy Regulator to drill four to six core holes for the purpose of coal quality analysis. The drilling programme, with an estimated budget of C$ 1.5 million, will begin as early as August or September.

“It’s the first step in a long process of technical work that we need to do,” said Altitude president and CEO Gene Wusaty. “If the coal quality is what we believe it is, then the next step is go out there and try to prove our resource target tonnage by doing a bunch more drilling.”

In 2013, Altitude Resources announced the formation of an alliance with Elan Coal Ltd, a privately-owned Canadian coal exploration and development company.

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Think-tank proposal echoes junior miner’s idea – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – June 18, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Port authority model would protect taxpayers

The first report from the new Northern Policy Institute echoes a plan set forward by junior miner KWG Resources in 2010, that the Ring of Fire’s infrastructure should be developed under a port authority model.

“Hopefully, now that somebody else has given this whole issue a lot of thought, and come to the same conclusion, it should ring a bell with (the provincial government),” said Moe Lavigne, KWG’s vice-president of exploration and development.

In an email statement, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines said it will give the Northern Policy Institute report careful consideration.

“The Northern Policy Institute has a strong understanding of northern priorities and is doing practical work to examine issues that matter to northerners and the future of Northern Ontario,” the statement said. “The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines will carefully review and consider the report as work continues to develop the Ring of Fire.”

Under the Northern Policy Institute’s proposal, a new port authority would issue bonds to raise funds for infrastructure development.

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Bill 50 – The Thompson Nickel Belt Sustainability Act – The losing fight – by John Barker (Thompson Citizen – June 18, 2014)

The Thompson Citizenwhich 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

Monday marked three years to the day since Bill 50, The Thompson Nickel Belt Sustainability Act, received royal assent on June 16, 2011. There is only one catch, as the fine print points out. “This Act is not yet in force. It is to come into force on a date to be fixed by proclamation.”

Not wanting anything to have anything to do at first with the Thompson Economic Diversification Working Group (TEDWG), announced jointly a couple of weeks earlier on May 18, 2011 in a news release from the City of Thompson and Vale, the province always saw the legislation primarily as a bargaining chip to get Vale back to the table to reconsider their decision, announced 6½ months earlier on Nov. 17, 2010, that it is was “phasing out of smelting and refining by 2015” in Thompson.

To be fair to the province, even if they had been inclined to proclaim the legislation into law early on, they were under intense pressure from the City of Thompson through behind-the-scenes lobbying and politicking to delay proclamation of The Thompson Nickel Belt Sustainability Act until the TEDWG process was wrapped up and a new municipal tax and funding agreement with Vale Canada Limited for grants-in-lieu of taxes for the city, School District of Mystery Lake and Local Government District (LGD) of Mystery Lake was in place. That didn’t happen until early 2013.

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Province should ‘guide’ not lead Ring: Report – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – June 18, 2014)

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

Stakeholders should share in both the risks and rewards associated with Ring of Fire infrastructure development, says the author of a new report from the Northern Policy Institute.

Nick Mulder, former deputy minister of Transport Canada and author of Beneath the Surface: Uncovering the Economic Potential of Ontario’s Ring of Fire, believes a model similar to the airport or port transportation authority would be more effective than a traditional Crown corporation.
“I’m not a right-winger at all, but government should basically focus on steering, not rowing,” Mulder said. “The rowing can be done by somebody else.”

His report calls for the establishment of “an independent, representative and arm’s length statutory Ring of Fire Infrastructure Authority.” Development of the Ring of Fire, a large mineral deposit in the James Bay Lowlands, could be a boon to the economy in Greater Sudbury.

Noront, which discovered a nickel, copper, platinum and palladium discovery at the deposit now known as Eagle’s Nest in the Ring of Fire, in 2007, will likely have its nickel concentrate processed here.

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Northern think-tank tackles Ring of Fire in first report – by Staff (Sudbury Northern Life – June 17, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Treat it like a port authority, policy institute argues

A new report by the Northern Policy Institute argues an authority, similar to a port or airport authority, would be the best model to lead infrastructure development in the Ring of Fire.

Authored by Nick Mulder, former deputy minister of Transport Canada, the report argues an authority model would be a more effective way to develop Ring of Fire infrastructure than a Crown Corporation.

“Under a Crown Corporation model, the responsibility would be on the shoulders of the province,” Mulder said in a release. “The provincial government would be expected to review and approve plans on all major projects, fund the largest portions of the costs and accept most of the risks. Simply put, the buck would stop at Queen’s Park.”

Mulder is a registered lobbyist with Global Public Affairs. He said none of his clients have any direct interest in the Ring of Fire.

The report questions whether this is the right time for the province to accept such responsibilities given uncertain mineral markets and prices, a growing provincial deficit and debt, unresolved First Nations issues and environmental assessments.

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Northwest iron ore junior promotes “green steel” works – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 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. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

An iron ore company president’s plans to develop a northwestern Ontario deposit have gotten a whole lot bigger and much, much greener. Producing “green steel” is what’s on the mind of Henry Wetelainen of Bending Lake Iron Group, who’s promoting the concept of creating a future industrial zone, southwest of Ignace.

His First Nation family-owned company, based in Thunder Bay, has a hugely ambitious project proposal to build an open-pit mine and adjacent steel works complex while generating its own power. “If we don’t have adequate power supply, the project just can’t go,” said Wetelainen. “That’s just reality.”

In northwestern Ontario, power supply is a huge thorn in the side of mining companies. The transmission capacity doesn’t yet exist to feed potentially 10 new mines over this decade, never mind the Ring of Fire.

A regional energy task force estimates there’s a shortfall of between 800 and 1,000 megawatts, which stands to stifle industrial growth. So Wetelainen and his team decided to take matters into their own hands by creating their own power corporation.

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Ontario, Ottawa have to make up [Ring of Fire] – Editorial (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal (June 16, 2014)

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

AN uncomfortable truth emerged from National Affairs columnist Tim Harper’s take on Ontario’s election results. In his Saturday column, Harper notes the majority Liberal election victory gives Prime Minister Stephen Harper a ready-made enemy in next year’s federal election.

Besides a set of proposals, it always helps to have a party to criticize and Harper and his cabinet have been using Ontario as a piñata for several years. The late federal finance minister, Jim Flaherty, went so far as to advise against investing in Ontario until its budget was addressed in the way he thought necessary. There was some truth to the observation but making it publicly, warning would-be investors around the world to steer clear of a Canadian province, crossed a line that had never been approached before.

If Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives had won last week’s Ontario election, Harper would have to look elsewhere for a whipping boy. But now that Kathleen Wynne is back with a majority — whipping Hudak’s backside in the process — Harper may be all the more anxious to sound off about her plans for Ontario’s future, plans which include more spending and fewer corporate tax breaks than the PM would like.

This brings us to Northwestern Ontario where the two levels of government have been dancing around the mighty Ring of Fire mining development that sits awaiting the bell Ontario has not yet rung.

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HISTORY: Gold rush sparked big headlines – by Karen Bachmann (Timmins Daily Press – June 13, 2014)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Karen Bachmann is the director/curator of the Timmins Museum and a local author.

TIMMINS – About 105 years ago this month, the Great Porcupine Gold Rush took off in force. People had been looking for gold in the area as early as 1905, and a mini-rush around the Night Hawk waterway got people all riled up in 1907-08. However, it wasn’t until a few spectacular finds in the spring of 1909 in and around the Porcupine region that ears perked up and men got serious.

Today, I give you a few newspaper excerpts from the Cobalt Nugget, in celebration of those finds so many years ago. Those reporters and letter writers knew how to tell a great story. After all, I think we need to start celebrating the Porcupine Gold Rush. It is quite possibly the best kept secret in Canada. so let’s have a look at what they were saying back then that got their knickers all in a knot!

Headline: “Free Gold Over Big Area in Porcupine – Sam Wilson Describes What He Saw on Bannerman Claim – Quartz Vein a Mile Long and Four Feet Wide!!!” (Cobalt Nugget – Porcupine Lake, Nov. 1, 1909 – excerpt from the third letter of Sam Wilson, Cobalt Prospector to his partner Bob Andrews).

“Dear Bub – I’ve been looking at free gold so much I am just dazzled. They have it all through this country. They are finding it through Whitney and Tisdale, and there are great reports from the Reserve.

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Ontario re-elects Liberals [Ring of Fire issues] – by Greg Klein (Resource Clips – June 13, 2014)

http://resourceclips.com/

Mining was an issue but can a $1-billion promise inspire action on the Ring of Fire?

Repeated accusations of corruption didn’t stop Ontario voters from re-electing the provincial Liberals of Kathleen Wynne on June 12, this time with a majority government. Among the victors’ first priorities is a budget that was rejected by both the Progressive Conservative and New Democratic parties. Therein lies some possible good news for mining and exploration. The Liberals promised $1 billion to help open up the resource-rich challenge known as the Ring of Fire.

The bad news? As the Liberals are now firmly entrenched, so are the controversial mineral exploration regulations enacted last spring.

The Ring of Fire pledge was factored into the Liberals’ proposed May budget that brought down the minority government. But the money resurfaced as a campaign promise. Previously the government had talked about a billion-dollar commitment on the condition that the federal government put up an equal amount. Now, with that string unattached, the money would go into the province’s northern development corporation, an entity that hasn’t even been created yet.

How far a billion could go, or even twice that if the feds pony up, remains a nagging question for a region 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay that lacks a year-round transportation corridor, let alone other amenities.

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Aroland First Nation rejects proposed open pit mine near Geraldton, Ontario – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – June 12, 2014)

http://wawataynews.ca/

Aroland has rejected the open pit mine proposed by Premier Gold Mines Limited near Geraldton over environmental concerns, including destruction of a 16-acre lake.

“My First Nation is generally supportive of sustainable mining development,” said Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon. “Premier Gold wants to destroy Begooch Zaagaigan, a lake that supports our Aboriginal fishery. They just put a number on this lake – A-322 – and tell us they’re going to fill it in with mine waste. This is one of the worst project proposals I’ve ever seen. They’re going to seriously impact our lands and resources. Such a large and destructive project should receive the maximum examination possible – but instead, very little is being done under provincial or federal environment assessment laws. And virtually nothing has been done to consult with and accommodate the many serious concerns of Aroland First Nation.”

Aroland called on the federal government to hold a Panel Study Environmental Assessment on the project and the provincial government to hold a full Individual Environmental Assessment.

“It is shocking to me how much damage Premier Gold intends to cause and what it seems to want to get away with by avoiding scrutiny from environmental laws and Aboriginal consultation,” Gagnon said. “It is unclear whether Ontario will require more. We urge the Ontario government to use its laws to protect the environment, the water and our rights.”

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