Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 228

A debate in, for the North – Editorial (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – May 21, 2014)

May 22, 2014

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

Two weeks after it was issued, and with one week left before the event, there is still no word whether Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak will accept an invitation to attend a May 26 debate on Northern Ontario issues. Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath have accepted the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association invitation to Thunder Bay May 26. On Tuesday, Hudak’s campaign office called it “unfortunate” that Wynne, Horwath “or anybody else” would publicly confirm a date before confirming it with the Tories who are seeking alternate dates to accommodate Hudak’s schedule.

Changing the date now would simply cause the other two leaders to have to juggle their schedules. NOMA says it offered a selection of dates and when nobody responded by May 7, it set May 26. That’s the date that Hudak has to make.
Last election it was then Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty who opted to forego a northern leaders debate.

This time, Wynne challenged her two opponents to a northern debate in advance of her May 1 budget in case it was defeated. Horwath accepted while Hudak demurred. We find it surprising that Hudak can apparently not make himself available next Monday. What is so important that he can’t be here?

There is no shortage of things to talk about. What does Wynne have to say about all reasons for the delay in Ring of Fire mining development and precisely what will all leaders do to hasten the project from the day they take office?

Can India surpass China as Asia’s fastest growing large economy? – Gwynne Dyer (Straight.com – May 22, 2014)

May 22, 2014

http://www.straight.com/

SOON AFTER WINNING an absolute majority in the Indian parliamentary elections, prime minister-elect Narendra Modi promised “to make the 21st century India’s century”. If he can avoid tripping over his own ideology, he might just succeed.

“India’s century” is a misleading phrase, of course, because no country gets to own a whole century. It wasn’t ever really going to be “China’s century” either, although China is a huge country whose economy has grown amazingly fast over the past three decades. What Modi meant was that India, the other huge Asian country, may soon take China’s place as the fastest growing large economy—and it might even surpass China economically, in the end.

At first glance this seems unlikely. India’s GDP is currently less than a quarter of China’s although the two countries are quite close in population (China 1.36 billion, India 1.29 billion). Moreover, the Chinese economy’s growth rate last year, although well down from its peak years, was still 7.7 percent, while India’s grew at only 4.4 percent.

But China’s growth rate is bound to fall further for purely demographic reasons. Due partly to three decades of the one-child-per-family policy, the size of its workforce is already starting to decline.

PCs respond [Ontario election] – by Leith Dunick (tbnewswatch.com – May 21, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

THUNDER BAY — The Ontario Progressive Conservative party says it’s unfortunate organizers of the Northern Ontario leaders’ debate chose a date that worked for some parties, but not all.

In an unsigned release issued on Wednesday, party officials said they wanted leader Tim Hudak to participate, but the May 26 date OK’d by organizers conflicted with other campaign stops that couldn’t be altered.

“Given the important issues that face the North, it was our hope that there would have been an equal opportunity for all parties to communicate their plans for the North. We were led to believe there was a desire to have that comprehensive discussion,” the release states.

Both Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accepted the May 26 invitation over the Victoria Day weekend. Hudak was a vocal critic in 2011 when then premier Dalton McGuinty was a no-show at the inaugural Northern leaders’ debate.

Hudak declines [Ontario election] debate – by Leith Dunick (tbnewswatch.com – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

THUNDER BAY – The Northern Ontario leaders’ debate will go ahead on May 26 without Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.

Hudak, who publicly chastised former premier Dalton McGuinty for a no-show at the same debate in 2011, informed debate organizers his campaign schedule won’t allow him to attend the one-hour event.

Both Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accepted the invitation on the weekend. Iain Angus of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association said Tuesday organizers were hoping Hudak could find the time to take part in the debate, a lunch-hour affair at the Valhalla Inn.

Angus said prior to Hudak’s answer that he couldn’t understand why the Conservative leader couldn’t free up the time.

“The information we have is that (Hudak) has some schedules that have been locked down, which quite frankly surprises me, ” Angus said. “Given my long involvement in the political process, I know that most campaigns do not lock in more than a couple of days in advance.

Program urges students into mineral exploration – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – May 21, 2014)

May 21, 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.

As a child growing up in China, Ce Shi loved to look at rocks. His geological curiosity led to the study of natural sciences at the University of British Columbia, which gave way to an interest in mineral exploration. This spring, Shi was one of 26 students selected to travel to Northern Ontario to participate in a hands-on workshop that aims to guide students into the industry.

“I live in BC, but I had heard of Sudbury and the Ring of Fire,” Shi said. “Ontario is a hotspot for investment from China, so I was curious to see Sudbury firsthand.”

Initiated in 2007 by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), the Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop (S-IMEW) is PDAC’s response to an impending shortage of workers in the industry. It annually draws together the brightest young minds in Canada for a two-week, all-expenses-paid trip to a mining mecca.

“The event is designed to attract students to the mineral exploration industry and to give them a practical and business perspective of mineral exploration not generally available in the classroom,” Scott Jobin-Bevans, co-founder of the workshop and a PDAC past president, said of the program.

Glencore seeks exception to air standards – Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – May 21, 2014)

May 21, 2014

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

Mining giant Glencore is requesting an exception for the Sudbury smelter’s nickel emissions.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment is introducing new air quality standards come July 2016. Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, a Glencore company, is applying for a Site-Specific Air Standard. Basically, it’s a temporary standard that – with approval from the ministry – gives the company more time to meet the new standards, and includes an action plan explaining how the company will get up to speed with those regulations.

“The new standard will be based on an annual averaging period, as opposed to the current standard that is based on a 24-hour averaging period,” Kate Jordan, a Ministry of the Environment spokesperson, said in an email. “For this reason it’s difficult to compare the two standards, but the current is 2 ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air) and the new is 0.04 ug/m3.”

A notice was sent to neighbours, informing of the application and a public meeting being held next month. Notices will also be printed in local newspapers. “The company is applying for a site-specific standard to allow us to research and implement the best technologies and processes in order to be in compliance with the new standard in the future,” it says.

LNG projects could generate $200 billion in investment in B.C., EY estimates – by Nelson Bennett (Business in Vancouver – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.biv.com/

U.S. and Australia have a head-start in the global race to dominate market, LNG conference speakers warn

By 2020, the British Columbia government hopes to see three major liquefied natural gas plants on the West coast of B.C. – something professional services firm EY estimates would generate more than $200 billion in investment. That’s when many 20-year LNG contracts with large customers in Asia – primarily electrical utilities – are up for renewal.

But it will take four or five years to build the pipelines and LNG plants, and to date, none of the pipelines that will be needed to supply the LNG plants are under construction.

No offtake agreements with Asian customers have been signed yet, no final investment decisions have been made, and the industry is still waiting for details on the implementation of a new two-tiered LNG tax.

Meanwhile, Australia has three LNG plants already in operation, seven under construction, and a new Exxon Mobil LNG plant in Papua New Guinea loaded its first tanker – destined for Japan – just last week.

Eric Sprott: Gold shortage coming, data shows (Mining.com – May 15, 2014)

May 16, 2014

http://www.mining.com/

Eric Sprott, Founder and Chairman of Sprott Asset Management, said recently that he expects a “significant re-rating of the gold price” due to high physical demand from China and India, coupled with a gold supply shortfall. The effect, which he calls the “Chinese Gold Vortex,” is rapidly taking physical gold from West to East. When the West runs out of gold, the price should go much higher, he believes. I recently spoke with him on the phone about his near-term views.

Hello Eric, what do you see happening today in the metals markets?

Eric Sprott: I am very excited about developments in the gold and silver markets today. I have been speculating since late 2012 that Western central banks could be running out of gold. I put the sell-off in gold and silver in 2013 to the fact that the Western banks needed a way to generate physical gold supplies. As the metals prices went down, there was a lot of liquidation of gold which increased the supply by an estimated 900 tonnes last year.

Let’s look at the figures. The annual supply of gold is around 4,300 tonnes. 3,000 tonnes come from mining and the other 1,300 tonnes or so from recycled material2. In 2013, an additional 900 tonnes came onto the market from ETFs that were being liquidated – a supply increase of around 21%.

Nickel price to reach huge highs, says mining exec – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – May 16, 2014)

May 16, 2014May 16, 2014

The price of nickel could reach highs previously seen in 2007, said Mark Selby, president and CEO of Royal Nickel, at a Canadian Institute of Mining event in Sudbury, May 15. Selby expects nickel prices to $15 to $20 per pound by mid-2015.

The reason is Indonesia’s decision to cease nickel exports indefinitely. The Asian country contains 25 per cent of the world’s nickel supply.

“To give you an idea of just how much that is, in the oil business that would be the equivalent of waking up Monday morning and finding out that Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and all of the other Gulf states decided not to produce oil anymore,” Selby said.

The country has stopped exporting the metal to build the ore processing infrastructure needed to create more value from its nickel. In 2009, when the Indonesian Parliament first discussed ceasing copper and nickel exports, nickel left the country with only 10 to 15 per cent of its end value.

“There’s a massive amount of value to be captured by building these plants in the country,” Selby said. In January 2014, just before Indonesia halted nickel exports, the metal sold for around $6 a pound. In mid-May, nickel prices were as high as $9.50 a pound.

Canadian Star Minerals suing province for not consulting Shoal Lake 39 and 40 ahead of its project – by Alan S. Hale (Kenora Daily Miner and News – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014May 15, 2014

http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/

Canadian Star Minerals Ltd. is suing the provincial government for $152 million in damages because it believes Ontario failed in its obligation to perform the consultation with the Shoal Lake 39 and 40 First Nations.

According to court documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court on May 8, the mining company was attempting to explore a claim for gold deposits inside the traditional territory of the Shoal Lake First Nations after acquiring the necessary rights and mining leases to do so from the government in October of 2009. The company alleges representatives from Shoal Lake 39 arrived at the site and forced its drilling crews to leave.

“Canadian Star Minerals were subjected to having rocks thrown at them while they were on Canadian Star Mineral’s properties and having threats of physical harm being directed at them. Despite the fact the Crown and the OPP were advised of these events, no action was taken,” the claim states.

According to Shoal Lake 39’s recently-elected chief Fawn Wapioke, the company was told to leave the mining site because the province had given the company permission to dig in a culturally sensitive area of its territory without consulting and getting permission from the community.

Rising nickel prices good for Sudbury – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014

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

World events including an export ban on nickel ore in Indonesia and uncertainty over the political situation in eastern Europe have helped drive up nickel prices, analysts say. Nickel high a two-year high this week, peaking at more than $9.50 per pound on Tuesday.

That’s more than $2 higher than two months ago and about $3.50 higher than six months ago. Terry Ortslan, nickel analyst at TSO and Associates, based in Montreal, said the primary cause of the increase has been changes to mining laws in Indonesia, which previously supplied China with much of its nickel ore to be processed into pig iron, for use in stainless steel.

“China produces more nickel than Canada and (the former Soviet Union) combined,” Ortslan said. The Chinese have relied on deposits in Indonesia, as well as New Caledonia and the Philippines, before the Indonesians announced a ban on nickel ore exports, in an effort to extract more value from its mineral resources, in 2009.

That ban went into effect in mid-January and though there are presidential elections in Indonesia this summer, it’s not expected the next government will change course.

Silver Institute: Physical Silver Demand Rises 13% In 2013 To Record High – by Allen Sykora (Kitco News – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014

http://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Global physical demand for silver rose by 13% in 2013 to an all-time high of 1.081 billion ounces, according to the World Silver Survey 2014 released Wednesday by the Silver Institute.

The rise was driven by a 76% increase in retail investment in bars and coins coupled with a recovery in jewelry and silverware fabrication, the report said. Data for the World Silver Survey was compiled independently by Thomson Reuters GFMS. The Silver Institute has published the annual report since 1990.

Andrew Leyland, manager for precious-metals demand for the GFMS team at Thomson Reuters, identified three major trends in the silver market during 2013 that were attributed largely to a 24% decline in the average price.

“The first was the reaction from the price-elastic markets, in particularly jewelry and silverware,” he said, pointing out that jewelry fabrication was up nearly 10% and silverware was up 12%. “They were very much price-sensitive moves, with people feeling they could put more silver content into silverware and move away from plated (silver) products into more sterling silverware products.”

KGHM’s Victoria Mine to begin production in 2019 by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – May 12, 2014)

May 14, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Mine could employ up to 300 people

KGHM’s Victoria Mine, near Sudbury, is expected to be operational by 2019, said Mark Frayne, KGHM’s manager of project controls for the mine. The mine will employ between 150 and 300 people, the company said.

KGHM has completed timbering at the site, located about two kilometres south of the historic Victoria Mine, which was first developed in the 1890s and then closed in the 1920s.

The former Inco reopened the mine in the 1970s, and made a deal with KGHM’s predecessor, FNX, in 2002, to take control. A long and thin ore body – about 50 kilometres long – was discovered in 2010, which the company now wants to bring into production.

KGHM estimates the new mine site contains 14.2 million tonnes of resources. The inferred resources include 700 million pounds of copper, 700 million pounds Nickel and 3.5 million ounces of platinum group elements. Frayne said KGHM plans for the mine to use the latest technology.

“We’re going to try and leverage that and make sure that when we go into operation we’ll have the safest and most efficient mine that we possibly can,” he said.

Ontario Votes 2014 [Ring of Fire policies] (Manitoulin Expositor – May 14, 2014)

May 14, 2014

http://www.manitoulin.ca/

Every week until the election, The Expositor will be posing a question to each candidate in the Algoma-Manitoulin riding and publishing their responses in our newspaper. We have asked that the candidates restrict their answer to a 600-word limit. Otherwise, they are free to answer in any way they choose.

Many of Northern Ontario’s higher-paying jobs in rural communities are related to resource industries so the proposed Ring of Fire chromium ore extraction development, and the interest by one of the principal investors in locating its smelter in the regional community of Capreol, is potentially important for Algoma-Manitoulin.

The provincial Liberals have promised a $1 billion investment towards infrastructure to assist in the Ring of Fire development but with the proviso that the federal government must match this amount. In the event that the government of Canada chooses not to participate and with the understanding that this development represents an enormous number of jobs for Northern Ontario over a long time, is your party prepared for Ontario to “get it done and go it alone” in order to facilitate this development? What would be its approach?

Richard Hadidian, Libertarian

The Ring of Fire is a promising project that could bring prosperity to Northern Ontario, but we should be careful on how we spend the taxpayer’s hard earned money. Given the importance and the amount of revenue that this could bring to the province (revenue that not only will benefit people in Northern Ontario but will help balance the budget) we will support infrastructure projects only if the lack of government action will stop this development from moving forward.

Mining deaths trigger demands for action on workplace safety (Daily Commercial News – May 13, 2014)

May 13, 2014

http://dcnonl.com/

SUDBURY, ONTARIO – Labour leaders are demanding the Ontario government take more action to improve workplace safety, after two men were killed earlier this week at a nickel and copper mine in the northern part of the province.

“How many times do we have to repeat ourselves,” said Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).
“Over and over again, tragedy after tragedy, we are telling the government that workplaces are not as safe as they should be and they must act. Instead, we face complacence.”

First Nickel Inc. (FNI) reported on May 6 that two drillers were killed in an incident while working underground at the Lockerby Mine near Sudbury.

Marc Methe and Norm Bissaillon, who were 34 and 49 years old respectively, were employed by Taurus Drilling Services.
Bissaillon was an experienced underground miner with more than 20 years of experience and Methe had been employed by Taurus for about 4 years.