Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 233

Cliffs still moving ahead with Ring of Fire plan – CBC Sudbury Points North (November 7, 2013)

November 8, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/pointsnorth/ Cliffs Natural Resources is responding to questions raised by competitor, KWG Resources. For the interview, click here: http://www.cbc.ca/pointsnorth/episodes/2013/11/07/cliffs-still-moving-ahead-with-ring-of-fire-plan/#.UnwWR8FJ_ws.twitter

Golden opportunities in Timmins – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – November 8, 2013)

November 8, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – A junior mining company based in Timmins is voicing excitement about the potential for two projects that could leave their mark on the city for a long time to come.

Ian Campbell, president and CEO of Temex Resources, said the two biggest things the company has on its side are a pair of properties located in the heart of a region that has seen over a century of continuous mining activity.

“In the junior mining space, everybody knows there’s some issues going on, and that’s hard, but in our view, Temex stands our for a variety of reasons,” Campbell said to a crowd at an Inside Business luncheon hosted by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce. “We stand out because we’re not a junior relying on just one project. We’ve got two projects.

“Our focus is on the Whitney Project, in the East End of Timmins. It’s got all those things you need going for a project these days. It’s got high-grade (gold), it’s got location, it’s got the infrastructure to put something into production. Of course, we’re a small management team, and I’m focused on the efficient allocation of cash.”

Mine has ‘must-see’ destination potential – Dave Mabell (Lethbridge Herald – November 7, 2013)

November 7, 2013

http://lethbridgeherald.com/

Like the Canadian Pacific viaduct, it’s one of Lethbridge’s most intriguing images. The hoist tower and tipple that remain from the Galt No. 8 coal mine have become the visible link to our gritty industrial past.

Now the long-idle mine works could become a signal for the future as well, a Lethbridge group suggests. It’s acquired an option on the minesite and it’s launching a campaign for community support.

“The Galt No. 8 historical mine has the potential to become one of Canada’s ‘must see’ tourist destinations and a hub of local activity,” says Fred Covey, speaking for the historical minesite society.

In addition to offering attractions related to its heritage value, he says, part of the 77-acre site could also become a demonstration centre for coal’s energy successors: wind, solar and geothermal power.

While the tipple tower could be refashioned into a high-visibility restaurant, he says other assets on the land could become part of an attraction which also includes historical interpretation buildings, a convention facility, a “4-D theatre” and the green energy development project.

Canadian Royalties starts Nunavik production (Nunatsiaq-online – November 6, 2013)

November 7, 2013

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Beleaguered mine says it will begin to generate revenue, pay off creditors starting at month’s end

Canadian Royalties Ltd. has shipped its first load of copper concentrate from its Nunavik Nickel project, the company said in a Nov. 5 news release.

That signals a new beginning for the beleaguered mine, which struggled to get operations up and running while owing more than $50 million to its creditors.

“We are very pleased that CRI has achieved the significant milestone of producing and shipping saleable concentrate,” said the company’s acting chief executive officer Parviz Farsangi Nov. 5. “As discussed with many of our suppliers, CRI will begin to generate revenue in less than a month from the sale of the concentrate and will be making payments as committed to all of its suppliers.”

After sinking $735 million into infrastructure, Jien Canada Mining Ltd., the Chinese company that took over Canadian Royalties several years ago, had planned to ramp up production in early 2013, training and hiring more Nunavik workers.

KWG throws wrench into Ring of Fire – John R. Hunt (North Bay Nugget – November 5, 2013)

November 6, 2013

http://www.nugget.ca/

Sudbury council is in a terrible tizzy. It wants the provincial government to do something, anything to get the Ring of Fire project back on track. It is easy to understand why.

Look at all the clues and the straws blowing in the wind and it is obvious that Sudbury may not get all it has taken for granted. There seems to be an excellent chance that Timmins will become the centre for chromite refining.

When Rick Bartolucci was minister of Northern Development, he got Cliffs Natural Resources to promise to build a chromite refinery at Capreol. Now an outfit called KWG Resources may mess it all up.

KWG is a fast-moving exploration company. It staked some ground just where Cliffs want to build a road. It did everything according to the book and the provincial government will have to invent some new laws if it wants to push KWG aside in favour of Cliffs.

The First Nations must also be satisfied they get a square deal. Bob Rae is expected to act as their negotiator, which adds considerable political clout to their case.

High energy rates could jeopardize mining: NDP – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – November 04, 2013)

November 5, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Energy makes up to 30 per cent of the costs for mining operations in the province

Ontario’s power rates jeopardize the future of the province’s mining sector, said Michael Mantha, the NDP’s critic for northern development and mines.

Mantha, the MPP for Algoma-Manitoulin, said the province needs to ensure the mining sector has more long-term predictability for hydro costs.

“We need to focus on programs that will have a greater impact,” he said. The provincial government has a number of programs in place to provide competitive energy rates to heavy industry, including the Industrial Accelerator Program, the Industrial Electricity Incentive, changes to the Global Adjustment and the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate.

Electricity is the second highest operating cost for Ontario’s mining industry, after labour. According to the Ontario Mining Association, 15 to 30 per cent of the costs associated with a typical mine in the province are tied to energy.

Timmins shows us how to do the job – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – November 1, 2013)

November 1, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Where is one of the bastions of entrepreneurial growth in Ontario outside of Toronto?

Why, it’s the sprawling municipality of Timmins. And a sprawling municipality it is. With 2,979 square kilometres of land, it’s one of the largest geographic municipalities in Canada, larger than a dozen GTA municipalities combined. It’s the city with a history of fur trading and mining, and more recently, of Sherry Tremblay, Canada’s Most Perfect Woman over 30, as named by the Canada’s Perfect Pageant.

And, of course, it’s the home of Shania Twain.

A Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) survey has put Timmins eighth in Canada for the last couple of years among mid-sized cities for its entrepreneurial zeal. The report on the subject by Ted Mallett, vice-president and chief economist of the CFIB, notes a few things worthy of note for municipalities bent on attracting jobs.

Most importantly, spend more time looking inward. While entrepreneurs are typically mobile, communities are rooted, so an entrepreneurial city needs to harness its own people’s strength.

Northern summit to be held in Timmins – Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – November 1, 2013)

November 1, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Ontario cabinet ministers will converge on Timmins in early December to meet with Northern leaders. On Thursday, Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle announced plans to host a Northern Leaders’ Forum on Dec. 6 in Timmins. The meeting will involve municipal, Aboriginal, business, industry and education leaders from across the North.

The main topic for discussion will be how best to implement the provincial government’s Growth Plan for Northern Ontario.

“Our government first released the Growth Plan as a blueprint for job creation and economic development throughout Northern Ontario,” Gravelle said. “Since its release, we have seen communities, organizations, and Aboriginal groups achieve some amazing things that have unequivocally proven my belief in the strength and resilience that we all share as Northerners.

“I am very pleased that our government is able to fulfil the request of the Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors (NOLUM) and bring together key government ministers and community and Aboriginal leaders from across Northern Ontario to renew momentum and drive forward the next phase of the Growth Plan.”

Unearthing the Possibilities [Women and Mining] – by Ashley Milne-Tyte (Women of Influence – August 26, 2013)

November 1, 2013

https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/

(PLEASE NOTE DATE OF THIS POSTING!)

Considering that women weren’t even allowed underground at Canadian mines 40 years ago, the strides we’ve made into the industry — sometimes up to the C-suite — are to be celebrated.

When Barb Courte started working with her husband in the mining industry 18 years ago, his associates made clear this was no place for a woman — not the drill sites, not the office, not the mining conventions. This was a man’s world. Courte’s husband Garry ran a drilling company, and boring through the earth looking for minerals, because of the sheer physicality of the job, attracts tough, burly men — with attitudes to match.

Many didn’t want her around. “If I was talking to a man [at work], they’d spread the rumor I was having an affair,” she says. “I still to this day experience [problems] being a woman in this industry, but I’m such a smartass I turn it around with humour.” Several years ago she attended a mining convention and spotted a man who had been gossiping about her behind her back. She sat down next to him. “He turned his back on me. I said, ‘How many contracts do you have to bid on? He said ‘none.’ I said, ‘Well I’ve got 10, because I’m better looking.’ ”

Integrated approach required for modern mining, says CEO – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – October 31, 2013)

October 31, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Training, infrastructure needed in Far North

“At the end of the day, it’s about the rocks.” It’s simple advice delivered by TMAC Resources CEO Catharine Farrow, but insight that’s carrying the company forward in its quest to become the next major gold mining camp in Canada.

As the second in a succession of visiting lecturers to the Goodman School of Mines at Laurentian University, Farrow spoke about how miners have to understand data gleaned from the rocks before they can be mined effectively, Farrow said.

Miners can no longer operate in silos, and integrating all the stages of mining, from exploration through to production and the selling of product, is integral, especially in the Far North territory of Nunavut, a developing gold mining jurisdiction.

“If you’re going to, in this day in age, manage your money and corporate strategy, and understand what you’re delivering to your shareholders, you really do have to have all of these working together,” said Farrow, the former chief operating officer of KGHM International and a current director at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

Matichuk: transportation key to unlocking Ring of Fire – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – October 30, 2013)

October 31, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

With development of the Ring of Fire seemingly stalled on all fronts, Greater Sudbury Mayor Marianne Matichuk is calling on the province to use its authority to get things moving again.

Specifically, Matichuk wants the government to ensure progress is made in building a transportation corridor linking the Black Thor site in remote northwestern Ontario to existing transportation networks.

“This is the holdup,” Matichuk said after Tuesday’s city council meeting. “I’m hoping (the province) can sit down with all the proponents and come up with a transportation corridor.”

The mayor’s motion comes after a Sept. 10 ruling by Ontario’s Mining and Lands Commission denying Cliffs Natural Resources access to land in the region so it could build a north-south road to its massive chromite discovery. Cliffs was seeking an easement to run a road on mining claims owned by junior miner KWG Resources.

[Sudbury] City calls on province to make Ring a priority – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – October 30, 2013)

October 30, 2013

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

The discovery of the Ring of Fire was like “winning the lottery,” and the province needs to treat it like so, a city councillor said Tuesday evening.

“The Ring of Fire is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Ron Dupuis. “The only way we’re going to get this going is to keep pressure on the people in Toronto and to make sure they understand how vital it is to us.”

Dupuis’ comments came following a motion introduced by Mayor Marianne Matichuk that calls on the province to make the chromite-rich deposit a priority for the government.

“This motion is not designed to favour one company over another or to wade into legal dispute,” the mayor said. “It’s about partners working together so legal intervention is not needed. “The province must work with all stakeholders … the Ring of Fire is critical to the economic future of all of Ontario.”

Chromite Game changer? – by Jodi Lundmark (tbnewswatch.com – October 28, 2013)

October 30, 2013

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

KWG Resources has applied for a patent on a new refining process that would make processing chromite from the Ring of Fire more viable in Ontario.

“Instead of using electricity to break down the chromite into its (ferrochrome), we’re using natural gas,” said Moe Lavigne, vice-president of KWG.

“We engaged a lab to do this research for us over the past number of months. We’ve now come to the conclusion this is going to be a much more economical way of reducing chromite to ferrochrome,” he added.

Lavigne said this could be a game-changer for the mining industry, allowing companies to process chromite in the province instead of going to Manitoba or Quebec where energy is less expensive. The process of refining the chromite wouldn’t change much from using natural gas over electric furnaces; the only difference would be in the cost.

[Canadian Chamber of Commerce] Championing the Ring of Fire – by Ian Ross (October 29, 2013)

October 29, 2013

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.

The Timmins Chamber of Commerce wants Ottawa to partner with mining companies in the Ring of Fire to build the infrastructure needed to reach that future mining camp in the James Bay lowlands.

At the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting in Kelowna, B.C., the Timmins Chamber successfully lobbied to have Canada’s largest business advocacy group push the federal government for more funding for miningrelated transportation and energy infrastructure in the region.

The development of any plan to bring either a permanent road or rail to the remote chromite and base metals exploration camp, 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, appears to be at a stalemate, at least on the provincial level. “The policy that we’ve put forward with the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce is asking the feds to come to the table in a consistent way,” said Nick Stewart, the Timmins Chamber’s manager of policy, research and communications.

Accent: Families press for mine safety inquiry – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – October 26, 2013)

October 28, 2013

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

Briana Fram misses being able to call her brother Jordan. On June 8, 2011, Jordan Fram, 26, and Jason Chenier, 35, were killed in Vale’s Stobie Mine when they were crushed by a 350-ton run of muck while working at the 3,000-foot level of the mine.

Briana was only 18 months younger than her brother. “It was a very close relationship that we had,” she told The Sudbury Star.

Since his death, she has gone to many of his friends’ weddings. “At every wedding there’s a picture of him standing there,” she said. “We always do a cheers to him. It never feels like the circle is complete, because he’s missing.”

On Monday, Sept. 16, Vale Canada pleaded guilty to three charges — linked to the deaths of Fram and Chenier — under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company was fined $350,000 on each charge, plus a 25% surcharge. Crown attorney Wes Wilson said it was the largest fine ever levied under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. Six other charges were dropped, as were charges against a mine official.