Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 235

Ontario cuts coal, while BC looks for more – by Mike Chisholm (Vancouver Observer – November 22nd, 2013)

November 25, 2013

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/

It may be the industrial heartland of Canada, but Ontario took a major step forward this week by announcing all its coal fired generating plants would shut down, while in ‘super natural” BC the province is preparing to increase its coal mining and shipments.

On Thursday, the Ontario government announced it is taking the final steps to reach its goal to close all provincial coal burning facilities, including the Nanticoke Generating Station – the largest coal-fired electrical generating plant in North America. And the government has announced a permanent ban on all coal-fired electricity from the province, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in North America to do so.

When burned, coal is one of the greatest generators of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which contributes to climate change.

“Our work on eliminating coal and investing in renewables is the strongest action being taken in North America to fight climate change,” says Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne. “I believe we can work together as stewards of our natural environment and protect our children, our grandchildren and our fellow citizens.”

Manitoba Prospector Kate Rice: Still making history – Thompson Citizen Editorial (OCTOBER 30, 2013)

November 25, 2013

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.

On Jan. 16, Kate Rice, the “Red Lady” and “Lady of the Lake,” also known as “Mooniasquao”(White Woman) by her Cree friends, will become only the second woman ever inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in Toronto. For those of us here in Northern Manitoba, a land of “headframes, happiness and heartaches,” as the title of Jim Parres and Marc Jackson’s 2009 book goes, Rice’s induction is a very big deal.

After all, Inco came originally to Northern Manitoba as a result of her Rice Island copper and nickel claims, which were never developed but which Vale still owns today, although it would be the discovery on Feb. 5, 1956 of the Thompson ore body, known as Borehole 11962 – the so-called “Discovery Hole” at Cook Lake (later renamed Thompson Lake after Inco chairman John Fairfield Thompson for whom the City of Thompson is also named) that really got things rolling.

Viola MacMillan, mine finder and financier, as well as the driving force behind the transformation of the Prospectors and Developers Association from a small group of less than 100 to an organization of more than 4,000 internationally recognized association of professionals was the first woman inducted into the hall in 1991.

Ring [of Fire] road or railroad – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (November 24, 2013)

November 25, 2013

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

WHILE no one should minimize implications of the indefinite departure of Cliffs Natural Resources from the Ring of Fire mining belt, other players remain in place and with them, other possibilities.

Cliffs is the biggest and its plan to mine chromite would lead the list of depositors in the Ontario treasury. But its former partner and chief rival for chromite remains willing to propose an alternative to the transportation corridor that it and Cliffs both claim as essential to their plans — and those of every other mining interest in the vast region of mineral deposits.

So far, most attention has focused on Cliffs’ proposal for an all-weather road from its central property to a railhead near Nakina. From there, ore would be shipped on existing railways for processing.

KWG Resources makes the case for a railroad over the same ground. And the route is important since it is about the only high ground in a sea of muskeg.

KWG has staked claims along the route and Cliffs asked a provincial authority for permission to build its road over them.

Don’t blame feds, says minister – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – November 22, 2013)

November 25, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – During a stop in Timmins on Friday, the federal minister responsible for the Ring of Fire gave pointed answers as to who he thought was to blame for Cliffs Natural Resources pulling out of its proposed multi-billion dollar chromite mining project.

Greg Rickford (Conservative – Kenora), federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, and FedNor, said the management of an intra-company land ownership conflict between Cliffs and KWG Resources Inc. is at the top of the list of reasons why the project was put on hold.

Since Ontario’s mining and land commissioner ruled against Ohio-based Cliffs request for an easement to build an access road across KWG-owned land in September, Cliffs had threatened to indefinitely cancel the project. Rickford expanded on why he believed the decision was ultimately announced by Cliffs late Wednesday night.

“The land commissioner’s decision is the real source of the uncertainty; you can’t talk about those large-scale infrastructure projects until you know in which direction they’re going to go,” said Rickford.

Ontario open for mining business – by Jodi Lundmark (tbnewswatch.com – November 21, 2013)

November 22, 2013

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Ontario is still open for business, despite Cliffs Natural Resources indefinitely halting their chromite project in the Ring of Fire.

That’s the message the mining services project manager for Thunder Bay’s Community Economic Development Commission wants to send to potential investors.

“This creates a little bit of uncertainty from the investment standpoint around the globe,” said John Mason of Cliffs’ Wednesday announcement.

“This message went around the globe very quickly last night. It speaks to receptivity for risk capital to Ontario for exploration development and mining.”

Cliffs Natural Resources in a release issued Wednesday night, said it plans to halt development of its Northern Ontario chromite project by year’s end. That includes closing its offices in Thunder Bay and Toronto and the exploration camp in the Ring of Fire.

Fedeli blames Liberal’s for ‘bungled’ Ring of Fire project – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget – November 22, 2013)

November 22, 2013

http://www.nugget.ca/

The provincial Liberals ignored the warnings and bungled an opportunity for billions of dollars of private-sector investment to develop the Ring Fire, says Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli.

Fedeli and the Progressive Conservatives were quick to blame the Liberal government Thursday for the decision by Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. to indefinitely suspend its planned chromite mine and Caperol processing plant.

“You guys just blew a $10-billion deal of a lifetime,” charged Fedeli during question period, noting Cliffs and other smaller players with interests in the site were prepared to to make that level of investment to mine and ship ore from the remote area in the James Bay Lowlands.

Fedeli suggested the Liberals have instead “dithered” for years on moving ahead with the development of the Ring of Fire. And he said the government did nothing when warned by Cliffs as recently as month ago that the project was in a tenuous state.

Fedeli said he visited the Ring of Fire site three times over the past five year and that each time there was less and less and activity.

Ring of Fire and uncertainty – Thunder Bay Editorial (November 22, 2013)

November 22, 2013

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

IT would be easy to slip into despair over the interruption in Northern Ontario’s prosperous mining promise with the indefinite suspension of operations by leading player Cliffs Natural Resources.

It would be easy to start casting more blame on suspects including the provincial government for dithering and First Nations for holding up production with varying demands for consultation, among others.

There is plenty of blame to go around but money talks loudest in ventures of this size and a company this big is a hostage to its share price. That is dictated by the ebbs and flows of the market and commodity prices which are slumping.

Would Cliffs have shifted into neutral — it has not shut off the engine — if frustration over the pace of talks with government, First Nations and competitors had not been complicated by the lowered world price of the chromite that it seeks to extract from the remote north of Ontario and other minerals that it mines elsewhere?

Ring of Fire development a more distant possibility – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – November 21, 2013)

November 22, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

With the announcement on Nov. 20 that Cliffs Natural Resources has suspended its work on the Ring of Fire, the project could take until 2020 to get underway, said Dick DeStefano, executive director of the Northern Ontario Mining Supply and Services Association.

“Chromite is not ready for the market because of logistics, negotiations with the Native communities and government investments in infrastructure,” DeStefano said.

But Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci said he remains hopeful the provincial government can facilitate progress for the $3.3-billion project.

“We have to do everything in our power to help move this project along.” Bartolucci was Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines when he announced Cliffs’ development of the Ring of Fire would include a $1.8-billion refinery near Capreol.

“As late as a couple weeks ago when I spoke to Cliffs, the decision to locate the processing facility in Sudbury was a business decision,” Bartolucci said. “It was a very wise and well-thought-out decision.”

Capreol plant now uncertain: Cliffs – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 22, 2013)

November 22, 2013

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

There is no guarantee — if and when Cliffs Natural Resources resumes work on its Ring of Fire chromite project — that it will build a ferrochrome processing plant in Sudbury, says a company spokeswoman.

The Cleveland-based company announced Wednesday it is indefinitely suspending work by the end of December on plans to mine chromite in the Ring of Fire and process it at the former Moose Mountain Mine site north of Capreol.

It has sunk $500 million into the project, but won’t invest any more capital given the uncertainty around the timeline for the project and the risks associated with infrastructure to develop its three deposits 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, said company spokeswoman Patricia Persico.

Many people weren’t surprised at the announcement Wednesday, as Bill Boor, Cliffs’ senior vice-president of global ferroalloys, had been warning for months his company was increasingly frustrated with its dealings with the Government of Ontario.

Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci, who helped broker the agreement with Cliffs to locate the ferrochrome processing plant in Capreol, said while the announcement was disappointing, Cliffs was still committed to the Sudbury site for the plant.

Silver Linings in Cliffs Ring of Fire Rumble – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – November 21, 2013)

November 21, 2013

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

Silver Lining in Chromite Storm

THUNDER BAY – Opinion – The announcement by Cliffs Natural Resources on the Ring of Fire should not come as a major shock to anyone who has been following the story. Cliffs has maintained for a long time that the project was in the feasibility stage.

There are several potential silver linings in all of this rumbling. First is it a surprise? Honestly no. This has been coming for a while with Cliffs Natural Resources.

Some of this is due to ham-fisted bungling on the provincial level starting at the very top of the political pyramid. The Premier has not taken this project as seriously as it should have been taken in the view of many.

Ontario has not taken the steps to ensure job training on a massive level was possible. The federal government has stepped up there, but Ontario didn’t.

Updated: Cliffs suspends plans for chromite mine, plant – by Mary Katherine Keown and Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 21, 2013)

November 21, 2013

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

A plan to open a chromite mine in northwestern Ontario and ship the ore to a Capreol plant for processing has been put on hold, along with hundreds of new jobs the development would have created.

On Tuesday, Cliffs Natural Resources announced it will suspend indefinitely its activities in the Ring of Fire by the end of the fourth quarter of 2013.

“As we’ve assessed the current challenges in the region and the costs to continue on the current path, we decided to suspend the chromite project indefinitely,” Bill Boor, senior VP of strategy and business development, said in a release. “Unfortunately, we will reduce the project team staffing, and close our Thunder Bay and Toronto offices, as well as the exploration camp site.”

Cliffs has determined “it will not allocate additional capital for the project given the uncertain timeline and risks associated with the development of necessary infrastructure to bring this project online,” according to its statement.

In June, the company suspended environmental assessments and in October, it announced it was planning to appeal a decision by the Mining and Lands Commissioner, who had dismissed its application to build an all-weather road through land staked by Montreal-based KWG Resources Inc.

Cliffs puts Black Thor project on the backburner – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 20, 2013)

November 21, 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 Ring of Fire’s biggest mining player has called an indefinite halt to its chromite project in Northern Ontario. Cliffs Natural Resources announced late Wednesday that is it suspending its $3.3-billion Black Thor chromite mine and mill project, and it is not allocating any further capital to the deposit in the James Bay lowlands for 2014.

All technical work, including the feasibility study, development and exploration activity, is under suspension. The company has not assigned a project restart date.

Cliffs spokesperson Pat Persico said the challenges and uncertainties to advance the project timelines, and the associated risks concerning unresolved infrastructure issues with the Ontario government “really brought us to this decision.”

“We’re allocating capital for the project and there’s a point where we can no longer continue to do that without further clarity and movement in that area.”

City officials in ‘shock and ‘disbelief’ after Cliffs announcement – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – November 20, 2013)

November 21, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

City officials were stunned Wednesday evening, following the announcement by Cliffs Natural Resources it was suspending all work on its massive Ring of Fire chromite project, including work on a billion-dollar smelter near Capreol.

“The company determined that it will not allocate additional capital for the project given the uncertain timeline and risks associated with the development of necessary infrastructure to bring this project online,” Cliffs said in the release.

“We continue to believe in the value of the mineral deposits and the potential of the Ring of Fire region for Northern Ontario. As we’ve assessed the current challenges in the region and the costs to continue on the current path, we decided to suspend the Chromite Project indefinitely,” Bill Boor, senior vice-president, is quoted as saying.

“Unfortunately, we will reduce the project team staffing and close our Thunder Bay and Toronto offices, as well as the exploration camp site. “We understand this is a hardship for our employees and their families. During this transition, we will be working with this talented team of professionals to explore other opportunities at Cliffs.”

Bartolucci vows refinery will be built in Capreol – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – November 20, 2013)

November 21, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The man who was minister of Northern Development and Mines when Cliffs announced it was building a $1.8-billion refinery near Capreol says now is not the time to panic.

“It’s not falling apart,” Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci said Wednesday, “although this is not the greatest news we’ve heard in regard to this project.”

Bartolucci said Cliff’s decision to suspend all work on the Ring of Fire — including work on the Moose Mountain refinery — is at least partly due to low commodity prices for chromite. And the recent ruling by the mining commissioner denying Cliffs access to land owned by another mining company to build a road to the site was another blow.

“But I will not end my political career with this project leaving Sudbury,” Bartolucci said, who announced earlier this year he would not run in the next election. “I worked very, very hard to make sure the ferrochrome processing facility was located (in Capreol).”

A coal slurry shame – by Martin Wissmath (Hinton Parklander – November 18, 2013)

November 19, 2013

http://www.hintonparklander.com/

Sherritt International Corp., the company that owns the Obed mine 30 kilometres northeast of Hinton, could now be responsible for the largest coal mining waste-water spill in Canadian history.

But could government regulators and environmental authorities have done more to prevent it from happening?
A billion litres of slurry spilled into the Athabasca River on Halloween when a storage pond at the Obed mine site broke apart.

Slurry is the concoction of materials and chemicals, including coal and thickening agents called flocculents, mixed with the water in the mine storage ponds. Coal mines in Alberta are required to contain liquid runoff to prevent it from pouring into the provincial waterways. Consider this an epic fail.

A spokesperson for Sherritt initially told the Parklander the waste-water consisted of “naturally occurring” materials, but mentioned the extra chemical agents, which are standard for coal-mining storage ponds, after further inquiry.

The spill was innocuously labelled a “sediment release” by Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development.