Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 240

Cliffs not pulling out of Ring of Fire – by Staff (Sudbury Star – February 1, 2014)

February 3, 2014

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

A Cliffs Natural Resources spokeswoman is denying a report from an online newspaper that the Cleveland-based company is pulling out of its development in the Ring of Fire.

Cliffs officials continue to talk with representatives of the Government of Ontario and First Nations communities in the area, Patricia Persico said Friday. “We are continuing with our plans as previously stated,” Persico said in an email.

In November of last year, Cliffs halted all technical work including its feasibility study, development and exploration activities for an undetermined period of time. It was a crushing blow to many in Ontario, particularly here in Sudbury where hopes were high after the former Moose Mountain Mine was chosen as the site Cliffs planned to build a $1.8-billion ferrochrome processing plant.

Persico said Cliffs remains supportive of the province’s plan to form a development corporation to finance and develop infrastructure for the Ring of Fire, and intends to participate in future discussions.

Kivalliq mine workforce worth its weight in gold – by Sarah Rogers (Nunatsiaq-online.ca – January 31, 2014)

January 31, 2014

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Agnico Eagle training programs growing Inuit hires

OTTAWA — With its Meadowbank mine expected to produce nearly 400,000 ounces of gold this year, and its Meliadine project contemplated to go into production for the next two years, Agnico Eagle has a good reason to invest in Nunavut.

But the Canadian-based gold producer wants that investment to produce more than just gold — the mining company wants to create a local workforce. Of the 800 people employed at Meadowbank outside of Baker Lake, 31 per cent are Inuit.

And even then, those Nunavummiut employees, who hail from nearby Kivalliq communities, haven’t come easily. The more than 200 Inuit workers at Meadowbank have been coaxed with training and support progams — efforts that Agnico Eagle and regional partners continue to build on.

“We want to be in Nunavut for a long time,” said Krystel Mayrand, who works in human resources for Agnico Eagle.

[Ontario Miners] Not paying the rent – by David Robinson (Northern Ontario Business – January 29, 2014)

January 31, 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. Dave Robinson is an economist with the Institute for Northern Ontario Research and Development at Laurentian University. drobinson@laurentian.ca

One of the best things about teaching is that you actually learn more than your students do. I teach Natural Resource Economics at Laurentian University and I’ve learned a few strange things about Ontario’s mining policy.

I’d like to share a couple discoveries with my friend, Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle, and with his deputy minis ter, George Ross. In fact, I’d like to share the lessons with everyone in Northern Ontario.

The most shocking lesson came from one of Canada’s leading economists, Jack Mintz. Last year Mintz and Duanjie Chen, at the University of Calgary, looked at how Canadian provinces tax the mining industry. “Ontario’s system,” they concluded, “is redundant, expensive and wasteful.” “Redundant, expensive and wasteful” is pretty strong language coming from the most respected tax analyst in Canada, but there is more: Ontario has the second-lowest level of provincial taxes in the mining industry. BC basically pays companies to take its resources. Ontario seems just to give the resources away.

Cliffs Natural Resources Walks Away From Ring of Fire – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – January 30, 2014)

January 30, 2014January 30, 2014

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – Breaking News – Cliffs Natural Resources first stepped back from the Ring of Fire officially last November. The company explained in shutting down its operations in Northwestern Ontario that the company was “suspending operations”.

Now it appears the company is taking another big step back from the chromite discovery in Northern Ontario. Cliffs Natural Resources has been facing pressure from an investor who is seeking to break up the company.

Moody’s is saying that would not be beneficial. Moody’s says that Cliffs’ actions in the past twelve months that have including cost cutting spending reductions along with reducing debt levels. Those efforts have resulted in a stronger credit portfolio for Cliffs.

Moody’s reports that Cliff’s Asian-Pacific operations are providing the company with diversification and cash flow to the company which are helping to reduce Cliffs Natural Resource’s $3.9 billion debt load.

Moody’s states in a report reduced on January 28 2014, “Given its strategic objectives for positioning the company for future growth, we believe Cliffs will continue to exhibit a conservative approach to its capital structure and remain focused on cost reduction and managing to a neutral cash flow position while making necessary capital investments.”

Sudbury firm wins key space contract – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 30, 2014)

January 30, 2014

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

It would be a stretch to say he’s over the moon, but Dale Boucher is certainly excited by the chance his company’s drilling equipment could get on board for a lunar mission.

It’s a possibility that edged nearer to a probability this week, as the Canadian Space Agency awarded a contract to Deltion Innovations of Sudbury to tailor its technology to moon-like conditions. “It’s not a flight contract,” said Boucher. “But what it does is get us one step closer to that.”

Deltion’s DESTIN drill, which takes core samples, was put through its paces in 2012 at a NASA experiment in Hawaii. The Mauna Kea volcano features terrain similar to the cratered ball that orbits earth, and the Sudbury-designed drill did its bit, so to speak.

“It was a practice run and our system passed with flying colours,” said Boucher, adding the unit worked in conjunction with a rover designed by Neptec Designs. Last month, Deltion formed a strategic partnership with this Kanata-based company.

Idle No More – Northern Manitoba: A year on – Thompson Citizen Editorial (January 29, 2014)

January 29, 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.

Last year was the winter of our discontent to borrow the famous line from William Shakespeare’s 16th century play, The Tragedy of King Richard the third. What about this year? Until last week, an eerie quiescence had walked this land for months.

No more. Not after legendary former Winnipeg rocker Neil Young brought his “Honour the Treaties” tour to Canada to raise funds for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations, who have filed a legal challenge to a multi-billion dollar proposed expansion of Royal Dutch Shell’s oil-sands Jackpine Mine, Fort McMurray, Alta., from 7,500 hectare to 13,000 hectares.

And not after former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, an Anishinabe from the Sagkeeng First Nation on the southern tip of Lake Winnipeg in Treaty Territory 1, who accepted a job in December with TransCanada Pipeline, a Calgary based natural gas and oil pipeline developer that wants to build the proposed Energy East Pipeline to transport oil from Western to Eastern Canada, postponed a scheduled talk Jan. 22 at the University of Winnipeg after being confronted with angry protesters, some armed with anti-oil sands signs, others with drums and some with their faces painted red and black.

Province responds to Sudbury firm’s lawsuit – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – January 29, 2014)

January 29, 2014

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

Ontario cannot be held responsible for the failure of mining claims filed by a Sudbury-based exploration company in northwestern Ontario, the provincial government says in a statement of defence.

Instead, the government says it was the failure of Northern Superior Resources and the Sachigo Lake First Nation to strike a deal that led to the company walking away from the mining claims in 2012.

The government filed the statement of defence in response to a $110-million lawsuit Northern Superior Resources has brought against the province. Northern Superior Resources wants another $15 million from the province it says it spend on developing its Thorne Lake, Meston Lake and Rapson Bay gold properties.

In addition, the company’s lawsuit is also seeking a declaration by the province that it failed to consult with First Nations as required by law and that Northern Superior Resources experienced damages as a result.

The company alleges the province failed to consult properly with Sachigo Lake First Nation, and that led it to abandon the mining claims.

Mine safety review begins Tuesday – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – January 27, 2014)

January 28, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The first meeting of the provincial government’s review of mine safety will take place in Sudbury Tuesday, Jan. 28.

After a campaign from the United Steelworkers and the Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone’s Support (MINES) Committee for a mine safety inquiry, the government agreed to instead begin a tripartite review of the mining industry, chaired by public representatives, union leaders and industry representatives.

The MINES Committee was formed in reaction to the mining deaths of Jordan Fram and Jason Chenier, who were were killed in a run of muck at the 3,000-foot level of Vale’s Stobbie Mine in Sudbury on June 8, 2011.

On Feb. 29, 2012, the United Steelworkers released a comprehensive report with 165 recommendations to ensure other miners would not face the same dangerous conditions that killed Fram and Chenier the year before.

One of the report’s main recommendations was for the Ontario government to initiate a detailed mine safety inquiry. The last inquiry of the sort was conducted in 1981, and the Steelworkers argued changes in technology and mining practices necessitated a fresh look at the industry.

KGHM International to cut back at Sudbury mine – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 28, 2014)

January 28, 2014

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

Employees at KGHM International’s McCreedy West Mine are waiting to learn their fate after hearing from company officials last week that as many as 70 of 100 members of United Steelworkers Local 2020 could be laid off Feb. 16.

Local 2020 members were told Jan. 17 that Glencore Xstrata’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations was exercising the 30-day cancellation clause in its commercial contract with KGHM to process McCreedy West nickel ore. KGHM spokeswoman Kristina Howe said Glencore indicated that its processing facilities are at capacity and that it has a surface capacity, so it didn’t require additional custom feed ores for its mill.

“This has been a positive working relationship with Glencore, and the commercial arrangement, which has been in place since 2011, has allowed McCreedy to continue to mine nickel,” Howe said in an email. As a result, KGHM will have to figure out “the economics of continuing with the mine … if we can’t have our ore processed,” she said.

USW area co-ordinator Myles Sullivan said Local 2020 members were told that a large portion of McCreedy West was going to be closed and that a small zone would continue to operate with a reduced number of workers.

Ontario serves up miner with Statement of Defence – Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 27, 2014)

January 27, 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.

The Ontario government says it’s not liable for any damages incurred by a Sudbury-based junior miner after a dispute between the company and First Nation forced it to abandon exploration work in northwestern Ontario.

The province submitted its Statement of Defence with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Jan. 21 in response to a $110-million lawsuit filed against the Crown last October by Northern Superior Resources (NSR).

The company accuses the government of failing in its legal duty to consult with the Sachigo Lake First Nation after a series of disagreements with the band caused the company to suspend exploration on a promising gold property in late 2011.

In an 18-page document outlining its position and version of the chain of events, the government calls the company’s claims for compensation “exaggerated, excessive, remote” and said they should be dismissed.

HISTORY: Photographers immortalized Porcupine Gold Rush – by Karen Bachmann (Timmins Daily Press – January 25, 2014)

January 27, 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 – The Porcupine Gold Rush was immortalized in pictures, thanks to early photographers who made their way into the gold camps.

While some prospectors like Charles Auer took photos of his early trek into the Porcupine, it is the work of two professional photographers that come to mind when we look at those early shots. Henry Peters (postmaster, town councillor and photographer) was one of those men. Arthur Tomkinson was the other.

It is Mr. Tomkinson who interests me today because of a recent donation made to the Timmins Museum by Bob Guenette – but more about that later. Thanks to the body of work created by Art Tomkinson, we have a good pictorial history of the Porcupine going back to its start. So, who was this gentleman?

A.K. Tomkinson was born in 1888 into a family of foundry workers in Askam, a village on the west coast of England in the county of Cumbria. When he was about 16 years old, he emigrated with his family to Galt, Ont., where he got a job in a brass foundry.

Stillwater re-evaluates Marathon PGM mine – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 24, 2014)

January 24, 2014

The construction of an open-pit base metals mine near the shores of Lake Superior could be three years away at the earliest, said the Montana mining company that is developing it.

“It is unlikely we will do anything on this in the very near term,” Mick McMullen, president and CEO of Stillwater Mining Company, told industry analysts in a Jan. 21 conference call on its Marathon PGM (platinum group metals) project.

The Billings-based miner said Marathon is undergoing a strategic review as the company laid out a 2014 strategy that’s focussed on investing in proven assets that make money for shareholders.

If Marathon meets certain financial hurdles, McMullen said the best case scenario is that construction could begin “within the next three years,” subject to the issuance of permits.

Sudbury space pioneers cheer on Rosetta probe – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 24, 2014)

January 24, 2014

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

It may not be a giant leap for mankind or even a small step for mining — not yet, anyway — but word that the Rosetta spacecraft is on track to reach a distant comet is certainly of interest to space-mining pioneers in Sudbury.

“It’s going to touch down on the surface and extract a sample with a lander-mounted drill,” said Dale Boucher, CEO of Deltion Innovations Ltd. “So, what this does is move the prospecting as we know it into a more common, everyday occurrence.”

Deltion has been developing mining systems that it hopes to employ on missions to extract water and minerals in space.

The Rosetta probe, which awoke from a three-year hibernation this week to send its first signal back to Earth, isn’t going to look for harvestable resources on its faraway ball of ice and rock, but that doesn’t mean useful information for commercial applications can’t come out of the experiment, said Boucher.

“In this particular case they’re looking at it from a scientific perspective — they want to understand what it is, so they’re going to analyze these samples,” he said.

Barrick going lean at Hemlo – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – January 24, 2014)

January 24, 2014

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

While Barrick Gold sells off mines and other assets to remain profitable, the company’s renowned Hemlo camp remains one of its flagship operations. But to stay that way, it faces a lean 2014 in the aftermath of a steep plunge in the price of gold.

Hemlo operations general manager Andrew Baumen said the 30-year-old mining camp is going “crew by crew” to come up with ways to keep costs down and make the operation more efficient.

“That’s our big push right now,” Baumen said Thursday from the Highway 17 complex about 40 kilometres east of Marathon.
“This is all being driven by the collapse in the gold price,” he added. “We’re operating at a break-even point.”

Baumen said if Hemlo can realize $19 million in overall operational savings and efficiencies, it should be able to remain on track to continue operating for another five to six years as previously forecast.

Hemlo, which consists of the David Bell and William’s mines, remains a large employer with a combination of 800 direct employees and contractors.

Poor planning by Liberals derailed Ring of Fire: Horwath – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – January 23, 2014)

January 23, 2014

http://www.northernlife.ca/

NDP leader says unlike other provinces, Ontario lacks coherent policy for Far North development

Poor planning by Ontario’s governing Liberals has played a major role in the problems plaguing the development of the Ring of Fire, the leader of the province’s New Democrats said in Sudbury this week.

“The Liberals were doing a lot of announcements, a lot of ribbon cutting and making a lot of hay, but weren’t doing the behind-the-scenes work that needed to be done to keep that Cliffs promise alive,” Andrea Horwath said Wednesday, after she toured Stack Brewing with Sudbury NDP candidate Joe Cimino.

Development of the vast chromite deposits in the Ring stalled in 2013, with Cliffs Natural Resources announcing it was suspending work because of a series of delays in getting environmental assessments and determining exactly how ore will be transported from the remote site in northwestern Ontario.

Cliffs is the largest stakeholder in the area, and planned to invest $3.3 billion developing deposits worth an estimated $60 billion.