Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications – Page 250

All-weather roads under consideration – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News -October 21, 2013)

October 22, 2013

Discussions about all-weather roads and winter roads are ramping up across Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory.

“But recently, in the past three or four years, First Nations are now starting to talk all-weather roads because of the difficulties they are encountering due to shorter seasons caused by climate change, warmer weather and thinner ice.”

Louttit said the changing conditions are putting winter-road workers’ lives at risk as well as increasing costs for construction. “We had two deaths last year in northwestern Ontario,” Louttit said. “It’s hard to predict the weather, but in order for the winter roads to be viable, we need cold weather and thicker ice.”

Louttit said NAN is looking at developing a NAN-wide strategy on the transportation issue, noting the changing weather conditions and upcoming resource industry transportation requirements need to be considered.

Ring of Fire developer says Ontario must act to save project – by Maria Babbage (iPolitics.com – October 21, 2013)

October 21, 2013

http://www.ipolitics.ca/

TORONTO – A major player in developing the much-touted Ring of Fire project in northern Ontario says it will consider pulling out if the Ontario government doesn’t ensure the company has access to the chromite deposit.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., a U.S.-based company that is prepared to spend billions of dollars on the massive mining project, has been unable to build an all-weather road to the site because it would cross land staked by a rival company.

If it can’t build the road, Cliffs will have to consider shutting down operations, said Bill Boor, vice-president of ferroalloys.

“I guess it would be fair to say that we have to think about it,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “We haven’t made any decision along those lines and we hope we don’t get to that point.”

But the project is in a “tenuous state,” he said. If the company doesn’t have a transportation route, it doesn’t have a project, he said.

Mining academy equips students with high-tech know-how – by Nick Martin (Brandon Sun – October 21, 2013)

October 21, 2013

http://www.brandonsun.com/

‘Hands-on applied learning’

FLIN FLON — No, a pickaxe isn’t on the list of school supplies. Not like when Dallas Mihalicz’s forebears went down into the mines.

The 18-year-old from Flin Flon wants to follow them, but she’d be operating with sophisticated technology or working the controls of a 50-ton loader two kilometres below the rugged Canadian Shield.

Though, more likely, Mihalicz wouldn’t get near the underground until she’d put in her time working on the frozen tundra at an exploration camp searching for the next motherlode. “I’ve been growing up around mining, my father, grandpa, uncle. My dad’s a geologist,” said Mihalicz, who graduated from Flin Flon’s Hapnot Collegiate in June.

Most of her current 11 classmates took far more circuitous routes to University College of the North’s Northern Manitoba Mining Academy, which opened only a year ago in downtown Flin Flon, next door to the hospital and practically in the shadow of the HudBay Minerals mine.

Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) gets facelift – by Leith Dunick (tbnewswatch.com – October 18, 2013)

October 18, 2013

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Mayor Keith Hobbs says changes to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation are the start of a new era of economic prosperity in the North.

Nipigon Mayor Richard Harvey said he’s optimistic the revamped focus will make it easier for communities and businesses to weave their way through the application process. On Friday Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle said the enhancements to five NOHFC programs were made with the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario in mind.

Gravelle said the new plan, which tailors itself to strategic economic infrastructure, community capacity building, innovation, northern business opportunity and includes a revamped Northern Ontario internship program, was also built with the guidance of community and business leaders in the region.

“We felt it was very timely for us to look at the priorities in the Northern Ontario Growth plan and to see whether or not the programs that were in place fit the priorities that were identified in the Growth plan,” Gravelle said.

Bob Rae says mining will help First Nations – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – October 18, 2013)

October 18, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Inclusion, expansion and understanding were the central theme of the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund’s Mining Ready Summit. The keynote speaker continued to convey the point.

Former Ontario premier Bob Rae spoke about the need to include First Nations in all aspects of development, increasing accessibility to remote Northern communities and spreading the potential wealth found in the Ring of Fire development.

“I think that the current model is ready to be put into action,” said Rae in an interview following his speech. “I think that building sustainability into the approach that companies are taking, I think that we need to look at sustaining communities and sustainability is about the people as well as the environment.”

Rae was referring to the remote First Nations communities like Attawapiskat, Martin River and Moose Factory; communities which have close proximity to current and future economic development.

“We need to recognize that development needs to happen,” said Rae.

Orazietti squares off with [environmental commissioner] watchdog – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – October 17, 2013)

October 18, 2013

http://www.saultstar.com/

Ontario’s environmental watchdog issued a warning that the province has changed legislation that will see its natural resources exploited – something Sault MPP and Minister of Natural Resources David Orazietti argues vehemently against. Environmental commissioner Gord Miller states in his annual report that provincial government cutbacks announced during the spring budget will result in the Ministry of Natural Resources having less power to protect Ontario’s resources.  Instead, the powers will be delegated to private companies, which in turn could lead to exploitation of Crown land, wildlife and natural resources, the report states.

He referred to Ontario’s far north as turning into the “wild west,” particularly with the potential development around the Ring of Fire, expected to be the province’s most promising mineral development of chromite and warns that major industrial activities can proceed with few checks.

He also criticized the government for a lack of an action plan to deal with invasive species like the Asian carp and emerald ash borer.

But Orazietti counters that Miller has misinterpreted the rules and that the new power for private companies only deals with minor changes on issues like dredging permits and the removal of vegetation that only has minimal environmental impact.

Rock hard opposition to quarry – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – October 18, 2013)

October 18, 2013

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

David Villard, a consultant with Bruce Tait Construction Ltd., was in the proverbial hot seat on Thursday night. The Wanup Community Hall played host to a packed house of more than 100 concerned citizens at an open house Tait’s firm organized to present plans for a proposed quarry, which will sit adjacent to Rock Lake, a picturesque recreational spot along Highway 69 surrounded by about 70 seasonal and permanent homes.

Thursday’s open house was an acrimonious affair and attendees expressed their opposition to the proposed quarry on a number of points. James Gomm, president of the Rock Lake Property Owners’ Association, and his wife, Catherine, are spearheading the opposition movement.

Of particular concern was the lack of information circulated to area residents, water quality and possible noise disruptions. Gillian Groves, a seasonal cottager, pointed out the industrial noise could disturb the lake’s residents, many of whom are retirees.

“These people worked for their lives to get these places and what you’re proposing is taking away time from what they’ve worked their lives to enjoy,” she said.

Wildlands League wants freeze on Ring of Fire development – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – October 17, 2013)

October 17, 2013

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

The Wildlands League is calling on the Ontario government to undertake a region-wide environmental assessment of lands in the Ring of Fire, rather than allow piecemeal assessments by companies that have staked claims in the area.

The environmental organization has published a 12-page newsletter, urging Ontarians to insist the provincial and federal governments not issue any more approvals to companies such as Cliffs Natural Resources, Noront Resources and KWG Resources until a thorough environmental assessment is complete.

It wants that assessment to include consultation with members of First Nations and other communities who will be impacted by mining in the Ring of Fire — and that includes Sudburians.

Cliffs Natural Resources has chosen the former Moose Mine site north of Capreol as the location for its $1.8-billion ferrochrome processing plant to process ore from its Black Thor deposit.

Port plan would aid Ring of Fire – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – October 17, 2013)

October 17, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The Ring of Fire development has made headlines over past months and years for both the sheer scale and economic potential of its Chromite deposit and for the myriad of problems that both junior companies like KWG Resources and big mining conglomerates like Cliffs Natural Resources.

The logistical nightmare of exporting high-grade ore from the James Bay Lowlands to processing centres in Sudbury has plagued the development of the massive ore body.

But KWG Resources has brought forward a solution. The James Bay and Lowland Ports Authority.

“When the announcement was made regarding the dissolving of the ONTC and the ONR, the labour unions that represent those employees came to us (KWG) with an idea,” said Frank Smeenk, CEO of KWG Resources. “They talked to us about being from the North, about watching the development of the Ring of Fire, particularly the Black Horse deposit, and we know that we have a perfectly viable railroad business, maybe we can collaborate.”

Small stainless steel industry in Canada – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – October 17, 2013)

October 17, 2013

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

Re: From ore to steel, column by Stan Sudol — Aug. 31.

In my column on the potential of a stainless steel industry in Ontario, I mistakenly said that there is no stainless steel industry in Canada. I was given incorrect information. I should have said, “At the present time, there is no ‘major’ stainless steel production in Canada.”

Gratefully, ASW Steel Inc. president Tim Clutterbuck contacted me and indicated that his Welland, Ont.-based specialty steel facility dedicates 30% of its production capacity to stainless steel. The company employs about 95 employees and manufactures roughly 100,000 tonnes of specialty steel products annually, of which 30,000 tonnes are stainless steel ingots and billets, that are exported to the U.S. and Europe.

By comparison, Outokumpu, the biggest international producer, manufactures almost 3.6 million tons of stainless steels worldwide, slightly over 10% of the 35.4 million tonnes of global production last year, according to International Stainless Steel Forum preliminary figures.

Alert systems notify workers of underground danger – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – October 15, 2013)

October 17, 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.

Sudbury’s Hard-Line is introducing a new product to the mining industry that will increase safety for workers, with the aim of preventing injury or death on the job.

The Prox Proximity Detection System, launched in August, is designed to alert workers when they get too close to a piece of heavy equipment while working underground.

“There have been incidents in the mining industry where these sorts of things happen because people become complacent with using a remote control,” said Max Gray, Hard-Line’s director of sales North America and global marketing. “They get too close to it, they make an error, and all of a sudden it’s too late for them to react. This system will warn them so they can react.”

Prox, which is integrated into Hard-Line’s Muckmaster Radio Remote Control System, detects when a remote operator enters a zone around the piece of machinery being operated. When a zone is breached, the system emits an audible and visual warning alert and can be programmed to slow or stop the machine automatically.

All-weather roads under consideration: chiefs – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – October 15, 2013)

October 16, 2013

http://wawataynews.ca/

Discussions about all-weather roads and winter roads are ramping up across Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory.

“We’ve had tons of resolutions regarding winter roads over the years, 20-30 years,” said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Les Louttit during the Sept. 27 Winter Roads and All-Weather Roads First Nations Forum in Thunder Bay. “But recently, in the past three or four years, First Nations are now starting to talk all-weather roads because of the difficulties they are encountering due to shorter seasons caused by climate change, warmer weather and thinner ice.”

Louttit said the changing conditions are putting winter-road workers’ lives at risk as well as increasing costs for construction.

“We had two deaths last year in northwestern Ontario,” Louttit said. “It’s hard to predict the weather, but in order for the winter roads to be viable, we need cold weather and thicker ice.”

Sudbury [mining Vale Glencore] merger likely: Analysts – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – October 15, 2013)

October 15, 2013

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

Glencore Xstrata and Vale could and likely will one day merge their Sudbury operations. If and when that happens, it will be a marriage of convenience, not a “Rock Hudson- Doris Day romance,” says a nickel analyst.

It would be complicated to join the companies’ operations, but it may be necessary to compete against record-high production of nickel pig iron in China, says Terry Orstlan. He wasn’t surprised last week when Reuters broke the news Vale and Glencore Xstrata were in talks to explore combining their Sudbury operations.

Orstlan has been advising that for years. “Talks, that is exactly what they are, talks,” said Ortslan of TSO & Associates in Montreal. “Let’s have coffee and talk. Let’s have tea and talk. Let’s go out and talk,” he said. It would have made sense 30 years ago for the nickel giants to join forces, said Ortslan.

When Vale was owned by Inco and Glencore Xstrata by Falconbridge, their vastly differ-e nt cultures and powerful unions made a merger unthinkable.

The first step towards corporate accountability for actions abroad? – by Sonya Nigam (Canadian Lawyer – October 14, 2013)

October 15, 2013

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/index.php

Human Rights . . . Here & There

There is no doubt as a resource-based economy, Canada has developed an impressive and robust extractive industry sector some would argue is part of our “national security interests.” While this sector brings important gains to the Canadian economy, oil, gas, and mining activities are increasingly taking place in remote areas that have a detrimental effect on local, often indigenous, populations.

Increasingly, Canadian extractive companies and their subsidiaries have been the subject of allegations of human rights violations associated with their overseas activities, particularly when operating in developing countries. For years, liability before Canadian courts has been avoided. However, the recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court in Choc v. Hudbay Minerals Inc. may be the first step towards recognition that Canadian companies should be accountable for their behaviour outside Canada.

Under international human rights law, states have international legal duties to protect the human rights of individuals within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction. However, for a range of reasons host states may be unable or unwilling to regulate the conduct of foreign business actors, even where not doing so violates their international obligations to protect human rights.

Risk of ‘irreversible damage’ seen in Ring of Fire – by Wendy Parker (In Support of Mining.com – October 11, 2013)

October 15, 2013

http://insupportofmining.wordpress.com/

Ontario is “risking irreversible damage to wildlife and wilderness” by rushing to develop mines, roads and power lines in its fragile far north. That’s the warning from Gord Miller, the province’s environmental commissioner, who has singled out the stalled Ring of Fire project for special attention in his annual report to the provincial legislature.

In a Thursday release highlighting his Ring of Fire concerns, Miller says Ontario’s “long-held rule” has been to establish planning controls before projects can be built.

In the case of far northern mineral activity, however, “infrastructure such as highways and transmission corridors are already on the drawing board” and “there’s been little analysis or public debate of their effect on the environment or their benefits for First Nations.”

Miller maintains there is still time “to get things right” in the far northern region by ensuring that land-use plans, jointly created by First Nations and the Ontario government, are in place before development proceeds.