Ontario Mining Association – Page 19

Ontario Shines as Canada’s Diamond Capital

November 5, 2015December 12, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Ontario is home to more diamond projects than any other jurisdiction in Canada. While Ontario has one producing diamond operation, De Beers Canada’s Victor Mine near Attawapiskat, it is home to 131, or 24% of all diamond projects in the country. There are more than 533 active diamond projects in Canada ranging from grassroots exploration to advanced development to producing mines.

Following Ontario, the Northwest Territories hosts 111 diamond projects, or 20% of the Canadian total, and Nunavut hosts 100 diamond projects, or 19% of the national total. Quebec is home to 84 diamond projects, or 16% of the total. Following in order of diamond activity are Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon Territory.

The total number of companies exploring for diamonds in Canada is 252 and 180 of those companies are listed on stock exchanges. There are four operating diamond mines in Canada – Diavik, Ekati and Snap Lake in the Northwest Territories and Victor in Ontario.

Ontario’s Mining Sector Booms in a Slow-Growing Provincial Economy

December 12, 2010December 10, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

New mines and mine expansions are reinforcing the mineral sector’s role in the foundation of Ontario’s economy. Ontario’s economy is going through the pains of transformation as it moves from a manufacturing base to a service and knowledge base. However, as when there was an earlier shift from agriculture to manufacturing, mining was there to cushion the adjustment and help society adapt.

Currently, mining companies are proceeding with major growth plans in many parts of the province. If we look back two years and forward about three, an incomplete list will show that mining is investing more than $8.5 billion in capital expenditures – this is in addition to operating expenditures and exploration activities. We are not sure other private sectors of the economy can match this level of recent activity on the capital spending front.

De Beers Canada made capital expenditures of $1 billion to bring the Victor Mine, near Attawapiskat, Ontario’s first diamond mine, into production in 2008. The Victor Mine is expected to have a positive impact on Ontario’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $6.7 billion and a $4.2 billion GDP contribution to the economy of Northern Ontario. Xstrata Nickel invested $927 million to bring its Nickel Rim South mine in Sudbury into operation in 2009.

Mining Scholarships Support the Industry’s Future Workforce

December 12, 2010December 2, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

The mining sector provides hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to university and college students studying in related programs to support tomorrow’s industry. There are numerous sources of these scholarships but for students willing to do their homework, there is a range of financial assistance available.

For young people looking for future careers in mining engineering, geology and mine technology areas, a good place to start looking is the Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Foundation (CMMF), which was founded in 1972. It has information on scholarships and bursaries offered by the national Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, CIM Branches and CMMF worth more than $220,000 annually.

“The mining industry wants you – do you want a scholarship. The CMMF promotes mining as an enviable career choice and offers scholarships to encourage students to apply for studies in fields related to mining,” said Deborah Smith-Sauve, Manager of CMMF. “To maintain its leadership in the mining world, Canada requires he best educated workforce possible to develop new technologies and apply them in the most effective manner.”

Canadian Mining Sector Plays Important Roles in Chilean Mine Resue Miracle

December 12, 2010November 5, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Other than perhaps the time Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the Moon in 1969 and for recent World Cup football finals no event has attracted as large a television audience as the recent rescue of 33 miners in Chile from the San Jose Mine. More than one billion people around the world watched the first of the miners brought safely to the surface on October 13 after being trapped almost 700 metres underground for 69 days. More than 2,000 journalists from around the world were on site in the Atacama Desert to record the unfolding drama.

The global mining industry rallied to meet this challenge and several Canadian mining companies played important roles in the rescue by providing human resources, advanced equipment, services and expertise. OMA members Cementation Canada, Barrick Gold and Redpath along with Breakwater Resources, Kinross, Finning, Foraco, Precision Drilling, Technofast ATCO and Mining Technologies International were all involved in various aspects of the rescue mission. Thank you for your part in making sure this story had a happy ending.

We can only share our empathy for the 33 miners and their families and gratitude that they are safe. However, these circumstances have given mining in general a new profile. You know that through the international media coverage of the Chilean mine rescue on a daily basis that mining has found its way onto the global radar screen when you see children sporting Chilean miner costumes for Hallowe’en.

OMA President Gives Mining a Voice at Ontario Economic Summit

December 12, 2010November 4, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

The participation of Ontario Mining Association President Chris Hodgson in the 7th annual Ontario Economic Summit provided the mineral sector with a voice on the high-level program. Mr. Hodgson was a panelist on a session dealing with Ontario’s regulatory regime titled “Smarter Approaches to Regulation.” The summit was held November 1 to 3, 2010 in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The moderator of the regulations panel was James Milway, Executive Director of the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity. Other participants with Mr. Hodgson included Jennifer Ahluwalia from Dillon Consulting, Rudy van Zijp who is General Secretary of Actal (advisory board on administrative burden in the Netherlands) and Ontario Environment Minister John Wilkinson.

Mr. Zijp provided an interesting perspective on efforts in Europe to eliminate inefficient regulatory burdens. Mr. Hodgson used some current examples in Ontario with safety being a success story of continuous improvement.

Ontario Mining Association (OMA) – August 2009 Submission to the Ontario Government on the Far North Act (Bill 191) and the Mining Act (Bill 173)

October 5, 2010

The Ontario Mining Association (OMA), is an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Please note that the order of this document has been slightly changed. The Bill 191, the Far North Act material has been placed at the beginning of the posting for the reader’s convenience. – Stan Sudol

Bill 191, the Far North Act

1. Clarifying the Ambiguity and Imbalance

Once again, we are appreciative of the government’s efforts to foster a multi-stakeholder dialogue and build consensus through the Far North Advisory Council. We also agree with the goal “to strike the right balance between conservation and development”, which was set out in the Premier’s July 14, 2008 announcement.

However, Bill 191 presents many challenges for our members, which if not rectified, will cause unprecedented delay, unnecessary conflicts and diminishing economic benefits for the province and communities of the Far North. The nature of the mining industry is one that requires long-term certainty and clarity – given the long planning cycles of our industry, as well as the significant capital expenditures and detailed permitting process required for the development of a mine. Additionally, mineral exploration is a highly risky undertaking; only 1 in 10,000 prospects becomes a mine.

Industry would appreciate greater balance between industry, community and conservation components in various aspects of Bill 191 so that the Bill achieves the desired goal of economic development and conservation. Without this balance, Bill 191 may be seen as an impediment to future investment and development in Ontario’s Far North for mineral exploration and mine development, forcing companies to look elsewhere for mineral development projects.

While the proposed legislation is a start in putting a process in place to ensure partnership building between government and Aboriginal peoples, it has not provided a specific role for other stakeholders, such as the mineral industry. Given the importance of mineral development to the economic development and prosperity of the Far North and its people, it is critical that the mineral industry have a seat at the table.

The OMA supports active participation of Aboriginal peoples in the mineral industry and understanding and co-operation between the industry and Aboriginal communities where mineral development and extraction occur. The members of the OMA have collectively more than 50 agreements with the First Nations.

Russian Hydrology Student Particpates in De Beers Peatlands Reseach at Northern Ontario Diamond Mine

November 5, 2015September 15, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Russian graduate student Yulia Orlova hopes to take lessons she is learning about muskeg at De Beers Canada’s Victor Mine home to better understand the dynamics of Siberian peatlands. She came to Canada last year and started her Masters in Geography at the University of Toronto. Ms. Orlova is researching the impact of mine dewatering and mercury in peatlands under the direction of U of T professor Brian Branfireun. This is one of the major research projects De Beers Canada’s Victor Mine is helping to sponsor.

The 26 year old native of St. Petersburg graduated from St. Petersburg State University with a degree in hydrology. She worked for three years both for the Russian government and a non-governmental environmental agency before continuing her studies in Canada.

“There is expertise in Canada on peatlands and funding support and there were more opportunities to do research in my area.” – Russian Hydrology Student Yulia Orlova

“I wanted to come to Canada to study here,” said Ms. Orlova. “There is expertise in Canada on peatlands and funding support and there were more opportunities to do research in my area.” To complete her thesis on the hydrology of the James Bay lowlands, she collects and tests water samples from streams around the mine site and carries out analysis of the results and examines water chemistry.

Along with the academic component of her studies, Ms. Orlova, like all students and professors on the Victor site, is regularly engaged in safety training and orientation sessions.

Ontario’s Hemlo Gold Camp Celebrates 25 Years of Production

August 16, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Barrick’s Hemlo operations organized a series of educational and celebratory events to mark the 25th anniversary of gold production in the Hemlo gold camp in Northwestern Ontario, near Marathon. The Ontario Mining Association was pleased to participate in the activities. Lesley Hymers, OMA Environment and Education Specialist, was on hand with an interactive display booth promoting careers in mining and the OMA high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining.

Back in the 1980s, Hemlo was the industry newsmaker and headline driver in Ontario. It was the most exciting and largest mineral development in the province since the Kidd Mine in Timmins in the 1960s. The Hemlo orebody supported three mines originally. Good old fashioned prospecting smarts, innovative geological thinking and interpretations and perseverance led to the discovery and development of this gold mining complex. At the time, it was improbable to think that three headframes not more than two kilometres apart located within snowball throwing distance of the Trans Canada Highway were producing gold on previously explored ground.

The mine in the middle – Golden Giant Mine – began production in 1985 and it closed in 2006. The mine in the east – David Bell – and the mine in the west – Williams – are still in operation today and part of Barrick’s fleet of global gold mines. The Williams and David Bell mines share milling, processing and tailings facilities and the ores are co-mingled for the extraction process. In 2009, these mines produced 275,000 ounces of gold. Estimated proven and probable ore reserves contain more than 1.3 million ounces of gold.

OMA to Help Educate Teachers About Mining at Mattawa Seminar

August 5, 2010

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

The Ontario Mining Association is participating in a Teacher’s Mining Tour at the Canadian Ecology Centre near Mattawa. Thirty teachers will participate in the sold-out course, which is being run from August 9 to 13. The goal is to help educators learn more about the realities of modern, high tech, environmentally responsible mining in Ontario.

The Teacher’s Mining Tour is a professional development program for Ontario teachers and teachers in training. Teachers taking the course will be able to earn a component of their Environmental Science Additional Qualification through Nipissing University and the Ontario College of Teachers.

Lesley Hymers, OMA Environment and Education Specialist, will be representing the Association at the event. The themes for the conference include modern mining, environmental stewardship and sustainability, occupational health and safety and career opportunities within the industry.

The Future of Mining in Ontario: Is it golden? – by Chris Hodgson

August 5, 2010

Chris Hodgson is President of the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province. This column was provided by the OMA.

The Ontario Mining Association held a conference in June “The future of mining in Ontario: Is it golden?” in North Bay, which celebrated the Association’s 90th anniversary. There was the appropriate cake on hand and other touches to mark the occasion along with a commemorative plaque, which was presented by Mines Minister Michael Gravelle on behalf of Premier Dalton McGuinty.

This plaque reads “Since its founding in 1920, the OMA has excelled in representing the interests of companies engaged in the exploration, production and processing of our province’s mineral resources. As the voice for the mining industry in Ontario, the OMA plays a crucial role in securing the sector’s prosperity and competitiveness, while ensuring that Ontario’s mining potential is developed in a sustainable way.”

Perhaps after 90 years, it is time to reflect on how the industry has changed over those decades. After all, the OMA has been open for business longer than all national mining organizations except the Canadian Institute of Mining. In order to put things in a historical perspective, since 1920, Canada has had 15 different people serve as Prime Ministers while Ontario has had 17 different premiers and 32 different mines ministers.

When the OMA first hung out its shingle, Sir Robert Borden was Canada’s leader in Ottawa and Ernest Drury of the United Farmers of Ontario was running things at Queen’s Park. The list of people who have served as Chairmen of the OMA -and there have been 77 of them -reads like a Who’s Who of Canadian corporate history.

Sudbury DeLong Brothers – OMA Video Contest Winners – Listened To Their Mother

August 5, 2010August 4, 2010

View DeLong Brothers’ video

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province. To view all the winners of the So You Think You Know Mining competition, please go to OMA 2010 Video Winners.

A parent’s journalistic interview for a magazine article about the inaugural Ontario Mining Association’s So You Think You Know Mining (SYTYKM) high school video competition in 2009 provided a spark for a Sudbury student who won the Best Overall Video prize in 2010. Adelle Larmour, a reporter with Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, produced an article on the genesis of the SYTYKM contest in the June 2009 edition of SMSJ.

“Inspired by famous Canadian scholar Marshall McLuhan’s observation that the medium is the message, the OMA launched a video contest late last year to educate an unlikely audience about the mining industry,” said Ms. DeLong in the article, “Video contest introduces students to mining.” “The SYTYKM video contest was a way to reach high school students who are interested in video making, music, or script writing, but who may know very little about where the components of their computer come from or about the different mined resources that make up the materials for many of the fundamental tools used in daily living.”

She shared her enthusiasm for her article with her youngest son, David DeLong, a grade nine student at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School. David clearly took his Mother’s suggestion to enter SYTYKM and her encouragement to heart. He recruited the assistance of his elder brother Alan DeLong, a grade 12 student at St. Benedict, and work on the production Lego Mining began.

So You Think You Know Mining 2010 Winners Showcase Ontario High School Students’ Amazing Talent — Again

April 5, 2015August 3, 2010

View Katrina Malinski’s video

The winning videos in the Ontario Mining Association’s high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining (SYTYM) provide clear evidence that an abundance of creativity and artistic talent is possessed by teenagers. Go to the OMA website www.oma.on.ca and click on the SYTYKM panel, watch the 2010 award winning videos, which are now available for viewing and we are sure you will agree.

Along with all the winning entries, you can experience the flavour of the SYTYKM awards gala in a production by Amanda Ceniti, a runner up in the competition, from Georgetown District High School. The SYTYKM trophies were presented at an OMA conference held in North Bay. Ms. Ceniti’s production captures the bright lights, the inspiration of the winners, the upbeat music and buzz of the ceremony.

Congratulations to the SYTYKM 2010 winners. While individual names are attached to each award, most were team efforts involving one or more classmates and in some cases relatives. The Best Overall Video was captured by David DeLong from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Sudbury, for his production Lego Mining.