Archive | Ontario Mining

Farewell to Paul Reid, Greater Sudbury’s camera-shy economic development wizard – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – December 21, 2018)

December 21, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

At the 2010 PDAC Convention (L to R) Ian Wood, Former Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez, Helen Mulc and Paul Reid. (Photo by Stan Sudol)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Veteran city economic development staffer is retiring after two decades on the job 97

Far from the headlines – and well behind the scenes (or the curtain, if you will) — Paul Reid has spent the last two decades working to grow Greater Sudbury.

The economic development officer did make headlines briefly in 2012, when he was able to salvage a plan to build a chromite smelter in Greater Sudbury, way back in the days when Cliffs Resources still owned the major Ring of Fire deposits. The company had come here to scout a location, which proved unsuitable. They turned to Reid, a veteran in the department who knew the area as well as anyone, who found an alternative within minutes.

“(Cliffs) wanted a brownfield, they wanted it near rail, they needed hydro and they needed it to be away from built-up areas,” former Ward 7 Coun. Dave Kilgour said at the time. “Reid suggested an old mine site north of Capreol.” Continue Reading →

IAMGOLD getting ready to hire for new gold mine south of Timmins – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – December 21, 2018)

December 21, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining, Timmins

https://www.timminspress.com/

Company said the hiring process is about to begin.

IAMGOLD and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. are getting ready to begin hiring for jobs related to the construction of the Côté Gold Project south of Gogama.

The two companies are in a joint venture on the new open pit gold mine that was formerly known as the Trelawney Project, about 130 kilometres south of Timmins. The project is located just a few kilometres west of Highway 144. A company update revealed that construction for the new mine is slated to begin in 2019 and the company is looking to hire the right people.

“During this time, Côté Gold will be recruiting for key management and supervisory roles in mining, geology, operations and maintenance as well as support roles,” said the company newsletter. Continue Reading →

NEWS RELEASE: NAN WELCOMES PIKANGIKUM’S CONNECTION TO PROVINCIAL ELECTRICITY GRID (December 20, 2018)

December 20, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Mining Power Issues, Ontario Mining

THUNDER BAY, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, on behalf of the Executive Council, celebrates the shut down of Pikangikum First Nation’s diesel generating station and official energization of the transmission line during a ceremony in the community today.

“This is an enormous achievement and I congratulate Chief Dean Owen and Council for their years of effort to secure a connection to the provincial electricity grid. A reliable power source will finally end Pikangikum’s reliance on diesel generation and help the community advance plans for growth and development,” said Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.

“We also congratulate Wataynikaneyap Power for their work to connect 17 First Nations to the provincial electricity grid through the first phase of this project. Connecting our remote communities to the provincial grid is better for the environment and will help improve the lives of our members.” Continue Reading →

Gold mine developer gets federal EA approval for Geraldton open-pit operation – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – December 17, 2018)

December 17, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Two northwestern Ontario mine projects receive federal environmental assessment approvals

Greenstone Gold Mines has gotten federal environmental assessment (EA)approval of its Hardrock gold mine project in northwestern Ontario. Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna announced Dec.13 that the Hardrock Gold Mine Project is “not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.”

The 15,000-hectare Hardrock property is a proposed open-pit gold mine and processing mill located on Highway 11, two kilometres south of the town of Geraldton. Planned production is 30,000 tonnes of ore per day. Greenstone Gold Mines is a joint venture partnership between Centerra Gold and Premier Gold Mines.

The company’s documents, submitted to the federal government, covered the construction, operation, decommissioning, and abandonment of the mine and mill. Continue Reading →

‘They clearly misjudged their shareholder base’: Majority of Detour Gold board ousted – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – December 14, 2018)

December 14, 2018 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://business.financialpost.com/

The victory may encourage other shareholders to seek change: On the same day, Waterton Global Resource Management said it is seeking board changes in Hudbay Minerals

In one of the largest victories for shareholders in recent years, the U.S. billionaire John Paulson led a proxy battle that ousted five out of eight targeted board members at Toronto-based Detour Gold Corp.

The campaign, which started this July when Paulson’s hedge fund requisitioned a shareholder meeting, came to a conclusion on Thursday morning when interim chief executive Michael Kenyon resigned having been voted off the board along with the chair Alex Morrison and three others.

Detour’s stock edged up 0.55 per cent on Tuesday morning to $10.92. “They clearly misjudged their shareholder base,” said Kai H.E. Liekefett, a partner at Sidley Austin in New York who has been involved in more than 50 proxy battles. “They maybe didn’t take the fight as seriously as they should have.” Continue Reading →

Alistair Ross stepping down as head of Vale Canadian mining operations, including those in Thompson – by Kyle Darbyson (Thompson Citizen – December 13, 2018)

December 13, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Manitoba Mining, Nickel, Nickel Laterites, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Thompson, Vale

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Vale’s management structure in Canada continues to change with the company recently announcing that Alistair Ross will step down as the director of North Atlantic mining operations by the end of the month when his contract expires. According to a Dec. 11 Vale memo, Mike McCann, who has worked for the Brazilian mining giant in Sudbury for the last six years, will replace Ross Jan 1.

“Mike has done a superb job leading processing operations across the North Atlantic and Asia, delivering value projects and achieving production and safety improvements in a number of areas across our business,” said Ricus Grimbeek, chief operating officer for Vale Base Metals, in that memo. “I have every confidence that Mike will continue his track record of success leading our mining and milling operations.”

This move is the latest change to Vale’s Thompson management, which began back in July when Manitoba Operations vice-president Mark Scott’s position was eliminated. Ross was given the responsibility of overseeing Vale’s Canadian operations in Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador at that time. Continue Reading →

Detour Gold CEO voted off board in proxy fight – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – December 11, 2018)

December 11, 2018 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

After a six-month duel between a New York hedge fund and a struggling Canadian miner, early results in Detour Gold Corp.’s proxy contest point to a partial victory for dissenting shareholder Paulson & Co. Inc.

The Toronto-based gold company said five of nine current directors have been ousted, according to a preliminary vote count.

Interim chief executive Michael Kenyon was among the incumbents voted off the board, Detour spokesman Ian Robertson said. Last week, Mr. Kenyon said if he lost his board seat he would also immediately step down as CEO. Mr. Robertson declined to identify any of the other directors who have been voted off. Continue Reading →

Northwest Ontario wants regional power pricing – Staff (Northern Ontario Business – December 7, 2018)

December 10, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Mining Power Issues, Ontario Mining

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The abundance of hydro-electric power generation in northwestern Ontario has community leaders calling on Queen’s Park for a regional electricity pricing system to attract industry. The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) is endorsing a proposal from the energy task force of Common Voice Northwest, a public policy think-tank.

“NOMA Board and most residents of the Northwest believe strongly that they should receive the benefit of the low-cost hydro-electric generation scattered throughout the region rather than being forced to pay the higher blended price applied to the entire province,” said NOMA president Wendy Landry in a Dec. 6 statement.

Zonal, or regional pricing, regime was being studied earlier this year by the province’s Independent Electrical System Operator (IESO). It was part of a larger review of the method by which Ontario structures its wholesale electricity rates. The review finished in November. Continue Reading →

Detour Gold’s battle with billionaire investor down to the wire — and both sides may claim victory – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – December 8, 2018)

December 8, 2018 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://business.financialpost.com/

Detour’s management has already partially conceded some of the hedge fund manager’s concerns

U.S. hedge fund billionaire John Paulson’s battle to oust the entire board of directors at Toronto-based Detour Gold Corp. and replace them with his own hand-picked group officially ends when final ballots are counted on Tuesday, but he may already claim some victory. And perhaps Detour will too.

Regardless of whether other shareholders grant Paulson’s wish for “wholesale change” on the board, Detour’s management has already partially conceded some of his concerns by replacing two of its directors this summer.

It also added at least one director whom Paulson could support. More recently, it recommended the ouster of an additional two directors, meaning four out of the eight directors on the board when Paulson launched his campaign this summer are likely to be replaced. Continue Reading →

The Ring of Fire: Some clarification and context from Stan Sudol – by Greg Klein (Recource Clips – December 4, 2018)

December 4, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Ontario Mining, Stan Sudol Columns/Media References and Appearances

http://resourceclips.com/

Urban journalists hundreds of kilometres away might not get it, but regional opposition to Ring of Fire development is anything but unanimous. That’s emphasized in a recent post by Republic of Mining commentator Stan Sudol: Not all the region’s native bands oppose development. Those that do, moreover, have traditional territories outside the proposed mining areas.

“As with non-Aboriginal society, First Nations do not speak with one voice,” he points out. Two of five regional chiefs got considerable news coverage by criticizing a proposed road that would connect the provincial highway system with the mineral-rich region. Those chiefs represent the Eabametoong and Neskantaga bands, both with traditional territories outside the Ring of Fire.

“In fact, the Eabametoong reserve is a little over 170 kilometres southwest of the proposed first mine in the Ring of Fire—Noront Resources’ Eagle’s Nest underground nickel-copper mine—while Neskantaga is about 130 kilometres in the same direction.” Continue Reading →

Powering the North: $1.6 billion project connects remote communities to grid – by Nick Purdon and Leonardo Palleja (CBC News Canada North – December 2, 2018)

December 4, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Mining Power Issues, Ontario Mining

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Ambitious Wataynikaneyap plan involves 17 towns, aims to create skilled jobs in North

“It would mean to me that I am worth something.” That’s why Anthony Begg wants a job on the Wataynikaneyap Power Project. Begg, 24, is one of a dozen trainees taking a two-week “work readiness” course in Kingfisher Lake, Ont.

Located about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay with no road access, Kingfisher Lake — population 350 — is as remote a community as there is in this country. The training course doesn’t guarantee Begg work on the $1.6-billion project, but it brings hope to a region with an unemployment rate seven times the national average.

“It’s like a second chance to rebuild my life,” says Begg, who dropped out of school part-way through Grade 11. “I didn’t finish, because in my teenage years I was heavily in my addiction, like drinking and drugs and all that stupid stuff.” Begg ended up in jail for assault, but says prison changed him for the better. “I looked around my surroundings and I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to be like these people. I want to work.'” Continue Reading →

Indigenous Partnerships in Powerful Alignment at Goldcorp’s Musselwhite (Goldcorp.com Blog – November 27, 2018)

December 4, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Gold and Silver, Goldcorp Inc., Mining Power Issues, Ontario Mining

Between 2012 and 2015, Goldcorp’s Musselwhite mine partnered with surrounding First Nations communities and provided early funding to create a joint-venture called Wataynikaneyap (Watay) Power, to bring electrical grid connection into the northwest region of Ontario, Canada, and potentially provide power to Musselwhite.

Musselwhite, a fly-in, fly-out operation located approximately 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, operates in a region where 25 remote First Nations communities rely on high-cost diesel generation as their sole source of electricity, burning approximately 25 million litres of diesel fuel a year to get electricity into their homes and businesses – enough diesel to fill 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

With additional fuel delivery challenges and environmental disadvantages, this has limited the growth of the communities and their access to economic opportunities. Similarly, Musselwhite has also been significantly constrained by limited transmission grid capacity in the area, resulting in a heavy reliance on diesel generation. Continue Reading →

Chilean delegates pay a visit to Sudbury’s mining sector – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – December 3, 2018)

December 3, 2018 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Mining Supply and Services Sector, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury got a chance to show off the latest mining innovations being incubated to new and longtime business partners from Chile.

A group of 18 delegates from several mining companies sponsored by Pro Chile, an export promotion association, were in the city the week of Nov. 19 to visit Sudbury-based mining supply companies, take a tour of the NORCAT test mine in Onaping, and check out the Centre for Mining Excellence facilities at Laurentian University.

Scott Rennie, project manager of Northern Ontario Exports for the City of Greater Sudbury, said tours like this are not unusual, but they are becoming more frequent. “There are a lot of well-established ties with Chile in Sudbury, and a lot of our mining supply companies already do work there and want to do a lot more work.” Continue Reading →

Paulson rebuffed from efforts to restock Detour Gold’s board after ISS backs company’s plans – by Scott Deveau (Financial Post/Bloomberg – December 3, 2018)

December 3, 2018 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining

https://business.financialpost.com/

Paulson & Co.’s effort to replace most of Detour Gold Corp.’s board was dealt a blow after a prominent shareholder advisory firm urged investors to side with the company’s plans to appoint just two of the activist’s eight nominees.

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. said while Paulson had made a case that change was warranted at the Toronto miner, Detour had been responsive to its concerns by appointing three new directors in August and offering to appoint two of the dissident’s nominees to its board.

“Despite seeking to replace all but one of the incumbent nominees, the dissident has not articulated a sufficiently detailed go-forward plan,” ISS said in its report issued late Friday. Continue Reading →

Basic Facts About the Ring of Fire Including FNs Traditional Territories – by Stan Sudol

November 30, 2018 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery, Stan Sudol Columns/Media References and Appearances

Discovered in 2007 and located roughly 540 kms. northeast of Thunder Bay, the isolated Ring of Fire mining camp is considered one of the most important mineral discoveries in Ontario over the past 100 years.

In 2010, Richard Nemis and John D. Harvey (Noront Resources) Mac Watson and Donald Hoy (Freewest Resources Canada) and Neil D. Novak (Spider Resources) were credited for the discovery by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

It is estimated that the value of currently discovered mineral deposits – primarily chromite, nickel and copper – are worth about $60 billion in economic activity over a 30-year period.  Jim Franklin, the former chief geoscientist at the Geological Survey of Canada, predicted at least $140 billion worth of chromite and base metals will be discovered in the Ring of Fire, and an additional $140 billion to $190 billion of gold are lying in the many greenstone belts to the west of the camp.

First Nations in northern Ontario are composed of a reserve, where the community is located, and a wider area known as their “traditional territories” which generally include traditional trap lines, burial sites and historic regions of economic activity.

Continue Reading →