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Ontario Mining

Geology, habitats and plants throughout northern Ontario – by Andy Fyon (Onotassiniik Magazine – Winter 2013/2014)

http://onotassiniik.com

Andy Fyon is the Director, Ontario Geological Survey, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

When you walk across the land or boat across the water, do you notice the range of plants growing on different types of land? For example, the plants that grow in muskeg areas are very different from those growing on bare rocky areas. This is a pattern repeated over and over.

While observing this, have you ever wondered if geology plays a role in controlling where different types of plants grow?

There is a strong link between Ontario’s geological history and the location of different types of plants. We know that geological forces shaped the land. And yes, geological forces also created habitats – special places where distinctive plants grow. Obviously, different habitats are home to different plants. So, the type of rock and the type of deposit left behind by glaciers are key factors in determining the distribution and types of some plants.

Ontario’s long and complex geological history created many different habitats that sustain different types of plants in different areas.

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Transportation costs key for successful Ring of Fire development [Part 4 of 4] – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – November 18, 2013)

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

Throughout this four-part series, transportation infrastructure has been highlighted as one of the key issues — a host of aboriginal concerns is the other — that must be resolved in order for the Ring of Fire’s world-class mineral projects, conservatively worth about $60 billion and counting, to move forward.

Since Cliffs Natural Resources is a billion-dollar multi-national, it seems to have taken up all the attention or oxygen in the room when discussing transportation issues. I have often heard from a variety of mining and government colleagues that Cliffs has the money and size, so their proposal must be the right one.

Last summer, mining and metals analyst John Tumazos found “the total of metal write-downs from 2008 to 2013 will breach the $200 billion mark this year.”

And let’s not forget that Cliffs took a $1-billion write-down in January for its $4.2-billion purchase of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. in 2011, as well as another roughly $900 million in other impairments, according to a Globe and Mail report.

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ACCENT: Ring’s potential ‘astounding’ – by Stan Sudol [Part 3 of 4] (Sudbury Star – Novmeber 16, 2013)

Ontario Greenstone Belts (Map: Ontario Geological Survey)
Ontario Greenstone Belts (Map: Ontario Geological Survey)

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

In Sudbury, when people hear about the Ring of Fire, they think of Cliffs Natural Resources and its plan to ship chromite from a mine in northwestern Ontario to a plant in Capreol for processing that would create between 300 and 400 local jobs. But we should remember that this proposal is only a “benchmark” scenario and that many issues still need to be resolved. As a result, the location of this facility could change.

And Cliffs and its Black Thor mine represent only one of the Ring’s many promising mineral resources and future discoveries.

Located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, the Ring of Fire contains billions worth of chromite — among the best deposits in the world — plus nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold, zinc and vanadium metals.

In 2007, an interesting mix of six geologists and junior mining executives – Richard Nemis, Mac Watson, Frank Smeenk,  Neil Novack, John Harvey and Don Hoy – collectively discovered the geologically rich Ring of Fire. It is the most significant mineral discovery in Canada since the Sudbury Basin in 1883 and the Timmins gold camp in 1909.

In an engaging presentation about the Ring of Fire at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in March 2013, geologist James Franklin outlined the staggering economic value of the Ring of Fire.

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Is rail or road the best choice for [Ontario’s] Ring of Fire? [Part 2 of 4] – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – November 15, 2013)

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

Earlier this year, KWG Resources released a commissioned report by engineering consulting company Tetra Tech on the costs of a road versus a railroad in the Ring of Fire.

By way of background, KWG wants to build a railway to ship ore out of the Ring of Fire. It’s rival, Cliffs Natural Resources prefers a road. However, KWG has staked some of the land Cliffs needs for such a road. Cliffs appealed to the Mining and Lands Commissioner of Ontario to get access to the land, but lost — a decision it is now appealing.

The study KWG ordered confirmed the initial capital costs (direct and indirect) to construct a single track railroad were about $1.551 billion versus $1 billion for a road. Media reports keep repeating an older figure of $600 million for the road, which most mining industry experts believe is too low.

If the premier’s office has not done so already, a quick discussion with the engineering experts at the Ministry of Transportation, who have been building roads in Ontario for more than a century, should settle this cost issue.

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‘Minimal consultation’ with First Nations on Ring of Fire – CBC News Thunder Bay (November 14, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

First Nations leader says new development corporation shows Ontario ‘pretending’ to consult

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation says Ontario’s latest announcement about the Ring of Fire shows the province is not properly consulting First Nations.

NAN Deputy Grand Chief Les Louttit calls the province’s proposed Ring of Fire development corporation a “Father knows best” approach, adding he hasn’t had any contact from the province about its plan.

“This is normal, a normal policy for this government,” he said. “You pretend to consult and you do minimal consultation, then you defer that responsibility to the industry.”

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle said the province sent letters to individual First Nations and mining companies “to determine who else wants to be part of this development corporation, who will be involved in the future development of the project from an infrastructure point of view.

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NEWS RELEASE: OMA member gains recognition for workplace excellence

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 Mining Association member Blue Heron Environmental has been named one of the Top 5 Best Places to Work in Northern Ontario by Northern Ontario Business magazine. Blue Heron, which is Timmins-based, rose to this status for high achievement in management culture, internship programming, community involvement, staff training and fostering a healthy work-life balance.

“I am honoured to receive this award,” said Linda Byron-Fortin, owner and director of Blue Heron. “It helps to reinforce that I have created a healthy work environment for my staff as we work to achieve our company goals.”

Blue Heron Environmental was launched in Timmins in 2004 to provide resource companies with practical environmental consultation and advice. Ms Byron-Fortin had many years of experience with mining companies working on the environmental side of the business before launching her own company.

Today, her company has 15 employees offering services ranging from field monitoring assistance, spill product supplies, mapping and signage design to training and auditing. There are now satellite Blue Heron offices in Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Calgary.

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KWG — the chromite mouse that roars – by Stan Sudol [Part 1 of 4] (Sudbury Star – November 13, 2013)

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

Correction: The print edition mistakenly said that Cliffs had invested a total of $48 million on the Ring of Fire, the correct figure is $535 million.

On Sept. 10, Ontario’s Mining and Lands Commissioner set off a nuclear explosion in Ontario mining circles and announced that tiny Canadian-owned KWG Resources would not have to give American iron ore giant, Cliffs Natural Resources, access to its staked mining claims to construct a proposed road into the Ring of Fire.

In a proverbial David and Goliath bruising battle over a much sought-after route into Ontario’s newest mining camp, it was a precedent-setting sucker punch no one expected. The Mining Commission report started with an understatement of the century: “The North is not a quiet place.” And with good reason.

Located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, the Ring of Fire contains at least $60 billion and counting of chromite, plus nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold, zinc and vanadium metals. The Cliffs’s chromite project has become a never-ending soap opera, similar in drama and intrigue to the failed Inco/Falconbridge merger in the middle of the last decade.

This is the latest setback that has a very bitter-sounding Cliffs issuing threatening news releases and interviews stating the entire project could be dropped if the Ontario government does not intervene and resolve this and other issues, including subsidized power rates and conflict over the terms of a provincial environmental assessment.

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NEWS RELEASE: New members enhance OMA environmental expertise

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.

At its most recent board of directors meeting, two environmental engineering consultants joined the Ontario Mining Association as members. The addition of both SLR Global Environmental Solutions and Environmental Resources Management (ERM) enhances ecological expertise within the association.

The OMA was founded in 1920 and it is one of the longest serving trade organizations in the country. The OMA represents the mining industry in the province. Its members are involved in various aspects of environmentally responsible exploration, production and processing of mineral resources in Ontario and providing services and supplies to the sector.

SLR Global Environmental is an environmental consultancy specializing in mining and minerals, waste management, energy, infrastructure, planning and development and industrial sectors. It was established in 1994 as a United Kingdom-based operation and it is employee owned.

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Ontario juniors push innovation to advance projects – by Wendy Parker (In Support Of Mining.com – November 12, 2013)

http://insupportofmining.wordpress.com/

Ontario’s mineral developers may be struggling to generate interest in the financial markets — but they’re certainly having no trouble generating interesting research in the lab.

Northern Graphite, developer of the Bissett Creek graphite project east of North Bay, announced this week that it has partnered with Tennessee-based Coulometrics LLC to “manage development of the company’s proprietary technologies for manufacturing spherical graphite and improving the performance of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.”

Pointing to the industry’s current dependence on supplies from China, Northern CEO Greg Bowes said his company’s objectives are “to provide Li-ion battery manufacturers with a stable, secure source of high quality, advanced graphite materials produced in an environmentally acceptable manner, and to capture additional margin from value added, upgraded products.”

Also on Monday, Thunder Bay’s Zenyatta Ventures, which is working to advance its unusual Albany deposit northwest of Hearst, said it has signed an agreement with the National Research Council that will provide technical advice and financial assistance of up to $350,000 for its metallurgical testing.

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50 years ago: Discovery of Kidd Mine – by Len Gillis (Sudbury Star – November 10, 2013)

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

It was the most important thing to happen in Timmins since the discovery of gold. And it happened 50 years ago, on Nov. 7, 1963.

It was Thursday November 7th, 1963. Texas Gulf exploration geologist Ken Darke directed a diamond drill crew where to set up for drilling on the mineral anomaly known as Kidd 55. The very first drill hole was K-55-1. The drilling crew was set up in the northeast section of Kidd Township, roughly 24 kilometres from Timmins Town Hall.

Aside from a handful of drillers and geologists, no one would witness the incredible event that would happen the next few days in that drill shack, as core samples from hole no. K-55-1 were being pulled out of the ground and placed in core boxes.

As the story goes, one of the samples displayed a length of solid copper nearly a foot long. Ken Darke knew immediately he was standing on a major discovery. It would become the world-class Kidd Creek orebody; so huge and so rich it was a geological freak of nature. It was a good Friday in Timmins, although no one in Timmins knew it yet.

It would be another six months before Texas Gulf formally announced the discovery on April 16, 1964, causing whoops of joy, kicking off a major staking rush as well as a rush on buying shares in any company anywhere near the Kidd Township discovery.

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‘Balance’ required in Ring of Fire development, says B.C. First Nations leader – by Erica Lenti (The Canadian Press/Canadian Business Magazine – November 12, 2013)

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/

TORONTO – A First Nations leader from B.C. says aboriginal communities in Ontario’s Ring of Fire could benefit from striking a balance between mining development and land preservation.

Annita McPhee is president of the northwestern B.C. First Nations Tahltan Central Committee and says a balanced approach is required in negotiating how the northern Ontario mineral deposit will be developed.

McPhee says while it is important to sustain the mineral-rich land in the James Bay First Nations territory, opening it up to external industries offers potential monetary and employment benefits. In the Tahltan territory of B.C., mining development created tensions between First Nations and mining corporations from as early as 2005.

Led by McPhee, her group has negotiated $2 billion in resource development since 2011 in non-sacred pockets of Tahltan land, and another $11 billion is being considered. In return, the Tahltan have seen increased employment and funding for health care and cultural programs.

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Ontario to create Ring of Fire development corporation – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – November 11, 2013)

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Last Friday in Thunder Bay, Ontario’s Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle announced that the province will establish a development corporation to move mining projects forward in the Ring of Fire. The province promises to end the disputes about transportation, provide infrastructure, and ensure that the benefits of development are shared with First Nations.

So far so good. But the idea is drawing criticism from opposition political parties. The government of Premier Kathleen Wynn has been creating dozens of consultation and advisory panels with little to show for them. Missing so far are guidelines about how aboriginal communities will share the revenues.

A thought about this last point: It almost sounds as if the government is supposed to choose a percentage of profits that will go to local communities. If you are an industry insider, it’s chilling to imagine a “First Nations tax” where 10%, or 30% or half of the revenue generated by mining goes to local communities. Anyone who thinks that throwing money at local communities will solve their problems hasn’t been listening for the last 75 years.

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Mining firms growing frustrated with delays in Ring of Fire – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – November 11, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP – Timmins-James Bay) says mining companies are getting impatient with the province when it comes to getting approvals to proceed with mineral developments in the Ring of Fire.

Ontario Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle (Liberal – Thunder Bay-Superior North), announced on Friday the creation of a development corporation formed of all three provincial parties, the federal government, and other stakeholders, to better identify the various things needed to develop the region.

Notably, Gravelle stated there’s a need “to lay the necessary groundwork” in the sectors of training, capacity and infrastructure building, and strengthening bonds with the chiefs of the Matawa Tribal Council, led by Bob Rae and Justice Frank Iacobucci.

Gravelle’s statement read that “recent developments, and divergent private sector interests, have impacted our ability to move forward on vital infrastructure required to develop the region located within the James Bay lowlands.

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Province looks to end Ring of Fire stalemate – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 11, 2013)

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

The province is looking to end the stalemate over how to build a transportation corridor to the Ring of Fire chromite deposits by establishing a development corporation. Details are vague about the corporation announced Friday by Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle.

But the province is taking the lead — something critics argue it should have done years ago — to bring together mining, community, first nations and other partners, including the federal government, Gravelle said Saturday.

The corporation’s first job is to make a “clear decision” on the transportation corridor and use that as a vehicle to finance the project, said Gravelle. The corporation would manage the design, engineering, construction and maintenance of the infrastructure needed to bring mines in the Ring of Fire into operation.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has written Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking the federal government to make a substantial investment in $2 billion or more needed to build a transportation system and mine infrastructure.

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Wabun shares formula for mining participation, wealth – by Bryan Phelan (Wawatay News – November 8, 2013)

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

People in First Nations around Timmins are happier, healthier and wealthier because of recent agreements with mining companies, says the head of Wabun Tribal Council.

Wabun is a council of six First Nations, all within about 200 kilometres of Timmins: Beaverhouse, Brunswick House, Chapleau Ojibwe, Flying Post, Matechewan, and Mattagami.

Collectively, these First Nations have signed three impact and benefit agreements (IBAs) with mining companies in the past six years, Shawn Batise, Wabun’s executive director, said at a Mining Ready Summit hosted in Timmins Oct. 16-17 by the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF). Three more IBAs involving Wabun First Nations are currently being negotiated. The agreements cover gold mining properties, plus one nickel property.

Wabun communities have also negotiated 30 mining exploration agreements over the same period, and Batise thinks that number could reach 50 within a year.

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