Twitter

Ontario Mining

ANALYSIS-Miner Cliffs woes could douse hopes for Canada’s Ring of Fire – by Allison Martell (Reuters U.K. – April 16, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

TORONTO, April 16 (Reuters) – The future of Canada’s Ring of Fire, a remote cluster of rich mineral deposits in northwestern Ontario, is looking increasingly dim as the finances of its biggest private investor, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc, have taken a turn for the worse.

Crouched in swampy lowlands and named for a Johnny Cash song, the 4,000 sq km (1,500 square mile) zone has no rail lines, highways or reliable power. Canadian political leaders say the Ring of Fire could support a century of mining, but the cash-strapped government has yet to commit infrastructure funds.

But other challenges facing Cliffs may prove more difficult. The iron ore and metallurgical coal producer has proposed a $3.3 billion chromite project, including a $600 million highway that could open the region for smaller mining companies such as Noront Resources Ltd.

The project, Black Thor, would be North America’s first major chromite mine, and Cliffs touts the mineral – which is refined into ferrochrome, used to make stainless steel – as a natural next step for a company with long experience supplying the steel industry. But not everyone is enthusiastic.

“They have an infrastructure, logistical problem,” said Robert Yuksel Yildirim, president of Turkish industrial conglomerate and ferrochrome producer Yildirim Group, who considered investing in Black Thor.

Read more

Cliffs’ excitement tinged with frustration in Ring of Fire – by Jody Porter (CBC News Thunder Bay – April 15, 2013)

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

Vice-president outlines two key hurdles to feasibility

The man in charge of Cliffs Natural Resources’ Ring of Fire project says two things need to happen before the company’s plans can proceed.

In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Bill Boor said he’s still waiting for a final agreement with the province to build a smelter in Sudbury and he said the company still needs to establish its surface rights to build a road to the mining area.

“The vision is very much intact,” Boor said of the American company’s plans to mine chromite out of muskeg in the James Bay Lowlands. “The mechanics of how to get there are very challenging and we expected that, but they continue to be challenging.”

Smelter deal yet to be finalized

Boor said talks with the province to finalize plans to build a chromite smelter near Sudbury were delayed because of the election. He said company officials have yet to talk with representatives of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government. “As we approach a year since the agreement in terms, that’s become more of a concern,” Boor said of the plans to locate the smelter.

“Part of the uncertainty that lies right now is whether we’re going to be able to get in on time and get this deal done so that we can wrap up the feasibility study.”

Read more

Mining industry struggling with new Ontario regulations – by Kristen E. Courtney (Toronto Star – April 13, 2013)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Kristen Courtney is an environmental lawyer and a Fellow in Global Journalism at the Munk School for Global Affairs.

Industry warns of an impending exodus of mining companies saying new regulations are too onerous for an industry already in dire financial straits.

Many of Ontario’s junior mining companies are struggling to catch up with the law this month as new regulations under the province’s century-old Mining Act have just come into effect.

According to Garry Clark, executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association, many companies didn’t understand what the new rules required of them, which has resulted in some getting caught offside the law and abruptly having to halt exploration work.

Companies that didn’t obtain the necessary plans and permits now required by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines “have effectively had their exploration work shut down while they wait for these to go through… there are quite a few tied up in the process right now, and most of them are taking longer than 30 days,” says Clark, throwing off scheduling and costing companies more money.

Even amongst those companies that did understand what’s required, many find the regulations too onerous for an industry already in dire financial straits.

Read more

OMA NEWS RELEASE: MINING COMPANIES HELPING TO OPEN EMPLOYMENT DOORS FOR FIRST NATIONS RESIDENTS

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.

Posted on Friday April 12, 2013

OMA members Barrick Hemlo and North American Palladium are opening doors for more Aboriginals to start careers in mining. These companies are the industry partners in the innovative Mining Essentials program, which is run through Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS) in Thunder Bay. AETS serves nine First Nations in northwestern Ontario.

The Mining Essentials program is a work readiness course for Aboriginals. It was developed by the Assembly of First Nations and the Mining Industry Human Resource Council (MiHR) with curriculum consultation by educators and industry. The program has been run at three training sites including Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Northern College in Timmins and Northwest Community College in Hazelton, British Columbia.

“Mining Essentials is a stepping stone to get entry level jobs,” said John DeGiacomo, partnership and development officer at AETS. “Industry has a chance to help First Nations that perhaps didn’t have that opportunity before to further their education.”

The program began in 2010 and since then, AETS has provided 22 of the 77 graduates in Canada. “Those who complete the common core training are qualified to work underground,” said John Hatton, training and development director for Confederation College. “The 12-week program involves two-thirds classroom work, with the rest on the job site. When they finish this, they can start work at any mine.”

Read more

Angus disappointed with lack of plan – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – April 11, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Members of the federal opposition were taking shots at a government “pipe-dream” this week – and for once it had nothing to do with oil sands.

MP Charlie Angus (NDP–Timmins-James Bay) said he was upset to look through the federal budget and see only cuts to rail service across the country.

He was particularly upset about the lack of mention of the James Bay Port Authority. The idea of a central, federally owned rail and infrastructure corporation — potentially located in the Moosonee region — was the source of much discussion within Northern municipalities, the federal government, and worker’s unions alike over the past year.

“I’m shocked,” Angus said. “I looked through the budget and there’s really no plan for Northern Ontario. One of the big promises being floated was to develop this James Bay Port Authority, and it was being proposed as a way of helping save Northern rail infrastructure. So what happened, where is it?”

On the heels of the provincial Liberals’ decision to sell off the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) in March 2012, followed by the cancellation of the Northland passenger train service in September 2012, there was uproar in Northern Ontario about the perceived lack of transparency and consultation.

Read more

Bill to process minerals in province quashed – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – April 12, 2013)

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

“There will be an increasing demand for resources in the next few decades,” Sudol said.
With more resource scarcity, Sudol said, other jurisdictions would have to play by Ontario’s
rules if they want access to its ore deposits, and that could include conditions to process
that ore within the province.

The Ontario Liberals and Conservatives voted Thursday to defeat a private member’s bill that would have amended the Mining Act to require any resources mined in Ontario also be processed in the province.

The bill was introduced by NDP MPP Michael Mantha, that party’s Northern Development and Mines critic, and was defeated after second reading by a vote of 70 to 18.

“My bill would have given Ontario’s mining industry a bright future,” Mantha said in a release after his bill’s defeat. “By keeping our resources in the province, there is the potential of job creation in many sectors. We would ensure that the unprecedented wealth of resources in the Ring of Fire is used to create good value added jobs for Ontarians.”

Mantha introduced Bill 43, An Act to amend the Mining Act to require resources to be processed in Ontario, to prevent situations like the closing of the Xstrata copper and zinc metallurgical plants in Timmins three years ago.

Read more

Keep riches here [in Ontario]: MPP – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – April 12, 2013)

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

Thunder Bay-Superior North and Kenora-Rainy River MPPs were on opposite sides of the fence Thursday when debating two private members’ bills at Queen’s Park.

Following debate late Thursday afternoon, MPPs defeated Bill 43: Mining Amendment Act (Resources Processed in Ontario), and approved second reading of Bill 42: Ombudsman Amendment Act (Children’s Aid Societies).

Bill 43, introduced by NDP Northern Development and Mines critic Michael Mantha (NDP-Algoma–Manitoulin), would have required ore and minerals mined in Ontario to remain in the province for refinement. Currently, companies can apply for an exemption from exporting restrictions, allowing them to send raw material anywhere in the world to be processed.

Following the vote, Mantha said the defeat of his bill shows that Liberal and Conservative MPPs are not serious about job creation. “My bill would have given Ontario’s mining industry a bright future,” he said.

“By keeping our resources in the province, there is the potential of job creation in many sectors. We would ensure that the unprecedented wealth of resources in the Ring of Fire is used to create good value-added jobs for Ontarians.”

Read more

Gold mine to benefit Sudbury, North: Company [Iamgold] – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – April 12, 2013)

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

A proposed gold mine in Gogama will see a lake in the area lost for the 15 years the mine is expected to operate, representatives from Iamgold Corporation told city councillors in Sudbury this week.

“(We) will lose Cote Lake during the life of the mine, and until the pit is filled, that water will be gone,” said Steven Woolfenden, Iamgold’s manager of Corporate Environmental Assessment and Approvals.

The Cote Gold open pit mine is still in the early stages of the government’s approval process, but the company hopes to start construction in 2015 and open the mine in 2017.

An estimated 1,200 people will work at the mine, 170 km from Sudbury, in the construction phase and 500 once the mine is up and running. “We’re excited to have this potential opportunity in Ontario, Cote Gold,” said Woolfenden. “We’re really hoping to establish ourselves in this region.”

Iamgold has mining operations in South America, Africa and Quebec. Cote Gold was previously owned by Trelawney Mining. The company was bought by Iamgold last June for $608 million.

Read more

Superior Copper acquiring more property – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 11, 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.

Superior Copper has entered an agreement to acquire more property to continue exploration drilling in the Batchawana Camp near Sault Ste. Marie.

The exploration company has entered an agreement to acquire portions of the Jogran Porphyry and Richards Breccia properties and 19 claims that are contiguous to the company’s current property in the Batchawana Camp.

The announcement follows the April 5 release of preliminary assay results from the company’s two-drill program at the Coppercorp Mine area, where Superior continues to intersect high-grade copper mineralization.

Highlights include one hole that intersected 4.87 per cent copper and 61.3 gpt silver over 3.6 metres at a depth of 160 metres. A second hole intercepted the SB Zone at a vertical depth of 150 metres and intersected 1.3 per cent copper, 26.4 gpt silver and 5.06 gpt gold over 1.3 metres.

Read more

First Nickel nears target – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – April 11, 2013)

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

The president and chief executive officer of First Nickel won’t come right out and say Lockerby Mine is in full production, but Thomas Boehlert strongly hints at it. The mine formerly owned by Falconbridge reached 60% production in 2012, costing about $37 million to operate with $36 million in revenues.

In public guidance released in the first week of April, the company said it expected to have reached full production in the first three months of 2013 — after that time period had already passed.

“We have no reason to change that expectation,” Boehlert said Wednesday in an interview with The Star. In public guidance issued at the start of this year and last week, the company said it expected to “be there,” in full production, mining 10 million pounds of nickel a year, by the end of March.

“We have no reason to change that expectation,” Boehlert repeated. “So, you can interpret that as you like.” The junior miner has been on a roller-coaster since it purchased Lockerby in 2004, operating it until the 2008 economic meltdown and the collapse of metals prices forced layoffs and essentially closed the operation.

This year will still be a challenging one, said Boehlert, but the junior miner’s future is looking bright.

Read more

Mine/Refine Ontario ore in province: NDP – by Staff (Sudbury Star – April 11, 2013)

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

MPPs will debate a private member’s bill in the Legislature on Thursday that would require all ore and minerals mined in Ontario to be refined here.

The bill was introduced by Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha, who spoke in Question Period on Wednesday, urging the Liberal government of Premier Kathleen Wynne to maximize the economic potential of northern mining developments.

“The Ring of Fire presents endless opportunities for Northern Ontario and the province,” said Mantha, who is the New Democrats’ Northern Development and Mines critic.

“However, instead of seeing development and job creation, the past years of Liberal government have been marked by job losses in the North,” said Mantha.

“Look no further than Xstrata and Timmins to see that we are losing good, value-added jobs and crippling our workforce for years to come.” The Ontario Mining Act requires companies to get an exemption to ship resources out of the country, but Mantha said Ontario’s competition comes from Manitoba and Quebec, where the price of electricity is half of what it is in Ontario.

Read more

OMA NEWS RELEASE: Global urbanization trend fuels long-term demand for Ontario minerals

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 continuing global trend toward greater urbanization holds the potential to fuel demand for Ontario mineral products well into the future.. The United Nations Population Division predicts that in the next 37 years, urban environments will accommodate three billion more people than today.

Chamber of Mines of South Africa Senior Executive Roger Baxter sees this ever increasing urbanization trend anticipated out to 2050 as providing positive opportunities for mining. Urbanization due to the inherent infrastructure that accompanies it and higher living standards are the main modern-day drivers of mineral demand.

You can’t build cities without roads, bridges, tunnels, transit, airports, train stations, houses, schools, hospitals, electricity grids and telecommunications networks. All of these vital components of urban infrastructure cannot be created without metals and mineral products.

The United Nations tells us that over the same period, 800 million people will become city dwellers in Africa and the total population of that continent will double to two billion people. It also forecasts one billion new urbanites in India, China and the rest of Asia by 2050.

Read more

OMA NEWS RELEASE: Powering for the future: New company connects benefits to communities, mining company and the environment

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 Goldcorp and 13 First Nations in Northwestern Ontario have formed a partnership to create Wataynikaneyap Power. This new electricity company plans to develop a transmission line to connect remote First Nations to the provincial grid and provide more reliable power to communities and companies already linked to Ontario’s electrical network.

“We have partnered with Goldcorp to establish Wataynikaneyap Power with the goal of First Nations eventually owning 100% of this important infrastructure that will better serve our communities,” said Margaret Kenequanash, representing the 13 First Nations partners in Wataynikaneyap Power. “I look forward to the day we can connect our communities to the provincial power grid – it is safe, reliable and provides cleaner energy.”

“Wataynikaneyap Power is an example of how industry and First Nations can work together on projects that are good for the economy and the environment while benefitting communities in the region for years to come,” said Gil Lawson, Mine Manager for Goldcorp’s Musselwhite Operation. Goldcorp plans to facilitate the completion of phase one of the project and leave the Wataynikaneyap Power partnership once a long-term transmission partner is on board.

Read more

Webequie dives into trades training – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 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. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Peter Pagnutti is spending 12 weeks introducing an enthusiastic class of First Nation students to the skilled trades, but the Cambrian College instructor readily admits the whole experience has been as equally rewarding for him.

“There’s not a day goes by where I don’t strike up a conversation with one of them and they teach me something,” particularly in feeding Pagnutti’s abiding interest in natural remedies.

Sudbury’s Cambrian College is providing hands-on learning to 15 students from Webequie through an introduction to the trades course geared toward eventually graduating heavy equipment mechanics.

The remote community of Webequie in the James Bay lowlands is the closest settlement to the Ring of Fire, the area of Ontario’s next great mining camp.

Last winter, the Ontario government announced $3.1 million in training funds to prepare residents for future job opportunities in six First Nation communities in the Far North, including Webequie.

Read more

FedNor cuts will be ‘devastating’: Mulcair – by Sebastien Perth (Sudbury Star – April 5, 2013)

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

NDP leader accuses Tony Clement of ‘word games’ and calls Cliffs’ approach to Ring of Fire ‘really stupid’

The Conservatives are lying when they call cuts to FedNor “efficiencies,” federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said Thursday during a visit to Sudbury.

Mulcair talked about Conservative spending cuts, Liberal party polling numbers and the Ring of Fire development during a media scrum at NORCAT offices on Maley Drive.

Mulcair accused Tony Clement, the minister for FedNor, of playing word games, in a dispute over the FedNor budget. The NDP says the department’s budget will be slashed from $81 million in 2012-13 to $60.3 million in 2014-15. In a release, Clement said the cuts won’t affect FedNor’s ability to deliver programs– a claim Mulcair challenged.

“Unfortunately, the Conservatives’ cuts, the planned cuts of tens of millions of dollars from the budget of FedNor, will have a devastating effect in the whole region, particularly in centres of excellence,” he said. “(The cuts will be) 20% this year and 25% next year — those are the actual cuts to FedNor.”

“If Tony Clement says anything otherwise, he’s not telling the truth. This is not a matter of ‘he said, she said’ — these are facts, they are printed on a piece of paper.”

Read more