Ontario Mining – Page 233 – Republic of Mining

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

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.

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

April 9, 2013

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.

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

April 8, 2013

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.

Webequie dives into trades training – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 2013)

April 5, 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.

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

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.”

Northern Ontario First Nations ask Minister to defer new mining rules – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – April 4, 2013)

April 5, 2013

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A group of First Nations residing in the north of Ontario this week asked Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle to delay implementing new mining rules that came into effect on Monday, claiming that the new regulations had not gone through a proper consultation process.

The new mining regulations were part of a modernised Mining Act that was passed in 2009 to promote mineral exploration and development in a manner that recognised Aboriginal and treaty rights, was more respectful of private landowners and minimised the impact of mineral exploration and development on the environment.

The Anishinabek Nation, which represented 39 member communities and about 55 000 people in the mineral-rich north of the province, was calling for the establishment of a bilateral table on mining and a meeting with the Minister.

Grand council chief Patrick Madahbee has asked Minister Gravelle to postpone the mandatory implementation of the new mining regulations, saying the Anishinabek Nation was looking for a chance for its leadership to meet with their citizens to discuss concerns with regulations that “did not go through a proper consultation process”.

The Anishinabek Nation had concerns about the recognition of treaty rights, resource revenue sharing, environmental stewardship and the local capacity to permit First Nations to meet demands of the new regulations.

OMA member profile: Agnico Eagle– targeting a higher flight path

April 4, 2013

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.

With its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario Mining Association member Agnico Eagle has re-crafted its logo to reflect its flight path as a global gold producer. The company has its roots in Agnico Mines, which was created by Canadian Mining Hall of Fame inductee Paul Penna in 1957 through the consolidation of silver interests in the Cobalt area. In 1972, Agnico Mines merged with Eagle Gold Mines, which had prospects in northwestern Quebec, to become Agnico Eagle Mines Limited.

From a modest start with precious metals production and development in Ontario and Quebec, the company has matured into a global mining company. In 2012, it produced about 1,043,000 ounces of gold and 4.7 million ounces of silver from properties in Canada, Mexico and Finland. From 2008 to 2011, Agnico Eagle developed five new mines and increased its gold production by more than 325%.

The Kittila mine in northern Finland is 900 kilometres north of Helsinki and 150 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. It started production in 2009 and became the first mine Agnico Eagle producing property opened outside of Canada. Pinos Altos in Mexico started commercial production in the fall of 2009 and is now a major gold and silver producer.

In Canada, the LaRonde property is Quebec is billed as the company’s flagship with a current mine life stretching to 2026. It has produced more than 4.3 million ounces of gold since opening in 1988. The company’s largest annual gold producer is the open pit Meadowbank gold mine in Nunavut. Production began here in 2010 and in 2013 anticipated production is 360,000 ounces of gold.

Algoma mining district looks to gain attention – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 2013)

April 4, 2013

Prospectors and junior miners will be gathering in Sault Ste. Marie in mid-April for the Northeastern Mines and Minerals Symposium.

The Sault and Algoma district isn’t considered a hard core area for mineral exploration in Northern Ontario, so Delio Tortosa, president of the Sault and District Prospectors Association, was expecting the usual crowd of 125 people for the April 16-17 event at the Canadian Bushplane Museum.

While mineral exploration and the prospects of future mines are on the lips of people in Thunder Bay, Dryden and Fort Frances, the Algoma district, despite its rich mining history, is kind of a forgotten and under-explored place when it comes to field activity.

Tortosa said the reason is some of the most prospective ground is privately owned by developers and southern Ontario real estate consortiums, who are more focussed on forestry.

“If they could make an arrangement with a junior exploration company, there would be gold prospects that we could go straight after.”

Retirement, expansion fuels mining industry’s need for skill – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 2013)

April 4, 2013

Retirement and expansion in Northern Ontario’s mining industry means companies will be hard-pressed to replenish the ranks.

A report commissioned by the Mining Industry Human Resource Council and the Algoma Workforce Investment Committee released in late February presented a picture of what lies ahead to attract people to mining jobs.

In Algoma, the mining industry employs 5,145 in exploration, development, production and processing. Over the next decade, because of expansion, retirement and varying commodity prices, the needs of the industry range between 4,670 and 4,980.

Across Ontario, the industry needs 59,000 workers over the next 10 years. The demographics in the Algoma district mirrors much of Northern Ontario: the population is aging and young people are leaving. The poor image of the mining industry is a contributing factor to recruitment challenges.

Aboriginal people make up nearly 15 per cent of the industry’s workforce, but mining could use more of them, along with more women and immigrants.

Northern Ontario First Nations seek delay on new mining rules – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – April 3, 2013)

April 3, 2013

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

A group of First Nation communities in mineral-rich Northern Ontario is asking the province to postpone implementation of new mining regulations that went into effect this week, claiming the rules were drafted without full consultation.

The new regulations are part of a modernized Mining Act that was passed in 2009 to promote mineral exploration and development in a way that recognizes aboriginal and treaty rights and minimizes impact on the environment.

The Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 member communities and some 55,000 people in Ontario, says the new regulations should have the blessing of a bilateral table on mining that the government agreed to create in September.

“We had a very distinct understanding with Ontario as to the process by which we were going to do this work,” said Chief Isadore Day, a spokesman for the Union of Ontario Indians that represents the Anishinabek Nation.

In a statement penned by Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee, the Union of Ontario Indians also said the Anishinabek was concerned about recognition of treaty rights, resource revenue sharing, environmental stewardship and local capacity of First Nations to meet demands of regulations.

New law requiring aboriginal consultation takes effect April 1 – by Siobhan McClelland (Law Times – March 25, 2013)

March 27, 2013

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/

Changes to the Mining Act in Ontario will require companies to consult First Nations on any mineral exploration claims before the work begins. As of April 1, the act will require third parties wishing to stake mining claims to effectively take over the Crown’s duty to consult with First Nations.

But the lack of guidance on what they must do as part of that duty to consult leaves uncertainty for both First Nations and the mining companies. “What the mining industry needs now more than anything is some certainty,” says Neal Smitheman, a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.

The Divisional Court recently had an opportunity to clarify the duty to consult on Jan. 25, 2013, in ruling on the appeal in Wahgoshig First Nation v. Solid Gold Resources Corp. The case dealt with an appeal of an interim injunction prohibiting the defendant mining company from engaging in exploration activities on land the plaintiff had claims to.

The court granted leave to appeal with the leave judge noting that, in the absence of legislation, “it is important that the court clarify the respective obligations of the Crown and mining exploration companies operating in this province toward First Nations whose treaty rights or aboriginal [rights] might be adversely affected by exploration activities.”

Environmental approvals for Ring of Fire mine running into difficulty – by Heather Scoffield (The Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press – March 25, 2013)

March 25, 2013

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

OTTAWA – Just as the federal government strives to speed up environmental reviews of major mining and energy projects, approvals for the giant Ring of Fire proposal in northern Ontario are getting increasingly tangled.

On Monday, a key environmental group asked for provincial government mediation on how Cliffs Natural Resources plans to develop a giant chromite deposit in the fragile muskeg of the James Bay lowlands.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society says Cleveland-based Cliffs is dramatically changing its plans for a mine without properly consulting with the public.

“Several major alterations have been incorporated at the last minute and without the benefit of public scrutiny,” the Wildlands League chapter of CPAWS says in a letter to Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley.

The letter says Cliffs is backing away from a long-term plan to do a combination of open-pit mining and underground mining, opting to stick with only open pit.

It also notes Cliffs is considering only a single route — a north-south road that would be heavily subsidized — to transport chromite ore out of the area, instead of considering other ways such, as an east-west corridor that could link First Nations to much-needed infrastructure.

Xstrata hoping to keep the Kidd deep mine running beyond 2020 – by Len Gilles (Timmins Times – March 22, 2013)

March 25, 2013

http://www.timminstimes.com/

The Xstrata Kidd Mine in Timmins has a life expectancy of perhaps another eight years, but everything is being done to make the mine run as efficiently, as sunstainably and as profitably as possible.

And from that, there is the possibility that maybe, just maybe, another few years of mine life might be found.

That was part of the message Thursday from Xstrata Copper Kidd Operations general manager Tom Semadeni who was the guest speaker at the Timmins Chamber of Commerce luncheon event at the Dante Club.

He said the Kidd mine is still quite large, still quite rich and still expensive to run. The Kidd Mine is not only the deepest mine in Canada, it is the deepest base metal mine in the world at more than 9600 feet down.

Semadeni said that the copper, zinc and silver ore at Kidd is very rich. On the other side of the coin, because the mine is now so deep, everything involved in running the mine is more expensive.

It takes longer for the miners to get from surface down to the work areas. It takes longer to ship equipment and materials from surface to the lower levels. Ventilation and the cost of moving fresh air into the mine and removing stale air and blasting gases is significantly higher. And it takes longer to bring the ore to surface.

Ontario MPP attacks Mining Act reforms, warns of red-tape delays – by HazMat Staff (March 21, 2013)

March 22, 2013

http://www.hazmatmag.com/

Norm Miller, MPP for Parry Sound — Muskoka, is challenging amendments to Ontario’s Mining Act with just two weeks left before they are fully implemented by the province.

Miller is warning provincial officials that the new detailed plans required by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines will create significant delays for Ontario mining companies, costing them millions of dollars, while drowning the province in red tape.

Historically, Canadian mining companies have been able to drill their mining claims without provincial permission. As of April 1, 2013, companies will need to submit details of almost every stage of their exploration plans and consult with affected First Nations.

“By forcing prospectors to now file detailed plans for activities as simple as flipping stones and driving stakes, the regulatory burden is increasing on this critical first step in the mining process,” said Miller, speaking at Queen’s Park on March 7, 2013. “When these amendments were passed, the current government announced they would modernize the system and promised to bring the Mining Act into the 21st century. Judging by the response so far, it sounds more like a step back.”

The amendments detail how the broader principles in the revised Act will work in practice. In 2009, the present amendments to the Mining Act were passed by the Ontario Legislature through Bill 173 – An Act to Amend the Mining Act.

Ontario Mining Association News Release: Let’s bring silver out from the shadows

March 22, 2013

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.

In some quarters, silver is sometimes viewed as – well let’s politely call it – a lesser precious metal. However, in the name of fairness, perhaps it is time to take a look at what this metal means to the economy of Ontario – and to modern society.

In 2011, 147 tonnes of silver were produced from a variety of sources in Ontario. The value of this output was more than $168 million. Ontario is the largest silver producer in Canada turning out about 28% of the national total production level of 532 tonnes.

All silver produced in Ontario is a by-product of other mining operations. There are no primary silver mines in Ontario. In fact, in Canada, Alexco Resources owns and operates the Bellekeno silver mine in the Yukon, which is the only operating primary silver mine in the country. In 2012, the company’s total production of silver totaled more than 2,150,000 ounces.

Ontario-originated silver is generally a by-product from a variety of gold mining operations in the province and the major nickel-copper mines in the Sudbury Basin. Also, in Timmins, Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Operations has long been a major source of silver output in Ontario.

While this metal does have a monetary role and it remains a key component of jewelry creation, the Silver Institute based in Washington D.C. says the industrial demand for silver is soaring and likely to reach record heights in 2014. One of the main industrial uses of silver was in photography but the technological shift to digital cameras has lessened those applications.