Accent: City builds rep as mining [research] hub – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – February 23, 2013)

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

A giant 3D television displayed two separate animations of coloured rectangle s that appeared at seemingly random areas on the screen. The coloured rectangles — and they covered the entire spectrum of a rainbow — represented different mine areas, and appeared on screen in the order they should be developed.

The animation was a visual representation of mine scheduling and showcased the differences between a schedule that was put together manually, and another that was created by an algorithm developed at Laurentian University.

Scheduling ore extraction at a mine may seem like a mundane task at first, but tweaking the extraction order for peak mine performance can increase the net value of a mining operation by up to 20%.

Researchers at Laurentian’s Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) developed a software solution called the schedule optimization tool, or SOT for short.

The technology helps mining companies save time and money before they start digging for minerals, and has been used by a number of companies, including Vale and Xstrata.

Lorrie Fava, MIRARCO’s program manager of ventilation and production optimization, said the program cuts down greatly on the amount of time companies need to dedicate to scheduling a new mine site.

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Cliffs plays political waiting game – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 22, 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.

Cliffs Natural Resources could scale back into its spending in the Ring of Fire if “uncertainties” associated with its chromite mine project in the James Bay lowlands aren’t ironed out with Queen’s Park.

With provincial negotiations in a stalemate, the Cleveland-based miner is re-evaluating this year’s budget to advance its $3.3-billion Black Thor chromite project. The company has set aside $60 million to complete its feasibility study of its proposed open pit mine, roughly 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

“I can’t really go to the board of directors and ask to them to move out of the feasibility phase of the project until we’ve wrapped up some of these uncertainties,” said Bill Boor, Cliffs’ president of ferroalloys.

While Boor remained confident the feasibility study will be wrapped up as planned by late summer, some next-phase construction moves may be put on hold. “What’s possible is we might demobilize some of that effort and not be prepared to move into execution at the end of feasibilty.”

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Business savvy: Wabun First Nation communities establishing successful mining ventures – by Liz Cowan (Northern Ontario Business – February 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.

Wabun First Nation communities are reaping the benefits of a mining boom by establishing successful business ventures in the service industry.

“We are starting to see some real business-like profit and the regular capitalistic type of progress that the other communities have enjoyed,” said Jason Batise, economic development and technical services advisor for Wabun Tribal Council. “For too long, our communities sat and watched other communities be successful.”

The council is headquartered in Timmins and serves the communities of Beaverhouse, Brunswick House, Chapleau Ojibwe, Flying Post, Matachewan and Mattagami.

Matachewan First Nation, located west of Kirkland Lake, has created some successful platforms, including a venture that provides temporary housing for Aurico employees at its nearby Young-Davidson Mine. The company, Ednysian, provides a 300-bed facility with full meal service and housekeeping.

“Ednysian is Ojibway for a place to be when you are not home,” he said. “It has been an extremely successful business model and is profitable and I think our service is great.”

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NEWS RELEASE: OMA member BESTECH supports African humanitarian effort led by Sudbury woman

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 BESTECH has committed $5,000 to push Jacqueline Villeneuve closer towards her goal of raising $15,000 to support orphaned and abandoned children in Kenya. Ms Villeneuve, who is from Sudbury and attended Confederation Secondary School, founded Zawadi La Tumaini in 2010 to provide shelter, food and education for needy children, many who have been orphaned through HIV/AIDS.

Ms Villeneuve, who is now 19, lives in Nairobi. The Zawadi La Tumaini Centre for needy children is scheduled to have its official opening on March 1, 2013. BESTECH Co-Chief Executive Officer Marc Boudreau first supported this humanitarian effort of Ms Villeneuve after hearing her interviewed on a local radio station four years ago.

“Right away, I thought: I have to help this kid,” said Mr. Boudreau. “I was so moved by the passion that exuded from this 15-year-old girl (at the time) who was focused on helping children in a different continent. She was a fantastic speaker! Jacqueline’s words and tone demonstrated her selfless character and her commitment.”

“As an owner of a firm that operates internationally, I am often dealing with intelligent executives, engineers and other professionals in various parts of the world,” said Mr. Boudreau. “I believe it is important to embrace the opportunity to provide education to our future brilliant global business leaders who will one day operate in the same fields as BESTECH.”

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Rail over roads the way to go for Ring of Fire: Study – by Jeff Labine (tbnewswatch.com – February 22, 2013)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Railway infrastructure, and not an all-season road, is the best option for Ring of Fire development a recently released study concludes.

KWG Resources Inc. released the study, conducted by international engineering firm Tetra Tech WEI Inc., Thursday that compared the capital and operating costs of a railroad and an all-weather into the massive chromite deposited in the lower James Bay area.

The estimated cost for a roadway is $1.05 billion compared to the $1.561 billion for a railroad. While the initial cost of railway infrastructure may be greater than that of an all-season road, the study suggests rail services come with long term savings because of shipping costs.

If 5 million tonnes per year are shipped it’s estimated that operating costs per tonne would be reduced to $6.33 for the railroad and $69.28 for trucking. Noront Resources Ltd. Chief Operating Officer Paul Semple heard about the study but hadn’t had a chance to look it over before tbnewswatch.com contacted him Thursday afternoon.

While he agreed the long-term savings of a rail line would be greater than an all-season road, Semple said the big question is by how much.

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Clement steps in [to the Ring of Fire] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal (February 22, 2013)

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

MINERS have tried. The Ontario government has tried. Now it’s the federal government’s turn to search for a way through the minefields hampering development of Northern Ontario’s highly-promising Ring of Fire mineral deposits. Ottawa appears to have given up hope that players already at the table can agree on how to proceed. Many discussions to date have been acrimonious as mining groups, First Nations and provincial representatives grappled with staking rights versus treaty rights. Exploration teams have been ordered off land claimed by First Nations.

The province has tried and, in most cases, failed to facilitate agreements on issues that fall under its jurisdiction. There are notable exceptions but the success stories are fewer than the harsh disagreements over who can do what, where and when.

Prime Minister Harper this week assigned Tony Clement, Minister for the Federal Economic Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor) to broker environmental, industrial, transportation and other issues alongside the expectations of First Nations. He must respect court decisions around the duty to consult those communities and be mindful of the fact this isn’t solely his responsibility.

While both senior governments have aboriginal, infrastructure, resources and northern development departments, Queen’s Park governs the central issue of land use while Ottawa bears responsibility for lands under treaty. In this case, it’s much the same land.

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OMA member profile: Lake Shore Gold — newer producer on Timmins golden block

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 Lake Shore Gold Corp. exemplifies findings in the recent economic impact study “Mining: Dependable and Dynamic for Ontario’s Future.” This report, which demonstrates among other things that mining boosts communities, was produced by University of Toronto economists Peter Dungan and Steve Murphy.

Lake Shore Gold produced more than 85,700 ounces of gold in 2012 and it is a newer bullion producer in the Timmins camp – production began two years ago. The company operates its Timmins West complex and Bell Creek complex, where its mill is located, and it is developing the Fenn-Gib project, which is located about 60 kilometres east of Timmins.

The Fenn-Gib project has potential to be developed as an open pit gold mine. Exploration results from the property near Matheson show an indicated resource of 1.3 million ounces of gold and 800,000 inferred ounces of gold.

In 2012, the company spent $138.5 million on supplies and services in Timmins and a further $90 million was spent outside the Timmins area. “We are really trying to keep our dollars as close to Timmins as we possibly can,” said Dan Gagnon, Senior Vice President Operations at Lake Shore Gold. “Sixty-one percent of our spending was in Timmins and of the non-local spending of $90 million, roughly $53 million was spent in Northern Ontario.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Tetra Tech Trade-Off Study Favours Rail to Ring of Fire

Click here for the Tetra Tech Trade-Off Study: http://www.kwgresources.com/_resources/Rail_vs_Road_Tradeoff_Study_Report_FINAL_11Feb2013.pdf

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Feb. 21, 2013) – KWG Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KWG) (“KWG”) has released a study that it commissioned by the international engineering firm Tetra Tech WEI Inc. to compare the capital and operating costs of both a railroad and an all-weather road to the Ring of Fire. The study estimates the capital costs for a roadway at $1.052 billion and a railroad at $1.561 billion. If 3 million tonnes per year are shipped, operating costs are estimated at $10.50 per tonne for the railroad and $60.78 per tonne for trucking on the road. If 5 million tonnes per year are shipped, it is estimated that those operating costs per tonne would be reduced to $6.33 for rail and $59.28 for trucking.

The complete study has been posted on the KWG website: www.kwgresources.com and should be read in its entirety to understand the assumptions made by the authors of the study in order to derive the foregoing conclusions.

About KWG: KWG has a 30% interest in the Big Daddy chromite deposit and the right to earn 80% of the Black Horse chromite where resources are being defined in a drilling program this winter. KWG also owns 100% of Canada Chrome Corporation which has staked claims and conducted a $15 million surveying and soil testing program for the engineering and construction of a railroad to the Ring of Fire from Exton, Ontario.

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Optimistic start: Area chiefs meet with minister Tony Clement – by Jamie Smith (tbnewswatch.com – February 20, 2013)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

THUNDER BAY — Peter Moonias says he’s feeling optimistic after a meeting with the federal government. Moonias, chief of Neskantaga First Nation, and other Matawa leaders met with lead Ring of Fire federal Minister Tony Clement in Thunder Bay Wednesday at the Travelodge Airlane.

Moonias made headlines last year when he said he was willing to die in order to stop development in the Ring of Fire unless the provincial government started meaningful consultation with First Nations.

But if industry shows a willingness to work together, so can the communities, he said. He added that the first step is to get the federal and provincial governments to understand that First Nations are treaty partners not stakeholders.

Another brief news clip from February 21, 2013: http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Video/26653/Clement-Matawa

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Lack of transportation plan hurting Ring of Fire financing – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 20, 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.

The lack of a coherent plan to develop transportation infrastructure in the Ring of Fire is hurting the exploration financing scene in Ontario, insists a leading international business law firm.

Fasken Martineau issued a December bulletin that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has taken the position not to list companies with exploration projects in global regions where there is no authoritative plan to move raw and bulk product to market. This pertains to junior miners operating in Ontario’s Far North, the firm said in a statement.

The bulletin states, historically, a National Instrument 43-101 technical report establishing “economically interesting grades” of mineral resources on a property was usually good enough to satisfy the TSX. But not anymore.

Fasken said the TSX now wants assurances that bulk products, such as concentrate, can be shipped to market by roads, rail or via port facilities. “We understand that the TSX has recently turned down the listing application of several companies in the Ring of Fire and in Quebec, because of concerns about the availability of infrastructure.”

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Judge calls [DeBeers mine] blockade an act of extortion – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – February 21, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The ongoing blockade outside the Victor diamond mine is not an Aboriginal protest but an act of extortion, a Timmins Superior Court judge declared Wednesday.

Judge Robert Riopelle said the men who are spearheading the blockade are not fighting for constitutional rights, land claims, treaty issues or anything that would benefit the community of Attawapiskat.

These are “individuals with private financial interests, holding a large multinational corporation to ransom,” Judge Robert Riopelle. “It smells of coercion.” Riopelle felt there was sufficient basis for the Ontario Provincial Police to lay criminal charges against the six demonstrators who have prevented access to the mine site since Feb. 11.

The hearing on Wednesday was hastily called late Tuesday, at the request of De Beers Canada, as a followup the injunction order that was made on Friday. Its purpose was to provide direction on enforcing the order.

Riopelle had issued the order, demanding the barricades be removed from the ice road and prohibiting any further obstruction of access to the mine site by the demonstrators.

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[Sudbury]Mining to recover in 2013, board predicts – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – February 21, 2013)

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

New developments in the mining industry in 2013 will contribute to a predicted 1.7% growth in real gross domestic product in Sudbury, up from 0.6% in 2012, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

Sudbury was second from the bottom in economic performance of 28 census metropolitan areas last year, but the board is forecasting it will move up to 22 in 2013. GDP is a measure of the overall economic activity — the value of goods and services produced — within an economy.

Sudbury’s economy was held back last year by significant declines in several sectors, said Jane McIntyre, an economist with the Conference Board of Canada. McIntyre collects data for several cities, Sudbury among them.

In 2011, there was strong growth in the primary and utilities sector, mostly mining, as Vale recovered from the effects of a year-long strike by United Steelworkers.

Weaker metal prices last year, as well as the temporary shutdowns early in the year at Vale mines and the closing of the Frood portion of Frood-Stobie Mine at the end of the year, took a “chunk” out of that sector in 2013.

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Detour Lake pours first gold bars, set to become Canada’s biggest producer – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – February 20, 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.

Canada’s newest mega-gold mine poured its first gold bars on Tuesday, as the Detour Lake project in Northern Ontario reached production alongside volatile gold prices holding just above $1,600 an ounce.

Detour Gold Corp., the owner and operator of the huge open-pit mine, poured four gold bars at the Cochrane, Ont., project for a total of 2,000 ounces of the precious metal. The spot value of that gold was some $3.2-million (U.S.) at current gold prices.

The mine was built over 26 months and comes into being about six years after Detour bought the properties. It will vie for top spot with Canada’s largest gold mines, and has the potential to be expanded further under the right conditions.

“We do have the reserves to expand more, no doubt in my mind,” said Gerald Panneton, the president, chief executive and founder of the company he took public six years ago on the Toronto Stock Exchange. “Are we going to do it? It’s a question of economics and market. We will probably take a decision in a couple of years.”

When it went public in 2007, Detour Gold stock was trading at just below $4 a share, a fraction of the $20.75 where it closed on Tuesday. When the company was born, the price of gold was around $650 an ounce, or less than half what it is today.

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New economy community-focused, planning board told – (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – February 20, 2013)

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

There will be nearly 7,000 additional mining jobs in Northern Ontario by 2020, says a Conference Board of Canada study released last month. And to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, economist Thomas Townsend said the new economy will have to be more localized and more community-focused.

Townsend, president and founder of Townsend-Danis Advantage, provided the keynote address during the Think Globally, Act Locally presentation hosted by the North Superior Workforce Planning Board in Thunder Bay on Tuesday.

Townsend explained that the labour force has to be adaptive to changing economic forces, and that adaptation has to start at the local level. “It starts with the people and their capabilities and skills that are currently here, but it also includes their aspirations,” Townsend said during an interview following his address.

“The development of the region will occur, but it has to match with skills people have in order to fit with that development and the kinds of things they want to do with their life, the kinds of lives they want to lead, and the kinds of communities they want to form.”

Townsend said this will involve reading the future, changing the system for positive adjustment, readying the region and making it happen.

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Clement won’t allow Ring of Fire to be ‘mired in uncertainty’ – CBC News Thunder Bay (February 19, 2013)

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

Tony Clement calls mineral-rich Ring of Fire project a ‘complex, generational opportunity’

Tony Clement, Canada’s Treasury Board president and FedNor minister, has officially taken on federal responsibility for the massive Ring of Fire mineral discovery in northern Ontario.

Speaking Tuesday afternoon to members of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, Clement said he would be co-ordinating the government’s engagement with stakeholders, in conjunction with several federal ministries such as Aboriginal Affairs, Industry, Natural Resources, Environment, Health, and Infrastructure.

Clement said he is very familiar with the development because he is also responsible for FedNor, the regional development agency for northern Ontario. The minister told reporters he planned to meet soon with first nations’ leaders to discuss issues concerning the Ring of Fire.

Project will be ‘complex’

Clement said he didn’t expect his new job to be “easy-peasy,” but he added he is looking forward to moving the project ahead. Clement called the mineral-rich area in northwestern Ontario “a generational opportunity,” offering the prospect of several decades of mining and thousands of jobs.

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