Ontario Mining – Page 243 – Republic of Mining

[Solid Gold Resources] Stretch still waiting for public apology – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – January 8, 2013)

January 8, 2013

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

A former mining company CEO could take two First Nations leaders to court in January if they do not issue a public apology for alleged slander and defamation.

Darryl Stretch, the former president and CEO of Solid Gold Resources Corporation, gave Dave Babin, chief of the Wahgoshig First Nation, and Harvey Yesno, grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, until Dec. 17 to issue a public apology for comments they made at a Sudbury press conference on Nov. 7.

Both parties did not respond to Stretch’s letter by that date. Jamie Monastyrski, director of communications with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, said they will issue a statement responding to Stretch’s allegations in the new year.

Babin said in the Nov. 7 press conference that his First Nation has only ever had problems dealing with Solid Gold Resources. “We’ve had other companies contacting us saying they want to work with First Nations,” Babin said. “They are learning the rules coming in. They seem to understand our issues. We’re willing to work with them. We’ve proven that with the many companies on our territory.”

In a release on the same day, Babin and Yesno asked the province to withdraw support from what they said were “racist and radical industry representatives, particularly members of the Mining United group and the Ontario Prospectors Association.”

A map of the future [Northwestern Ontario/Ring of Fire] – economically speaking – by David Robinson (Northern Ontario Business – January 2013)

January 7, 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. Dr. David Robinson is an economist at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. drobinson@laurentian.ca

As minister of northern development and mines, Rick Bartolucci has published the most important development map of Northern Ontario. It isn’t a map of what he is doing, or even what he plans to do-this map shows what others have stopped doing. But with a bit of imagination the map also shows Northern Ontario’s future.

Strange to say, the map didn’t get into the Northern Growth Plan. Maybe the team that wrote the plan didn’t realize what they had. After all, why do we care where all the abandoned mines in Northern Ontario happen to be? It’s just one of the many neat maps available on the Ministry Northern Development and of Mines website.

It is the unsurprising information in this map that matters. The map shows that there are a lot of abandoned mines. We all knew that, although we probably didn’t know just how many. The map shows that mines tend to be found close to railroad lines and major highways. That isn’t very surprising either. The third, not very surprising but important fact, is there are only four abandoned mines in the northwest quarter of the province.

Ring of Fire – Miles before we dig (Part 2 of 2) – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – January 7, 2013)

January 7, 2013January 7, 2013

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

The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines estimates the value of the current known chromite deposits at US$50 billion over its 30-year lifespan. Noront Resources is developing a nickel/copper mine with a current 11-year lifespan.

The mineral deposit is “open at depth,” which means that even though official TSX regulations will not allow you to estimate the potential size of the orebody, most feel that mine will be in production for much longer.

The Ring of Fire mining camp will become bigger than the nickel mines of Voisey’s Bay, Nfld., and Raglan, Que. combined. It’s bigger than diamond deposits in the Northwest Territory or the uranium mining district in northern Saskatchewan.

We have just begun to explore this geologically rich mining region that will probably equal, if not exceed, the legendary trillion-dollar Sudbury basin. These developments, and potentially many more to follow, will significantly alleviate impoverished living conditions in the adjacent Aboriginal communities, as well as provide enormous economic benefits for the entire province.

But how are the First Nations going to build their capacity and take full advantage of these extraordinary job opportunities — and, most importantly, give their consent to sustainable development of their traditional territories — when many, if not most, of them are living in deplorable conditions?

Accent: Ring of Fire – Miles to go before we dig [Part 1 of 2] – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – January 5, 2013)

January 5, 2013

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

It may be a cliche, but over the past six months, how things have changed and how they’ve stayed the same in the Ring of Fire.

There may be some ongoing activity or discussions behind the scenes, but without a doubt, the declining state of the global economy, First Nations issues and Ontario politics seem to have halted any progress on a variety of issues.

First let’s look at the fragile nature of the world economy. The U.S. is still struggling; Europe is worse, with skyrocketing unemployment rates in many countries; and China’s past double-digit expansion is gone. It is estimated that their economy will “only” grow 7% this year.

The price of commodities and the value of resource companies have plummeted. Many mining projects are being put on hold or cancelled, while layoff notices are being handed out. Funding for junior exploration companies — the source of future discoveries like the Ring of Fire — has become almost impossible to find, putting many on life support.

The stock price of Cliffs Natural Resources has plummeted from US$100 per share a year and a half ago to a little under US$30 recently.

Cliffs has publicly stated that they are looking for a partner to help develop their Northern Ontario chromite deposits. Recently, the company has put their Bloom Lake iron ore expansion project in Quebec’s Labrador Iron Trough on hold and stopped production at two of their U.S. iron ore mines.

Investors like [Ontario] northwest’s blue sky mining potential – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 4, 2013)

January 4, 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 upcoming construction of a new Detroit-Windsor international bridge crossing may be grabbing all the headlines, but some Wall Street types and industrial movers and shakers think northwestern Ontario is the right place to deposit their capital.

The City of Thunder Bay and its economic development commission took home two awards in October for its mining presentation at the 4th annual North American Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum in Denver, Colo.

Steve Demmings, CEO of the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission, and John Mason, mining services project manager, attended the Oct. 15-17 event to promote northwestern Ontario as a future infrastructure construction hot spot.

Their submission of a potential $80-billion stable of between nine and 13 mine projects in the region was enough to sway a jury of forum sponsors to pick Thunder Bay over four other nominated projects for the prestigious Strategic Project award.

“We received the award just prior to us doing our presentation,” said Mason, who filed their submission 10 days prior to the event. “Apparently, that’s the granddaddy of the awards and we were competing against an eclectic group.”

Retired industry professionals address [mining] training gap – by Heather Campbell (Northern Ontario Business – January 4, 2013)

January 4, 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.

A trio of Sudbury mining veterans, Dennis Shannon, Mike Mooney and Otto Rost, have teamed up to establish the National Mine Safety Training Centre (NMSTC). There are a lot of contractors working in the mines today who are not necessarily trained for a mine environment, said Shannon, NMSTC’s president.

Proper training ensures their safety and limits the liability of their employers.

Shannon is a retired educator who taught ground control at both Cambrian College and the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT). He and NORCAT past-president Darryl Lake founded the Ontario Centre for Ground Control Training and helped to create the first Ontario operating mine dedicated to training and product development.

Mooney, the chief financial officer, started two successful businesses – Ground Control, which he sold, and Shotcrete Plus, which continues as a father and son operation. Rost, the vice-president, is a design engineer who ran his own instrumentation and communication business. He has designed software for mine equipment monitoring that captures location, service, maintenance and availability.

Male Newsmaker of the Year [Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias]- by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – January 3, 2013)

January 4, 2013

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias burst into the national media’s attention in the spring when he announced to the world that he would stop a bridge to the Ring of Fire from being built over the Attawapiskat River, by any means possible.

“They’re going to have to cross that river, and I told them if they want to cross that river, they’re going to have to kill me first. That’s how strongly I feel about my people’s rights here,” Moonias said in May.

Since then Neskantaga has become a thorn in the side of Cliffs Natural Resources, the mining giant that Moonias has pegged an “American mining bully.” Moonias’ efforts have brought international attention to the First Nations fight to be consulted and accommodated on what may be the biggest development ever in northern Ontario.

For those efforts he has earned Wawatay’s male newsmaker of the year. The First Nation is making true its claim to use any means possible to oppose the Ring of Fire until proper consultation gets completed.

In May the chief sent a series of letters to the Ontario government, demanding consultation and expressing his concerns over Cliffs’ announcement that it was going ahead with its Ring of Fire chromite mine, along with a north-south highway and a smelter in Sudbury.

Environmental story of the year – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – January 3, 2013)

January 4, 2013

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

The Ontario Geologic Survey (OGS) claimed its aerial surveying of one of Ontario’s last pristine wildernesses was done with the best of intentions. The OGS wanted to update geologic records that were decades old, it said, and help First Nations in the area create land use plans based on geologic information.

And if the aerial surveying around Weenusk First Nation along the Hudson Bay coast resulted in a big increase of mineral exploration in the area, well, no one would be surprised. The only problem was that the First Nation did not even know the aerial surveying took place.

And when it did find out just weeks before the results were to be published on the internet for prospectors everywhere to see, it turned out the people Weenusk were not that interested in having their geologic information exposed to the world.

“Once you allow these processes to begin, our schedules and our land use plans don’t mean a thing,” said George Hunter, a community member and former chief of Weenusk. “We don’t want to allow the province to issue licenses for staking to take place, and the only advantage we have now is that nobody has access to the land.”

Shaky investment markets [in Northern Ontario] forces driller offshore – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 2, 2013)

January 3, 2013

Although some companies and the province laud Ontario as being one of the best mining-friendly
jurisdictions in the world, Courte said that perception has changed. In conversation with her
industry colleagues, Ontario is considered a “risk area” for investment, based on some high-
profile First Nations-industry conflicts, along with the uncertainty of how the new Mining Act
plans and permits regulations will play out.

A Thunder Bay drilling company boss said exploration work is drying up in Northern Ontario and she’s finding greener pastures in the Caribbean. Barb Courte, president of Cobra Drilling and North Star Drilling, is dispatching four drills to the Dominican Republic this fall for a project with Unigold, a Canadian junior company.

“I’m getting calls from other companies in the Dominican to do more work.” While 2012 has been a solid year for her two companies, she has major trepidations for what lies ahead. “I think we’re going to have a very hard year ahead of us.”

A tepid investors’ market means exploration budgets for junior miners’ drilling programs are being slashed or the companies aren’t doing anything. “If they have any money, if they were going to do a 5,000-metre contract, they’re doing a 1,500-metre.”

Thunder Bay and the challenge of seniority – by Joe Friesen (Globe and Mail – December 26, 2012)

January 3, 2013

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.

THUNDER BAY, ONT. — The history of Canadian wealth is written on the land here north of Lake Superior: the fur trade post that supplied Europe’s beaver pelts, the forest that yielded billions in lumber, the towering grain elevators, the smoking pulp mill, the railway that opened the West.

Fortunes have been made and lost in Thunder Bay through periods of boom and bust. In 2013, another challenge looms, one that it shares with the rest of the country: Thunder Bay is aging, and it may get old before it can get rich again.

With 7 per cent of its population aged 60 to 64, Thunder Bay has a greater proportion of people nearing the traditional retirement age than almost any other Canadian city. Rebecca Johnson, a local councillor who led the push to make Thunder Bay officially Age Friendly, has seen so many retirement parties she swears she won’t attend another.

But as the first wave of the baby-boom generation nears retirement, Thunder Bay is also on the cusp of a potential economic boom. There are 13 mines planned in the next six years for the region north of here, many in the area known as the Ring of Fire. Thunder Bay will be the hub for all that development, which includes building roads, camps, mines, as well as services for the influx of workers. An economic-impact study estimates that 16,000 new jobs will be created through the first nine mine projects.

Aboriginal Ring of Fire director Michael Fox sees opportunity in mining – by Lindsay Jolivet (Yahoo News Canada – January 1, 2013)

January 3, 2013

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/

A mineral deposit in Ontario’s far north is a source of excitement and controversy for the province’s mining industry. Named the Ring of Fire — after the Johnny Cash song — the area contains a Nickel deposit and the largest deposit of chromite ever discovered in North America. Chromite is a key ingredient in stainless steel. Two companies, Cliffs Natural Resources and Noront, are in talks to mine the region.

Dalton McGuinty has suggested the Ring of Fire could rival Alberta’s oil sands, creating thousands of jobs near reserves that are plagued by unemployment. But its economic potential is matched only by its hurdles and risks. Environmental damage, sustainable infrastructure, and the well-being of nearby aboriginal communities are at stake.

Michael Fox is the Ring of Fire senior director for Webequie First Nation, a fly-in community 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. He’s a liaison between the community and those seeking to exploit its resources. Fox spoke with Yahoo! Canada News about the complex process of developing a remote region and the challenges of ensuring that Webequie benefits from the Ring of Fire as much as the companies planning to mine it. This is a condensed version of that discussion.

Yahoo! Canada News: What are your biggest challenges as a liaison between the community, the companies, and the government? It sounds like a big job.

Michael Fox: There are two visions of the two distinct mines that the two companies have. Noront has a nickel deposit that is going to be an underground mine. And their project description has an east-west road. The Cliffs project is an open pit mine, it has a north-south road.

Simplistic arguments from Theresa Spence, Idle No More could have tragic consequences for natives – by John Ivison (National Post – January 3, 2013)

January 3, 2013

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

“De Beers is investing $1-billion in the Victor mine near Attawapiskat. It agreed to pay
the band about $30-million over the 12-year life span of the mine. A further $325-million
in contracts has been funnelled through companies owned by the band, to supply catering,
helicopters, dynamite and the like. One wonders how Attawapiskat Resources Inc. has only
made profits of $100,000 on that level of revenue, but that’s for another day.” (John Ivison)

I made the observation on Twitter the other day that certain native leaders seem intent on conflict, and that they want the “hapless” Theresa Spence, the hunger-striking Attawapiskat First Nation chief, to become a martyr.

The reaction was venomous. One of the more considered respondents, Gerald Taiaiake Alfred, called me a “racist p—k” and threatened to kick my “immigrant ass” back to Scotland. And he’s a political science professor at the University of Victoria.

It brought home the power of what psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls “the righteous mind” — the righteous certainty that those who see things differently are wrong, while being completely blind to our own biases.

The prospect of rational debate on this subject is slipping away — and may be lost entirely if Ms. Spence dies. Canada is facing a tumultuous moment in its history with its native people, such as we haven’t seen since the Oka crisis.

[Ontario] Mines on gem-laden path to 2013 – (Timmins Daily Press – December 30, 2012)

December 31, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – With the real status of the Canadian economy checkered with question marks, mining remains a diamond in the rough and a driving force for industry in Ontario.

That’s according to an in-depth study performed by a research team at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and released by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) in early December.

“What the study really shows is that, while some other sectors may be having troubles right now, mining is a winner,” said Peter McBride, the OMA’s manager of communications. “Mining is dependable, and it certainly is a dynamic part of the economy right now, and it will be for the future.”

The OMA is one of the longest-serving trade organizations in Canada. Formed in 1920, it currently represents over 75 mineral producers in the province.

Highlighted in the University of Toronto study is the fact that, since 2002, Ontario’s overall international goods trade deficit has more than quadrupled. Mining, however, has moved in the opposite direction over the past decade, with the trade surplus for mineral products growing to more than $12 billion and remaining positive throughout.

[Timmins] City boom continues in 2013 – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – December 28, 2012)

December 31, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – For the past few years, the City of Timmins has focused on both increasing industry in the traditional sectors of mining and forestry, as well as seeking out new economic and industrial opportunity.

With a new airline (Porter) coming to town in 2012, along with the development of a diversified economy, Mayor Tom Laughren and city council will be looking to keep up with a city that is growing in more ways than one.

“I think Timmins will continue to see the building boom happening for the next couple of years,” said Laughren, previewing the challenges and opportunities 2013 is promising to offer. “I think it will still be a very much the mix we have out there right now, which is industrial, commercial and residential.

“The numbers are way up there, (construction) has been climbing, and with the price of gold, that’s going to continue.

“Having said that, one of the big challenges around that is going to be housing. The two biggest challenges I hear from local businesses when I visit them to talk about economic development are attracting workers, and then finding a place for them to live.”

With parts of Southwestern Ontario being hit hard by job losses, Laughren said that one of council’s priorities will be developing a housing strategy. The mayor said it “is easy to say, but will be tougher to do.

The end of an era Dalton McGuinty’s sudden resignation announcement was the biggest story in a wild year for Ontario politics, writes Steve Paikin. – by Steve Paikin (Ottawa Citizen – December 26, 2012)

December 31, 2012

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/index.html

Dalton McGuinty had just completed his press conference, explaining why, after 22 years in public life, 16 of them as leader of the Ontario Liberals, and nine of them as premier of Ontario, he was stepping down.

As he walked jacketless from the Government Caucus Room toward his office at the opposite end of the second floor of the Ontario Parliament Buildings, he hugged his wife Terri and watched a phalanx of photographers blast him with their flashes.

After the flashes died down, I sidled up to the premier.

“You surprised?” he asked me.

“Nope,” I responded. “Absolutely shocked.”

“Good,” he said. “That’s what I was going for.”

The timing of Dalton McGuinty’s departure, announced at a hastily called caucus meeting this past October, was one of the best kept secrets in Ontario political history. Almost everyone seemed to be caught off guard.