Ontario Mining – Page 246 – Republic of Mining

TOO HOT TO HANDLE? NORTHERN ONTARIO’S RING OF FIRE – by Nathan Elliott (Ontario Mineral Exploration Review – December 2012)

December 14, 2012

This article is from the Insightwest website. Insightwest offers strategic, compliance and technical-based solutions for the energy and resource sectors. http://www.insightwest.ca/

And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire

The ring of fire

On January 11, 1964, Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash became the number one record on Billboard’s new Country Album Chart. The collection featured some of Cash’s best material and its title track would become the biggest hit of the “Man in Black’s” career. The album, however, was more than a one hit wonder. Several of its songs would also climb the charts and connect with listeners worldwide. For example, Cash re-wrote what became the iconic television score for Bonanza, but its central messages remained the same – the pursuit of fortune, and the thrills of striking it rich. In the anti-war classic The Big Battle, Cash’s social conscience is front and centre, as is the old adage that a fight is not over until it’s over. (There’ll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me) concludes the album. Its message is one of hope and possibility, rising from the ashes of conflict.

With the 50th anniversary of the Ring of Fire album release around the corner and the 10 year commemoration of Cash’s passing next year, it is timely that the northern Ontario geological discovery that bears the album’s name is front page news today. It is also fitting that the universal themes of hope, desire, war and peace that define the album can be used as frameworks for understanding the Ring of Fire mining developments, as well as the motivations of First Nations, industry, government and environmental groups with vested interests in the region today.

Ontario Program offers grants to prospectors – by Liz Cowan (Northern Ontario Business – December 12, 2012)

December 13, 2012

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.

Joseph Barr was one of the most popular exhibitors at a recent mining symposium since he was “giving away money.” As president of the Ontario Exploration Council (OEC), he set up a booth at the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium Nov. 6 and 7 in Sudbury to inform prospectors of available grants.

OEC is fully owned by the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA) and the organization was created to replace a former grant program with the provincial government. “We have a three-phase program,” said Barr. “Prospectors can get up to $85,000.”

If a prospector stakes a claim, a $10,000 grant can be applied for. Half is given initially, and the remaining half is received once an assessment report is filed with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

After the $10,000 is spent, a further $25,000 can be applied for. The money must be spent on the claim, and if it looks promising, this second level of funding can be used for activities such as drilling or sampling. If the assay results are good from drilling and sampling, a further $50,000 can be applied for.

“It is totally interest-free, and there is no repayment. What we take on the first $10,000 is a one per cent net smelter return (NSR). On the second phase, we take another 0.25 per cent and on the third, another 0.25 per cent,” he said.

First Nations given tight deadline to respond to Cliffs new terms of reference – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – December 12, 2012)

December 13, 2012

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

Cliffs Natural Resources has adjusted the terms of reference for its proposed Ring of Fire mine, meaning First Nations are again being asked to provide comments and concerns.

Yet at least one First Nation argues that the government should deal with an outstanding Treaty issue before expecting it to comment on the new terms of reference. First Nations were provided with Cliffs’ amended terms of reference on Nov. 30, and given 15 days to respond.

Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias said that while he wants to respond to the terms of reference, situations within his community and his family mean there is not time to do so before the date that Ontario has set.

Moonias also said Ontario should deal with Neskantaga’s request for mediation on the terms of reference before expecting First Nations to respond to the amended version of the terms of reference.

“The government is trying to give its mandate (to consult with First Nations) to Cliffs,” said Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias. “They are trying to make Cliffs look like the bad guy, but the government is the one that has a responsibility to come back to the table with First Nations.”

Building boom adds stress to public works – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – December 12, 2012)

December 13, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The city’s “building boom” is resulting in unprecedented work loads and stress levels for Timmins’ community development and public works employees, explained department head Mark Jensen. In pre-budget discussions with city council, Jensen said that many of the department’s challenges are caused by a mix a comparatively low staffing levels, a rapid increase in building permit applications, and a giant geographical area to cover.

To help with efforts such as cutting down on illegal building activity, keeping up with permit processing, and managing increasing administrative duties, Jensen recommended the creation of a new position in the building inspection division.

“A good amount of that demand is coming from our non-residential permit activity,” explained Jensen. “When I say that, we’re looking at the commercial and industrial sectors, and institutional as well. It’s not to say the residential sector isn’t also realizing notable increases over previous years, because it certainly has as well.”

He used the comparable municipalities of Cornwall (pop. 45,965), Belleville (pop. 48,821) and North Bay (pop. 53,980) to make his point. Belleville’s has 11 building inspection staff, Cornwall and North Bay each have eight, while Timmins currently has five-and-a-half full-time employees in the division.

Lake Shore Gold expands mill (Timmins Daily Press – December 12, 2012)

December 13, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Officials with Lake Shore Gold Corp. announced this week it has achieved a processing capacity of 2,500 tonnes per day. This is following the completion of the first stage of its 50% mill expansion.

The mill’s new capacity represents an increase of 25% from the previous capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day. The second stage of expansion, to a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per day, is on track for completion during the second quarter of 2013.

“We are beginning to see the payback from a lot of hard work and investment over the last year,” said Tony Makuch, president and CEO of Lake Shore Gold “With increased mill throughput and improved grades, we are set to finish the year strong and to achieve full year production of over 85,000 ounces of gold.

“Equally important, with the progress being made at our mill and in completing our development and drilling programs at Timmins West Mine, we are looking to 2013 as a break-out year for the company, with significantly higher production, lower operating costs, and a sharp reduction in capital expenditures.

“Our balance sheet is strong and we are financed to take Timmins West Mine to full production at which time we will be generating positive free cash flow.”

BMO bullish on Sudbury, Canadian economies – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – December 11, 2012)

December 12, 2012

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

In the next 12 months, Canada will see changes in the housing market, commodity prices and a focus on the big story – household debt — the managing director and deputy chief economist of BMO Capital Markets says.

But Douglas Porter has other concerns. “By this point, Dec. 11, I thought we’d have a lot more clarity on at least one critical issue for the Canadian economy. I thought we’d have more information on the NHL lockout,” he joked.

On Tuesday, Porter spoke to about 100 people at the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce luncheon about “Outlook 2013: looking beyond the cliff,” what the Bank of Montreal sees for the world’s major markets over the next 12 months.

Overall, Porter said, the outlook is positive. “If I were to speak to you just a little more than 12 months ago, the markets were actually in a fairly sour mood and we were worried about a downturn. But over the last year, the markets have swung much more to the optimistic end of the spectrum.”

The biggest risk for the global economy, he said, is still the European debt crisis. While great strides have been made on that front, there is still the possibility of a downturn.

First Nations using video game to attract youth to mining – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – December 10, 2012)

December 10, 2012

In northwestern Ontario, mining companies struggling to find skilled workers may soon have a new recruitment ally on their side, and it comes in a most non-traditional package: a videogame.

Thunder Bay’s Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute (OSHKI) has commissioned Algoma Games for Health (AGFH) in Sault Ste. Marie to develop an online videogame that will grab the attention of First Nations youth, in an effort to translate their heightened interest into careers in the mining industry.

OSHKI serves the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a collection of 49 First Nation communities located throughout the region.

Gordon Kakegamic, OSHKI’s e-learning co-ordinator, said information about the mining industry on the internet often uses tech-based language and ideologies, which is difficult for the average youth reader to understand.

“We want to present that same kind of information in a different approach using methods that gamers use,” he said. “There are different strategies that programmers use to interact and engage people, and we’re trying to apply those same principles to the portal. It makes learning fun.”

First Nation frustrated by mine’s toxic legacy – by Jody Porter (CBC Radio Sudbury – December 5,2012)

December 10, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

Cool Minerals twice ignores clean-up orders for abandoned site near Sachigo Lake

An abandoned mine site has left a toxic legacy near Sachigo Lake First Nation, 700 km northwest of Thunder Bay, according to the community’s consultant.

Allyne Glidden said debris from a gold mine that operated at Lingman Lake is troubling for the First Nations people who live nearby.

“There’s hazardous material that has been there for upwards of 40 years,” Glidden said. “Certainly some of the concerns of the community are open shafts, open vent raises, giant old generator sets with old PCBs.”

Elevated levels of arsenic

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines burned off several barrels of fuel that were left at the site. “The emergency measures taken by MNDM’s emergency fuel incineration project have eliminated or greatly reduced the environmental impact risks of the mine site,” said Julia Bennett, the media issues co-ordinator for MNDM.

Miner output is six times Ontario’s industrial average – OMA – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – December 12, 2012)

December 7, 2012

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The output per worker in Ontario’s mining industry is $680 000/y, or is six times the province’s industrial average, and mining in the province has an expanding workforce in which the average weekly wage is about 60% higher than the average for all industry in Ontario, a report published by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) has found.

The OMA’s mineral sector economic impact study ‘Mining: Dynamic and Dependable for Ontario’s Future’, prepared by University of Toronto (UoT) economists Peter Dungan and Steve Murphy was released on Thursday at the UoT’s Rotman School of Management.

“Mining is an expanding component of the Ontario economy. The world wants Ontario’s mineral products and if the province provides necessary infrastructure support and maintains an atmosphere conducive to investment, it will continue to be pulled ahead by a strong mining industry,” OMA president Chris Hodgson said.

Mining companies in Ontario contribute more than $800-million in taxes a year and personal income taxes paid by mining sector employees reach at least half-a-billion-dollars more each year. Capital investments in new projects are also increasing and so are investments in mineral exploration.

OMA releases mining sector economic contribution study

December 6, 2012

The Above Video Provided by Rio Tinto: Making Modern Life Work

The article below was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Click here for a copy of the report: http://www.oma.on.ca/en/ontariomining/resources/UofTMiningReport2012Final.pdf

The Ontario Mining Association’s 2012 mineral sector economic impact study “Mining: Dynamic and Dependable for Ontario’s Future,” was released today at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. University of Toronto economists Peter Dungan and Steve Murphy presented the key findings of their 81-page report, which was completed for the OMA, to industry representatives, government officials, academics and the media. Along with plenty of commentary and analysis, the study contains 47 charts, 32 tables and four maps.

“We know mining makes important contributions to the society and economy in all regions of this province and this study helps us quantify the scale of many of these positive impacts,” said OMA President Chris Hodgson. “Mining is an expanding component of the Ontario economy. The world wants Ontario’s mineral products and if the province provides necessary infrastructure support and maintains an atmosphere conducive to investment, it will continue to be pulled ahead by a strong mining industry.”

First Nations prepare for the mining boom – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December 6, 2012)

December 6, 2012

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.

Charlotte Tookenay is the new face of the mining industry. The mother of two teenagers, a graduate of the Mining Essentials training program for Aboriginal people run through Confederation College, is part of an industry push to employ more First Nations people to replenish its workforce ranks.

At the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund’s Mining Ready Summit in Thunder Bay in October, she presented the 200 delegates with a video montage of photographs during her 12-week time in the program last summer.

Tookenay graduated from the program last June and landed a job with Barrick Gold at its Hemlo complex, not far from her home community, the Pic Mobert First Nation on the north shore of Lake Superior.

She was spurred into making a career change out of sheer necessity. “Mobert has so little employment and job opportunities,” said Tookenay, who worked on highway construction jobs and as a Native language teacher.

Breaking new ground [Ontario Mining] – by George Ross, (Canadian Government Executive – Vol. #18 Issue #9 – November 2012)

December 6, 2012

http://www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/

George Ross is deputy minister, Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, and the president of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

Ontario and jurisdictions across Canada are entering a new golden era of mining. Massive mineral deposit discoveries are spurring enormous economic opportunity. But, to fully benefit from the prospect at hand, governments need to adapt to 21st century needs, and Ontario has led the way.

There is no doubt that the minerals industry in Ontario is booming. We are anticipating eight new mines to open over the next decade with three opening this year.

Yet, while success has been traditionally measured by jobs created and economic prosperity gained, it’s vital that the social well-being of Aboriginal communities and other area residents – and the need to curtail any potential environmental concerns – are put front and centre in the planning process. This is not only for just reasons, but also to ensure mine development can be fostered swiftly and assuredly. In addition, it’s critical that the province – through its legal duty to consult – ensure that Aboriginal and treaty rights are respected throughout the mining process.

The fate of our resources is in the hands of our most disadvantaged citizens – by John Ivison (National Post – December 6, 2012)

December 6, 2012

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

It was the most exciting thing to happen in the foyer of the House of Commons, since the late Reg Alcock nearly provoked fisticuffs when he called Peter MacKay “a scumbag.”

A group of native chiefs protesting new government legislation jostled with security guards outside the chamber of the House Tuesday, as they tried to push their way inside. It was over in an instant, without so much as a torn hangnail.

But it served notice that not only are First Nation leaders frustrated, they know they are riding a wave of native empowerment that has come nowhere close to cresting.

The Assembly of First Nations met Tuesday in Gatineau to catalogue the usual litany of how they’ve never had it so bad. Yet on the ground, natives are the resource rulers – wielding a veto over which projects will succeed or fail.

Bill Gallagher, a lawyer and author who has written a book called Resource Rulers: Fortune and Folly on Canada’s Road to Resources, says natives have an almost unbroken series of 171 court case victories, when it comes to resource cases. “It is a very one sided legal contest,” he told the CBC.

First Nations will rise to challenge – by Xavier Kataquapit (December 5, 2012)

December 6, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Things are not looking good for remote First Nation communities in northern Canada. In particular there are serious problems developing for communities up the James Bay coast and much of this has to do with global warming and changes in weather patterns.

My people, the Cree of James Bay, could always count more or less on food, products and fuel being shipped up by barge in the summer and by the ice road in the winter. Although air transport has been available for many years, it is reserved mainly for passenger travel as the cost is very high to move goods by aircraft.

Very rapidly, over the past few years, it is becoming obvious that the great changes in weather are affecting the movement of goods to remote First Nations like Attawapiskat, Fort Albany and Kashechewan.

Weather is playing havoc with the winter ice road. When I was a boy a few decades ago the winter road was built from Moosonee to the James Bay coastal remote First Nations in late December and it lasted until April on average.

With the great changes in weather, the ice road construction has to wait until late January and it melts much earlier in March.

Joint-venture poised to tackle infrastructure, labour shortages – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December 4, 2012)

December 5, 2012

Don Wing looks upon Wasaya Dowland Contracting as having a transformational effect in giving Aboriginal people the skills and confidence to tackle a looming labour shortage in the North.

With more than a dozen potential new mines poised to start development within five years, the vice-president of Dowland’s Ontario division calls the new joint venture between the Wasaya Group of companies and Dowland a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the way things are done.”

“We’re going to take that venture, we’re going to make it successful, and we’re going to change people’s lives.” Dowland Contracting appeared on the Thunder Bay scene last year when the Wasaya Group introduced the Northwest Territories-based contractor as a strategic development partner.

With 51 per cent of the limited partnership owned by Wasaya, the aim is to position itself to meet the infrastructure challenges in remote First Nation communities as resource development takes hold.

The venture is viewed as a stepping stone to train Aboriginal people in the skills required to build mines, power lines, arenas, hospitals, hotels and schools.