Ontario Mining – Page 300 – Republic of Mining

NEWS RELEASE: New President for [Sudbury’s] CEMI [Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation]

May 7, 2013February 22, 2012

For Immediate Release

Sudbury, ON – On February 8, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) announced the appointment of Mr. Douglas Morrison, Chair of Holistic Mining Practices, as President and CEO of the Corporation effective March 1, 2012. Douglas Morrison brings expertise from a long career in mining, starting at Falconbridge Ltd., then at Inco Ltd. and most recently as Global Mining Leader at Golder Associates.

Since joining CEMI in 2011, he has served as Vice President and now succeeds Dr. Peter K. Kaiser who, after leading CEMI for five years, will focus on his role as Director of the Rio Tinto Centre for Underground Mine Construction, a Division of CEMI. He will also assume an advisory role as Vice President Research at CEMI and resume his research at Laurentian University as Chair for Rock Mechanics and Ground Control.

Sam Marcuson, Vice President of Vale Canada for Base Metals Technology Development and Chairman of the CEMI Board of Directors, welcomes mining veteran, Douglas Morrison, to the role of President and CEO. “With his extensive experience in the Canadian mining industry and more than 15 years in international consulting, he brings a broad understanding of the issues that confront the global mining industry now and into the future.

Federal agencies raise flags over Ring of Fire – CBC News/ThunderBay – (February 21, 2012)

February 22, 2012

This article came from CBC News Thunder Bay: http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Environment Canada and Canadian Wildlife Service urge caution in assessing chromite project

CBC News has learned two federal agencies want a more thorough review of the environmental impacts of chromium mining in the Ring of Fire.

Documents obtained by CBC News under access to information show the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) was seeking advice earlier this year from other government departments.

It wanted to know how much scrutiny it should give the proposed Cliffs chromite project, 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

In a June 2011 letter, the Canadian Wildlife Service said the agency should “err on the side of caution due to the many uncertainties” associated with the project “and the potential for impacts to migratory birds, species at risk and wetlands.”

Madeline Head, who is with the environmental stewardship branch of the Canadian Wildlife Service, recommended the CEAA put the Cliffs project to “a higher level of assessment and scrutiny ensuring rigorous assessment of the project effects …”

Exploiting Canada’s resources can be a fool’s game – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – February 22, 2012)

February 22, 2012

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.

Everywhere in Canada, the news is about natural resources: forestry and mines in British Columbia; oil and coal in Alberta; potash in Saskatchewan; hydro in Manitoba; the “ring of fire” minerals in Ontario; hydro and Old Harry oil and shale gas in Quebec; offshore oil and hydro in Newfoundland.

Canadians are so damn lucky. We just dig and pump and cut and ship, and we never seem to run out. We just hope commodities prices remain high.

All those resources can be a fool’s game. Pumping and digging and cutting can keep the country comfortable, but they do little to address the country’s biggest challenge – a sagging competitive position. All those natural resources soak up capital; they usually don’t require much innovation or processing.

The Harper government, possessed of a majority government, seems to have its mind around elements of the long-term challenge.

Thunder Bay responds to Drummond Report -by Jamie Smith (tbnewswatch.com – February 16, 2012)

February 21, 2012

www.tbnewswatch.com

While there are some concerns, the city says it is already following many of the recommendations made in the Drummond Report. Cost containment and finding efficiencies are part of programs the city has been implementing over the last few years mayor Keith Hobbs said.

“It lines up great with what the city is already doing,” Hobbs said at a media conference Thursday afternoon.

What was missing from the massive report, which has recommendations for almost every provincial department, is the massive revenue potential from the Ring of Fire, Hobbs said. While mining potential is mentioned, it wasn’t enough.

“I do think in the Drummond report they really down played it quite a bit. They really need to step up.” City manager Tim Commisso said given that the ring of fire could be one of the province’s largest economic generators, Ontario needs to be a leader when it comes to infrastructure for the project.

Polish miner wins B.C.’s Quadra FNX – by Maciej Martewicz and Pawel Kozlowski (National Post – February 21, 2012)

February 21, 2012

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

Bloomberg News

WARSAW – Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. shareholders have approved a $2.87-billion takeover by KGHM Polska Miedz SA, in Poland’s biggest bid abroad, designed to deepen the Polish copper producer’s global reach.

Quadra shareholders cast 78.58% of shares in favour of the deal, the Canadian company said Monday at an extraordinary meeting in Vancouver.

The takeover by the Lubin, Poland-based company, with Europe’s largest mine output, is “attractive,” Quadra chief executive Paul Blythe told Polish daily Rzeczpospolita on Feb. 16. Institutional Shareholder Services, which advises pension and mutual funds on proposals in shareholder meetings, backed the bid, Quadra said on Feb. 6.

“This is the first spectacular takeover deal by a Polish company and it’s being noticed,” said Leszek Iwaszko, a Warsaw-based analyst at Société Générale SA. “KGHM still has a long way to go to join the world’s premier league, but this purchase will help it become a global player.”

Quadra FNX shareholders approve KGHM’s C$3 billion bid – by Nicole Mordant and Supantha Mukherjee (Reuters.com – February 20, 2012)

February 20, 2012

This article is from the Reuters.com website: www.reuters.com

Mon Feb 20, 2012

Vancouver (Reuters) – Shareholders of Canadian miner Quadra FNX (QUX.TO: Quote) approved a C$3 billion takeover offer from KGHM KGHM.WA on Monday, the tie-up is set to geographically diversify the Polish miner’s asset base and boost its copper output.

The friendly deal announced in December gives KGHM control of Quadra’s Sierra Gorda copper project in Chile, one of the world’s largest copper projects, along with other assets spread across Canada, Chile and the United States.

Preliminary results from a shareholder vote in Vancouver indicate that 78.6 percent of the votes cast were in favor of the deal. For KGHM’s bid to succeed, it required two-thirds support of the votes cast by Quadra shareholders.

Earlier this month, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended that Quadra shareholders vote in favor of Polish miner’s bid. ISS advised its clients to support the bid for Vancouver-based Quadra, on the basis that “there have been no alternate offers and there are no governance concerns.”

KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. NEWS RELEASE: Report no. 8/2012: Approval of Quadra FNX Mining Ltd shareholders

February 20, 2012

2012-02-20

The Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. („KGHM”, „Company”) announces that the shareholders of Quadra FNX Mining Ltd („Quadra FNX”) at the General Meeting of the company convened on 20 February 2012, approved by the required majority of votes the transaction described in the binding conditional agreement entered into between KGHM and Quadra FNX on 6 December 2011.

As a result of this transaction, KGHM, through its special purpose wholly controlled subsidiary, founded under British Columbia law, will acquire from the existing shareholders, under a Plan of Arrangement recommended by the Board of Directors of Quadra FNX, the shares of Quadra FNX, representing 100% of the share capital of this company.

Closure of the transaction was made contingent on the fulfillment of conditions precedent, consisting of gaining shareholder approval as expressed by a majority 2/3 of the votes at the General Meeting of Quadra FNX, court approval for the transaction and regulatory approvals by appropriate monopoly-control bodies, and by the Canadian Minister of Industry.

What’s wrong with Ontario – and how to make it right – by Adam Radwanski, Tim Kiladze and Tara Perkins (Globe and Mail – February 18, 2012)

February 20, 2012February 18, 2012

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.

“Northern cities, such as Thunder Bay or Sudbury, could become
national leaders in the resource sector, particularly if the
province gets serious about developing the so-called mineral
“Ring of Fire.””

“Ontario’s once thriving mining community has lost some of its
lustre.Not only have Western Canada’s vast oil sands and gas
deposits stolen the spotlight, but foreign giants such as Vale
and Xstrata swooped in in 2006 and bought out Ontario mining
stalwarts such as Inco and Falconbridge. In the years since,
mining has felt more like a part of Ontario’s past than a
focal point of its future.”

“Plus, there remain resources to develop. For those who believe
that Ontario’s northern mining deposits are tapped, look no
further than a company like Detour Gold, which is developing
a gold mine north of Timmins.”

It got most of its attention for its warning of a $30-billion deficit, and its 362 cost-cutting recommendations to help avoid that fate. But the scariest number in Don Drummond’s landmark report to the government of Ontario is a much smaller one: two, as in 2 per cent.

The “RING” Revisited: An update on Ontario’s famous “Ring of Fire” district – by D’Arcy Jenish – (Canadian Mining Journal – February/March 2012)

February 17, 2012

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication providing information on Canadian mining and exploration trends, technologies, operations, and industry events.

Richard Fink, Vice President, Technology, with Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources, is a mining industry veteran who knows that discretion is sometimes the better part of valour when it comes to discussing mineral deposits, and the business of putting them into production. Yet, he is eloquent and forceful when describing the potential of the company’s Black Thor chromite deposit and its nearby Big Daddy ore body, both located in northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral district.

“We have a set of major league ore bodies,” says Fink. “The discovery hole on Black Thor was only drilled in September, 2008 so the paint is still wet on this, but you couldn’t ask for a better project. It’s arguably the best open pit chromite deposit in the world in terms of tonnage, grades and mineable widths.”

He also foresees significant socio-economic spinoff if the discoveries can be turned into producing mines. Indeed, Cliffs is looking at estimated capital investments of $3 billion to build a mine and related infrastructure and the projects would create up to 1,250 permanent jobs.

Canada chromite project costs triple: Cliffs Natural Resources – Reporting By Steve James – (Reuters – February 16, 2012)

February 17, 2012

http://ca.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – The cost of developing what may be the largest chromite deposit in North America has tripled from the original $1 billion estimate, a major participant, Cliffs Natural Resources, said on Thursday.
“Initially we did go out with a billion-dollar price tag for this project,” said Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Joseph Carrabba.

“(Now) We’re in about the $3.3 billion range,” he told Wall Street analysts during a conference call, when asked about the status of the Black Thor chromite deposit Cliffs is developing in northern Canada.

Carrabba said the estimate had risen mainly because road construction in the remote Ontario location had not been included in the original estimate. He said there had been a “sharpening of the estimate” as the project moves through the pre-feasibility stage.

“The transportation and the road has gotten more expensive in this segment than we expected and everything else is falling in line with that.”

Mining and Resource Development in Northern Canada – by David Kilgour: City of Greater Sudbury Municipal Councillor

February 16, 2012

David Kilgour is a City of Greater Sudbury municipal councillor. He gave this presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources, which is considering the federal government’s role in the development of the Ring of Fire, on February 16, 2012.

Mister Chair and Honourable Members,

On behalf of Her Worship, Mayor Marianne Matichuk, members of city council and the citizens of the City of Greater Sudbury, I am pleased to be here this morning to discuss mining and resource development in Northern Canada; a subject that we in Sudbury know something about.

Greater Sudbury is an undisputed global centre of mining expertise. Over the past one hundred and thirty years, billions of dollars worth of Nickel, Copper, Platinum, Gold and many other metals have been mined, milled, smelted and refined in our city. Today, even with more than a century of mining activity, an estimated forty billion dollars of mineral reserves have been identified and constant exploration adds to this total every day.

We are the largest geographic municipality in Ontario; within our municipal
boundaries, approximately seven thousand workers are employed directly in mining production and mineral processing while about twice that number work in the mining supply and services industry. Nowhere else in the world will you find this level of mining activity within a fully urban city.

Building a [mining] workforce [in Thunder Bay and the Northwest] – Special to The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – February 16, 2012)

February 16, 2012

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

With the anticipated boom in the mining sector, industry leaders and organizations are taking steps to ensure the workforce is ready.

On Wednesday the North Superior Workforce Planning Board and the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Committee hosted a forum that looked into some of the employment and training opportunities and challenges that exist in the mining sector in Northwestern Ontario.

More than 200 participants attended the forum. Among the participants were job seekers, mining companies, service providers, government representatives and educators, who discussed how the workforce can be prepared for expanding job opportunities in the mining sector.

Madge Richardson, executive director of North Superior Workforce Planning Board, said the forum was also an opportunity to release a report on the region’s mining industry employment forecasts for the next two, five and 10 years.