Ontario Mining – Page 309 – Republic of Mining

OMA launches the fourth season of its province-wide high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining

April 5, 2015December 1, 2011

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.

Go to the Ontario Mining Association website www.oma.on.ca and check out today’s launch of the popular high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining for the fourth year. The 2012 competition is serving up opportunities to win $33,500 in prize money, an $8,000 increase of what was on the table last year.

The deadline for submitting two to three minute videos on the benefits of mining is midnight March 15, 2012. To be eligible for the Early Bird prize of $500, entries must be received by March 1, 2012.

Other key dates in 2012 are April 1 to 15 for the determination of nominees for the People’s Choice and OMA Academy Award, April 20 to June 3 which is the voting period for the People’s Choice Award and May 22 when winners will be determined and notified. The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 5 in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Ring of Fire exemption vital for jobs – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – December 1, 2011)

December 1, 2011December 1, 2011

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

Ontario has an unenviable record of shipping natural resources out of the country, where they’re used for finished products. The issue has again appeared on the Ontario legislature’s radar screen and it could be trouble for the Liberals, since job creation is at the centre of that screen at the moment.

Ohio-based Cliffs Natural Resources plans to develop the massive Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario.

Loaded with chromite–which is used to make stainless steel–nickel, copper and gold, the 5,120-square-kilometre deposit sits in an isolated landscape about a two-hour flight northeast of Thunder Bay. Cliffs wants to begin production at its Black Thor mine by 2015–if it gets past legal objections to the environmental assessment process from area First Nations.

Cliffs plans to build a processing facility to produce concentrate near the mine, as well as a ferrochrome smelter–possibly in Sudbury –if it can get a favourable deal on electricity rates, which are much lower in Manitoba and Quebec.

[Cliffs Natural Resources] U.S. mining giant looks to Asia to process Ring of Fire chromite – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – December 1, 2011)

December 1, 2011

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion

A U.S. international mining firm may seek permission from the Ontario government to process some of the precious ore it hauls out of the Ring of Fire to Asia.

Cliffs Natural Resources, an Ohio-based mining giant, is preparing to extract what is estimated to be one of the world’s largest chromite discoveries in an ecologically sensitive part of northern Ontario, about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. The deposit is estimated to be worth $30 billion. International mining companies have staked 9,000 claims covering 480,000 hectares.

Most of the chromite will be processed and refined at plants in northern Ontario, but the company says some of the concentrate could be shipped offshore to Asia. Cliffs is proposing a ferrochrome production facility with an annual capacity of approximately 600,000 tonnes, said Pat Persico, Cliffs senior manager of global communications.

First Nation group prepares for Far North development – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – December, 2011)

November 30, 2011

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.

Wasaya joint ventures with contractor, trucker

The Wasaya Group is bulking up to be a ready service supplier to the Ring of Fire. This fall, the Thunder Bay-based Native venture corporation announced joint ventures with a major Northern contractor and a Sioux Lookout trucking company. Wasaya has struck business partnerships with Dowland Contracting of Inuvik, N.W.T. and Morgan Transfer of Sioux Lookout.

Dowland business development director Martin Landry said the company has delivered more than $1 billion in mine and power line developments as well as hospital and school projects in Canada and Alaska since its inception 30 years ago.

The new venture, Wasaya Dowland Contracting, will provide construction expertise to Wasaya with future training and apprenticeship programs stemming from the relationship.

The Horrible Reputation of Canada’s Mining Sector – by Stan Sudol

June 8, 2015November 29, 2011

Stan Sudol is a Toronto, Canada-based communications consultant, mining columnist and blogger. stan.sudol@republicofmining.com

Biggest commodity super-cycle in the history of mankind

The future of mining has never been brighter, yet its image among the general population seems to have plunged lower than the famous Kidd Creek mine in Timmins, Ontario – the world’s deepest base metal operation. The largest rural to urban migration in the history of mankind is taking place in China. It has been often said, that China needs to build two cities the size of Toronto, Canada and Sydney, Australia to accommodate that growth, every year! Analysts estimate that China’s middle class is expanding so rapidly that it will soon overtake the current U.S. population of 312 million.

In October, 2011, the world’s population had passed the seven billion mark. India, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and many other developing countries are following China and urbanizing and industrializing their economies. Mining experts feel that over the next 25 years, we will need to dig out of the ground as many minerals as consumed since the beginning of mankind.

One of the biggest concerns is a shortage of skilled workers. In the next decade half the mining workforce in Canada is eligible to retire and there are significant difficulties attracting and engaging the digital generation.
According to the Ottawa-based Mining Industry Human Resource Council’s 2011 hiring report, the industry will need to hire betwee 75,280 to 141,540 new workers in Canada depending on the state of the global economy by 2021. Similar labour shortage issues exisit in other western mining jurisdicitions like Australia and the United States.

Why we need more women in mining jobs

November 29, 2011

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.

Mining industry studies have helped Skills Canada Ontario and Women in Nuclear (WIN) produce a book designed to get more women involved into less traditional working roles. “Women Working in the Skilled Trades and Technologies: Myths & Realities” debunks six false stereotypes about women in the trades.

Getting more females into skilled trades and technology careers is seen as being crucial to support Canada’s economy and infrastructure. “The crisis associated with critical shortages of skilled workers makes it imperative that government, educators and industry work together as partners and utilize a cohesive approach in solving the problem of skilled worker shortages and do everything possible to attract women to the skilled trades and technologies,” said Gail Smyth, Executive Director of Skills Canada Ontario.

Women comprise 47.4% of the total Canadian workforce. Mining knows females will need to have a larger role in the industry. Currently, females make up 14.4% to the total mining workforce and there is a major role for women to play in the mineral sector as it works to solve its own skilled trades shortage.

Investigation continues at [Sudbury’s] Creighton Mine [seismic event] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 28, 2011)

November 28, 2011

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

Vale officials are expected to continue assessing the damage to Creighton Mine this week after a 3.2-magnitude seismic event that occurred about noon Friday. No employees were injured and were all immediately accounted for in refuge stations shortly after the event, said Vale spokeswoman Angie Robson.

Before releasing personnel from those refuge stations, affected areas were cleared for seismicity, according to Vale’s emergency protocol, Robson said Saturday. Employees who were working at the 7,200-level or lower did not return to surface until about 11:30 p.m. Friday.

Activity is being restricted below the 7,200-foot level and activity at the mine’s 6,800- foot level and above is continuing as usual, said Robson. Creighton has been mined for 100 years or more, said retired health and safety activist Homer Seguin.

Webequie says its still open for Ring of Fire business – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – November 24, 2011)

November 26, 2011

This video was posted on You Tube by the Matawa First Nations on November 7, 2011. It is about the Ring Of Fire development and effects on the communities of the Matawa First Nations in Northwestern Ontario. While this You Tube posting is not connected to the Webequie article, it does provide some background content and puts the recent Matawa political opposition to the Ring of Fire in perspective. – Stan Sudol

Wawatay News is Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice with offices in Sioux Lookout, Timmins and Thunder Bay.

Rifts in the Matawa First Nations’ opposition to mining in the Ring of Fire were on display Nov. 23 as Webequie First Nation held a press conference to announce that Matawa does not speak for the people the community.

Webequie Chief Cornelius Wabasse presented a community position statement calling for companies interested in developing the Ring of Fire to negotiate directly with the community, not through organizations such as Matawa.

“Matawa Tribal Council is not a decision-making authority for Webequie First Nation, Wabasse said. “Webequie will determine our own community-led process to guide industry, government and commercial groups through the process of working collaboratively.”

Study of second proposed Ring of Fire mine underway – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – November 18, 2011)

November 26, 2011

Wawatay News is Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice with offices in Sioux Lookout, Timmins and Thunder Bay.

As the controversy over the environmental study of a proposed Ring of Fire mine drags on, another proposed mine in the Ring of Fire has started a similar environmental assessment process. The environmental assessment for Noront Resources’ proposed Eagles Nest mine kicked off Nov. 15 with the opening of a 30-day public comment period.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) decided to do a comprehensive study, the same process chosen for Cliffs Natural Resources’ proposed chromite mine.

CEAA spokesperson Celine Legault said that the agency determined there was no need for the Noront project to be subjected to a more intensive Joint Review Panel (JRP) assessment. “At any time during the study the (federal) minister of environment can refer the assessment to a Joint Review Panel,” Legault said.

Will Sellwood see its second boom with a [Ring of Fire] chromite smelter? – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – November 26, 2011)

November 26, 2011

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

You can still find the town of Sellwood on Google Maps. It’s not much of a map though, with one long street and a small marker off to the right, in the middle of a patch of nothingness. The site itself isn’t all that different.

About 20 km from Capreol, on a long, potholed road, there’s a sign marking the Moose Mountain Mine site, which, if all goes well, may one day host a ferrochrome production facility for Cliffs Natural Resources.

Other than some construction work (workers are grinding rocks into gravel), the site is a rocky wasteland, filled with ponds that probably started off as open pit mines and orange-tinted rocks that hint at iron deposits.

But in the early 1900s, Sellwood was a town of promise. “Sellwood was going to be the iron ore capital of the world,” said Stu Thomas, president of the board of directors of the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum in Capreol.

[Sudbury’s Laurentian University] LU gets big bucks – Star Staff (Sudbury Star – November 25, 2011)

November 26, 2011November 25, 2011

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

Laurentian University’s School of Engineering got a new name and a huge financial boost Thursday. Stan Bharti, chairman and CEO of Forbes & Manhattan, Inc., announced a $10-million gift for the engineering school.

In recognition of the donation, Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux said the university will rename the school in the Bharti family’s honour.

“We have very fond memories of the many years during which we lived and raised our family in Sudbury, and wanted to give back to the community,” Bharti said in a statement. “Our family is very proud of the momentum at Laurentian University.

“We wanted to be part of it and encourage other families with an affinity for Northern Ontario or the mining sector to support The Next 50 Campaign.”

The donation is part of the Sudbury Families initiative, bringing the total raised for Laurentian’s The Next 50 Campaign to $48.6 million.

TEAMSTERS CANADA NEWS RELEASE: McGuinty government urged to kill plans to ship ‘Ring of Fire’ refinery work to China

November 25, 2011

Canada NewsWire

U.S. multinational Cliffs Natural Resources says it will seek exemption to Ontario Mining Act to ship raw chromite overseas, but Teamsters wants the government to tell foreigners that if you ‘mine it here, then refine it here or keep it in the ground’

OTTAWA, Nov. 25, 2011 /CNW/ – Queen’s Park will squander huge potential benefits of the so-called “Ring of Fire” mining discovery in the James Bay lowlands if it allows the lion’s share of raw materials to be siphoned off and sent to China for refining, says the head of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees.

“A senior executive of Cliffs Natural Resources told CBC news this week that it plans to ship much of the raw chromite to Asia for refining and will seek an exemption to the Ontario Mining Act because the law prevents materials mined in Ontario being refined outside Canada,” says William Brehl, president of the union representing maintenance workers on several short line railways in Northern Ontario that may carry Ring of Fire minerals.

SAMSSA’s Dick DeStefano Interviews Republic Of Mining’s Stan Sudol about Northern Ontario’s potential

September 7, 2018November 25, 2011

A November 24, 2011 $10 million gift to Laurentian's Engineering School from Stan Bharti, (centre holding cheque) chairman and CEO of Forbes & Manhattan, Inc. confirms Sudbury's status as Canada's pre-eminent centre for mining education, reseach and production.

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). destefan@isys.ca This column was originally published in the December, 2011 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

Stan Sudol has one of the most active mining logs in North America: www.republicofmining.com It has recently been added to a Top Ten Mining Blog list by Australian Mining magazine. We asked Stan for his comments and views on Northern Ontario Mining and its technology cluster.

SAMSSA has been monitoring the mining sector for nine years now and with the exception of the crash in September 2008, the sector continues to grow. Why?

China, India and many other industrializing and urbanizing economies will continue to grow and place enormous demands on mineral production and the supply and service suppliers. We are still in a commodity super-cycle that will last much longer than previous ones. However, commodity super-cycles have temporary downsides as we saw in 2008.

China is witnessing the largest rural-urban migration in the history of mankind. Hundreds of millions of new middle-class consumers need all sorts of products and infrastructure services that can only be made with the minerals we dig out of the ground in Sudbury and Northern Ontario.

Development, protection; [Ontario] Far North Act clarifies land use planning – by Michael Gravelle (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – November 21, 2011)

November 24, 2011

Michael Gravelle is Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources and MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North.

AS the minister responsible for implementing the Far North Act, I can tell you that I truly believe it is the foundation of a remarkable and, frankly, unprecedented land use planning process that will benefit the North.

While our government moves forward in its work with scores of First Nation communities, I do acknowledge that there is still a lot of misunderstanding and opposition, and I believe that it is my responsibility to address this.

Most people would agree that good planning leads to good development which creates good jobs and a strong economy. The fact is that jobs and investment are coming to the Far North, and the benefits of that will be felt by both First Nations communities and the Northern Ontario communities that will become important transportation hubs and supply and service providers.

NEWS RELEASE: BHARTI FAMILY INVESTS $10 MILLION IN LAURENTIAN’S AWARD-WINNING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

May 7, 2013November 24, 2011

Largest gift in Laurentian’s 51 year history

SUDBURY (November 24, 2011) – Stan Bharti, chairman and CEO of Forbes & Manhattan, Inc. and dozens of other companies, announced today a $10 million gift to Laurentian University’s School of Engineering, as part of the “Sudbury Families” initiative, bringing the total raised for The Next 50 Campaign to $48.6 million. In recognition of this significant investment, Laurentian University President Dominic Giroux announced that the university will rename the school in the Bharti family’s honour.

“We have very fond memories of the many years during which we lived and raised our family in Sudbury, and wanted to give back to the community”, explained Stan Bharti. “Our family is very proud of the momentum at Laurentian University. We wanted to be part of it and encourage other
families with an affinity for Northern Ontario or the mining sector to support The Next 50 Campaign.”

The Bharti family’s gift will be invested in an endowment to the exclusive use of the Bharti School of Engineering. “The endowment fund will be used to enhance the student experience by ensuring that we attract top faculty and provide our students with first class opportunities to learn both inside and
outside the classroom.”, said Dr. Ramesh Subramanian, director of the Bharti School of Engineering. “Moreover, the endowment will ensure that we can attract the best and brightest students through scholarships and promote our programs nationally.”