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Ontario Mining

OMA member Goldcorp makes safety message personal for employees

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 Goldcorp has produced a set of four safety videos for all employees that bring the importance of safety on the job closer to home – and the heart.  These videos were filmed at Goldcorp operations in Canada, the United States and Mexico and they are trilingual – English, French and Spanish.

They all emphasize the Goldcorp safety motto – “Safe Enough for Our families” — and they deal with each component of Goldcorp’s program Care, Think, Act.  “We want to instill a cultural change toward safety,” said Melanie Martin, video producer, Senior Executive Assistant and Regional Communications Leader at Goldcorp.  “We want to create a culture where people know they are all part of the same family and that we need to take care of each other.”

The safety message and commitment from senior Goldcorp management comes through loud and clear in the video package.  Steve Reid, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer says “Safety is complex and our ability to grow it should not be underestimated. This is not a television show, it is real Goldcorp people telling real Goldcorp stories.”

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OMA Meet the Miners event helps Queen’s Park focus on mineral industry benefits

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.

 

A solid contingent of industry leaders, cabinet ministers, MPPs and public servants celebrated the role of the mineral sector at the Ontario Mining Association’s Meet the Miners event.  The event was rescheduled to March 28 at the Sutton Place Hotel after adjusting arrangements to make way for the provincial budget at the Legislature, which was delivered on March 29.

“Thank you for being here to help us celebrate the contributions Ontario’s mining industry makes to the society and economy of the province,” said Marc Boissonneault, Vice President Sudbury Operations for Xstrata Nickel and OMA Chairman.  “Mining remains a key sector to help us move to a greener and more productive society.”

Michael Gravelle Minister of Northern Development Mines and Forestry saluted the OMA for its role for more than 90 years in making a positive difference in the province.  “Ontario is a better place for the vision and innovation of the mining industry. The mining industry in Ontario not only has made it through challenging times recently but it has come out stronger than ever.”

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Where does mining fit into the Ontario provincial Budget?

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.

 

Political analysts will undoubtedly remind us that details of the Liberal government’s provincial Budget delivered on March 29 will be repeated many times over leading up to the Ontario election on October 6.  The Budget contains specifics about protecting health care and education, jobs and growth and promises to make the delivery of public services more efficient.

But where does mining fit into the government’s plans?  It might not be obvious from a cursory reading of Budget documents.  There are no references to mining in either Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s Budget speech itself, titled “Turning the corner to a better tomorrow,” or the press release and its supporting background papers.  However, if you delve into the 300-page book on “Budget Papers,” you will be able to piece together some clues.

In the chapter “Key Ontario Sectors,” two pages are dedicated to Mining and Opportunities in Ontario’s Ring of Fire.  “Mining, a traditionally strong part of the Ontario economy, is benefiting from growing world demand for commodities and from tax relief provided through Ontario’s tax plan for jobs and growth,” said the document.  “The government is supporting the development of new mineral deposits in the North and Far North, including helping promising mining opportunities in the Ring of Fire area of the Far North with potentially large deposits of minerals such as chromite, nickel, copper and platinum.”

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Remarks at 2011 “Meet the Miners Reception” – by the Honourable Michael Gravelle Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (March 28, 2011)

Meet the Miners is an Ontario Mining Association (OMA) initiative at Queen’s Park involving member companies and their employees, which helps shine the spotlight on the industry in government circles.

Check Against Delivery

Meet the Miners is an OMA initiative at Queen’s Park involving member companies and their employees, which helps shine the spotlight on the industry in government circles.Thank you, Chris, for that kind introduction. Welcome, everyone. It is my pleasure to co-host the annual “Meet the Miners” reception once again. First of all, I want to thank you for being flexible and having “Meet the Miners” day today.

Although the provincial budget presentation scheduled for tomorrow necessitated a change in plans and venues for the OMA, I hope that your meetings today were both productive and enjoyable. I am certainly delighted to join you and my legislative colleagues here this evening.

One has to look no further then to the numbers to understand that Mining is  and will remain a major contributor to Ontario’s economy:

  • In 2010, our mineral production was valued at $7.7 billion. And during the same year, mining companies reinvested more than a billion dollars into ongoing operations and new mine development.
  • In 2010, Mining and exploration companies spent over $800 million on exploring and evaluating mineral deposits throughout the province. And this year, we are going for another record – $940 million!
  • As well, close to 30 per cent of all investment in mineral exploration in Canada is taking place in Ontario. With over 300 companies actively exploring more than 600 projects.

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Sustainability In Nickel Projects: 50 Years of Experience at Vale Inco – by S.W. Marcuson, J. Hooper, R.C. Osborne, K. Chow and J. Burchell (December 1, 2009)

The principal author, Dr. Sam Marcuson ( Sam.Marcuson@valeinco.com ) is vice-president, business improvement for Vale Inco Limited, Mississauga, ON, Canada. This article was adapted from a plenary speech made at the CIM Conference of Metallurgists held August 2009 in Sudbury, Ontario. The full paper is available from the author or the conference proceedings.

Looking at the industry’s past and present with a view to projecting into the future can be a valuable exercise for executing and maintaining sustainable development

The first eight years of this century saw rapid growth in the consumption and production of nickel and related commodities. In response to growth in the BRIC countries, but especially China, new projects, many in under-developed countries, were initiated. Nickel pig iron, produced in aging Chinese blast furnaces, unexpectedly emerged. Simultaneously, scientists concluded that global warming is “unequivocal” and human activity is the main driver, “very likely” (>90%) causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950[1]. These factors point to a future in which sustainable development becomes of paramount interest to the mining and metallurgy industry.

To the practicing metallurgist and operator, “sustainability” may appear as keeping employees safe, meeting prevailing environmental regulations and contributing to social programs contractually agreed to, while maintaining a low-cost operation that meets production and financial targets. But this is a highly simplified view that ignores many of the sustainability concepts.

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Still carrying a torch for the Ring of Fire – Lisa Wright (Toronto Star)

Lisa Wright is a business reporter with the Toronto Star, which has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on Canada’s federal and provincial politics as well as shaping public opinion. This article was originally published March 26, 2011.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Lisa Wright – Business Reporter (Toronto Star)

It has been described as the most significant base metals play in Canada since the lucrative Voisey’s Bay discovery in Labrador nearly 20 years ago.

The giant Ring of Fire deposit of chromite, nickel and copper — located in a remote corner of the James Bay lowlands — was first unveiled with fanfare in 2007. And it was highly touted in the Ontario throne speech last year as a cornerstone of the province’s future prosperity.

“It is the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in a century,” Lieutenant Governor David Onley said a year ago this month.

Superlatives aside, all the players involved have been going full tilt since then trying to get the Ring developed in an area twice the size of Prince Edward Island amid First Nations blockades and an extremely challenging environment that will require a major infrastructure build.

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[Ring of Fire] Koper Lake blockade resumes; Marten Falls feels left out – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – March 17, 2011)

Wawatay News is Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice with offices in Sioux Lookout, Timmins and Thunder Bay. This article was posted on their website on March 17, 2011. James Thom is the Editor – jamest@wawatay.on.ca

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Citing rapidly moving development and inadequate involvement for Marten Falls, the community launched its second blockade of the Ring of Fire.

After taking part in a traditional ceremony March 3 at the community’s blockade site on Koper Lake in the James Bay lowlands, Marten Falls Chief Eli Moonias spoke with local and national media about his community’s concerns in the Ring of Fire mineral exploration area. Koper Lake is located about 128 kilometres north of Marten Falls in its traditional territory.

“We feel that the issues here and the development is getting away from us, too far ahead, without our adequate and meaningful involvement,” Moonias said.

The Ring of Fire contains chromite, a rare mineral used to make stainless steel. It falls in the traditional territory of Marten Falls and Webequie.

“We never got to the first stage yet where we have meaningful exploration agreements,” Moonias said during the blockade, adding his community plans to hire a negotiator to work on their concerns. “What we’re saying here is slow down a little bit.”

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Quebec Crees offer advice [About Ring of Fire] – by James Thom (Wawatay News – March 17, 2011)

Wawatay News is Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice with offices in Sioux Lookout, Timmins and Thunder Bay. This article was posted on their website on March 17, 2011. James Thom is the Editor – jamest@wawatay.on.ca

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

About 35 years ago, the James Bay Cree communities in Quebec faced similar obstacles and challenges to those facing the Matawa Ring of Fire communities today.

Anthony MacLeod, director of a Cree owned catering and janitorial services company, shared the story of how nine Cree communties banded together to find benefit when Hydro Quebec began damming rivers in their traditional lands to make hydro.

“What they are experiencing now – interest in their land, development likely coming soon – we were experiencing that 30 to 35 years ago,” MacLeod said, speaking at the Matawa First Nations Community Governance & Economic Development Conference March 1-2.

“We have been working with the Matawa communities for two years, showing them models we have as a nation, to show what we went through. It wasn’t all happy and successful. But we recognized we were much stronger as a united group than as individual nations.”

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Ring of Fire development could move quickly: Kaszycki – by Chris Kornaki (Special to Wawatay News – March 3, 2011)

Wawatay News is Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice with offices in Sioux Lookout, Timmins and Thunder Bay. This article was posted on their website on March 3, 2011. James Thom is the Editor – jamest@wawatay.on.ca

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Christine Kaszycki is determined to work with First Nations to make sure no one is left out in the cold around the Ring of Fire. Kaszycki, assistant deputy minister for the Ring of Fire Secretariat with the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDMF), promised to balance the needs of industry and First Nations if a mine is in production by 2015.

Her job includes “working with the First Nation communities to ensure they have got the capacity they need to meaningfully participate and to ensure they have the right kinds of supports in place to actually engage as this project moves forward,” Kaszycki said.

She said MNDMF is listening to the communities about what they want and need from development to put the right kinds of programs and frameworks in place to allow it to happen. The province recognized the Ring of Fire – located in the traditional lands of Webequie and Marten Falls – as one of the most significant recent discoveries of minerals in the world.

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Housing bonanza hits a snag in booming Kirkland Lake – by Nick Stewart

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. This article is from the March, 2011 issue.

Low assessments, high development costs pose major challenges

The explosive need for new homes in Kirkland Lake is being thwarted by low assessment values and expensive infrastructure improvements. After years of wishing for opportunities to grow its dwindling population, the City of Kirkland Lake is struggling to accommodate the thousands of people soon to be pounding on its doors.

With low assessment values and limited finances, the municipality largely lacks the resources it needs to build out the infrastructure that has suddenly become necessary to house a strong influx of mining workers. Estimates provided by the city indicate that 2,000 full-time production workers will be in place by 2013, with an additional 1,500 needed through development and construction of new projects.

“It’s really ironic, because 10 years ago, we were sitting at a table with the senior levels of government and saying, ‘We’re dying, we need your help,’ and we were told there were no programs in place to help us,” said Wilfred Hass, the city’s economic development officer.

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Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Chief’s gather in Timmins to discuss resources – by Kate McLaren (The Daily Press, March 24, 2011)

Kate McLaren is a reporter for The Daily Press, the city of Timmins newspaper. Contact the writer at news@thedailypress.ca.

“The government has a responsibility to protect First Nations people, and it’s their
duty to consult. That duty should not be given to the industries themselves, unless
it’s agreed upon through talks between First Nations people and government officials.” 
(Raymond Ferris – Ring of Fire co-ordinator for Matawa First Nation)

As First Nation chiefs from 49 Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) communities gather this week for the 2011 Winter Chiefs Assembly, the theme of the conference — Our Land, Our Resources — reflects current frustrations in First Nations communities.

“The discussions are centred around resource development, as it applies to both the written and spirited intent of Treaty 9,” said NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy. “A hundred years ago, we signed a treaty that gave us peaceful and shared land, and said we would share in any wealth generated from that land.”

The conference, which began on Tuesday and concludes Thursday, features various presentations. Beardy said one of the highlights was the discussion around proposed mining developments in the Far North.

“The focus is around the implementation of these various treaty rights. We’d like the government to be more respectful of those rights.”

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Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) Ring of Fire Investigative Report (October 18, 2010)

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (more commonly referred to as APTN) is a Canadian broadcast and cable television network. APTN airs and produces programs made by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples. It is noted as the first of its kind in the world and is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Wiki) APTN Investigates, with host/producer Cheryl McKenzie, …

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Canada’s mining sector has pulled up its environmental SOx

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.
 

Canada’s mining industry has made significant improvement in its environmental performance on many fronts from 1998 to 2008, according to a federal government publication.  The “Mining Sector Performance Report” was produced by Natural Resources Canada in consultation with an external advisory committee.  It included representation from industry, academia, provincial governments, Aboriginal groups and non-governmental organizations.

“One cannot report on the industry’s performance without noting the significant progress in environmental protection,” said the report.  “The mining sector, through multi-stakeholder initiatives, regulatory and financial instruments and science and technology has demonstrated its environmental commitment through reductions in energy intensity, air emissions and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as increases in environmental expenditures, including remediation and decommissioning.”

“This change in performance has taken place against a backdrop of rising public expectations, which has challenged the industry to extend its practices beyond regulatory compliance to environmental stewardship.”

There has been a tremendous growth in investments in the environment.  Between 1997 and 2006, environmental expenditures on operating costs rose from $796.1 million to $960.9 million and environmental capital expenditure increased from $420.9 million to $453.6 million over the same time period.

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Kirkland Lake gold district seeing strong activity – by Nick Stewart

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. This article is from the March, 2011 issue.

Gold adding a shine to exploration

As a camp which has lived and died on the back of gold, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Kirkland Lake district is thriving on the fortunes of the precious metal. Related exploration continues to shine in the region, as more and more drills are put into the ground to suss out the next major gold deposit or resource expansion.

“With the price of gold being between $1,300 and $1,400 an ounce, it makes it pretty easy to raise money on the market for gold projects,” said Gary Grabowski, resident regional ge­ologist for the Kirkland Lake district. “That’s what’s being looked at here, as you can imagine. Kirkland Lake is about gold.”

To put it into perspective, Grabowski says that the value of assessment work filed for the district in 2010 was $19 million; comparatively, it reached $27 million in 2009 and $17 million in 2008. “In previous years, we used to think if we got $8 million to $10 million that it was a really good year.”

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Keeping Thunder Bay in the picture for Ring of Fire refinery – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal editorial (March 15, 2011)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal  is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This opinion piece was originally published on March 15, 2011.

MAYOR Keith Hobbs is trying hard to position Thunder Bay as the logical location to process chromite from the giant Ring of Fire mineral deposit far to the north. In competition with officials from other Northern Ontario communities, Hobbs has made a good case.

Thunder Bay has the services, the manpower and expertise, the transportation and the electrical energy needed for a project of this size. And sizable it will be, requiring enough electricity to power a community of 300,000 people. It will be the largest single user of power in the province, which puts enormous pressure on the provincial government to provide what Cliffs Natural Resources, the main Ring of Fire developer, refers to as “a key input. The availability of a large, reliable, long-term and cost-competitive supply of electricity is a key consideration in siting the ferrochrome production facility.”

Cliffs identifies Timmins, Sudbury and Thunder Bay as potential locations, though it has gone so far as to use Sudbury as its base case model for planning purposes because it is already an important mineral processing centre. Hobbs has gone to some lengths to ensure Thunder Bay remains fully in Cliffs’ consideration and he’s got an Ontario Power Generation plant as one ace along with a Seaway port that Sudbury does not have.

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