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December 8, 1927 Speech to the Empire Club by the Honourable William Finlayson, Ontario Minister of Lands and Forests about Northern Ontario’s Vast Potenial

The Empire Club of Canada, established in 1903, in Toronto is recognized as one of Canada’s oldest and largest speakers’ forums with a membership comprised of some of Canada’s most influential leaders from the professions, business, labour, education and government. Over its history it has been addressed by more than 3500 prominent Canadian and international leaders – men and women who have distinguished themselves in many fields of endeavour.

The Empire Club’s luncheon meetings attract audiences of 200 to 1,000 and usually take place on Thursdays at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel from September through June. Consult their events page for a detailed listing of this year’s events and links to their reservation forms. The addresses are broadcast on Rogers Television and many attract newspaper reports and editorial comment.

Honourable William Finlayson, Ontario Minister of Lands and Forests, Toronto, Ontario – December 8, 1927

The Vice-President introduced the speaker, who was received with loud applause. He said: “It is a pleasure to come to Southern Ontario and talk about Northern Ontario, because the people here are prepared to support any legislation properly designed to develop the North country”; yet I do so with a good deal of hesitation, because I see so many people here who have done far more work in Northern Ontario than I have been able to accomplish.

I see here Sir William Hearst, who knows Northern Ontario not only from the administrative standpoint, but from having lived there and helped to develop one of its important centres. Other men here have done perservering and effective work for the north country, men like Mr. Stapells and Mr. Gibbons, who are prepared to devote not only personal energy but business organization to assist in particular enterprises we may have in view up there.

The people of Toronto and all Southern Ontario think that civilization entered Ontario from the south, and that Cataraqui and Kingston are the oldest centres of civilization in this province; others say that Niagara was the birthplace of Ontario; while people in Toronto the “Meeting Place”-seem to think that civilization and romance and enterprise began here and spread through the province. But I would like to tell the people of Toronto at once, plainly and somewhat bluntly, that those ideas are all erroneous, and that the north, which is not only the source of present wealth but the hope for the future of Ontario, is the place where civilization and enterprise and business entered this province. Let me briefly prove this proposition.

Civilization entered Ontario in August 1615, when Father Recollet went up the Ottawa River, crossed Nipissing, and came down the French River and Georgian Bay. He was followed shortly after by the great Champlain.

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Ring of Fire Mine, Railway Will Bring Economic Development to Northern Ontario and Aboriginal Communities – by Ian Ross

This article was orginally published in Northern Ontario Business on December 23, 2009. 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.

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

Bob Middleton likens the discovery of chromite in the James Bay Lowlands to the 1903 Cobalt silver discovery that opened up Northern Ontario and created the great mining camps of Timmins and Kirkland Lake.

The potential impact of a massive open-pit mine, ore processing facilities and a railway into McFauld’s Lake, as proposed by Cliffs Natural Recources, will be a life-style changer for many living in remote First Nation communities, said the exploration industry veteran.

“It’s going to change the economy of this whole region,” said Middleton, director of Aboriginal and regulatory affairs with Canada Chrome Corp.
Cliffs’ $240 million stock offer to Freewest Resources, which together with KWG and Spider Resources, found some of the richest chromite deposits in the world, will be voted on by Freewest shareholders in January. The Freewest board is recommending approval of the Cliffs offer.

Middleton outlined his company’s role in a high-grade chromite resource in the area now called the Ring of Fire during a presentation at the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium, Dec. 16, 2009 in Sudbury.

Canada Chrome is a subsidiary of KWG Resources Inc., one of the companies involved in the $1.5 billion development, which includes an $800-million mine scheduled to go into production by 2015.

Cleveland, Ohio-based Cliffs, a global iron ore pellet and coal producer and an established industrial railway builder, is expanding into the stainless steel market with the development of North America’s first chromite mine.

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Rails to Riches in the Ring of Fire – by Edgar J. Lavoie

This article was orginally published in Northern Ontario Business on April 19, 2010. Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investers with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

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

A man from North Carolina is standing on the north bank of the frozen Ogoki River in Northern Ontario. His job is to find bedrock that could support a bridge foundation for a Class 3 heavy-haul railway. The railway, currently under feasibility review, would transport 4 million tonnes of chromite every year from the Ring of Fire to the CN mainline near Nakina.

On Feb. 19, Colin Langford, geologist, is overdressed for the weather -2C. The sun is shining, the sky is clear. As the crew extracts two-inch rock core from the drill hole, Langford identifies the rock. “Granite,” he says. Good solid stuff.

Matthew Krzewinski, field program manager for Golder Associates, has dropped from the sky to check on the work. A helicopter is the transport of choice in this country. The company is performing geotechnical drilling on the proposed route.

Only a third of the 340-kilometre route runs through the rock, sand, and gravel of the Canadian Shield. The James Bay Lowlands, in which the Big Daddy chromite discovery is located, is wet – a wilderness of lakes and bogs. KWG Resources Inc. (TSX-V: KWG), in joint venture with Spider Resources Inc. (TSX-V: SPQ), created a subsidiary to do feasibility studies for a railway. In turn, Canada Chrome Corp. engaged Krech Ojard & Associates, PA, of Duluth, who hired Golder Associates, also of Duluth, with support from offices throughout Canada and the USA.

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Ring of Fire: A Chance to Remake, or Ruin, the North – by Tanya Talaga [Toronto Star-March 27, 2010]

Tanya Talaga is the Queen’s Park (Ontario Provincial Government) reporter for 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 on Saturday, March 27, 2010 on the front page of the Insight section.

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

A massive ore deposit has prospectors drooling, native groups worried about a raw deal and greens warning of an ecological disaster. With $30 billion at stake, the government is struggling to strike the right balance

MARTEN FALLS FIRST NATION, ONT.–Children sprint into the school gym to feast on the grapes, apples and oranges laid out on long tables – the first fresh fruit they’ve seen in months.

The fruit, all 90 kilos of it, is a gift to the 300 people living in this impoverished, fly-in-only reserve from Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle.

He’s flown to Marten Falls, where the water is not clean enough to drink, on a diplomatic mission to soothe tensions among the Indians, government and mining companies over the proposed development of the Ring of Fire.

The Ring is a massive, 5,120-square-kilometre area of pristine wilderness that happens to be on Marten Falls’ traditional land and is said to hold one of the richest ore deposits in the world.

The buzz around the potential jackpot has prospectors jockeying for position as everyone lines up to stake their claim in this modern-day gold rush.

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Sudbury FNX and Vancouver Quadra Merger to Open Global Projects to Northern Firms – by Nick Stewart

This article was orginally published in Northern Ontario Business on April 23, 2010. Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investers with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

Copper production the focus of new company

Northern Ontario mining suppliers may be able to tap into global mining projects, including a $2-billion mine construction project in Chile, as a result of the recently announced merger between Sudbury miner FNX Mining Company Inc. and Vancouver-based Quadra Mining Inc.

“As part of the integration of the two companies, we’ll look at our purchasing systems and resource material and use our larger orders and larger demands in order to both save money and rationalize how we deal,” says Dave Constable, vice-president of investor relations with FNX.

“So I definitely think there will be opportunities for Sudbury suppliers, because they are global and already do supply to Chile. The new company will rationalize the purchasing systems and make opportunities available to suppliers for both companies to be competitive and bid on those things.”

Announced in late March, the merger of equals will create intermediate copper producer Quadra FNX, amalgamating FNX’s projects in the Sudbury Basin with Quadra’s projects in Nevada, Arizona and twin mining projects in Chile.

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Mining Act and Far North Act need more work: OMA submission

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.

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

The Ontario Mining Association´s submission on the Mining Amendment Act and the Far North Act suggests both pieces of proposed legislation need some additional work, if they are to achieve the government´s intended goals.  The OMA submitted a full version of its review of Bill 173, Mining Amendment Act, and Bill 191, Far North Act, to the Legislature´s Standing Committee on General Government today. 

Last month, OMA President Chris Hodgson presented highlights of the OMA´s views to this committee at hearings in Thunder Bay.  Mr. Hodgson was accompanied at the public consultation by John Blogg, OMA Secretary and Manager of Industrial Relations, Adele Faubert, Manager of Aboriginal Affairs at Goldcorp´s Musselwhite Mine, and Jerome Girard, Mill Superintendent at the Musselwhite Mine. 

“Recent turbulence in the economy has had a negative impact on our industry, but there are steps that the government can take to ensure Ontario remains in an optimal position to take advantage of the next boom in commodity prices,” said the OMA submission.  “Bill 173 and Bill 191 are a start in that direction, but only if this committee ensures that the amendments recommended are in fact implemented in a manner that will foster the growth of mining in the province.”

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Mining Still Glitters in Northern Ontario – Stan Sudol

This article was originally published in the Sudbury Star on October 8, 2004

In July, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein proudly announced that his province’s massive debt has been slain. However, he could not have accomplished that historic feat without the development of northern Alberta’s booming oilsands economy and ensuing resource royalties. Sadly, Ontario, struggling with a $142-billion debt and a $100-billion infrastructure deficit, is largely ignoring the mineral rich potential of its north.

According to the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, over the next 50 years the world will use five times all the mineral supplies that have ever been mined up to the year 2000.

China, India, Brazil and other emerging countries are rapidly industrializing their economies, which require a wide variety of base metals, many of which could be found in one of the world’s richest geological regions — northern Ontario. We are entering a commodity boom that could last for decades.

Historically, northern Ontario’s mineral wealth has provided high paying jobs, supplied significant tax revenues to Queen’s Park and helped settle much of the region. The mining sector still generates enormous wealth and industrial activity.

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Modernizing Ontario’s Mining Act: Proposal To Move To Map Staking – by Michael Gravelle – Minister of Northern Development and Mines

Not everyone realizes that the products of mining are all around us, all the time: in medicine, in transportation, in electronics, in consumer goods. In that regard, the value of mining in the everyday lives of all Ontarians cannot be overstated.

In addition, the minerals sector is a major contributor to Ontario’s economy. Ontario leads the country in the production of non-fuel minerals, such as nickel, gold and copper, and is a major player in the world. In 2008, Ontario’s mineral production was valued at $9.6 billion, with the province’s 27 metal mines generating $6.6 billion for the economy.

The McGuinty government remains wholly committed to building on the industry’s status as a world leader in mineral exploration and development, while it continues to promote sustainable mineral resource practices for the benefit of all Ontarians.

At the end of April, it was my pleasure to introduce to the Legislature proposed ground-breaking changes to Ontario’s Mining Act.

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Former Premier David Peterson’s July 30, 1986, Laurentian University Speech Announcing the Relocation of MNDM and the OGS to Sudbury

In light of the recent decision to put Federal and Provincial money into mining research at the University of Toronto instead of Laurentian, I have posted former Premier David Peterson’s July 30, 1986 historic speech announcing the relocation of MNDM and OGS to Sudbury.

This was one of the most significant economic turning points in the community’s history.

In this speech, Peterson outlines a previous Liberal Government’s entirely different attitude to the sustainable, long-term development of Northern Ontario as well as proudly helping build a global cluster of mining expertise in Sudbury, the richest mining district in North America and among the top ten most strategic in the world.

Honourable David R. Peterson PC, QC

Just over three weeks ago, I was in Sault Ste. Marie with some of my colleagues to announce elements of a northern Ontario economic development strategy this government will carry out over the next few years.

As a first step in this process, we announced a combination of new and accelerated government projects to provide a needed short-term stimulus to that area’s flagging economy.

But we also recognized that the challenges facing the North are related to deeper, more profound changes taking place in the economy. This restructuring is needed to ensure the competitiveness of our resource industries in the international market place.

To better understand and address these longer term, structural changes, we announced in Sault Ste. Marie a number of measures the Government will take.

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No Plan, No Succession, No Future for Local Ownership in Sudbury- by Michael Atkins

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Michael Atkin’s column. www.northernlife.ca

Last month, I wrote about the hollowing out of Northern Ontario and the continuing deterioration of authority, influence and relevance in key sectors.

The topic of the day was the destruction of CBC Radio as a connecting force in the North and the ignorance of the people who made the decision to save such piddling amounts of money in the shadow of such benefit.

This month another storyline.

Vale Inco is restructuring. They are taking people in the finance, human resources and procurement departments and moving the strategic thinking and execution out of Sudbury and down to São Paulo and Toronto. In simple terms, it means that local procurement (say rock bolts) will remain in Sudbury but worldwide purchasing (say tires and information technology) will be done elsewhere. It means that the analysis of the business will move from Sudbury to São Paulo.

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Where Ontario’s New Mining Act Fails the Industry – by Marilyn Scales

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

I had a lengthy and most interesting phone call from Michael Leahy last week concerning the proposed changes to the Ontario Mining Act. First, he said, the Mining Act passed in 1873 was never a static document. It has been amended many times, including a complete rewrite in 1990. Leahy knows whereof he speaks because he was involved in the revisions two decades ago, and until 2006 he sat on (and chaired) the Minister’s Mining Act Committee.

Still actively prospecting from his home in Kirkland Lake, Leahy says enforcement of the Mining Act will come through the passage of various regulations as set out in the Act. Until these regulations are written, much of the practical application of the Act is uncertain. 

The Ontario government has also significantly broadened its powers of regulation with this Mining Act. Leahy is correct to point out that regulations are passed without the public readings and procedures necessary to get bills through the provincial parliament. That leaves me wondering if regulatory changes will be made arbitrarily, with no notice and less consultation.

Leahy pointed out that the concept of ‘native traditional lands’ is unclear.

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Year In Review – Sudbury’s Economy: Boom to Bust? – by Bill Bradley

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Bill Bradley’s article. www.northernlife.ca

Greater Sudbury’s economy went from boom town status in 2008 to layoffs and growing fear in the community. Mining executives like Xstrata’s Mike Romaniuk, and Vale Inco’s Fred Stanford had been bullish on the future. “The world simply can’t get enough nickel,” said Stanford Feb. 6th at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

But by the early fall, a stock market crash started a series of layoffs in local mining companies and service and supply companies. Retired miner, Laurie Chartrand, 63, from Chelmsford, said he was down $25,000 from the stock market crash and knew some who had lost $200,000. He had a novel idea.

“We need the government to start a voucher system for those who have lost money like myself so we would have the ability to buy the cars that use our metals,” said Chartrand.

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Sudbury’s Copper Cliff South Mine Suspending Production – by Bill Bradley

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Bill Bradley’s article. www.northernlife.ca

Greater Sudbury’s economy will now be further affected by the growing world economic crisis.

In early November, Xstrata Nickel announced it will cease operations at Craig and Thayer-Lindsay nickel mines, affecting 250 employees. Early retirement options are being pursued by the company and union.

Now the city’s largest employer, Vale Inco, with over 5,000 employees, is stopping production at one mine and mothballing a development project due to slumping prices and demand, said Vale Inco spokespersons Thursday.

Vale Inco announced production cutbacks at its Greater Sudbury operations Thursday morning.

However, for now, the shutdown of the Copper Cliff South Mine and the one year postponement of the Copper Cliff Deep project will not involve layoffs of any Vale Inco employees, said Cory McPhee, director, Vale Inco communications and public affairs.

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Deal With Ontario Aboriginal Groups or No Deal? – by Marilyn Scales

Deal or no deal? – by Marilyn Scales Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators. The long-simmering dispute between Frontenac Ventures of Oakville, Ontario, and the native bands with claims on a stretch of wilderness north of Sharbot …

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Postponements to Ontario Mining Act Revisions Best for Industry and Aboriginal Groups – by Gregory Reynolds

Gregory Reynolds - Timmins ColumnistWhen it comes to timing mining cycles or stock movements, when everyone believes something it usually turns out that they are wrong.

The 10-year boom in commodities turned out to be less than four years and no one knows when it will resume.

Yet, there is a bright side for the Canadian mining industry, and especially the Ontario segment. The provincial government has postponed its planned revisions to the Ontario Mining Act.

Bowing to several pressure groups, the McGuinty government had intended to ram through major changes before the New Year. The world-wide meltdown in credit facilities brought the Liberals to their senses.

Ontario has four major industries, new vehicle and parts manufacturing, mining, forestry and tourism. Even before the housing crisis in the United States spread into every sector of the world economy, the forestry industry was written off by Queen’s Park.

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