Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery – Page 137

Sudbury wins? [Cliffs Natural Resources ferrochrome plant] – by Leith Dunick (tbnewswatch.com – April 4, 2012)

April 5, 2012

www.thbnewswatch.com

For the video newscast click here: http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Video/24256/No-Processor

Mayor Keith Hobbs said the writing’s been on the wall for a year or more, and the message probably isn’t a good one for Thunder Bay. Hobbs was reacting Monday to news that Cliffs Natural Resources’ suggestion the mining giant is still working with its best case scenario location for a much-sought after ferrochrome processing plant and it’s likely Sudbury will be made the official location.

A decision could come in a matter of weeks. Hobbs called the decision disappointing, though hasn’t entirely given up hope the project and 500 jobs can be salvaged for Thunder Bay.

“We wouldn’t be surprised by that,” Hobbs said. “The Northwest, NOMA and the City of Thunder Bay, we were all prepared for that.

“When we went to Cliffs last year in Cleveland and met with them, they told us that when they found out the Kinghorn (rail) line was gone, that we dropped from base case to maybe second base case. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if it went to Sudbury at all.”

Andrew Mitchell, a director of development for Cliffs Chromite Ontario Inc., said the final decision will come down to one factor – energy.

[Ontario First Nations] Bands stymie Ring of Fire plans – Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal Editorial – April 1, 2012

April 1, 2012

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

IN their budgets this week Ontario and Ottawa placed much stock in the Ring of Fire mineral deposit here in Northern Ontario. The province is anxious for a big boost to an economy wasted by recession. The feds want business to drive the economy. Both singled out the Ring of Fire.

But all is not well in the northern mining patch. First nations are demanding consultation. A legal “duty to consult” has failed in most cases to facilitate successful conclusions to aboriginal claims. Government can’t seem to break the logjam and while some companies have successfully negotiated agreements with neighbouring first nations, others are stymied — and annoyed.

At the mining industry’s recent national conference in Toronto, a splinter group of some 60 junior companies called Miners United met. They are concerned about native demands for concessions and cash. Bands are charging for exploratory drilling and the price often tops $100,000. Junior firms say they cannot afford it.

Ring of Fire missing [Ontario budget] – by Jamie Smith (tbnewswatch.com – March 27, 2012)

March 28, 2012

www.tbnewswatch.com

Some local officials were surprised the Ring of Fire was largely absent from Tuesday’s provincial budget.

In his speech, which went beyond the 28 minute mark, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan didn’t mention the potential multi-billion dollar money maker once. Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce president Harold Wilson said he thought this was going to be the budget where the province outlined its plan, with dollar figures, on how to get the minerals shipped and power running in the Far North.

“That I thought would have been front and centre,” Wilson said. “We didn’t see any of that and that would have been great.” Mayor Keith Hobbs was disappointed about the province’s Ring of Fire plan, a document he has yet to see.

“In infrastructure we’re waiting for a little more than what I see so far in the budget. The government says they have a plan in place for the Ring of Fire. We didn’t see any plan … I would really like to see specifics of that plan.

Ontario PCs slam Bisson for not defeating the Far North Act – By Ontario Progressive Conservative new release (Timmins Times – March 27, 2012)

March 27, 2012

http://www.timminstimes.com/

PC Norm Miller said Bisson’s vote could have made the difference

While Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson is angry at the decision to sell off Ontario Northland, the PC Party is just as angry with Bisson for not voting to shut down the controversial Far North Act.

The move to repeal the Far North Act was put forward last week by Progressive Conservative MPP Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka), who argued the act is damaging to the North and goes against what most Northerners want.

“This is just another example of bad public policy rammed through by Mr. McGuinty without consultation or accountability to First Nations, municipalities and businesses whose lives and livelihoods have been changed – for the worse.”

Miller’s bill went to the legislature on March 22nd but the Liberals were joined by New Democrats in defeating the second reading of the bill with a vote of 50 to 36.

Getting ready for the [Northwestern Ontario mining] boom – by Katherine Bruce (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – March 26, 2012)

March 26, 2012

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

Note: This is the third of a multi-part series looking at the mining sector of Northwestern Ontario and the Ring of Fire.
Katherine Bruce likes to blow things up.

A professor of engineering technology at Cambrian College, she described her passion for her previous work in the mining sector, especially in the underground pits, to a large group of rapt attendees at the Mining Your Future conference on Feb. 25.

Bruce is one of the post-secondary institution partners working to develop strategies and solutions for the skill and labour shortage facing the mining industry. Confederation College president Jim Madder is also working to prepare students with diverse backgrounds and interests, for both the direct and indirect jobs available in the mining sector.

“Northwestern Ontario has to change its mindset and realize that there are jobs available,” Madder said.

Confederation is committed to preparing students for those jobs and currently offers flexible upgrading programs and outreach, as well as directly applied programs such as the diamond drillers course and an eight-month mining techniques program.

RING OF FIRE: Federal Natural Resources minister wants approvals streamlined – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – March 24, 2012)

March 24, 2012

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

Changes to speed up the approvals process for major natural resource projects will be introduced in the coming months, the minister of Natural Resources says.

“I can’t speak to the specific date, but the whole point (is) we want the regulatory process to move more quickly, and so we really have to get on with it ourselves. So we’re talking months, not years,” Joe Oliver said Friday.

However, he was vague about what exactly those changes will be. “I can’t talk about the detail as specifics, but we’re going to make sure that there’s an adequate and respectful constitutionally driven consultation process. In other words, we want to have an open dialogue with aboriginal communities.

“We’re not going to be doing anything that is going to undermine the ability of the regulator to do a thorough environmental review. We don’t want projects to go ahead that aren’t safe for Canadians and safe for the environment.”

[Ontario] First Nations seek power in development – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – March 22, 2012)

March 22, 2012

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper and Brian MacLeod is the managing editor. brian.macleod@sunmedia.ca

It was a brief release on the website of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. More telling, it was released on March 4 — a Sunday. It looks like the medium was the message. In this case, that message is trouble for the Liberals.

The release announced that 23,000 square kilometres of land in the northwestern corner of Ontario were being withdrawn from prospecting and mining to “give clarity to the province’s mineral exploration industry and avoid future disagreements over the land in question.”

That clarity was required after a showdown between the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation and God’s Lake Resources, a junior exploration company. And KI won hands down.

Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said KI “clearly isn’t ready to enter into an agreement … so we believe it was better for all concerned if we withdrew those lands.”

Ring of Fire mining region in Ontario requires extensive infrastructure development – by Don Procter (Daily Commercial News and Construction Record – March 21, 2012)

March 21, 2012

http://dcnonl.com/

The Ring of Fire (ROF) could become one of the most significant mining opportunities in Ontario in a century, according to a provincial government spokesperson.

The region, 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ontario, is rich in “globally-significant” minerals such as chromite and nickel — key ingredients in stainless steel, a material in big demand in countries like China and India.

Extending over a swath of hinterland the size of the Greater Toronto Area, east to Port Hope and north to Barrie, the ROF will require extensive infrastructure development, including access roads, rail and power.

The development and other major mining projects in Ontario’s north spell good news for builders in coming years but the construction industry is under pressure to develop a skilled labour pool to meet the demand.

Christine Kaszycki told delegates at the Ontario Construction Secretariat’s 12th Annual State of the Industry and Outlook Conference recently that to date $208 million has gone into exploration of what is estimated to be several billion dollars worth of development in the ROF. An additional $84 million will go into exploration this year.

Mining conference [PDAC] highlights First Nation issues – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 16, 2012)

March 19, 2012

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

For Neskantaga First Nation Chief Peter Moonias, the massive Prospectors and Developers Association mining conference was more than just a chance to promote the agreement his First Nation signed with three of its neighbours on building a transportation network to the Ring of Fire.

It was also a chance to bring a First Nation message of treaty rights in regards to land to companies and governments alike.

“The companies have to respect the communities, and understand the rights of treaties for First Nations people. They then have to sell that agreement to the government,” Moonias said. “It’s important to carry the message to companies and government that Native people have that right to the land, through treaties.”

Moonias, along with chiefs from Eabametoong, Nibinamik and Webequie made a splash at the conference on Mar. 5 when they signed an agreement to pursue the development of an East-West transportation corridor to the Ring of Fire.

Canada Sees Mining Resurgence: Scott Jobin-Bevans – by Sally Lowder and Brian Sylvester (The Gold Report – March 16, 2012)

March 18, 2012

http://www.theaureport.com/

Amid the bustle of the 80th Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto, The Gold Report sat down with PDAC President Scott Jobin-Bevans for his take on the challenges the mining industry faces. In this exclusive interview, he covers a wide range of topics, from skilled labor shortages to the trials of mining in remote northern Canada.

The Gold Report: What are the key challenges the mining industry faces in 2012–2013?

Scott Jobin-Bevans: PDAC, under the leadership of newly appointed Executive Director Ross Gallinger, will be conducting a strategic review involving the board of directors, staff and gathering membership input. There are a number of issues facing the association and the industry, and I am sure that human resources challenges will surface as a key issue.

TGR: When you say human resources, what are you talking about specifically?

Thunder Bay poised for jobs [Ring of Fire capital and mining boomtown]- Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (March 11, 2012)

March 16, 2012

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

STATISTICS Canada confirmed a bleak reality Friday — unemployment remains a critical drag on Canada’s economy and its people. Thunder Bay showed a spark of life and its mayor figures unemployment will soon be a thing of the past.

Economists had predicted 15,000 jobs would be created nationally in February. Instead, 2,800 positions were lost. The unemployment rate actually dropped to 7.4 per cent, but that’s because there were 37,900 fewer Canadians looking for work last month, many who’ve given up hope of finding a job for the time being.

Canadians aged 15-24 took a big hit for the fifth straight month. This may be partly due to the fact many employees at or near 65 are opting to stay at work in order to recover their recessionary investment losses or simply to afford to continue living in their homes.

The federal government is considering raising the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67 which will further swell retirement reluctance — and keep more jobs from opening up for youth.

Oilsands a lesson for Ring of Fire – Column by Brian MacLeod – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – March 15, 2012)

March 15, 2012

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

If you don’t put a priority on the environment, you can milk a province’s natural resources in good times, but it catches up with you. Alberta is a perfect example, though you’d never know that by Ontario’s Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Hillier’s comments.

In a column on the Calgary Herald’s website, Hillier vents about the Dalton McGuinty Liberal government’s excessive number of environmental regulations, which Hillier says has turned “a land of milk and honey into a land of mediocrity.”

He laments that the Ring of Fire chromite deposit in Northern Ontario remains undeveloped. “McGuinty has locked our resources away and they remain untouched. Rather than accepting the word of their beloved environmental advisers, McGuinty and his Liberal government should spend more time discovering Ontario for themselves.”

The oilsands are a major economic driver in Alberta. The province expects to bring in $184 billion in royalties over the next 25 years.