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Quebec Mining

Air Creebec flies high as Plan Nord ramps up – by Fancois Shalom (Montreal Gazette – September 18 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

Airline Inaugurates its new $10-million hangar and terminal at Trudeau airport
 
Jean Charest may be gone, but he is far from forgotten – by Air Creebec at least. “We view (the former premier’s) Plan Nord as really a personal friend,” said Sylvain Dicaire, chief financial officer of the Val d’Or-based airline owned by the Cree nation. “We couldn’t agree with it more.”
 
Since its founding in 1982, the airline has banked heavily on northern development – mostly mining, forestry and Hydro-Québec.
 
But Charest formalizing the economic development of Quebec’s far north as a premier strategic objective for the government means that “the sky is the limit for us now,” Dicaire said. The occasion Monday was itself a testament to the benefits of that interest.
 
On its 30th anniversary, Air Creebec inaugurated its new $10-million hangar and terminal on the edges of the runway at Dorval’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport – built with a $1.3-million subsidy from the province, Dicaire noted. Plan Nord may be a formal stamp, but in truth, Dicaire said, “we sensed it before (it was launched).”

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Federal government won’t block efforts to limit asbestos exports – by Sarah Schmidt (Montreal Gazette – September 15, 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

OTTAWA — The Conservative government announced Friday it will no longer be a champion of asbestos on the world stage, effectively conceding the end of the asbestos industry in Quebec with a promise of up to $50 million to diversify the economy of the mining communities.
 
Industry Minister Christian Paradis, who represents a riding at the heart of Quebec’s asbestos mining region, said he didn’t want to abandon the industry, but said Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois left Ottawa no choice. During the summer campaign, Marois, who is now premier-designate of Quebec, promised to cancel an $58-million government loan to revive the Jeffrey Mine, signalling the end to Quebec’s long history of asbestos production.e
 
The federal government’s policy change of heart, unveiled in Thetford Mines by the government’s Quebec lieutenant, means Canada will no longer block international efforts, through the United Nations’ Rotterdam Convention, to place limits on the export of asbestos.
 
“It would be illogical for Canada to oppose the inclusion of chrysotile (asbestos) in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention when Quebec, the only province that produces chrysotile, will prohibit its exploitation,” Paradis told reporters, saying it was clear the decision Marois is final, so it wasn’t a time for “academic” consultations.

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Canada to stop defending asbestos, striking blow to once-mighty industry – by Andy Blatchford (The Canadian Press/Montreal Gazette – September 15, 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

MONTREAL – The federal government has tossed in the towel and will stop fighting international efforts to list asbestos as a dangerous substance, striking another blow to a once-mighty Canadian industry now on the verge of extinction.
 
In a sudden reversal for the Harper government, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said Ottawa will no longer oppose efforts to include asbestos to the UN’s Rotterdam treaty on hazardous materials. For Paradis, the announcement Friday was far from celebratory.
 
He hails from central Quebec’s asbestos belt and is one of the sector’s staunchest defenders. Paradis looked glum and spoke in a nearly hushed tone as he spoke in his hometown of Thetford Mines, a community still dotted with imposing tailing piles that remind locals of the industry’s once-bustling heyday.
 
He blamed the new Parti Quebecois provincial government for killing the industry and cast Friday’s move as an inevitable response.
 
In making the announcement, the Conservatives fired the first shot in what is expected to be a turbulent relationship between Ottawa and the freshly elected PQ.

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Conservative government ends opposition to listing asbestos as hazardous substance – by Joanna Smith (Toronto Star – September 15, 2012)

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.

OTTAWA—The first potential clash between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and newly elected Quebec Premier Pauline Marois has come to a swift end as the Conservatives revealed they would stop defending the controversial asbestos industry.

Federal Industry Minister Christian Paradis announced Friday afternoon that the Conservative government would no longer oppose adding chrysotile asbestos to an international list of hazardous substances.

The Conservative government has stuck by the troubled industry despite strong criticism at home and abroad for downplaying the cancer-causing effects of chrysotile asbestos, but on Friday it was clear that Ottawa had seen the writing on the wall of the new political context in Quebec.

The Parti Québécois promised during the recent provincial election campaign to cancel the $58-million government loan the former Liberal government had given to the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Que. this summer.

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Parti Québécois mining promises under scrutiny – by Monique Beaudin (Montreal Gazette – September 10, 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

Premier-designate Pauline Marois made a lot of promises about mining in the election campaign.  Her Parti Québécois promised to hike mining royalties, revamp the 25-year Plan Nord and require environmental reviews of new mining projects.
 
Now the industry and environmental groups are wondering which promises will come true. On Monday, a coalition of environmental groups called on the new government to make good on its promises, while an industry spokesperson denied companies were “in a panic” about the PQ plans.
 
“Despite being in a minority position, we believe that the Parti Québécois is in a good position to make quick and necessary reforms in Quebec’s mining sector,” said Ugo Lapointe, spokesperson for Québec meilleure mine, a coalition of 30 different groups.
 
There was a consensus among all political parties that Quebec’s mining law needs to be updated, the group said in a statement. It believes Quebecers should benefit more from the development of the province’s natural resources.

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Shattering the conventional wisdom on asbestos – National Post Editorial (September 10, 2012)

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

If political strategists have any capacity for introspection, they should be asking themselves some serious questions about the Parti Québécois’ late-innings promise to cancel a $58-million government loan to the Jeffrey Mine in the Estrie, and to end all exports of chrysotile asbestos from Quebec.
 
Objectively, this is a no-brainer. The industry is paltry; exports in 2011 amounted to just $41-million, or 0.07% of Quebec’s total. Even in the town of Asbestos, it employs an insignificant fraction of the population.
 
For that meagre payoff, Canada gets a black eye on the world stage by joining Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan in opposing even the addition of warning labels to exports: In June, Postmedia news obtained a briefing memo to Environment Minister Peter Kent indicating that the government had in the past “acknowledged all criteria for the addition of chrysotile asbestos to the [Rotterdam] Convention [on hazardous substances] have been met,” but it nevertheless continues to oppose its addition.
 
Some continue to insist that chrysotile can be used safely. But the conclusively and disturbingly documented fact is that in the developing nations that buy the bulk of Quebec’s asbestos — notably India — it is not used safely.

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A sudden chill for miners in Canada – Northern Miner Editorial (September 10 – 16, 2012)

 The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry

The political winds are turning against miners in Canada, with the Sept. 4 victory of the tax-and-spend Parti Québécois in Quebec and the pro-mining Liberal party in B.C. on its last legs, and looking to be replaced by the environmentalist-friendly New Democratic Party.

The snap election in Quebec played out much the way pollsters predicted, with Pauline Marois’ separatist Parti Québécois defeating the incumbent federalist Liberal Party, and Premier Jean Charest losing his seat in Sherbrooke and officially resigning as the provincial Liberal leader.

With 54 seats, the PQ achieved minority power status, finishing ahead of the Liberals with 50 seats, the right-of-centre and untested Coalition Avenir Québec (19 seats) and the left-leaning Québec Solidaire (2).
Once again Quebec voters have treaded a fine line, this time by ousting a tired ruling Liberal party, but giving only tepid support to the PQ, who have proven over the years to be broadly capable managers when in power, looking past all the usual head-butting with the federal government.

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Glencore firms up Xstrata bid – by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Dinesh Nair (Reuters/Sudbury Star – September 10, 2012)

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

LONDON — Trader Glencore, hammering out a revised $36-billion bid for miner Xstrata in intense weekend negotiations, is set to detail its new offer to the market as early as Monday, days after proposing 11th-hour changes to save the deal.
 
Sources familiar with the deal said commodities trader Glencore, keen to clarify its own position but also under pressure from Xstrata and U.K. regulators, would publish details of the higher offer early next week.
 
Two sources said the new, firm, offer was expected on Monday. The firm offer will then be studied by Xstrata’s board and non-executive directors — who on Friday questioned Glencore’s new proposal and said they required more details in order to decide on whether or not to recommend it. The Xstrata board will also discuss the proposal with top independent shareholders, one other source familiar with the deal said.
 
The deal has implications for Sudbury. Xstrata owns Xstrata Nickel, whose Sudbury operations consist of the Nickel Rim South Mine, Fraser Mine, a mill and a smelter. Nickel and copper are the primary metals, but cobalt and precious metals such as platinum are also produced. Xstrata employs about 1,000 people in the Sudbury area.

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PQ victory casts doubt with miners – by Peter Koven (National Post – September 6, 2012)

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

Quebec is regarded as one of the most attractive jurisdictions in the world for mining, if not the very best. But is that about to change? The Parti Québécois victory in Wednesday’s election has raised concerns that changes could be coming, both to Quebec’s mining-friendly tax regime and to Plan Nord, its $80-billion northern development strategy.
 
While such tweaks are possible, miners in Quebec said they are confident that the highly successful partnership between the province and the industry will continue.
 
“This is Quebec. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a place of high political risk for the mining business,” said Matt Manson, chief executive of Stornoway Diamond Corp., which is developing the province’s first diamond mine in north-central Quebec.

On the campaign trail, PQ leader Pauline Marois talked about boosting mining taxes to help pay for increased social spending. She said she would introduce a minimum 5% royalty on the value of metal production, and impose a 30% super-profits tax on mining earnings above an unspecified level. Her party’s stance is that the province’s mineral wealth is being given away for too little.

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[Quebec] Aboriginal groups poised to resume blockade – by Christopher Curtis (Montreal Gazette – August 30, 2012)

 http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

Negotiations over land dispute in heart of the boreal forest are stalling

It’s zero hour for leaders in the Atikamekw First Nation. Last month, chiefs in three impoverished Atikamekw communities gave the provincial government an ultimatum: resolve a 33-year-old land dispute by Aug. 30 or face blockades on logging roads across the Haute Mauricie region.
 
With negotiations stalling and the deadline expired, groups in Opitciwan, Manawan and Wemotaci must decide whether to resume disruptions on roads used by forestry giant Kruger Products.
 
About 30 people in the Aboriginal reserves set up checkpoints to prevent Kruger’s trucks from carrying lumber through their territory in June and early July. They also blocked all CN Rail line traffic passing through Atikamekw land.
 
Grand chiefs in the Aboriginal towns said they wanted a bigger stake in the management of natural resources on their reserves as well as a “James Bay Cree” style agreement with the provincial government.

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Canada’s asbestos industry could end under PQ – by The Canadian Press (Vancouver Sun – August 30, 2012)

The Vancouver Sun, a broadsheet daily paper first published in 1912, has the largest circulation in the province of British Columbia.

MONTREAL – The party considered the front-runner in the Quebec election is poised to shut down what’s left of Canada’s asbestos industry, following its lengthy and controversial decline.
 
The Parti Quebecois says it would start by cancelling a $58 million loan, promised by the current Liberal government, to help reopen what would be the country’s last asbestos mine.
 
It would then hold consultations with several hundred workers around Asbestos, Que., about diversifying the regional economy and finding replacements for an industry that, according to PQ Leader Pauline Marois, is a relic from another era.
 
Documented links between asbestos and cancer have prompted much of the developed world to stop using it in construction materials. Now Marois says all signs point to a ban. “All the trends are headed there. We know the health studies illustrate that,” Marois said Wednesday, referring to the links with cancer.

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Asbestos industry will be shut down if Parti Québécois wins election – by Kevin Dougherty (Montreal Gazette – August 29, 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html
 
ROUYN-NORANDA, Q.C. – Pauline Marois announced Wednesday that if she becomes Quebec premier after the provincial election next Tuesday, Quebec will get out of the asbestos mining and exporting business.
 
Marois indicated her mind is made up but said she would first hold hearings before a Quebec national assembly committee to hear what those affected have to say. “I think it is important to hear the workers and their families,” she told reporters. She also wants to hear from entrepreneurs in the Asbestos region who can expect government aid for diversification projects to replace the last jobs.
 
She said she has “very great confidence” in local entrepreneurs, who could draw on a $58-million loan of government money the Charest government committed for the reopening of the underground Jeffrey Mine in the town of Asbestos.
 
She plans to cancel that loan. Late on a Friday afternoon, just before the July 1 weekend, in the town of Asbestos, Yvon Vallières, intergovernmental affairs minister and the outgoing Liberal MNA for Richmond riding, announced the government was lending $58 million to reopen the Jeffry Mine.

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Three main [Quebec] parties missing the mark – by Peter Hadekel (Montreal Gazette – August 28, 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

Reading the economic platforms of the three main provincial parties is an exercise in frustration. None has a clear strategy for dealing with the pressing issues facing Quebec, like massive public debt, low productivity growth and the demographic crunch hitting the workforce.
 
All seem to ignore the fact that the economy has slowed to a crawl, with the prospect that government revenue in the second half of the year will come in below expectation. The Liberals have been riding their promise of creating 250,000 net jobs during a new mandate. It’s a target that’s not out of line with past performance, but one that looks much harder to achieve now that the economy has stalled.
 
They have been notably vague on how they’ll get there, at a time when the manufacturing industry continues to struggle and service industry growth is flattening out. The party is relying on demand for natural resources to drive employment in the mining sector, but much will depend on the future path of commodity prices.
 
The Liberal plan talks about opportunities to create jobs in clean technology and green industries, but the specifics aren’t clear.

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[Quebec] Mining regime requires major balancing act – by Peter Hadekel (Montreal Gazette – August 22, 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

MONTREAL – The mining industry finds itself at the centre of an election campaign debate over the royalty regime now in place in Quebec. It’s a debate that’s increasingly polarized.
 
On one side are those who see the industry as a future generator of jobs and economic growth, a vital part of the Liberal government’s Plan Nord strategy. On the other are those who view it as a dark force that exploits the environment and doesn’t pay its fair share to the public treasury.
 
The mining business is volatile at the best of times. The price of metals can fluctuate wildly with the economic cycle, leading companies to defer or cancel even the most promising projects.
 
A report this week from consulting firm Ernst & Young noted that in the first half of the year the number of investment transactions announced in Canada fell by 26 per cent, representing a 41 per cent drop in investment value.

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Ooh la la: is Plan Nord becoming Plan Non? – Northern Miner Editorial (August 20 – 26, 2012)

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

In the world of mine development and its outsized scales of size, time and money, there’s always this thought in the back of the mind while listening to any promoter’s pitch: “Well, it may never happen.”

This was the case with Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s $80-billion, multi-decade pro-mining Plan Nord northern development program, which went way beyond the mandate of a parliamentary government and its typical four- to five-year lifespan.

On the other hand, the Quebec government’s track record in realizing the vast James Bay hydro-power development over several decades and changes in governing party shows there can be the will to get big things done in Quebec’s Far North, regardless of who holds the reins in Quebec’s National Assembly.

However, the increasing likelihood that the provincial government in Quebec will change in September has cast new doubt on whether the premier’s ambitious plan will ever be made real.

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