Quebec Mining – Page 56 – Republic of Mining

Canada’s toxic asbestos trade – Toronto Star Editorial Comment – June 25, 2011

June 25, 2011June 25, 2011

The Toronto Star, which has the largest broadsheet circulation in Canada, has an enormous impact on Canada’s federal and provincial politics as well as shaping public opinion.

For years the federal government has been warned by doctors, environmentalists, unions, even Health Canada, about the deadly impact of asbestos. But Ottawa remains intransigent about curbing exports of this harmful mineral. Once again this week it opposed listing chrysotile asbestos on the United Nations’ list of dangerous materials. Once again it acted irresponsibly.

At a summit in Switzerland to discuss the Rotterdam Convention — a UN treaty on the international trading of hazardous substances — Canadian officials quietly blocked the inclusion of asbestos on the list of dangerous materials, joining such countries as Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The hypocrisy is staggering. The federal government has spent millions to clear its own buildings of this noxious material — including taking it out of 24 Sussex Drive to protect the Prime Minister and his family. Canadian companies, schools and homeowners have also removed asbestos from their structures. Yet we happily export it.

James Y. Murdoch (1890 – 1962) 1989 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

June 18, 2011

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame was conceived by the late Maurice R. Brown, former editor and publisher of The Northern Miner, as a way to recognize and honour the legendary mine finders and builders of a great Canadian industry. The Hall was established in 1988. For more information about the extraordinary individuals who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, please go to their home website: http://mininghalloffame.ca/

A lawyer by profession, James Y. Murdoch, who became first president of the fledgling Noranda Mines in 1922, at the age of 32, was one of the greatest its builders Canada has ever produced. Not just a mine-builder, but a nation builder.

He was president of the company for 30 years, until 1956, and chairman until his death in 1962. His “temporary” appointment became famous as “the most permanent temporary appointment on record”.
Out of the “important-looking” discovery of prospector Ed Horne in the wilds of northwestern Quebec, Murdoch masterminded the growth and development of Noranda into a massive complex of mines and processing facilities. His energy and judgment could be seen in every step of consequence Noranda took during Murdoch’s 30 years as president.

From the earliest days of its development, Murdoch saw Noranda as more than just the mine that Horne discovered. He visualized, instead, a rounded industry that would refine and fabricate its metals as well as producing them, proving that Canadian raw materials could be processed to the finished state within Canada.

Edmund Horne (1865 – 1952) 1996 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

June 18, 2011

Along with many other prospectors of his generation, Edmund Horne came to northern Ontario at the turn of the century with hopes of finding his pot of gold. Success was elusive, but rather than give up, Horne decided to venture across the border into Quebec, based on his belief that good geology did not stop at the Ontario border. This conviction grew over the years, and ultimately led to the discovery of the magnificent Horne copper and gold mine which formed the foundation for Noranda, one of Canada’s great mining companies.

Born in Enfield, Nova Scotia, Horne was a miner and prospector of wide experience long before he ventured into the wilds of Quebec’s Rouyn Township. He worked for several years at the Oldham gold mine near his home before wanderlust seized him. His travels took him to Colorado, and then to the gold camps of British Columbia and California. In 1908, Horne caught wind of the silver discoveries in Cobalt, and came to northern Ontario to start the most important chapter of his wandering miner’s odyssey.

Magnetic North: The Canadian (Mining) Miracle – by Mark P. Mills (Forbes – June 12, 2011)

June 13, 2011

www.forbes.com

Mark P. Mills is a founding partner in energy-tech-focused Digital Power Capital, a private equity firm focused on new technologies that arise from the convergence of power and the tools, materials and software of the digital age.

In child psychology birth order is often considered significantly determinative. Younger siblings often learn lessons watching the elder ones, well, screw up. Canada is almost a full century younger than its North American sibling. What exactly is going on above the 49th parallel? First quarter 2011 my Canadian brethren and sisters (full disclosure, je suis Canadien) delivered a 3.9 percent GDP growth rate against an enervating 1.8 percent U.S. rate. Just a few short years ago, nobody would have predicted this.

Nearly one-third of Canada’s GDP is export-based with nearly half of that coming from minerals, metals and fuels. It is a nation extracting value from its natural environment, not ‘plundering’, as Canadians’ respect for their land is deep and abiding. And America benefits, receiving three-fourths of Canada’s exports.

Of particular interest these days is the re-invigorated gold rush in that vast northern expanse. No surprise. Gold is expensive again, bouncing around $1,500 an ounce.

Birth of a gold major [Osisko Mining] – Peter Koven (National Post – May 30, 2011)

June 1, 2011

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. Peter Koven is the Post’s mining reporter. This article was originally published in the Financial Post on May 30, 2011. pkoven@nationalpost.com

By 2006, Osisko Mining Corp. knew it had a major gold discovery near the town of Malartic in northwest Quebec. But it also had a serious problem.

“Everything was fine and dandy with the drilling, except that when you were standing by the drill, you could throw a rock at the closest house,” chief executive Sean Roosen recalls.

Five years later, Osisko is hosting an opening ceremony for the Canadian Malartic gold mine on Monday. It will be the biggest gold mine in Canada once it reaches full production, with an estimated 625,000 ounces of gold output a year for the first five years. And as the project starts generating major cash flow, Osisko will enter the big leagues of Canada’s mining sector.

But getting here hasn’t been easy. Mr. Roosen remembers almost losing the company following the financial crisis in 2008. And there was that little matter of the town being in the way of the mine.

Quebec to Spend Billions to Develop Resources in Northern Regions- by Ian Austen (New York Times – May 10, 2011)

May 27, 2011

www.nytimes.com

OTTAWA — Quebec province, anticipating renewed interest in its natural resources, rolled out on Monday an ambitious 25-year plan to develop its vast but largely untouched northern and Arctic regions.

The region is well endowed with mineral resources, woodlands and potential hydroelectric developments, but it lacks the roads, railways, ports, communications links and other infrastructure necessary for their exploitation.

The plan initially commits the province to spending 2.1 billion Canadian dollars ($2.2 billion). It also calls for a variety of measures, including the establishment of an investment fund, which Quebec hopes will initially lead to the development of at least 11 mines and ultimately produce overall investment of 80 billion Canadian dollars.

While the proposed project, known as Plan Nord, includes banning any industrial activity in a large portion of the mainly pristine region, the program has the potential to put the province at odds with environmentalists. Similarly, while consultations are already under way between the province and the area’s large native Canadian population, the development of their traditional lands may pose potential political difficulties.

[Quebec] Mining’s future looks bright – by Robert Gibbons (Montreal Gazette – April 27, 2011)

May 27, 2011

www.montrealgazette.com

Quebec is embarking on expansion driven by growth in Asia-Pacific region and Latin America

Quebec’s mining industry may well be on the cusp of historic long-term expansion, despite fears that surging commodity markets may stumble with a slowdown in China’s growth, the Japanese nuclear crisis, North African and Mid-East turmoil and Europe’s debt.

Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney thinks the global commodity boom will continue for many years, though with plenty of volatility on the way, based on economic expansion in the Asia-Pacific region and in Latin America.

And Rio Tinto Group CEO Tom Albanese, leader of one of the world’s top three mining firms and frequent visitor to China, outlines the main driving force for higher base metals and iron ore prices:

About 2.5 billion Asians are yearning after more cars, refrigerators, roads, bridges and infrastructure, communications, aircraft and homes, absorbing lots more steel, copper, zinc and many other metals. India and other populous Asian countries are urbanizing on the Chinese model and adding to the pressure.

[Canada] Mining: Miracle on the St. Lawrence – by Brian Dunn (Canadian Business Magazine – May 9, 2011)

May 23, 2011

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-publishing business magazine in Canada.

Sept-Îles is booming, and the numbers are there to prove it. The mining community of 30,000 on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, some 960 kilometres from Montreal, added 5,200 new jobs last year, for an impressive 10.7% increase in employment, the best in Quebec. Based on its population, the 5,200 new jobs is equivalent to Montreal adding 105,000 new jobs, where only 30,000 were created last year.

A lot of the credit for this growth goes to Serge Lévesque, Sept-Îles mayor since November 2009. He knows the region lives or dies on the fortunes of the mining industry, having worked for both the Iron Ore Co. of Canada and Aluminerie Alouette Inc., a global aluminum industry leader.

In early April, Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal and its South African partner, Iron Mineral Beneficiation Services Pty. Ltd. (IMBS) announced they were conducting a feasibility study for the construction of a $1-billion iron-ore processing plant in Sept-Îles that could create up to 500 new jobs in the area.

The grand plan for Quebec’s North – by Barrie McKenna (Globe and Mail – May 11, 2011)

May 11, 2011

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous impact and influence on Canada’s political and business elite as well as the rest of the country’s print, radio and television media.

Reality Check: The $80-billion plan comes with few details; much of that money is already committed, or expected to come from the private sector

Think of Jean Charest’s $80-billion Plan Nord strategy as a bridge between resource development and the 33,000 aboriginal people of the North. The Quebec Premier is betting aboriginal groups will buy into development if they see tangible benefits. So he’s promising to pump taxes and new higher mining royalties into roads, airports, housing, health care and education, including $1.6-billion between 2011 and 2016 (average: $326-million a year).

But details on much of the $80-billion, 25-year plan is either murky or already committed. More than half the money comes from already planned or proposed Hydro-Québec projects ($47-billion). Private investment in mining and government-financed infrastructure make up the rest.

Transportation

Quebec has four northern ports, 26 airports, 1,200 kilometres of rail tracks and 51,000 kilometres of logging roads. The province is vowing to integrate the region’s ports, airports and roads into a more cohesive network. The first phase of that work includes $821-million worth of road expansions.

Canada’s Quebec launches big mining expansion plan – Mining Weekly.com/Reuters (May 10, 2011)

May 10, 2011

Mining Weekly is South Africa’s premier source of weekly news on mining developments in Africa’s most important industry. Mining Weekly provides in-depth coverage of mining projects and the personalities reshaping the mining industry. In order to advance Mining Weekly’s objective of positioning itself as a leading global provider of mining news, a full-time correspondent is based in Toronto, Canada and another in Perth, Australia.

TORONTO – The Canadian province of Quebec plans to develop its huge frozen northern reaches into a powerhouse of mining and renewable energy, targeting C$80 billion ($83 billion) of private and public investment.

Quebec’s 25-year “Plan Nord,” launched on Monday, envisages funding for infrastructure, mines and the development of renewable energy, taking advantage of an improving investment climate as the earth warms and polar ice melts.

Quebec says the region has abundant deposits of nickel, cobalt, platinum group metals, zinc, iron ore, ilmenite, gold, lithium, vanadium and rare-earth metals. “Northern Quebec has incomparable mining potential,” Natural Resources Minister Serge Simard said in a release.

Quebec plans $80-billion investment in northern development – by Rheal Sequin (Globe and Mail – May 10, 2011)

May 10, 2011May 10, 2011

Premier Jean Charest has unveiled an ambitious multibillion-dollar plan to develop Quebec’s remote northern region, creating a legacy project that he hopes will generate a new source of revenue for the cash-strapped province.

The economic proposal, Plan Nord, involves a region north of the 49th parallel that is twice the size of France and covers more than 70 per cent of the province’s territory.

The proposal involves $80-billion in public and private investment over the next 25 years, Mr. Charest said. In return, he said, it will generate an estimated $14-billion in revenue over the same period and contribute $162-billion to the province’s gross domestic product.

“What we are unveiling here is Quebec’s future,” Mr. Charest said. “On the political level, this is one of the best moments in my life. This is one of the reasons I got involved in politics.”

QUEBEC GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASE: The Plan Nord: The Project of a Generation – Decision-making Hinges on the Protection of the Environment, Ecosystems and Biodiversity

May 10, 2011

Québec, May 9, 2011 – “The environmental component is at the forefront of concerns linked to the approach adopted under the Plan Nord. Accordingly, the protection of the environment, ecosystems and northern biodiversity will be central to all decision-making,” Québec Premier Jean Charest noted.

Under the Plan Nord, the government is committed to setting aside 50% of the northern territory for purposes other than industrial ones, environmental protection and safeguarding biodiversity. A vast network of protected areas that accounts for 12% of the area of the territory that the Plan Nord covers will be created by 2015.

“We have adopted an unprecedented approach to protect and develop Québec’s outstanding northern heritage. This vast natural territory has extensive, varied fauna and flora along with often untapped wealth. We are proud to guarantee the long-term survival of this heritage and ensure that it is offered to current and future generations,” added Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks Pierre Arcand.

QUEBEC GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASE: The Plan Nord: The Project of a Generation – Ensure Community well-being and Development

May 10, 2011

Québec, May 9, 2011 – “The enhancement of living conditions in Aboriginal and local communities is a key concern under the Plan Nord. For this reason, we have made provision for initiatives in the realms of education, manpower, housing, health and social services, and culture, to foster community well-being and development,” Premier Jean Charest said.

“The North has abundant, varied resources, but its principal asset is its population, noteworthy for its youth and desire to develop its environment. The populations in the territory that the Plan Nord covers are young and make up a substantial labour pool. Our government believes that it is necessary to rely on occupational training to guarantee their social and economic development,” added Minister responsible for Native Affairs Geoffrey Kelley.

The gouvernement du Québec’s 2011-2016 action plan to implement the Plan Nord makes provision for investments totalling $1.6 billion. Of this amount, $382 million will be earmarked for essentially social measures, especially in the realms of housing, health, education, culture and the reduction in the cost of living.

QUEBEC GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASE: The Plan Nord: The Project of a Generation – Establishment of the Société du Plan Nord and $2.1 billion in investments over five years

May 10, 2011

Québec, May 9, 2011 – “The Plan Nord is ambitious. Its implementation will necessitate essential investments to facilitate access to the territory and enhance the quality of life of its inhabitants. The new business model developed in respect of projects under the Plan Nord has unquestionably altered the manner in which Québec will fund infrastructure and public services. Starting today, construction and maintenance costs will be shared throughout the infrastructure’s useful life by businesses, the communities concerned, the gouvernement du Québec and other users,” Québec Premier Jean Charest noted.

Establishment of the Société du Plan Nord

The government is announcing that it will establish through legislation the Société du Plan Nord to carry out projects and coordinate all of the investments. The government corporation will oversee the public investments in the social and transportation infrastructure sectors.

Moreover, the corporation will establish direct ties with businesses and local and Aboriginal communities to support their projects. “Partnerships between the private and public sectors and the communities will seek to satisfy several uses. Accordingly, transportation, energy and telecommunications infrastructure can be built to afford access to a new mining camp and also provide access to trapping lands, outfitting operations and other tourist infrastructure. In this way, the development of the North will rely on integrated planning and become a model of sustainable development,” Minister Normandeau added.

QUEBEC GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASE: The Plan Nord: The Project of a Generation – Harness Northern Québec’s Enormous Economic Potential

May 10, 2011

Québec, May 9, 2011 – “The Plan Nord, one of the biggest projects in Québec’s history, seeks to shape and develop a new economic space with enormous potential. Through its scope and the extent of its spinoff, the Plan Nord will benefit all regions of Québec and all sectors of our economy,” Québec Premier Jean Charest said.

“By advocating the adoption of concrete measures to responsibly develop the vast territory’s economic potential, the Plan Nord will facilitate the sustainable development of energy, forest, mining, wildlife, tourism and bio-food resources. It will foster business investment that ensures Quebecers’ prosperity,” Minister responsible for the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region and the Nord-du-Québec region Pierre Corbeil added.

It should be noted that the Plan Nord will be implemented over 25 years and lead, during that time, to $80 billion in investments. It will create or consolidate, on average, 20 000 jobs a year in addition to engendering $14 billion in revenues for the government and Québec society.