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Stan Sudol Columns/Media References and Appearances

[Vale, Glencore Sudbury] Merger wouldn’t result in plant closures, mine analysts say – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – January 6, 2014)

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

If ongoing Vale and Glencore Xstrata discussions produce an agreement in 2014 on how to mine nickel and copper in the Greater Sudbury area more cost-effectively, there might be some short-term job cuts, but no big plant closures, says a man who runs a website devoted to mining.

“Absolutely not,” said former Greater Sudbury resident Stan Sudol, who now works in Toronto and operates The Republic of Mining website. “The two operations – the Clarabelle Mill and the Strathcona Mill – process different types of ore. On the north slope (of the Sudbury Basin), the ore is heavy in copper and PGMs (platinum-group metals). The Clarabelle Mill, meanwhile, deals with ore from the south side which is more nickel heavy. I would be very surprised if either of the mills gets closed.”

Sudol added that the Falconbridge Smelter, which he understands is operating under capacity, is processing ore from Australia and the Raglan project in Quebec, in addition to local ore. “The operation is a part of a global industry,” he noted.

On. Dec. 18, Reuters reported Vale’s chief executive officer Murilo Ferreira said he expects Vale’s “consortium” with Glencore Xsrata in Greater Sudbury nickel projects to be defined by the first quarter of 2014 and for the venture to operate as a single unit.

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Ring of Fire delay highlights need for mining infrastructure – by CBC News Thunder Bay (November 22, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

For a radio interview with Northern Miner editor John Cumming and RepublicOfMining.com editor /mining policy analyst Stan Sudol on Superior Morning with Lisa Laco, click here: http://www.cbc.ca/superiormorning/episodes/2013/11/22/ring-of-fire-reaction/

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

For a radio interview with Noront Resources’ CEO Allan Coutts on CBC Sudbury Morning North with Markus Schwabe, click here : http://www.cbc.ca/morningnorth/past-episodes/2013/11/22/reaction-from-rival-company-in-ring-of-fire-on-cliffs/

Ontario needs to ‘show the world that we are open for business,’ mining professional says

Cliffs Natural Resources’ decision to suspend operations in the Ring of Fire has sent waves through the mining sector. Some players say it sends a bad message about Ontario, but others believe it could provide the impetus to develop infrastructure.

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Four-Part Series on the Ring of Fire – by Stan Sudol (November 18, 2013)

 

Located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, the Ring of Fire contains billions worth of chromite — among the best deposits in the world — plus nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold, zinc and vanadium metals.

In 2007, an interesting mix of six geologists and junior mining executives – Richard Nemis, Mac Watson, Frank Smeenk, Neil Novak, John Harvey and Don Hoy – collectively discovered the geologically rich Ring of Fire. It is the most significant mineral discovery in Canada since the Sudbury Basin in 1883 and the Timmins gold camp in 1909. This four-part series was originally published in the Sudbury Star.

KWG: The Chromite Mouse That Roars [Part 1 of 4] (November 14, 2013)

http://republicofmining.com/2013/11/14/kwg-the-chromite-mouse-that-roars-by-stan-sudol-sudbury-star-november-13-2013/

Is Rail or Road the Best Choice for Ontario’s Ring of Fire? [Part 2 of 4] (November 15, 2013)

http://republicofmining.com/2013/11/14/is-rail-or-road-the-best-choice-for-ontarios-ring-of-fire-by-stan-sudol-sudbury-star-november-15-2013/

Ring of Fire’s Mineral Potential ‘Astounding’ [Part 3 of 4] (November 16, 2013)

http://republicofmining.com/2013/11/16/accent-rings-potential-astounding-by-stan-sudol-part-3-of-4-sudbury-star-novmeber-16-2013/

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Transportation costs key for successful Ring of Fire development [Part 4 of 4] – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – November 18, 2013)

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

Throughout this four-part series, transportation infrastructure has been highlighted as one of the key issues — a host of aboriginal concerns is the other — that must be resolved in order for the Ring of Fire’s world-class mineral projects, conservatively worth about $60 billion and counting, to move forward.

Since Cliffs Natural Resources is a billion-dollar multi-national, it seems to have taken up all the attention or oxygen in the room when discussing transportation issues. I have often heard from a variety of mining and government colleagues that Cliffs has the money and size, so their proposal must be the right one.

Last summer, mining and metals analyst John Tumazos found “the total of metal write-downs from 2008 to 2013 will breach the $200 billion mark this year.”

And let’s not forget that Cliffs took a $1-billion write-down in January for its $4.2-billion purchase of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. in 2011, as well as another roughly $900 million in other impairments, according to a Globe and Mail report.

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ACCENT: Ring’s potential ‘astounding’ – by Stan Sudol [Part 3 of 4] (Sudbury Star – Novmeber 16, 2013)

Ontario Greenstone Belts (Map: Ontario Geological Survey)
Ontario Greenstone Belts (Map: Ontario Geological Survey)

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

In Sudbury, when people hear about the Ring of Fire, they think of Cliffs Natural Resources and its plan to ship chromite from a mine in northwestern Ontario to a plant in Capreol for processing that would create between 300 and 400 local jobs. But we should remember that this proposal is only a “benchmark” scenario and that many issues still need to be resolved. As a result, the location of this facility could change.

And Cliffs and its Black Thor mine represent only one of the Ring’s many promising mineral resources and future discoveries.

Located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, the Ring of Fire contains billions worth of chromite — among the best deposits in the world — plus nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold, zinc and vanadium metals.

In 2007, an interesting mix of six geologists and junior mining executives – Richard Nemis, Mac Watson, Frank Smeenk,  Neil Novack, John Harvey and Don Hoy – collectively discovered the geologically rich Ring of Fire. It is the most significant mineral discovery in Canada since the Sudbury Basin in 1883 and the Timmins gold camp in 1909.

In an engaging presentation about the Ring of Fire at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in March 2013, geologist James Franklin outlined the staggering economic value of the Ring of Fire.

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Is rail or road the best choice for [Ontario’s] Ring of Fire? [Part 2 of 4] – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – November 15, 2013)

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

Earlier this year, KWG Resources released a commissioned report by engineering consulting company Tetra Tech on the costs of a road versus a railroad in the Ring of Fire.

By way of background, KWG wants to build a railway to ship ore out of the Ring of Fire. It’s rival, Cliffs Natural Resources prefers a road. However, KWG has staked some of the land Cliffs needs for such a road. Cliffs appealed to the Mining and Lands Commissioner of Ontario to get access to the land, but lost — a decision it is now appealing.

The study KWG ordered confirmed the initial capital costs (direct and indirect) to construct a single track railroad were about $1.551 billion versus $1 billion for a road. Media reports keep repeating an older figure of $600 million for the road, which most mining industry experts believe is too low.

If the premier’s office has not done so already, a quick discussion with the engineering experts at the Ministry of Transportation, who have been building roads in Ontario for more than a century, should settle this cost issue.

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KWG — the chromite mouse that roars – by Stan Sudol [Part 1 of 4] (Sudbury Star – November 13, 2013)

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

Correction: The print edition mistakenly said that Cliffs had invested a total of $48 million on the Ring of Fire, the correct figure is $535 million.

On Sept. 10, Ontario’s Mining and Lands Commissioner set off a nuclear explosion in Ontario mining circles and announced that tiny Canadian-owned KWG Resources would not have to give American iron ore giant, Cliffs Natural Resources, access to its staked mining claims to construct a proposed road into the Ring of Fire.

In a proverbial David and Goliath bruising battle over a much sought-after route into Ontario’s newest mining camp, it was a precedent-setting sucker punch no one expected. The Mining Commission report started with an understatement of the century: “The North is not a quiet place.” And with good reason.

Located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, the Ring of Fire contains at least $60 billion and counting of chromite, plus nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold, zinc and vanadium metals. The Cliffs’s chromite project has become a never-ending soap opera, similar in drama and intrigue to the failed Inco/Falconbridge merger in the middle of the last decade.

This is the latest setback that has a very bitter-sounding Cliffs issuing threatening news releases and interviews stating the entire project could be dropped if the Ontario government does not intervene and resolve this and other issues, including subsidized power rates and conflict over the terms of a provincial environmental assessment.

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Provincial body pushes Ring of Fire – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – November 9, 2013)

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

The provincial government announced Friday the formation of a corporation to push forward the development of the Ring of Fire, which will be launched immediately.

It will bring together First Nations communities, mining companies and government representatives, and will “develop, construct, finance, operate and maintain infrastructure supporting access to strategic resources in the Ring of Fire,” according to a Ministry of Northern Development and Mines statement.

Michael Gravelle, minister of Northern Development and Mines, and MPP for Thunder Bay and Superior North, argued the development of sustainable infrastructure is essential to the success of the project.

“People need to get in to work and products need to get out to the global market,” he indicated in a media release. Sudbury Mayor Marianne Matichuk welcomed Friday’s announcement.

“I am pleased Minister Gravelle took my lead and stepped up by getting everyone to the table to resolve the outstanding issues,” she said in a media release. “It is imperative that we work together on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create jobs and growth.”

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Doubts about developing Ontario’s Ring of Fire development – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun – October 27, 2013)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

It has the potential to be the biggest financial boon this province has seen in a hundred years. The Ring of Fire, a massive ore-rich but remote part of northwestern Ontario, is estimated to be worth as much as $60 billion in economic development.

It has a massive chromite deposit — the largest in North America. Chromite is a key ingredient in the manufacture of stainless steel.

But the area — named for the Johnny Cash song — isn’t just about chromite. It’s the province’s jewel box. In addition to chromite, there’s palladium, platinum, nickel, diamonds and gold.

But it’s the chromite that attracted the interest of mining companies. There’s a tantalizing promise of jobs — especially for the many First Nations in the area. Increasingly, though, there are doubts it will ever be developed. The logistics are daunting.

The geography of the area makes development difficult. It is very remote — with no roads or rail line. There’ll have to be a massive investment in infrastructure to get the chromite out.

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Small stainless steel industry in Canada – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – October 17, 2013)

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

Re: From ore to steel, column by Stan Sudol — Aug. 31.

In my column on the potential of a stainless steel industry in Ontario, I mistakenly said that there is no stainless steel industry in Canada. I was given incorrect information. I should have said, “At the present time, there is no ‘major’ stainless steel production in Canada.”

Gratefully, ASW Steel Inc. president Tim Clutterbuck contacted me and indicated that his Welland, Ont.-based specialty steel facility dedicates 30% of its production capacity to stainless steel. The company employs about 95 employees and manufactures roughly 100,000 tonnes of specialty steel products annually, of which 30,000 tonnes are stainless steel ingots and billets, that are exported to the U.S. and Europe.

By comparison, Outokumpu, the biggest international producer, manufactures almost 3.6 million tons of stainless steels worldwide, slightly over 10% of the 35.4 million tonnes of global production last year, according to International Stainless Steel Forum preliminary figures.

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Cliffs to appeal roads decision – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – October 10, 2013)

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

Cliffs Natural Resources announced Wednesday it plans to appeal the Sept. 10 decision by the Mining and Lands Commissioner, who dismissed its application to build a 340-km all-weather road that traversed land staked by Montreal-based KWG Resources Inc.

“The appeal raises important issues of law under the Mining Act and the interpretation of the law may have significant negative ramifications for the development of mining claims,” Cliffs wrote in a state-m ent it issued Wednesday, which marked the deadline to initiate the appellate process.

The Cleveland-based company had sought to dismiss the consent of its rival company in order to establish a transportation channel from its Black Thor deposit to the community of Greenstone.

The company deems the road “essential to the development of the Ring of Fire and a necessary component” of its chromite project, according to a Sept. 20 press release. Cliffs plans to ship the chromite to a smelter in Capreol. The smelter would create as many as 500 jobs in the Sudbury area.

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Tories seek to rescue North from red tape – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – September 25, 2013)

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

Government red tape has impeded development in Northern Ontario – especially for the mining and forestry industries – according to a new white paper report by the Progressive Conservative Party.

“We want the government to move a little more efficiently,” said Paula Peroni, the Progressive Conservative candidate for Sudbury.

Peroni said the standstill on Cliffs Natural Resources’ plans to develop the Ring of Fire was a “perfect example” of a company that has been blocked by red tape. “The Ring of Fire needs to be a priority, not just for Sudbury and Northern Ontario, but for this whole province,” she said. “In my opinion, we are 10 years behind on this project.”

But mining analyst and Sudbury Star columnist Stan Sudol said the complications for the Ring of Fire project go far beyond government policy. “The Ring of Fire is a very complicated development that includes resource revenue sharing with First Nations, environmental approvals, transportation and power infrastructure challenges, just to name a few issues, on top of Cliffs’ current financial constraints and reduced global demand for all commodities,” he said in an email to The Sudbury Star.

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[Thunder Bay generating station] Up in the air – by Leith Dunick (tbnewswatch.com – September 3, 2013)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Premier Kathleen Wynne says the future of the Thunder Bay Generating Station is still up in the air.

The Ontario leader, in the city for a series of events this week, including Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle’s nomination Tuesday night, said the conversation about the plant is ongoing, but no decisions have been made.

Last year the province decided to halt the conversion from coal to natural gas, stating it would save $400 million.

The Ontario Power Authority also said the power it creates won’t be needed down the road, though the region’s energy task forced begged to differ, presenting a much different – and more prosperous – outlook for Northwestern Ontario’s mining sector.

“It’s one of those fundamentals of infrastructure and conditions that has to be in place for job creation to happen and economic development to happen and economic growth to happen,” Wynne said in a brief media availability on Tuesday morning.

“So we’re committed to making sure that power supply is there and the specifics on that conversion are ongoing,” she said.

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Thunder Bay could be chromite-stainless steel hub, analyst says – CBC News Thunder Bay (September 3, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

For a nine minute interview between CBC Thunder Bay Superior Morning host Lisa Laco and Stan Sudol, click here: http://www.cbc.ca/superiormorning/episodes/2013/09/03/chromite-crumbs/

Mining writer says province should look at exporting chromite in the form of stainless steel

A mining consultant and writer says the debate should be re-opened on where to locate a ferrochrome smelter in northern Ontario.

Stan Sudol said he thinks the smelter should not be located in Sudbury, but instead go to a port city like Thunder Bay. He added that chromite from the Ring of Fire region could also be used to produce stainless steel in a new plant located in Thunder Bay.

“This would be an enormous long-term gain for not only northern Ontario, but the entire province, if the provincial government could attract one of the major stainless steel producers around the world to locate in northern Ontario,” he said.

Sudol said a waterfront location, like Thunder Bay’s port, would be key to attracting a stainless steel producer. Clustering the ferrochrome smelter and a stainless steel mill together makes the most sense, Sudol said.

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Ring of Fire: Chromite Crumbs or Stainless Steel for Ontario? [Part Two of Two] – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – August 31, 2013)

Outokumpu Stainless Steel Plant Tornio, Finland. Outokumpu Group is the largest stainless steel producer in the world.

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

This was originally published in the Sudbury Star on August 31, 2013 under the title “From ore to steel“.

Canada is the only G-8 country in the world that does not have a “major” stainless steel sector. There is one speciality steel producer, ASW Steel Inc. in Welland, Ontario, that dedicates 30 per cent of its production capacity to stainless steel. Employing  about 95 people, the company manufactures roughly 30,000 tons of stainless steel ingots and billets. By comparison, Outokumpu, the biggest international producer, produces almost 3.6 million tonnes of stainless steels worldwide, slightly over ten per cent of the 35.4 million tonnes of global production last year, according to International Stainless Steel Forum preliminary figures.

We do have world-class carbon steel plants mainly concentrated in Ontario at Hamilton, Nanticoke and Sault Ste. Marie.

Stainless steels are more valuable than carbon steels due to their corrosion and rust resistance due to the addition of chromite. Nickel is added to some varieties of stainless steels to increase the hardness and strength, further corrosion resistance as well as enabling the material to withstand extreme cold and hot temperatures without becoming brittle or deforming.

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