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What mining, oil and gas industries can learn from Sudbury, the city that went from major polluter to thriving environment – by Nadia Mykytczuk (The Conversation – August 25, 2021)

https://theconversation.com/

Nadia Mykytczuk is the Interim CEO/President of MIRARCO, Laurentian University.

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg in Montréal two years ago, he promised to plant two billion trees by 2030 to help Canada meet its net-zero emissions goal.

Planting trees, however, is hard work. It takes money and planning. But a re-greening roadmap exists.

Sudbury, the largest city in Northern Ontario, transformed itself after decades of environmental devastation, brought on by the mining industry. Other communities and industries, like oil and gas, can replicate the city’s efforts to aid in global efforts to fight climate change.

A devastated landscape

For almost 100 years, Sudbury’s community and environment were blanketed in sulfur dioxide and metals released from the smelting of nickel ore.

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Sudbury skyline changes as the Lockerby Mine Headframe comes down – by Alana Pickrell (CTV News Northern Ontario – August 18, 2021)

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

SUDBURY – It’s a change in history as the skyline in Sudbury now looks a little bit emptier. On Aug. 8, the headframe at the Lockerby Mine site was demolished as part of the province’s Abandoned Mines Rehabilitation Program.

“Ontario is committed to the rehabilitation of abandoned mine sites to ensure the protection of public health and safety, as well as the environment,” said the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry in an email to CTV News.

“The demolition and cleanup work at the Lockerby Mine site demonstrates Ontario’s continued commitment to safe and environmentally sustainable mining.”

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Sudbury rapper pens labour movement anthem inspired by Local 6500 strike – by Colleen Romaniuk (Sudbury Star – August 13, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

A Sudbury rapper, musician and activist is releasing a new hip-hop labour movement anthem and victory song inspired by the recent two-month strike between the United Steelworkers Local 6500 and Vale.

Mickey O’Brien’s latest single titled “Cap Lamp,” released under veteran hip-hop label Hand’Solo Records, will drop on all major online streaming platforms on Aug. 13.

Described as a David and Goliath story where the miners of Sudbury stand strong in the face of the second-largest mining company in the world, “Cap Lamp” captures an important moment in the history of Sudbury and organized labour.

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Laurentian researcher named strategic advisor for ‘green’ miner’s South American endeavors – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 16, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Nadia Mykytczuk named to BacTech Environmental’s strategic advisory board

Laurentian University microbiologist Nadia Mykytczuk has been named to the strategic advisory board of BacTech Environmental, a Toronto ‘green’ mining technology company with ambitious plans to recover precious metals in South America.

For the past 15 years, Mykytczuk has worked in the field of mine waste microbiology and is considered an expert in biomining and bioremediation.

Her research at Laurentian, primarily focuses on cultivating microbes to break down toxic material at mine waste sites and harness them to extract precious metals.

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The Drift: Sudbury-made robotic arm automates load-wire-fire underground – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – August 4, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Unique consortium comes together to fine-tune TesMan technology

Clara and Rod Steele have been developing their robotic explosives-loading arm for the mining industry for nearly a decade, but as they inched closer to commercialization, they realized they needed help to push it that last stretch to market.

So, in early 2020, they assembled a group of mining companies, equipment fabricators, an explosives manufacturer, and engineering firms into a unique consortium to harness their wealth of expertise.

“As we went along, we had to get more energy in the team, because we’re a small team and we’re only learning to do one piece. So we needed to get other people involved to do the other pieces better,” said Rod, who co-owns Sudbury-based TesMan with Clara.

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Steelworkers, Vale looking forward with new contract in hand – by Colleen Romaniuk (Sudbury Star – August 4, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6500 voted to ratify a new five-year collective bargaining agreement with Vale on Tuesday evening. The union’s president, Nick Larochelle, said that 85 per cent of its membership voted in favour of the new deal, effectively ending the 64-day strike that began on June 1.

Vale employees will return to work the week of Aug. 9 with production ramping up in the coming weeks. Larochelle said he’s proud the USW membership’s conduct throughout the strike and he’s happy this agreement works for both parties.

“We’re looking forward to making our members successful as we work with Vale to achieve economic success and longevity here in this world-class ore body,” he said.

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Local 6500 votes for new five-year contract with Vale – by Staff (Sudbury Star – August 3, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Strike that began June 1 is over

Local 6500 members have strongly endorsed a new five-year collective agreement with Vale.

“The past two months have been challenging for everyone,” said Dino Otranto, Chief Operating Officer, North Atlantic Operations for Vale, in announcing the deal has been ratified. “We are pleased that the company and the union were able to find common ground and a path forward. We look forward to welcoming everyone back.

“Our task now is to position our business to thrive today and for generations to come. We have many opportunities ahead of us, with the growing electric vehicle market. The nickel, copper and cobalt we produce are critical metals to achieving a low carbon future.

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Sudbury Accent: Wolf Lake supporters worry about its future – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – July 31, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

They want it to become a park, but the area is also home to promising mine exploration

There’s a smoky haze overhead and the remains of an old cabin near our tent. Neither really detracts from this visit to Wolf Lake, arguably still the most scenic location in the Sudbury area, not to mention its most ecologically significant.

In some ways they only enhance the experience. I have never seen a sun so diffuse and orange, for instance, nor do I remotely mind — being a cabin dweller myself — finding traces of a rudimentary abode in the bush.

They do prove, however, that Wolf Lake is not quite so pristine or isolated as one might think, or wish to be the case. It has been inhabited in the past, and it won’t escape an ill wind of the present.

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The Drift: Could the mining industry consider the nuclear option to power remote mines? – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 23, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Laurentian University research institute studies how small-scale reactors could replace diesel generation in the Far North

Is there a viable marriage between mining and nuclear power? Laurentian University researcher François Caron aims to find out. There are 10 off-grid operating mines in remote areas of Canada, most of them reliant on diesel generation.

That’ll be a no-go in the years to come as the mining industry faces mounting pressure from society, government climate change legislation, even environmentally conscious investors, to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions and carbon footprint.

To be able to power potential mining camps in greenfield areas where grid power doesn’t reach, the nuclear energy option is being increasingly examined.

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Vale, Steelworkers complete two days of talks; more talks planned – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – July 20, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Labour expert says he’s not surprised Local 6500 members have rejected the company’s contract offers

While no deal has yet been reached between Vale and its striking workers, there is some hope in the air as the two sides resumed talks this week.

“The bargaining teams for both Vale and USW Local 6500 did return to the table Monday with the assistance of a third-party facilitator,” said Danica Pagnutti, corporate affairs specialist with Vale.

“The intent of these discussions is for both parties to seek a path forward that will help in ending the current dispute.” Pagnutti said the talks are expected to continue throughout the week, but Vale will not be commenting on the nature of the discussions out of respect for the process.

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Mining innovation centre wins ‘long-fought battle’ to secure funds – by Colleen Romaniuk (Sudbury Star – July 15, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The pan-Canadian network, headquartered in Sudbury, will fast-track mining innovations for a more productive and sustainable future

After three years of hard work, Sudbury’s mining innovation centre has secured $40 million from the federal government to launch a pan-Canadian mining innovation accelerator.

The investment will help the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) implement a $112.4-million project called the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network.

The initiative aims to unite stakeholders across Canada’s innovation ecosystem to accelerate the development and commercialization of new technologies to make the mining sector more productive and sustainable.

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Sudbury to headquarter new mining network – by Staff (Sudbury Star – July 14, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Details of $112-million project unveiled on Tuesday

Sudbury will be the centre of a new network aiming to make Canada a leader in sustainable, efficient and safe mining, especially when it comes to so-called critical minerals.

François-Philippe Champagne, the federal minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced Tuesday the federal government will kick in $40 million towards a $112.4-million project put together by Sudbury-based CEMI, the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation Inc.

The money will support the creation of the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network. MICA is a Canadian initiative bringing together people and companies from a wide range of fields to quicken the development and commercialization of innovative technologies to make the mining sector more productive and sustainable.

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Mining sector accelerator is latest beneficiary of Federal Liberals ‘net zero’ fund – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – July 13, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

The project is intended to accelerate the mining sector’s development of innovative and clean technology, according to a government source

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne is expected on Tuesday to announce a $40-million contribution from the federal government for a new Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator Network, the Financial Post has learned.

The project is intended to accelerate the mining sector’s development of innovative and clean technology, according to a government source, who requested anonymity because the news was not yet public.

The project, to be administered through the Sudbury, Ont.-based Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, would be the latest in the past few weeks to receive funding from the federal government’s ‘net zero’ Strategic Innovation Fund, an $8-billion fund meant to help industry decarbonize over the next several years.

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Vale, Steel to head back to table with facilitator – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – July 13, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury members have been on strike since June 1; two sides looking for compromise

With a strike by Vale workers now entering its seventh week, the company and union have agreed to bring in an outside party to help them find common ground.

“Over the past few days Vale and the United Steelworkers Local 6500 bargaining committees have been exploring a path forward to the resumption of negotiations,” said Danica Pagnutti, corporate affairs specialist with Vale, in a message to The Star.

“On that front, we will be returning to the negotiation table on July 19 and utilizing a third-party facilitator that was jointly selected by Vale and the USW to assist in these conversations.”

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It’s been 50 years since NASA’s Apollo 16 astronauts walked on Sudbury – by Colleen Romaniuk (Sudbury Star – July 9, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

They were here to train for their moon mission

This summer marks 50 years since NASA dispatched the Apollo 16 astronauts to Sudbury for field training ahead of their trip to the moon. Commander John Young and pilot Charles Duke, whose spacecraft would launch from Cape Canaveral less than a year later on April 16, 1972, teamed up with experts from Inco to study Sudbury’s impact crater and its unique geological structures.

NASA hoped that the field training, which took place from July 7 to 9, 1971, would prepare the astronauts for lunar surface experiments. It turns out, the excursion didn’t prepare them as much as they’d hoped.

“We were very interested, at the time, in trying to work up the geology of the moon. The great debate in the literature prior to our first moon landing was how much of the moon was formed by volcanic activity and how much of it was formed by impact structures,” said Michael Dence.

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