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Boston-Bay-Mines-Announcement

Sudbury Basin

PRESS RELEASE: First Nickel Restructures the Lockerby Mine, Reducing Costs and Ensuring Continued Economic Viability

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jan 12, 2015 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — First Nickel Inc. (“First Nickel”, “FNI” or the “Company”) (FNI) has announced that the Lockerby nickel/copper mine, located in the Sudbury basin in Ontario, is being restructured in order to reduce costs, increase exploration and extend mine life.

Background

The Lockerby Mine Project Technical Report dated August 2, 2012, available on SEDAR.com, envisaged mining from the 6,500-foot level to the 7,000-foot level. In 2013, the Company disclosed that, as a result of low nickel prices, ramp development below the 6800 level would be suspended. The Company has also said that if a decision was not made to restart ramp development, Lockerby would cease mining operations in 2015.

In December 2014, the Company concluded that, unless costs could be substantially reduced, developing the mine below the 6800 level would be uneconomic based on the current cost structure.

Thomas M. Boehlert, President & Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The employees at Lockerby have done a remarkable job in recent months to improve performance at the mine, with nickel production in the second half of 2014 improving significantly compared to the first half. However, the combination of persistently low nickel prices and our underlying cost structure has had a negative impact on our ability to generate the funds required to continue development of the mine.”

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Mining of the future – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – December 28, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Real-time communications to allow deep mining

It may sound like something straight from science fiction, but for miners of the future, suits and helmets that monitor their vital signs, regulate their body temperature and communicate to above-ground operators isn’t so far from reality.

Sudbury company Jannatec Technologies is working to develop fully connected, wearable gear that would do all these things to help miners go deeper underground.

“We’re very good at mining, but our communications and how we move ore and how we move things is still back 30, 40 years, so we have to catch up, and we need higher speed data under there,” Jannatec president Wayne Ablitt said. “We have to give the same working tools underground that are above ground, and that’s our goal.”

Jannatec is one of the partners in the Ultra-Deep Mining Network — established by Sudbury’s Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) — focused on four areas of innovation: rock-stress risk reduction, energy reduction, material transport and productivity, and human health. The network defines ultra-deep mining as mining taking place up to 2.5 kilometres underground.

Last January, the network received $15 million from the Business Led Network Centres of Excellence; an additional $31 million has come from cash and in-kind contributions.

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Steel, Vale send message about positive bargaining – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 11, 2014)

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

Some might call it a Christmas miracle.

Representatives from Vale Ltd. and United Steelworkers Local 6500 held a joint news conference Wednesday to signal their intention to work together to settle a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires May 31, 2015.

The fact it was held at the Steelworkers’ Hall was unprecedented for a company and a union who were involved in an acrimonious, year-long strike from July 2009 to July 2010.

Both sides want to put that troubled past behind them and move forward so history doesn’t repeat itself.
Rick Bertrand, president of USW Local 6500, told reporters a great deal of work has been done between his union and the company to repair the bad feelings that existed after the longest strike in the union’s history.

Kelly Strong, vice-president of Ontario/UK Operations for Vale, said several meetings have been held between the company and the union in the last two to three years to build a relationship of “mutual respect and trust.”

In the past, the company and the union have met first on neutral territory — usually a hotel boardroom — making a show of exchanging proposals about three months before a contract expired.

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NEWS RELEASE: Atikameksheng Anishwabek & KGHM International Sign Advanced Exploration Agreement for the Victoria Project

Sudbury, Canada, November 21, 2014 – Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation

(“Atikameksheng”) and KGHM International Ltd. (“KGHMI”) are pleased to announce that they recently signed the Victoria Project Advanced Exploration Agreement (“the Agreement”) on September 26th, 2014. The Agreement details the Advanced Exploration stage of the Victoria Project (the “Project”) including shaft sinking, bulk sample and diamond drilling. The official signing was completed by Chief Steve Miller and Adrian McFadden, Vice President, Underground Operations for KGHMI in front of several Atikameksheng council members and KGHMI employees. A formal signing ceremony at Atikameksheng Community Centre was held Friday, November 7, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

The Agreement includes provisions on how the Atikameksheng will benefit from the development of the Project, including employment and training opportunities, business development opportunities, and compensation for temporary interferences with the exercise of aboriginal and treaty rights by the Atikameksheng. The Agreement also establishes a Community Liaison Committee with representation by both Atikameksheng and KGHMI to share information about the progress of the Victoria Advanced Exploration Project and to monitor the implementation of the Agreement.

The Agreement reflects KGHMI’s commitment to protecting the environment and wildlife, and working with aboriginal communities affected by their operations in a spirit of respect and cooperation.

Adrian McFadden, Vice President, Underground Operations for KGHMI stated, “To date, it has been a positive and educational experience working with Chief Miller and the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek.

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Sudbury Basin formed by comet, not asteroid, researcher says (CBC News Sudbury – November 22, 2014)

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

Laurentian University’s Joe Petrus says comet likely created major geologic structure, not asteroid

It’s been long believed the Sudbury Basin was shaped by an asteroid that hit the region more than a billion years ago, but a Laurentian University researcher now says it was likely a comet.

The Sudbury Basin is the second largest known impact crater on Earth — 62 kilometres long, 30 kilometres wide and 15 kilometres deep. PhD candidate Joe Petrus’s recent research looks at what exactly came crashing down from space to form the massive crater.

“Impacts provide … a way to connect space [and] earth by looking at the interaction of things that were in space that have come and created a massive crater on earth,” he said.

“Sudbury is kind of unique in terms of meteorite impact. It’s one of the largest and one of the oldest.” The fiery object that struck near Sudbury, 1.8 billion years ago, formed a deep hole that can be seen from space.

When it slammed into the earth, it punched a hole in the Earth’s crust, allowing the mantle below to well up and fill the basin with a thick sheet of melted rock.

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Research shows comet as cause of Sudbury crater – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – November 24, 2014)

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

A city known for its rock and snow may well have been formed, nearly two billion years ago, by a giant ball of rock and snow.

New research by Laurentian PhD candidate Joe Petrus suggests the Sudbury basin was the work of a comet, which blasted through the atmosphere at a speed of about 50 km/second and struck with such force that debris rained down as far away as Thunder Bay and Minnesota.

Scientists have understood since the 1960s that the area owes its shape and geology to the impact of a celestial object, but exactly what type of object — asteroid or comet — has remained an open question.

It was a puzzle that Petrus, who earlier studied physics, couldn’t resist probing. “‘Why hasn’t somebody done this?’ ” he recalls thinking. “It seemed a glaring question, especially since Sudbury is one of the most important impact craters on Earth.”

The doctoral student also felt the timing was right. While there had been some earlier speculation about a comet being the cause of Sudbury’s crater, more sophisticated technology was now available to test the theory.

Petrus’s study, undertaken with the support of PhD supervisor Balz Kamber, formerly affiliated with Laurentian University, and geologist Doreen Ames relied largely on chemical analysis of rocks in the impact zone.

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Roots run deep in Sudbury’s reclamation efforts – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – November 21, 2014)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business  provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.  

Still lots of work to be done, though

Forty years, $28 million and 9.5 million trees after reclamation efforts began, the moonscape that was once Sudbury is taking on a greener hue — but only half the job is done.

A total of 81,000 hectares have been impacted by the city’s industrial activity, which started with the logging industry in the early 1800s, and intensified in the early days of mining when open roasting beds sent high levels of sulphur dioxide into the air, raining down metal particulate across the landscape.

Since its inception in 1973, VETAC (the Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee) has brought together volunteers from science, industry, academia, government and Sudbury’s citizenry to return the land to its original state, said Dr. Peter Becket, a reclamation, restoration and wetland ecologist with Laurentian University who’s dedicated his life’s work to the task. But it hasn’t been easy.

“The estimate is that we have about 7,000 hectares to do,” said Beckett, who gave the keynote address during the Nov. 20 gathering of the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).

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Vale clear to tear down Sudbury’s Superstack – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 7, 2014)

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

Vale Ltd. won’t need approval from the Ministry of the Environment to tear down the Superstack if the company chooses to do so.

But it will require ministry approvals for any replacement smokestack it intends to build. Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Canada and UK operations, told a business group this week that the Brazil-based mining company is conducting an analysis to determine if it should replace the 1,250-foot chimney.

Company officials will likely decide by the end of the year what to do with the structure, which was built in 1972 at a cost of about $25 million.

Speaking to reporters after a presentation to the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, Strong said he realized any talk of disposing of the structure was going to stimulate conversation in the community.

Very little sulphur dioxide is travelling up the Superstack, said Strong, so it doesn’t make sense to use it any longer. Vale is completing the $1-billion Clean AER (Atmospheric Emission Reduction) Project that will cut current S02 emissions by 85%.

Kate Jordan, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment, said Vale wouldn’t need ministry approval to remove the stack.

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Sudbury’s Superstack could be coming down: Vale – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 4, 2014)

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

A Sudbury landmark, rated 10 out of 45 attractions to see in the Nickel City, could be coming down, depending upon the result of an analysis by Vale Ltd. The mining company may decommission the 1,250-foot Superstack that has become synonymous with Sudbury’s regreening efforts.

It cost about $25 million to build the giant smokestack in the early 1970s to move sulphur dioxide emissions miles out of the Sudbury Basin where it was killing vegetation and polluting the air.

Because today’s mining processes produce so much less SO2, the Superstack may be superfluous and a much shorter stack could likely do the job.

Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Ontario and United Kingdom operations, made the announcement about the Superstack study at a noon luncheon Monday of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

No business person asked questions of Strong, not even about the Superstack, when Strong finished his 25-minute presentation to 260 people. Strong told reporters after the luncheon that talk of disposing of the giant stack is bound to create a buzz in the community.

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Vale could demolish Sudbury’s Superstack – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – November 3, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Some call it an eyesore, while many others see it as one of Sudbury’s most easily identifiable and iconic landmarks. By the end of the year Vale is expected to determine the future of the Superstack, and decide whether or not it should be demolished.

“The reality is that there’s very little SO2 (sulphur dioxide) coming up the stack and it doesn’t make a lot of sense for use to use the stack further,” said Kelly Strong, Vale’s vice-president of Ontario and UK operations.

Strong addressed the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Monday, where he updated the city’s business community on Vale’s operations and plans for the future in Sudbury.

Strong’s update on the Superstack was the day’s big announcement. “It’s a huge change for our community,” he said. “There’s a correlation between Sudbury and the Superstack. It’s a huge landmark.”

When it was built in 1972, the 1,250-foot (350-metre) Inco Superstack was the world’s tallest chimney, and the tallest freestanding structure in Canada. Today, Toronto’s CN Tower is the only structure in Canada to surpass the Superstack in height, at 1,815 feet, or 553 metres.

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[Vale in the Sudbury Basin] SPEECH TO THE GREATER SUDBURY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE – BY KELLY STRONG, VICE PRESIDENT, ONTARIO/UK OPERATIONS (November 3, 2014)

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

• Thank you Geoff for that kind introduction. It’s a pleasure to be here.

• It’s so nice to see so many friendly and familiar faces here in Copper Cliff this afternoon. I’m not sure if your motivation to come here was to hear me speak or for a great plate of Italian food, but regardless I appreciate you coming here today.

• To all of the sponsors of today’s luncheon, thank you for your support of this event…it’s very much appreciated and we are happy to count you as partners in our business.

• I want to especially recognize Debbi Nicholson, who’s been an exemplary leader of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce for almost 35 years. Debbi – you lead with dignity, a sharp business sense and a keen awareness of what’s in the best interests of our community. I congratulate you on all the things you’ve accomplished, and thank you for the invitation to give an update on our operations here today.

* * *

• As I think many of you know, I grew up in Espanola and started in this industry way back when as an underground miner. My roots in the mining industry, and in the Sudbury area, run very deep. This is the place I’ve chosen to work and raise my family, and the place I call home. Sudbury is, and I believe always will be, one of the greatest mining communities on the planet.

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Tailings ponds in northern Ontario considered safe, scientist says (CBC News Sudbury – August 07, 2014)

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

David Pearson says what happened in B.C. is unlikely to happen here

A tailings pond breach in central British Columbia this week is raising questions about how mine waste is being taken care of in northern Ontario.

The recent disaster at the Mount Polley Mine released billions of litres of wastewater into river systems. But, according to Laurentian University professor David Pearson, the tailings ponds here in the North often aren’t built at all.

They’re existing lakes or wetland — and that’s what makes them safer. “It’s not like a pond on a parking lot where a break would cause a massive flood,” Pearson said.

Even so, companies that want to mine in Ontario must prove they can rehabilitate a site or pay for a cleanup before they begin production. And the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines makes inspections every few years.

Former Glencore scientist Lisa Leger said Ontario has strict protocols to prevent what happened in B.C. “I was heavily involved in risk management and know that the companies will definitely listen to all the concerns.” But environmental groups like Mining Watch Canada remain skeptical that full-site rehabilitation after such a disaster is ever possible.

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Rodriguez would renew fight for resource revenues – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – August 7, 2014)

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

Some may call it an old idea. John Rodriguez calls it unfinished business.

The former Greater Sudbury mayor, who’s running again in the municipal election in October, said he’ll take up the fight once more to tackle the municipality’s $700-million infrastructure deficit by seeking “a fair share” of resource revenues.

Rodriguez made the announcement in front of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines in Sudbury on Wednesday.

“It’s a question of justice, of fairness,” Rodriguez said. While the province receives royalties from the ores mined in Greater Sudbury – to the tune of $50 million in 2007, based on figures supplied by Rodriguez – the city does not.

Greater Sudbury does get 7.5 cents per tonne for gravel under the Aggregate Resources Act, while the province gets 13 cents.

“But for ores, we don’t get a penny,” Rodriguez said. “We have these major roads in the city – Lasalle Boulevard, Falconbridge Road, Cote Boulevard, (Municipal) Road 15, (Highway) 69 North — that are used as major routes for transporting ores from the mines to the smelters and refineries, yet we bear the cost of repairing these roads. You can set your clock by it, or your calendar. Every four or five years, we have to resurface the roads, but we don’t receive any royalties to help us offset the cost of repairing these roads.

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Fifty years on, Big Nickel shines brightly -by Ryan Byrne (Sudbury Star – July 23, 2014)

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

Arguably Sudbury’s most iconic image, the Big Nickel, celebrated its 50th birthday Tuesday, drawing hundreds of people to the monument to welcome in its golden anniversary.

The event kicked off at noon with a full day of live music, activities for all ages, and celebrations of what it means to be a Sudburian.

At 1 p.m. Mayor Marianne Matichuk decreed July 22nd to henceforth be Big Nickel Day. People young and old celebrated with face painting, gold panning, live music from local artists including Chicks with Picks and Larry Berrio and more, with the event wrapping up with a fireworks display late last night.

The Blue Saints Drum and Bugle Corps performed at the start of the event, in honour of their group, which performed at the unveiling of the nickel 50 years ago.

“Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Big Nickel was really important to us, it’s a big milestone and we’re the keepers of this iconic landmark in Sudbury,” said Dynamic Earth senior manager Julie Moskalyk. “We’re pretty proud to be able to celebrate the Big Nickel like this with the entire community.”

“Fifty years ago, the Sudbury region was a pretty black, barren rock area so the Big Nickel was one of the first ways that Sudbury started to draw tourists,” Moskalyk said. “Today it’s one of the top 10 roadside attractions and it’s a part of a significant tourism draw to the Greater Sudbury region.”

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Sudbury Basin largely unexplored: geologist – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – July 16, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

But Sudbury’s mining outlook positive with new projects on horizon

Despite occupying one of the most mineral-rich areas of the world, large swaths of the Sudbury Basin have remained unexplored.

Dan Farrow, the Sudbury District geologist with the Ontario Geological Survey, said Vale and Glencore hold a large number of patented mineral claims, for tracts of land in the Sudbury Basin only they can explore.

Because both companies have a number of productive mines in the region, they haven’t yet bothered to explore many of those regions. The patented claims – which lease mineral rights to the companies in question – are in an area geologists refer to as the eruptive.

Researchers estimate a meteor made impact more than 2 billion years ago with what is now the Sudbury Basin. The impact left a crater 200 kilometres in diameter, and brought molten magma beneath the Earth’s crust to surface.

The prevailing theory, said Farrow, is that the magma was rich in minerals, such as nickel and copper. When it hardened, it formed the mineral deposits that have defined the Sudbury Basin.

Sudbury’s mining giants Inco and Falconbridge – and later Vale and Glencore, respectively – jumped on rich contact deposits of solid ore. “That’s what Inco and Falconbridge mined for years because it was so easy,” Farrow said.

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