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How forest fires shaped the history of Timmins – by Karen Bachmann (Timmins Daily Press – March 19, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

You cannot talk about the history of Northern Ontario without talking about forest fires and their impact on the development of the region.

The Great Porcupine Fire of 1911 almost wiped out the entire Ontario gold mining industry in one day; fortunately, the early investors and residents of the camp were made of stronger stuff and they chose to remain here and rebuild (and they most certainly reaped the rewards of their decisions!).

Lesson learned: there is no escape route once the rail lines are destroyed.  Fast forward to 1916 – yet again, the north is threatened with huge forest fires, and Timmins, although not in the thick of it, certainly did not come out clean.

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Powder in mines linked to disease – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – February 15, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Intake clinics to be held in Timmins in May could produce data showing a link between a deadly powder used in mines for more than 35 years and the incidence of neurological disease in miners.

United Steelworkers Local 6500 is working with Janice Martell of Elliot Lake on what she calls the McIntyre Powder Project, a campaign she began in 2014. Martell is convinced her father, Jim Hobbs of Massey, contracted Parkinson’s disease from the aluminum dust he breathed while working in Elliot Lake’s uranium mines.

Canisters of aluminum dust, produced by McIntyre Mine in Timmins, were sold to mining companies and used to fog dries or change rooms for miners as well as some areas underground.

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Tahoe Resources-Lake Shore Gold’s $945M deal brings potential benefits for both sides – by Peter Kovin (National Post – February 9, 2016)

http://business.financialpost.com/

TORONTO – Tahoe Resources Inc.’s friendly $945 million deal to buy Lake Shore Gold Corp. is being viewed as a logical transaction that addresses challenges faced by both companies.

Tahoe gets to diversify into Canada, increase its growth profile and reduce exposure to Guatemala, a very challenging jurisdiction. Lake Shore, meanwhile, can develop its projects quickly without worrying about diluting shareholders or taking on more debt.

“We believe this transaction brings strong mutual benefits to our respective shareholders and establishes the premier low-cost precious metals producer in the Americas,” Tahoe chief executive Kevin McArthur claimed on a conference call.

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Trading halted on Lake Shore Gold shares – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – February 5, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – There was so much excitement and market speculation about a Lake Shore Gold Timmins property that trading in company shares was halted on Friday and the company was asked by regulators to issue a public statement.

This follows the positive news that was released by the company on Thursday revealing the results of 13 drill holes for a high grade gold zone at the “Whitney Project” which describes the area located near the old Hallnor Mine property in Timmins.

The results are from the first surface exploration drilling done on the Whitney property since LSG became the new owners last fall. The Whitney property was a prospect that was owned and explored by Temex Resources Corp. Just last September, Temex shareholders approved a takeover deal by Lake Shore for all outstanding common shares.

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Miner Tahoe Resources adds Ontario gold mines with Lake Shore buy (Reuters U.S. – February 8, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

Miner Tahoe Resources Inc (TAHO.N) (THO.TO) said it would buy Canada’s Lake Shore Gold Corp (LSG.TO) for about C$751 million ($540 million) to add low-cost gold mines in Ontario to its portfolio.

Precious metals miners have been clamping down on costs amid a sharp decline in the price of bullion that has weighed on exploration spending, capital to sustain operations and dividends.

Spot gold prices XAU= have fallen nearly 40 percent from its peak of $1,920.30 an ounce in September 2011. The deal comes after Goldcorp Inc (G.TO) sold its 25.6 percent stake in Tahoe for C$998.5 million last June.

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Magnesium mine promising jobs, diversity in Timmins – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – February 1, 2016)

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A new mining project coming to Timmins has the capacity to create 1,000 local jobs and economically diversify the City With a Heart of Gold.

General Magnesium Corp. is set to start production this spring on a magnesium-talc mine that has an NI 43-101 resource estimate of close to 100 million tonnes, including 54,076,357 tonnes in the measured and indicated category, and 43,000,000 tonnes in the inferred category.

Last fall, following 16 months of due diligence, the company secured a multi-year, $4.9-billion deal with Hunter Douglas Metals, whose parent company manufactures aluminum blinds. Magnesium is a key component used as an alloy in manufacturing aluminum.

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Dome closure a warning for North – by John R. Hunt (Timmins Daily Press – January 22, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – The impending closure of the Dome Mine in Timmins will be a hard blow for that community which lost two other major mines over the years.

It is also a warning for those concerned with the future of Northern Ontario.

The North depends upon its natural resource industries. Mining and forestry are the backbone of the northern economy. Agriculture is growing and will get bigger if the predictions of global warming are correct.

The dome is rooted in history. According to local legend, it was discovered when a prospector fell down an embankment. His hobnail boots scraped the moss off a mineral vein and the Dome was discovered.

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Graphite to be processed at refurbished Matheson mill – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily News – January 22, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

BLACK RIVER-MATHESON – Production is expected to begin this spring at a newly refurbished graphite mineral processing facility in Matheson.

Great Lakes Graphite Inc., based out of Toronto, announced this week it has received permitting approvals for a micronization facility that will take raw graphite material and process it into a more refined and more marketable industrial mineral.

Paul Ferguson, the company’s chief marketing officer, said the Great Lakes is currently in the process of refurbishing the plant located on Vimy Ridge Road, located a few kilometres southeast of the built-up area of Matheson.

He said the company has a graphite mine property, that is not yet in operation, but that the Matheson plant is just what Great Lakes was looking for.

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[Goldcorp gold mine] PGM underground set to close end of July – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – January 16, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – As a mine manager, Goldcorp’s Brendan Zuidema said Friday he holds a bit of sadness in his heart to be the man at the helm as the last of three great gold mines of the Porcupine Camp is about to come to a close.

“Yeah, the Hollinger Mine, the McIntyre Mine and the Dome Mine were the Big Three,” said Zuidema. “The Hollinger and the McIntyre are both closed. We are still mining the Hollinger open pit, but that is more a reclamation project to close that property. So Dome is the last of the Big Three. I think in terms of ounces over 105 years, Dome has been around 17 million ounces.”

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Zuidema outlined the details for the eventual shutdown of what is believed to be the longest running gold mine in Canada, the Dome Mine. Discovered in 1909, it was the first major discovery in the Porcupine Camp. The Dome went into production in 1910 and went on to outlast every major gold mining operation discovered in those early days of Timmins.

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[Goldcorp] Dome Gold Mine closing had to happen eventually – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – January 15, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Nobody at the time of the discovery of its deposit in 1909 would have predicted the Dome Mine would still be in operation in 2016. But here we are, albeit, with the Dome in its final months.

Goldcorp announced this week it will be shutting down the Dome underground operation, likely around the end of July. Close to 200 people — 115 employees and 76 contractors — will be out of work as a result.

The Dome has been virtually mined out.  The company revealed at a press conference held in Timmins on Friday that there are still some traces of gold in the rocks but it’s just not worth digging up and processing at any price.

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Co-existence with mines impresses Peruvian delegates – by Alan S. Hale (Timmins Daily Press – December 1, 2015)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – A delegation of community members from villages in the Cusco Region of Peru were in Timmins last week to find out what it is like living in a community in close proximity to major mining operations.

The six different communities the delegates are adjusting to the copper mining operations in their region being conducted by the Canadian company, Hudbay Minerals. This is the second group Peruvians to come to Timmins to see first-hand how a community can coexist with the mining industry and all the opportunities and problems that come with it.

Christy Marinig, the chief executive officer of the Timmins Economic Development Corporation, which hosted the delegation, said the plan is to have two groups coming to Timmins every year for the next five years. The TEDC took on the role of bringing up groups from Peru after they were contacted by the Global Indigenous Trust, which was looking for a mining community to act as a role model.

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General Magnesium signs deal to process ore – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – November 16, 2015)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – William Quesnel says it has been a slow 15-year process completing the geological work and getting government approvals in order for him to start up a talc magnesium mine in Whitney Township.

And now like tumbling dominoes, everything seems to be quickly coming into place for the company to begin production next year.

Two weeks ago, Quesnel, chairman and chief executive officer of General Magnesium, announced the signing of a $4.9 billion deal with Hunter Douglas Metals, providing the mine with a buyer for 100% of the magnesium the mine produces over the next 15 years.

This week, Quesnel announced the signing of two more agreements — one with Abbey Gold to process the ore from the Whitney talc magnesite deposit; the other with Haywood Securities, a financing house that will be taking General Magnesium from a privately financed company to one that is publicly sold on the stock market.

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Green light for Goldfields to start up Taylor mine – by Alan S. Hale (Timmins Daily Press – November 11, 2015)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

BLACK RIVER-MATHESON – St. Andrew Goldfields has received approval from the provincial government to begin commercial production at the Taylor Mine, located 53 kilometres east of Timmins.

The project’s closure plan received final approval from the mining project from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines last week.

“We are pleased to declare Taylor the newest mine in Ontario, one which we anticipate will bolster the company’s gold production profile for 2016 by 40,000 to 50,000 ounces and provide much-needed jobs and economic benefits to the communities of the region,” said Duncan Middlemiss, the president and chief executive officer of St. Andrew Goldfields in a statement.

“The mine is expected to be a significant contributor in the future as we are ramping up to full production by the end of this year.”

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[Timmins] 2 local derelict mine sites among those cited in ECO report – by Alan S. Hale (Timmins Daily Press – November 5, 2015)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Ontario’s environment watchdog has released a report slamming the provincial government and the mining industry for not putting in place adequate financial assurances to prevent the government from footing the bill for any clean-up after mining operations.

Such provisions are legally required in all mining project closure plans, but the Environment Commissioner of Ontario found that in July there were five idle operations in Ontario without sufficient financial assurance measures in their closure plans. Two of those projects listed in the report are in the Timmins area.

One is the Carshaw-Malga Mine and Mill property located in Shaw and Carman Townships, approximately 25 kilometres southeast of Timmins. The site, owned by Marshall Minerals Corp., was mined and milled gold-bearing ore in the mid-1980s. In 1990, the mill was reactivated to process nickel ore.

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Deals will spur start-up of talc mine, says owner – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – November 4, 2015)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The owner of General Magnesium says he has just signed a deal that will accelerate the start-up of a new talc-magnesium mine in Timmins.

“We’ve been working for the last 16 months on due diligence with Hunter Douglas Metals” explained William Quesnel. “It’s a 15-year renewable contract with a sales value of $4.9 billion Canadian. So what it does is give us the security and stability to accelerate our project and start creating the jobs we promised previously.”

Three years ago, when Quesnel initially announced his development plans, he outlined a proposal to establish three facilities which would employ up to 1,000 people, combined.
Quesnel said he is already in the process of hiring people, adding that he could have up to 200 people working within the next 18 months.

The Quesnel Group owns a mining property located just southeast of Porcupine Lake in Whitney Township.

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