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OPINION: The dirty secrets behind Sudbury’s regreening – by Joan Kuyek (The Narwhal – September 30, 20210

The Narwhal

Joan Kuyek is co-founder of MiningWatch Canada and the author of Unearthing Justice.

A recent op-ed in The Narwhal said that Sudbury, Ont. offered proof that a “[post-mining] re-greening road map exists,” and indicated that Sudbury provides a model to the world. However, any community attempting to replicate the Sudbury model has to know its dirty, and often untold, stories.

The mines and smelters in Sudbury — Canada’s largest mining community — were built on and destroyed the lands of the Atikameksheng Anishinaabek. The boundaries of their tiny reserve were deliberately drawn to exclude mineral rich lands. Although over $1 trillion has been taken from the Sudbury region, the First Nation has received no compensation and no apology.

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There for you, on your worst day: Ontario Mine Rescue’s Ted Hanley on getting it right when everything goes wrong – by Herb Mathisen (CIM Magazine – September 29, 2021)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Editor’s note: CIM Magazine interviewed Ontario Mine Rescue’s Ted Hanley just weeks before the Totten mine rescue team successfully rescued the 39 miners trapped 4,130 feet underground.

You can’t crystal-ball everything. Ted Hanley, general manager of Ontario Mine Rescue, does his best anyway, as do the staffers and volunteers who work to save miners’ lives when accidents occur.

After all, the 92-year-old organization was created in response to a problem many should have seen coming. In 1928, fire crews were brought in from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to put out a fire at the Hollinger mine in Timmins because no local or provincial firefighters were capable of responding to the underground blaze.

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Totten Mine rescue a ‘really well-oiled’ team effort – by Jim Moodie (Globe and Mail – September 30, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The escape from Totten this week tested the mettle of more than three-dozen miners, but the task confronting rescue workers was just as daunting. About 90 people altogether were involved in the extraction effort, said Ontario Mine Rescue vice-president Ted Hanley, with Shawn Rideout, the organization’s chief mine rescue officer, charged with overseeing the response.

“It was all hands on deck, and really well-oiled in that there was a day shift and a night shift transition, for the surface operations, at least,” said Hanley. “It was a little more difficult for the underground rescue workers.”

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Update: Totten mine workers all safe after wet, long and arduous climb – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – September 29, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Imagine scaling 25 fire towers. That’s essentially what underground workers at Totten Mine had to do after their cage was rendered inoperable on Sunday. “That’s a feat,” remarked one official with the United Steelworkers, which represents Vale miners. “It’s a fairly steep incline, usually around 72 degrees, like a ladder standing on the side of your house. So you are using your arms, your legs. It is physically and mentally challenging.”

As of Wednesday morning, all 39 miners who became trapped Sunday afternoon had safely made it to the surface, according to the company. The final four were individuals who needed a bit more help due to health issues or fitness levels, so their exit took longer.

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Maritime mining community shows solidarity with Sudbury, Ont. rescue effort – by Ryan MacDonald (CTV News Atlantic – September 28, 2021)

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/

GLACE BAY, N.S. — The whole country is watching the dramatic rescue of the Sudbury, Ont. miners with bated breath on Tuesday, but even more so in Maritime mining communities. As the workers continue to resurface, so too, are some strong feelings.

“You’re trying to put yourself in their place, the fear that they’re going through,” said Eric Spencer, a coal miner of 30 years in Glace Bay, NS. Spencer says for any miner, not being able to get back to the surface is their worst fear realized.

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VALE NEWS RELEASE: EMPLOYEES CONTINUE TO EXIT VALE’S TOTTEN MINE (September 28, 2021)

SUDBURY, September 28, 2021 – Vale informs that the return of employees to surface at the Company’s Totten Mine in Sudbury, Ontario continues this morning following the successful ascent of several individuals overnight.

On Sunday, 39 employees were unable to exit the mine due to damage in the shaft that houses the conveyance used to transport employees between surface and underground. While conditions in the shaft were evaluated, employees reported to underground refuge stations as part of the company’s standard procedures.

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Trapped Totten Mine workers should be on surface by Monday evening (updated) – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – September 28, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

As of early Monday evening, 39 miners at Totten Mine were still making their way up a series of ladders after being trapped about a kilometre underground for more than a day. “All mines have a secondary egress, or exit, for situations where the cage is inoperable,” said Danica Pagnutti, corporate affairs specialist with Vale.

In this case the shaft was damaged by a scoop bucket under the cage, she said, making the normal route to surface impassable. The employees, who punched in Sunday morning, were working in various areas between the 3,000- and 4,000-foot levels, Pagnutti said, when the incident occurred early Sunday afternoon.

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39 Sudbury miners trapped underground since Sunday afternoon – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Elliot Lake Today – September 27, 2021)

https://www.elliotlaketoday.com/

Exiting Vale’s Totten Mine via a ‘secondary egress ladder system’

Thirty-nine employees at Vale’s Totten mine who have been stuck underground since Sunday afternoon are exiting the mine via a “secondary egress ladder system” with the support of Vale’s mine rescue team.

This is after the conveyance for transporting employees was taken offline, following an incident in the shaft.

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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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Vale unlocks the next phase of Voisey’s Bay – by David Keating (Canadian Mining Journal – August 16, 2021)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The Labrador Aboriginal Training Partnership (LATP), an agreement between
Vale and the Labrador Inuit and Innu of Nunatsiavut, Nunatukavut and Innu
Nation has been instrumental for recruiting and training Aboriginal workers
from the region. Employment numbers from these Aboriginal groups at Voisey’s
Bay is touted as being 50% of the overall workforce.

One of the largest nickel deposits in the world has been given a new lease on life. Vale’s Voisey’s Bay property in northern Labrador, operating as an open pit mine since 2005, was nearing the end of its production life.

Instead, innovations in partnerships and technology will allow Vale to go underground and develop two new orebodies that will extend the life of Voisey’s Bay to 2034.

First ore production on the new underground phase of Vale’s Voisey’s Bay project was announced on June 11, with full production capacity slated to be reached by August.

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Iron ore rush creates mining boomtown in Brazil (Financial Times – August 15, 2021)

https://www.ft.com/

Finding a place to stay is not so easy these days in the Brazilian mining town of Itabirito.

Hotel rooms are scarce and rents have climbed, say locals, as outsiders descend on the hilly settlement in search of their fortunes — or maybe just a steady wage — from the iron ore deposits found in this tropical region of green valleys and streams.

Prices for the steelmaking ingredient have rallied over the past year, turning the modest town of about 60,000 people into a hotspot of the global commodities boom.

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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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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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Vale to spend $150M to extend life of Thompson mining operation – by James Snell (Sudbury Star – August 3, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Vale Canada Limited has announced a $150 million infrastructure investment to extend the life of its Thompson mining operation by 10 years. The company is also carrying out aggressive exploration drilling to potentially extend the mine’s life beyond 2040.

The $150 million will cover phase one of the Thompson mine expansion, Vale said in a statement. Phase one includes infrastructure development – ventilation raises and fans, increased backfill capacity and additional power distribution that will allow the company to mine deeper and longer.

Phase one could increase production by 30 per cent. The company plans to access lower portions of its primary ore body in phase two.

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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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