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Northern Forum nice, but major issues unresolved – by Peter Politis (Timmins Daiy Press – December 10, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Peter Politis is the Mayor of Cochrane

TIMMINS – Last week’s Northern Leaders’ summit which brought together First Nations, ministers and Northern leaders from across the entire region to exchange on issues, was another good step forward for the North. My congratulations to the Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors’ Association, FONOM President Mayor Spacek, along with the province for bringing the group together. Hopefully there is more to come.

It was good to get past the proverbial “hand in the face” approach we’ve been getting from the province up to now, to actually engaging in the intelligent dialogue and issues themselves. It was evident that while there remains diversity in opinion and needs, Northern Leaders are coming together in unity to represent our region together which can only be a good thing.

What continues to concern me is that the major issues remain unresolved. For example: The ONTC passenger rail has been completely divested and the government made it clear they will not bring back passenger rail as they believe standing room only buses are good enough for Northern families, medical patients and students; parks remain closed and will going forward; the provincial caribou policy that sees recovering caribou where they don’t exist at the expense of Northern families and entire town’s remains as it was two years ago despite scientists, environmentalists and mayors coming together to offer a better option;

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Court overturns B.C. government’s ruling that rejected mine – by Matthew Robinson and Derrick Penner (Vancouver Sun – December 10, 2013)

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Ministers’ decision to stop $2.5-billion project failed test of ‘procedural fairness,’ judge says

VANCOUVER — Prospects for a proposed open-pit gold and copper mine in northern B.C. improved this week after a B.C. Supreme Court justice turfed a previous decision by two senior provincial government ministers to reject the project.

Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. asked the B.C. Supreme Court in April to overturn Environment Minister Terry Lake and Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman’s rejection last September of its $2.5-billion mining project, located 65 km north of Smithers at Morrison Lake. In a decision released Monday, Justice Kenneth Affleck set aside the ministers’ decision, raising the possibility the mine could yet proceed.

“(The) ministers’ decision refusing to issue the certificate failed to comport with the requirements of procedural fairness,” wrote Affleck in his decision, which awarded costs to the company.

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ONTC selloff costs pegged at $820 million – auditor – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget – December 11, 2013)

http://www.nugget.ca/

The costs associated with selling off the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission could be more than $820 million, something the provincial government was unaware of when it announced plans to divest itself of the Crown agency.

In a report released Tuesday, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk confirmed that the costs and liabilities associated with divestment far outweigh the projected savings of $265.9 million over three years. And she said the province did not clearly or fairly communicate the full impact of selling off the ONTC.

“The government made the divestment announcement before doing a comprehensive business-case analysis,” Lysyk said, in a release after tabling the report. “As a result, the government did not initially have an accurate picture of the possible costs and impacts of the ONTC divestment.”

Lysyk said the estimated known costs and liabilities could be as high as $820 million and that the price could soar even higher when coupled with as-yet-unknown costs of environmental clean-up of ONTC properties and the duty to consult with aboriginal peoples.

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China’s solar bubble bursting – by Ezra Levant (Toronto Sun – December 11, 2013)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

When Justin Trudeau said he admired China more than any other foreign country “because of their basic dictatorship,” it was a shock and a reminder that most Canadians know nothing of Trudeau’s policy beliefs.

By praising China’s government — specifically its dictatorship, not its people or its history or culture — Trudeau showed how outside the mainstream he is, and how cavalier when it comes to human rights. Trudeau lacks his father’s intellectual curiosity or accomplishment, but he seems to have inherited his father’s worst trait — an affection for totalitarian strongmen from Moscow to Beijing to Havana.

But Justin Trudeau made a second comment that received less attention. China’s “basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime and say we need to go green, we need to start, you know, investing in solar.” To Trudeau, China’s brutality is offset by the fact that they are “investing in solar.” As in solar panels.

Pierre Trudeau passed away in 2000, so this solar idea isn’t likely something Justin got from him. More likely it’s from Trudeau’s surrogate father — his campaign strategist, chief organizer and policy guru, Gerald Butts. Butts is Trudeau’s age, but much more grown up. And he’s an environmental extremist.

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Native rights a contentious issue as mining bill passes – by Kevin Dougherty (Montreal Gazette – December 9, 2013)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

Bill 70 adpopted with support of the Liberals and CAQ

QUEBEC — The Coalition Avenir Québec and Quebec Liberals backed the Parti Québécois government Monday night, with only Quebec solidaire opposed, to adopt Bill 70, the first major change in the province’s Mining Act in almost a century.

Martine Ouellet, Quebec’s natural resources minister, said the bill struck a balance between the claims of the mining industry, environmentalists, communities affected by mining and native people.

But Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador, warned the bill could face a court challenge because it ignores the ancestral rights of Quebec aboriginals. The assembly was summoned Monday for an “extraordinary session” to fast-track adoption of Bill 70.

The issue of aboriginal rights was the major disagreement between Ouellet and the opposition Liberals and Québec solidaire, who opposed her rush to legislate. Ouellet said she has listened and a new chapter in Bill 70 calls for consultations with native communities on mining projects.

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At summit, Eastern Kentucky leaders look to Minnesota for ideas to renew economy – by Bill Estep and John Cheves (Lexington Herald-Leader – December 9, 2013)

http://www.kentucky.com/

PIKEVILLE — Leaders grappling with a painful downturn in coal jobs in Eastern Kentucky got a primer Monday on how another state dealt with a similar collapse in its mining region.

The situation 30 years ago in the iron-ore belt in northeastern Minnesota was dire. Mining jobs dropped by more than 60 percent in 18 months and people started moving out, at times stopping by the bank on the way out of town to drop off keys to houses and cars they couldn’t pay for, said Joe Sertich, a former community-college president in the region known as the Iron Range.

The Eastern Kentucky coalfield has been similarly battered by layoffs. The coal industry has cut 6,000 jobs since mid-2011, with some counties losing more than half the jobs that were once the bulwark of their economy.

Sertich spoke Monday at a daylong summit in Pikeville called Shaping Our Appalachia Region, or SOAR. U.S. Rep Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, and Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, set up the summit to generate ideas to diversify the economy of Eastern Kentucky.

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ANALYSIS: How markets are rigged against you – by Amanda Lang (CBC News Business – December 9, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business

Amanda Lang looks at ways the financial system is rigged in some people’s favour

Every day, trillions of dollars are exchanged by buyers and sellers on trading floors across the world. The places where that happens are colloquially known by the faceless moniker of “the markets” but every time somebody buys a barrel of oil, a shipment of potash, a Royal Bank share or a Japanese yen, there’s a real person behind that transaction.

Historically, the system works because people have confidence in the rules and believe they are treated the same as anybody else. But it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the stories of powerful people cheating the system for their own gain. As the bad apples add up, it gets harder and harder to ignore a troubling realization — “everything is rigged.”

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Strateco seeks to force deal on disputed uranium mine – by Jordan Fletcher (Globe and Mail – December 10, 2013)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

The battle over uranium mining in northern Quebec is heating up again. Strateco Resources Inc. petitioned a Quebec court on Dec. 5, seeking to force the province’s environmental minister to allow underground uranium exploration at the company’s Matoush project, located in the Otish mountains 200 kilometres northeast of Mistissini.

Quebec’s Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment, Wildlife and Parks had denied Strateco’s permit on Nov. 7 after the local Mistissini Cree community refused to consent to uranium development near its hunting grounds and trap lines.

“Many Cree work in the mining industry; we are not anti-development,” said Cree Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. “But uranium is a special case. The tailings will remain toxic for hundreds of thousands of years. It is a burden for future generations that we are not prepared to assume.”

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Silver’s slump even worse than gold – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – December 10, 2013)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

“Poor man’s gold” was the worst of the metals bunch in 2013 — and next year still a question mark for precious metals, says PWC annual report.

There’s a silver lining to the beating gold took this year: sidekick silver suffered the worst slump of any other metal in 2013. “Silver has had a terrible year,” says PwC Canada’s year-end mining report Metals Mired in Global Uncertainty.

Known as “poor man’s gold”, the lower-profile metal – used in everything from the auto industry to electronics and jewelry – has tumbled 40 per cent compared to a 30 per cent price drop in bullion, notes the annual study released Monday.

Silver started 2013 trading at $32 per ounce but sank to a low of $18.60 by mid-year. That’s a complete reversal from 2012, when silver was the best-performing metal overall, ranging in price between $26 and $37.

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Barclays favours nickel in 2014, bearish on gold and oil – by Barani Krishnan (Reuters U.K. – December 10, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

NEW YORK – (Reuters) – Base metals, led by nickel, appear set to trend higher in 2014 due to tighter supplies, while unfavorable economics should keep pressure on gold and oil and prompt investors to avoid much of the commodity complex, Barclays said on Monday.

In another negative outlook on commodities from a major investment bank, London-based Barclays PLC (BARC.L) said that outflow of money from the sector will not end soon, at least not in the first quarter.

It cited a litany of reasons, including comfortable supply levels in most raw materials; a still-sluggish global economy and the likely scaling back of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus that had supported commodities.

“It is unlikely investors will warm to commodities in the near term,” said Barclays, which until a few years ago was one of the biggest proponents of the sector. Goldman Sachs (GS.N), often regarded Wall Street’s most authoritative voice on commodities, and Citigroup (C.N) have issued similarly sanguine outlooks in recent weeks.

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Ontario driving jobs out with Blue Boxes, green energy – by Terence Corcoran (National Post – December 10, 2013)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Slowly but surely, Blue Boxes and green energy are driving red tomatoes out of the province

Did the blue box help kill Ontario’s red tomato? Certainly not by itself, but when Heinz announced last month that it was shutting its century-old ketchup-making plant in Leamington, Ontario, the U.S. food maker had already warned against a new provincial government plan to impose major new waste reduction fees on industry.

In a letter to the government in August, Heinz said, among other things, that the proposed massive overhaul of the province’s Blue Box program failed to consider the “impact the new framework could have on the Ontario economy.” The Heinz letter was part of major alarm-ringing exercise from Food and Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) against Ontario Environment Minister Bill Bradley’s scheme to upload hundreds of millions of dollars in recycling costs onto industry.

Industry currently pays $104-million in “steward fees” to cover 50% of the cost of the province’s pioneering imposition, two decades ago, of a bass-ackward recycling regime. Now the province wants to upload all the costs, a burden the food industry says could boost the cost of the waste regime to $231-million.

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MUST READ: Gold – the race for the world’s most seductive metal – by Frik Els (Mining.com – December 10, 2013)

http://www.mining.com/

When it comes to putting together a book on a storied subject like gold, the hardest task for the writer is not gathering the material.

It is which tales to leave out. Matthew Hart, author of Gold: The Race for the World’s Most Seductive Metal, does a splendid job of transporting readers from one defining moment in the history of gold to the next. Hart, author of seven books including Diamond and a veteran journalist who has appeared on CNN and 60 Minutes and contributed to Vanity Fair, Globe & Mail and others, had to pick his targets carefully to fit into Gold’s brisk 233-page narrative.

Hart does not find the space to chronicle India’s ongoing love affair with gold, the Bre-X scam of the late Nineties, or today’s headline-making dispute over Europe’s largest gold project in Romania, but the omissions provide Gold with admirable pacing and cohesion.

He often jumps back and forth hundreds or even thousands of years to create an arc that spans from the first gold jewellery created more than 6,000 years ago through vivid descriptions of how Inca gold transformed the European financial system, the “Nixon shock”, the game-changing creation of gold-backed ETFs and right up to how the centre of the gold universe has shifted to China.

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Coppercorp remains viable for Superior Copper – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – December 9, 2013)

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.

Like the legend of the big fish that got away, the giant slab of native copper once witnessed in the depths of the Coppercorp Mine near Sault Ste. Marie is feeding dreams and hopes of a major find for Superior Copper.

Bruce Staines, a registered professional mining engineer sitting on Superior Copper’s board of directors, once saw that slab of copper firsthand. It was difficult to mine back then, but the company believes Coppercorp remains a promising find that could become a producing mine with the right technology.

“We believe there’s potential for a very significant copper discovery,” said Morgan Quinn, vice- president of corporate development. “It’s been underexplored, and we’re fully permitted, and we have agreements with the First Nations. We’re ready to go with our exploration.”

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OMA NEWS RELEASE: Mining builds government coffers

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Personal income tax payments by mining industry employees across Canada increased 15% to $2.3 billion in 2012 from about $2 billion in 2011. The growth is related to the industry’s role as a major, high-paying employer and the rise in mineral sector employment by about 6,700 jobs, according to the recently released Mining Association of Canada (MAC) study, “Payments to Governments by the Canadian Mineral Sector 2003 – 2012,” prepared by the ENTRANS Policy Research Group.

The study examines royalties paid by mineral producers, corporate income taxes paid by mining companies and personal income taxes paid by direct industry employees. ENTRANS estimates that during the past 10 years, the mining sector made payments of more than $71 billion to Ottawa and provincial governments.

“This impressive amount of more than $70 billion over the past decade also underscores the importance of mining in Canada as both a major employer across the country and significant contributor to the Canadian economy,” said MAC President Pierre Gratton. “The royalties, taxes and other payments made to governments by the industry ultimately go towards supporting critical government services like health care, education and the building of infrastructure.”

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Yorbeau has strong financial backer for Quebec mining projects – by Robert Gibbens (Montreal Gazette – December 6, 2013)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

MONTREAL — The Abitibi region of Northwestern Quebec has produced about 250 million ounces of gold since mining began there almost a century ago and the story is still unfolding despite a steep drop in bullion prices.

Many junior exploration companies have been searching in vain for capital, sending the drilling rigs back home, as investors cite high risks and favour only those projects with adequate reserves and well-defined development plans.

But Montreal’s Yorbeau Resources Inc., with a promising gold property four kilometres south of the historic Horne copper-gold mine at Rouyn-Noranda, is among the more fortunate.

Johannesburg-based Gold Fields Ltd., one of the world’s biggest gold miners and recent buyer of three Barrick Gold mines in Australia for $270 million U.S., has signed an option and joint-venture agreement with Yorbeau.

This winter, it is funding a drilling program on Yorbeau’s property 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal. Rouyn-Noranda is the heart of the Abitibi’s mining industry.

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