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ForestEthics fights for one-way democracy – by Peter Foster (National Post – August 16, 2013)

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

The question is whether eco storm troopers will abide by the decision if they lose

Eco radicals have a highly flexible approach to public participation, but little or no flexibility on its allowable conclusions. When it comes to forcing a green agenda on people – say, via removing the right to object to local wind farms in Ontario — they are all in favour. When it comes to new pipelines, however, they believe in the widest possible consultation, but with only one acceptable decision: Ban them.

This week the government’s regulatory streamlining legislation for new energy projects, contained within 2012’s Omnibus Bill C-38, was the subject of a lawsuit by an arm of San Francisco-based environmental group ForestEthics, which has for years been front and centre in anti-oil sands and anti-forestry activism.

A subsidiary, ForestEthics Advocacy, FA, and an individual named Donna Sinclair, both represented by celebrity Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, FA’s chairman, sought to overturn the government’s provisions on the basis that they restrict freedom of speech, not to mention threatening the survival of life on earth.

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Oil’s new Arctic passage to Europe – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – August 16, 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.

Calgary –  As some of the biggest players in Canada’s oil industry fight for proposals to move the product west, south and east, a new plan is emerging to move crude north.

Omnitrax Inc., a private U.S. company that owns Churchill, Man.’s port, may provide a new channel for moving crude to markets on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Denver-based company, which also owns Manitoba’s northern railway, is nearing a test run to ship oil through its system as part of an ambitious plan that could see Western Canadian crude moving for the first time to Europe’s largest port via tanker across Hudson Bay.

If the plan is realized, it would run counter to long-established crude oil flows, in which east coast Canadian refineries have imported their feedstock from North Sea and Middle East suppliers.

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A year after Marikana: The pendulum is swinging, but in which direction? – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – August 16, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Many things have changed in the 12 months since the massacre by police of striking workers in South Africa’s platinum belt, but is it enough?

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – Shorthand for the worst possible outcome, the name Marikana has been mentioned many times in the last 12 months.

It has been used as both a rallying cry and a cautionary tale. But, asked what has changed over the course of the last 12 months either in terms of improving the lot of those who work in the mines or to ensure that such a tragedy can never recur, the answer is almost always: “not enough”.

For the most part, that is where the similarities end. Yes, some progress has been made. The wave of wildcat strike action that plagued the country in the last quarter of 2012 that spilled over into other sectors from the mines has been calmed but, on the mines, continued tension among the unions have led to further shootings.

Government has stepped up to the plate, committing to deliverables by signing the peace and stability framework. But a year later the Farlam Commission is yet to present its findings and the violence on the mines still remains too high.

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Time to build a road to prosperity in the Far North – by Mark Quinn (Troy Media – August 13, 2013)

http://www.troymedia.com/

An all-weather road would increase economic development and provide a better quality of life

OTTAWA, ON, Aug 13, 2013/ Troy Media/ – Over the last decade Canadians have become increasingly aware of a number of First Nation communities that have been in serious crisis.

The plight of communities like Attawapiskat, Pikangikum, and Kashechewan are well known in the national media but what is less well known is that they are all in the same region, Northern Ontario.

These communities are three of the approximately 30 First Nation communities in Ontario’s Far North. Most of these communities have much in common and are facing remarkably similar challenges. The Far North – comprising some 42 per cent of Ontario’s landmass (approximately 420,000 square kilometers)  – has more in common with the arctic than with the rest of the province. Consider the following:

• it has virtually no community infrastructure;
• there is little access to the hydro grid in the region;

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NEWS RELEASE: Northern Gold Announces Exploration Agreement With Wahgoshig First Nation for Its Golden Bear Project

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Aug. 15, 2013) – NORTHERN GOLD MINING INC. (TSX VENTURE:NGM) (“Northern Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exploration agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Wahgoshig First Nation community (“Wahgoshig”) near Garrison Township, Ontario. The Agreement establishes a commitment by the Company to develop an ongoing relationship with Wahgoshig in the area of the Company’s Golden Bear Project, and provides Wahgoshig with an opportunity to participate in the benefits of Northern Gold projects through training, ongoing communication and business development. Northern Gold has also agreed to negotiate an Impact Benefit Agreement with Wahgoshig should construction or mining operations commence on any of the Company’s properties located on Wahgoshig traditional territory.

Martin Shefsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Gold, stated, “The Agreement is an important step as we strengthen our mutually respectful and beneficial relationship with Wahgoshig. We will continue working closely with Wahgoshig and look forward to receiving their input as we explore the opportunities within the Golden Bear Project and move forward in a socially responsible manner for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Chief David Babin of Wahgoshig stated, “We are pleased to enter into the Agreement and appreciate that Northern Gold has consistently recognized and acknowledged our constitutional rights.

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De Beers eyes expansion to mine project near Attawapiskat (CBC News Sudbury – August 15, 2013)

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

Attawapiskat band members interested in negotiating a new Impact Benefit Agreement for the Victor Mine Extension Project.

De Beers Canada is looking into the possibility of extending its current Victor Mine project on northern Ontario’s James Bay Coast, on traditional land, 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat First Nation.

The company officially opened its existing Victor Mine site in mid-2008, after discovering the region’s lucrative kimberlite field more than two decades earlier. It was the province’s first diamond mine.

With an estimated five years remaining on that open pit diamond mine, the company has proposed the Victor Mine Extension Project.

The project is in an advanced exploration stage at the moment, meaning a final decision on whether to pursue the extension is still at least 18 months away, said Tom Ormsby, the director of external and corporate affairs at De Beers Canada.

An environmental assessment is currently underway, and core samples will be done to gauge the value of minerals in the ground.

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IBK Capital CEO [Michael White] calls the market bottom – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining Markets – August 14, 2013)

http://www.miningmarkets.ca/

Mining Markets recently spoke with Michael White, president and CEO of Toronto-based IBK Capital, for his views on the junior mining market. As the head of IBK, a private investment bank that largely deals with junior miners, White has had a front-row seat to the suffering of these companies over the past two years. While some companies won’t survive the current market malaise, White believes the market is at, or near, a bottom — and predicts a migration of talent from the majors to juniors that will build the next generation of majors.

Mining Markets: IBK does a lot of work with resource juniors, so you’ve got a front-row seat to the difficult markets they’ve been facing. Could you describe the current financing environment for the juniors?

Michael White: In the industry we talk about windows being open and windows being closed, and arguably, the window is closed. There are a few financings getting done, it’s not impossible to get financings completed. Sometimes these companies have to be a bit creative in order to fund their exploration or development, but generally speaking, the mining market today is much poorer than it was a couple years ago.

We really have seen a decrease in value in the equities for the exploration companies and the producing companies in metals and mining over the last two years.

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Foreign aid as a tool for Canadian development – by Campbell Clark (Globe and Mail – August 15, 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.

OTTAWA — The Conservative revolution in Canada’s foreign aid is finally here.

It’s not just that the Harper government has folded the former aid agency, CIDA, into the Foreign Affairs department, ending the flimsy pretense of separation between politics and aid policy. It’s that the money spent by Canada on aid now reflects the Tories’ view of the world, or at least the aid world.

For years the Tories have talked about changing Canadian aid, and NGOs and aid advocates have expressed fears about what they planned. But some of the Tories’ ideas about aid were ad-hoc notions, and it’s taken time for little shifts to really change the aid portfolio – a big, lumbering thing made up of thousands of multiyear projects. Now it has.

There’s a stronger belief in development banks, aid projects built around Canadian commercial interests in mining, and a profound faith in the power of the private sector.

The projects funded this year, especially, show an unmistakable Tory stamp.

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Penny stock fraud: Alleged mastermind Sandy Winick once lived the high life in Toronto – by Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew (Toronto Star – August 15, 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.

Winick’s past includes bankruptcy filings, scrutiny by stock market regulators, and co-founding The Fight Network.

More details are coming to light about one-time Toronto resident Sandy Winick, the alleged mastermind of a worldwide pennystock fraud believed to be on the run in Thailand.

Winick’s track record in business includes bankruptcy filings, a dizzying number of subsidiaries and companies that traded over-the-counter, and co-founding testosterone-laden cable channel Fight Network, which features boxing and mixed martial arts.

Winick, who U.S. authorities alleged this week ran the $140 million fraud ring, also has a taste for the highlife, as can be seen in a Star article profiling his home in 2005.

Winick, an aquarium enthusiast, and his wife Jodi spoke about elaborate plans for one salt water and one fresh water tank in their north Toronto home.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario to host global mine rescue event

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.

The sixth annual International Mine Rescue Body (IMRB) conference will be held at two locations in Ontario this Fall. The symposium portion of the event will be held in Niagara Falls from October 5 to 10, 2013 and the field trip component will be held in Sudbury from October 10 to 13.

More than 160 delegates from 12 nations are expected to attend this international conference. It is being hosted by the Canadian Association of Chief Inspectors of Mines, Canadian mine rescue organizations – including Ontario’s — and the Canadian mining industry in general. Several Ontario Mining Association members are participating in and supporting the conference and field trip.

General topics to be discussed in Niagara Falls include emergency preparedness and response planning, crisis management, effective mine rescue training, emerging rescue technologies and mine rescue research. The chairman of the conference – David Stewart from New Zealand – will present the case for developing an international mine rescue code of practice to set minimum standards and facilitate assistance between and among countries in the case of emergencies.

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Why billionaire Tom Steyer has re-invented himself as an anti-Keystone campaigner – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – August 15, 2013)

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

In an open letter this week inviting Russ Girling, CEO of TransCanada Corp., to a live debate on the merits of the Keystone XL pipeline, California hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer said he is motivated by uncovering the truth.

It’s a noble pursuit. Yet the facts about the pipeline from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast have been in plain sight since its regulatory review in the United States began five years ago.

What’s less known is why Steyer, 56, a President Obama fundraiser and self-described “professional pain in the ass” who is re-inventing himself as a “clean-energy philanthropist,” has suddenly gone sour on the oil sands.

Steyer rose to the top of the list of oil sands foes this year and has been making a name for himself with anti-Keystone XL publicity stunts. His latest hit was a commercial so offensive toward Girling, the oil sands business and Canada that it was pulled off the air last week by WRC-TV, an affiliate of NBC in Washington, D.C.

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A Custom Fit [for Vale’s Newfoundland nickel project] – by Marianne Dupla and Dave Oliphant (Canadian Mining Journal – August 2013)

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication.

While it was rigorously testing a customized use of hydrometallurgical technology to assure commercial viability for its mammoth nickel-mining project, Vale Canada Ltd. was also testing a comprehensive effluent treatment program that incorporates new high-rate softening and clarification technology to help protect the environment.

International mining company, Vale, is nearing completion of its US$3.7-billion nickel processing plant at Long Harbour, on Newfoundland’s Placentia Bay. The Brazilian mining company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Vale Canada Limited, formerly known as Vale Inco, is directing the construction of the processing plant, which began in April 2009.

Start-up of the plant is scheduled for August 2013. Once fully operational, it is expected to annually produce 50,000 metric tons of nickel, 4,700 metric tons of copper, and 2,500 metric tons of cobalt.

The mined ore will first undergo a concentrating process at the Voisey’s Bay mine site in Labrador before it is transported by ship to the processing plant at Long Harbour. By processing ore concentrate at the plant, Vale anticipates achieving higher metal recoveries while also eliminating the time and expense of shipping to Ontario or Manitoba for refining.

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UPDATE 1-Job cuts ahead as Rio puts Mongolian expansion on hold (Reuters India – August 14, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it would have to cut up to 1,700 jobs in its Mongolian operation, after a more than $5 billion underground expansion of the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine was suspended.

The expansion was put on ice last month as the global miner said the Mongolian government wanted parliament, currently in recess, to approve financing for the project. Mongolian Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag said last week that Rio did not need to seek parliamentary approval for the development’s package.

The delay marked the latest bump in the road for Rio at one of its biggest projects – and one of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits – which started exporting from an open pit mine in July after two last-minute hiccups in securing government approval.

Mongolia has raised concerns about the costs of the Oyu Tolgoi expansion and the potential that rising expenditure will delay when it starts receiving its share of profits.

The government has also complained that locals are not well represented in the management of the project. A Rio spokesman said that the delay was now being implemented.

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Anglo American expands B.C. coal mine with eye on Asia – Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – August 15, 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.

VANCOUVER — Anglo American PLC is expanding its northeastern B.C. mine, betting that the quality of the coal and the ease of transport to Asia will help the company win more contracts from steel makers in Japan, China and others in the region.

London-based Anglo American, one of the world’s largest mining companies, will make the expansion announcement Thursday at its operations near Tumbler Ridge, B.C., about 700 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

The company has budgeted $50-million for the first phase of a $200-million, multiyear project to boost output of coking (or metallurgical) coal, a key ingredient in the production of steel.

Seamus French, head of Anglo American’s metallurgical coal division, said in an interview that its Tumbler Ridge coal is high quality, and that the rail line transporting it to the port of Prince Rupert for export is underutilized. “We see fantastic long-term potential,” he said in an interview, adding that the mining expansion will provide employment security for the 420 Anglo American workers in B.C. as well as generate 100 construction jobs.

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Indian and Chinese “strong hands” continue to boost gold demand – WGC -by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – August 15, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

According to the World Gold Council, the gold market continues to re-balance and demand is moving distinctively from West to East.

Gold demand in India and China is expected to account for close to 45 to 50% of the total gold market by year end, the World Gold Council says, as consumer demand for gold continues to ratchet higher.

Speaking to Mineweb on the launch of the group’s Gold Demand Trend report for the second quarter, MD for investments, Marcus Grubb, explained that based on the figures for the year so far, the council has moved its range for total demand to roughly the same level – 900 – 1000 tonnes each.

Both markets are up roughly 45 to 50% for the year to date and “they are remarkably close together; they are still within about 35 tonnes of each other, which is very similar to where they were in the first half of last year (about 30 tonnes apart) in spite of being 50% larger this year.”

Grubb points out that this forecast implies a new all time high total demand figure for China, comfortably higher than the previous record of 776 tonnes.

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