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Review: Le Nord au coeur – by Brendan Kelly (Montreal Gazette – December 6, 2012)

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

Louis-Edmond Hamelin shines a northern light

MONTREAL – Louis-Edmond Hamelin is quite the character, and when you have such a great character as your leading man, you usually have a pretty captivating film. Le Nord au coeur is no exception to that rule.

Seasoned documentary filmmaker Serge Giguère has made a brilliant feature about Hamelin, a key intellectual figure in the discussion of northern affairs in Quebec over the past few decades. But this is no dry academic piece; rather, it’s a lively, thought-provoking look at a fascinating man that also serves as a history of Quebec’s forgotten people.

From the development of the iron ore industry in the north in the ’50s to the James Bay mega-project in the late ’60s/early ’70s to the controversial Plan Nord unveiled by the Charest government, those in southern Canada have spent decades plotting the commercialization of the north without worrying about the people who actually live there.

Right at the start of Le Nord au coeur, Hamelin, 89, is seen getting into an Air Inuit plane and then a small seaplane to make his way to the aboriginal community of Mushuau-nipi, a place Hamelin hadn’t been to for 37 years. There he meets with locals, which is when the film moves backwards to look at his life’s work studying the north and its communities.

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Bill Gallagher, Author, Lawyer, Consultant and Strategist – Nation Talk Interview (December 11, 2012)

http://nationtalk.ca/ NationTalk speaks to Author, Lawyer, Consultant and Strategist Bill Gallagher. An experienced strategist in the dynamic area of native, government, and corporate relations, he is held in high regard as an authority on the rise of native empowerment in Canada’s resources sector. He is now also the Author of Resource Rulers: Fortune and Folly …

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No Canadian hires for four years at Chinese-owned B.C. mine – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – December 13, 2012)

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.

MINING REPORTER — HD Mining International, building a large coal mine in northern British Columbia using Chinese workers, will take four years before it hires even a single Canadian miner, and another decade beyond that before the work force is fully local, court documents show.

According to documents made public on Wednesday by the B.C. Federation of Labour, HD Mining plans to use up to 201 workers from China to staff the mine through 30 months of construction and two years of ramp-up and mining.

It plans to phase in a Canadian work force at the so-called Murray River coal mine, near Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in the subsequent 10 years, at a rate of 10 per cent per year, documents showed. Murray River is expected to have a mine life of 40 years.

The revelations could deepen the controversy around the company – majority-owned by Chinese coal miner Huiyong Holding – and the use of temporary foreign workers in an industry suffering from skills shortages after demand for metals skyrocketed over the past decade.

Local unions were in court on Wednesday seeking an injunction that would prevent any more workers coming to the project pending a judicial review of the process that cleared the hirings.

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Here’s Why Chief Theresa Spence Is Starving Herself – by Carolyn Bennett (Huffington Post.com – December 13, 2012)

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/politics/

Carolyn Bennett is a federal Liberal Member of Parliament.

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) hosted a Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa last week to develop a plan to deal with the Conservative government’s increasingly confrontational approach toward First Nations. Speaking to the Assembly, National Chief Shawn Atleo referred to the deterioration in the relationship with Ottawa noting, “We’ve seen promises broken and others act in bad faith.”

He also called First Nations to action in “not rallies of a few, but a movement. A movement of peoples. A moment of nations coming together.” Frustration boiled over as the assembled Chiefs rallied on Parliament Hill and tried to gain entry to the House of Commons chamber in order to be heard by Harper and his colleagues.

A tweet from Tanya Kappo of Edmonton against Omnibus Bill C-45 with hashtag #idlenomore has snowballed and inspired thousands on Monday to protest in communities across Canada against the unilateral and paternalistic approach of the Harper government.

Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat started a hunger strike this week — “I am willing to die for my people because the pain is too much and it’s time for the government to realize what it’s doing to us.” With this government’s decision to treat Aboriginal Peoples in Canada as “adversaries,” Aboriginal peoples have indicated that this may well be only the beginning of their protests.

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Ontario Program offers grants to prospectors – by Liz Cowan (Northern Ontario Business – December 12, 2012)

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.

Joseph Barr was one of the most popular exhibitors at a recent mining symposium since he was “giving away money.” As president of the Ontario Exploration Council (OEC), he set up a booth at the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium Nov. 6 and 7 in Sudbury to inform prospectors of available grants.

OEC is fully owned by the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA) and the organization was created to replace a former grant program with the provincial government. “We have a three-phase program,” said Barr. “Prospectors can get up to $85,000.”

If a prospector stakes a claim, a $10,000 grant can be applied for. Half is given initially, and the remaining half is received once an assessment report is filed with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

After the $10,000 is spent, a further $25,000 can be applied for. The money must be spent on the claim, and if it looks promising, this second level of funding can be used for activities such as drilling or sampling. If the assay results are good from drilling and sampling, a further $50,000 can be applied for.

“It is totally interest-free, and there is no repayment. What we take on the first $10,000 is a one per cent net smelter return (NSR). On the second phase, we take another 0.25 per cent and on the third, another 0.25 per cent,” he said.

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Molycorp CEO Exits Six Months After Neo Material Deal – by Sonja Elmquist (Bloomberg.com – December 12, 2012)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Molycorp Inc. (MCP) Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith left the rare-earths producer amid an investigation of its disclosures and a lawsuit related to engineering deficiencies at its mine.

Vice Chairman and former Neo Material CEO Constantine Karayannopoulos is Smith’s interim replacement, the Greenwood Village, Colorado-based company said yesterday in a statement. Molycorp said its board is looking for a permanent hire.

“We feel that Mark had lost credibility with a number of constituents, shareholders, potential investors and analysts,” said Michael Gambardella, a New York-based analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Molycorp disclosed the probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a filing on Nov. 9, the day after reporting its third-quarter earnings and hosting a conference call to discuss results with investors, a decision that eroded investors’ trust in his management, Gambardella said.

Gambardella, who rates Molycorp shares underperform, equivalent to a sell, said that regardless of who takes Smith’s place, the company will be producing into an oversupplied market and will need to raise more money next year.

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Uranium miners still struggling to emerge from shadow of Fukushima – by Peter Koven (National Post – December 13, 2012)

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

Following the Fukushima nuclear facility disaster in March 2011, uranium miners were quick to rationalize that the fundamentals of their business were unlikely to change and the world still needed more nuclear power.

They were wrong, to put it kindly.

More than 21 months after Fukushima, the uranium business is still stuck in a rut. Uranium’s spot price has plummeted to nearly US$40 a pound (compared to a high topping US$135 in 2007), and there has been minimal activity in the spot market. Utilities are well-supplied with uranium for the foreseeable future, and, thanks to Fukushima, the outlook for demand growth is not nearly as healthy as it was a couple of years ago.

“The recovery in Japan has been slower than we expected,” Tim Gitzel, chief executive of Cameco Corp., acknowledged in an interview.

Now the question on everyone’s mind is whether things will finally start to turn around in 2013? The market is still waiting for news on Japanese reactor restarts, while digesting Germany’s plans to get out of the nuclear business entirely.

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Fix U.S. permitting system before imposing federal hardrock mining royalties – Sen. Lisa Murkowski – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – December 12, 2012)

http://www.mineweb.com/

While data may be lacking to determine how much revenue U.S. taxpayers are losing from hardrock mining operations on federal lands, a slow-moving government bureaucracy is discouraging exploration investment.

RENO (MINEWEB) – As expected, the General Accounting Office on U.S. hardrock mining and its lack of federal royalties was finally officially released Wednesday, as the ranking member on the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee questioned why reporters received the report before it was made available to the House and Senate resources committees, or even was published on the GAO website.

“Whether GAO intended it or not, leaking the report to reporters before lawmakers gives the distinct impression that the GAO is promoting its own agenda,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.

As Mineweb reported on December 12th, the Washington Post published a story on the report one day prior to its official release. In that story, a Post reporter conducted interviews with the two lawmakers who originally requested the study.

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First Nations given tight deadline to respond to Cliffs new terms of reference – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – December 12, 2012)

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Cliffs Natural Resources has adjusted the terms of reference for its proposed Ring of Fire mine, meaning First Nations are again being asked to provide comments and concerns.

Yet at least one First Nation argues that the government should deal with an outstanding Treaty issue before expecting it to comment on the new terms of reference. First Nations were provided with Cliffs’ amended terms of reference on Nov. 30, and given 15 days to respond.

Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias said that while he wants to respond to the terms of reference, situations within his community and his family mean there is not time to do so before the date that Ontario has set.

Moonias also said Ontario should deal with Neskantaga’s request for mediation on the terms of reference before expecting First Nations to respond to the amended version of the terms of reference.

“The government is trying to give its mandate (to consult with First Nations) to Cliffs,” said Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias. “They are trying to make Cliffs look like the bad guy, but the government is the one that has a responsibility to come back to the table with First Nations.”

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Fired Vale striker gets his job back – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 13, 2012)

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

The first miner fired during the year-long strike by United Steelworkers against Vale has been reinstated to his position at Vale’s Coleman Mine.

Ron Breault was fired by the mining company in September 2009, two months after about 3,000 members of USW Local 6500 in Sudbury and Local 6200 in Port Colborne went on strike.

Arbitrator Janice Johnston released her decision Wednesday. She ruled Breault should get his job back, with full seniority and benefits, and that he be awarded about 19 months of back pay.

Brian Shell, the lawyer representing USW and Breault, said Johnston gave Breault a 30-day suspension because of “some words he spoke on the picket line.” But she ruled firing Breault was too severe a penalty. USW Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said Breault was happy and relieved to get his job back.

Breault happened to be standing outside the Steel Hall at Brady Street when Bertrand called him to tell him the good news. Bertrand said Breault and his union knew he was innocent of allegations of misconduct, for which Vale fired him during the strike.

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Building boom adds stress to public works – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – December 12, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The city’s “building boom” is resulting in unprecedented work loads and stress levels for Timmins’ community development and public works employees, explained department head Mark Jensen. In pre-budget discussions with city council, Jensen said that many of the department’s challenges are caused by a mix a comparatively low staffing levels, a rapid increase in building permit applications, and a giant geographical area to cover.

To help with efforts such as cutting down on illegal building activity, keeping up with permit processing, and managing increasing administrative duties, Jensen recommended the creation of a new position in the building inspection division.

“A good amount of that demand is coming from our non-residential permit activity,” explained Jensen. “When I say that, we’re looking at the commercial and industrial sectors, and institutional as well. It’s not to say the residential sector isn’t also realizing notable increases over previous years, because it certainly has as well.”

He used the comparable municipalities of Cornwall (pop. 45,965), Belleville (pop. 48,821) and North Bay (pop. 53,980) to make his point. Belleville’s has 11 building inspection staff, Cornwall and North Bay each have eight, while Timmins currently has five-and-a-half full-time employees in the division.

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Petroleum’s Great Revival – by Peter Foster (National Post – December 13, 2012)

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

Daniel Yergin says rebalanced oil industry must reach new markets

Trends or events attached to the word “Great” are more often to be feared than embraced. Nobody wants any more Great Wars, or another Great Depression. The “Great Moderation” celebrated just a few years ago by consecutive Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke was followed by — indeed arguably spawned — a “Great Recession.”

Now however, there is a new “Great” in the making, and it appears to be all good news: “The Great Revival” of the North American petroleum industry. This concept was invoked on Wednesday by leading global energy analyst Daniel Yergin at a presentation on the final day of the annual investment meeting of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which was this year held in Toronto.

Time magazine has written that: “If there is one man whose opinion matters more than any other in global energy markets, it’s Daniel Yergin.” Let’s hope so, for Dr. Yergin is not merely highly knowledgeable about Canadian energy, he is also a fan, and a leading consultant to CAPP.

Dr. Yergin also outlined a “rebalancing” of the entire global energy industry, significantly related to that Great Revival. He did not dwell on the irony that this revival should have taken place under perhaps the most anti-oil president in U.S. history, but then diplomacy is needed when you have the ear of the White House, which in Dr. Yergin’s case is good news for Canada.

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Lake Shore Gold expands mill (Timmins Daily Press – December 12, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Officials with Lake Shore Gold Corp. announced this week it has achieved a processing capacity of 2,500 tonnes per day. This is following the completion of the first stage of its 50% mill expansion.

The mill’s new capacity represents an increase of 25% from the previous capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day. The second stage of expansion, to a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per day, is on track for completion during the second quarter of 2013.

“We are beginning to see the payback from a lot of hard work and investment over the last year,” said Tony Makuch, president and CEO of Lake Shore Gold “With increased mill throughput and improved grades, we are set to finish the year strong and to achieve full year production of over 85,000 ounces of gold.

“Equally important, with the progress being made at our mill and in completing our development and drilling programs at Timmins West Mine, we are looking to 2013 as a break-out year for the company, with significantly higher production, lower operating costs, and a sharp reduction in capital expenditures.

“Our balance sheet is strong and we are financed to take Timmins West Mine to full production at which time we will be generating positive free cash flow.”

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CNOOC promises billions in new spending – if oil prices stay high – by Shawn McCarthy, Mark MacKinnon and Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – December 13, 2012)

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 and BEIJING and TORONTO — CNOOC Ltd. has committed to spend an additional $5-billion to $8-billion on oil and gas development in North America as part of its deal with Ottawa to acquire Calgary-based Nexen Inc., but the promise is elastic in terms of the time frame and subject to continued high oil prices.

The company will also report annually – though confidentially – to Industry Canada on how it’s meeting its Investment Canada undertakings, Xu Xiaojie, an academic who also advised both CNOOC and China’s state council on the deal, said in an interview Tuesday.

CNOOC’s capital spending is expected to be in addition to the roughly $3-billion a year that Nexen has spent developing its oil and gas properties in recent years.

Under confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act, the federal government cannot comment on the undertakings made by CNOOC in winning approval for its Nexen acquisition – nor on the commitments made by Malaysia’s Petronas in exchange for a federal green light on its $6-billion takeover of Calgary’s Progress Energy Resources Corp.

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Harper fails to toss perverse ‘net benefit’ rule – by Peter Foster (National Post – December 12, 2012)

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

Any ‘net benefit’ depends on ­managerial decisions that have yet to be made

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the new provisions on investments by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on Friday, one thing he said was unarguable: “Our statements today will not satisfy everybody.” His government has been attacked both for approving the acquisition of Nexen by Chinese SOE CNOOC and of Progress Energy by Malaysian SOE Petronas, and for restricting future SOE investment in Canada.

He has been particularly criticized for nixing SOE takeovers of oil sands companies except in “exceptional circumstances.” Alberta was bound to harrumph about legislation that, after all, is mainly about developing the province’s resources. But perhaps the most important hole in Friday’s announcement was that the vague and essentially impossible “net benefit” test remains in place.

When it comes to Nexen, Progress and SOEs, Mr. Harper steered a skilful course between offending the majority of Canadians who were against the Nexen deal, and offending the Chinese government at a time when he was seeking further commercial engagement. The oil sands acquisition ban on SOEs does not single out Beijing, which is also hardly in a position to criticize minority-ownership stipulations since it has similar rules of its own.

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