Province wants union’s business plan – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget – November 9, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

The province is willing to consider a ports authority proposal aimed at revitalizing the ONTC as part of its divestment process, says a spokeswoman for Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci.

Laura Blondeau confirmed Thursday the General Chairperson’s Association (CGA), which represents unionized employees at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, recently met with Bartolucci to discuss the proposal, which calls for the transfer of the Ontario Northland Railway and other ONTC assets to a new ports authority that would be operated under the Canada Marine Act.

Blondeau said the CGA was advised to put together a business plan and participate in the procurement process by submitting the proposal to Infrastructure Ontario. GCA spokesman Brian Stevens could not be reached Thursday for comment.

A request for pre-qualifications closed late last month for the purchase of Ontera, the telecommunications arm of the ONTC and the first division of the Crown agency that’s up for sale.

The province has said there is significant interest in Ontera. And the next step in the process, the issuing of a request for proposals, could come later this month.

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McGuinty’s Grits clueless about northern needs – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun – November 9, 2012)

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/home.html

TORONTO — The government of Dalton McGuinty hammered one more nail in the coffin of northern Ontario recently, when the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) decided to back away from the conversion of the Thunder Bay coal-burning power plant to natural gas.

Critics say the OPA’s decision makes development of the “Ring of Fire” – a remote part of the northwest that’s rich in mineral deposits – almost impossible.

The decision comes hard on the heels of other northern blunders such as the Far North Act, which put half the land north of the 51st parallel – an area about the size of Britain – out of bounds for development.

Then they shut down the Ontario Northland Transportation Corp. (ONTC) rail service, a move that will devastate small communities and stifle economic growth. Cancelling the conversion of the power plant is a further blow to the northern economy.

In its announcement, the OPA said it would provide the electricity northwestern Ontario needs by building new transmission lines. That doesn’t make sense.The decision also highlights the foolishness of the original plan by the McGuinty government to shut down coal plants.

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Statement from Minister of Northern Development and Mines on Aboriginal Consultation and Mineral Exploration

 http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/en

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, released the following statement today on consulting with Aboriginal communities on mineral exploration and development:

“Our government is responsible for managing Crown lands and the natural resources of this province. In so doing, we must balance the need to promote economic development and our thriving mineral exploration and development sector with our commitment to meeting our constitutional obligations to Aboriginal peoples.

Since 2006, when Ontario introduced its first ever Mineral Development Strategy, our government has worked diligently to promote collaboration between industry and Aboriginal communities in order to build positive business relationships that meet the needs of Aboriginal communities and industry.

We have seen numerous examples where Aboriginal communities and industry have forged productive partnerships. In fact, since 1999, more than 100 mineral development benefit agreements have been signed between Aboriginal communities and industry. Ontario supports these and other partnerships and commends industry players who engage and consult with Aboriginal communities in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding.

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Miners, First Nations have ‘forged productive partnerships’ – CBC Radio Sudbury (November 9, 2012)

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

Ongoing disputes between First Nations and mining companies continue to plague industry, however

Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines says the updated version of its mining act offers clear, progressive guidance about Aboriginal consultation as it relates to mineral exploration activities.

However, in a recent statement about Aboriginal consultation and mineral exploration, Rick Bartolucci did not comment on a recent accusation by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation that a junior mining company made borderline racist comments.

Bartolucci’s statement didn’t mention the First Nation or mining company involved, but pointed out that, since 2006, the province has worked diligently to promote collaboration between industry and Aboriginal communities. He also said there are numerous examples where First Nations people and industry have formed successful partnerships.

The executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association agreed. Garry Clark said the industry has a good relationship with First Nations in general. But NAN Grand Chief Harvey Yesno said there have been ongoing disputes between First Nations and mining companies.

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Bartolucci calls for co-operation [between juniors and First Nations] – by Sebastein Perth (Sudbury Star – November 10, 2012)

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

In light of allegations of racism and lack of co-operation levelled this week between the Wahgoshig First Nation and a mining company, Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci on Friday urged “the mineral exploration industry to encourage its membership” to comply with regulations.

In a statement, the minister of Northern Development and Mines, said more than 100 “mineral development benefit agreements have been signed between aboriginal communities and industry” since 1999.

Bartolucci said the provincial government has to walk a fine line between economic prosperity and respecting aboriginal rights.

“Our government is responsible for managing Crown lands and the natural resources of this province. In so doing, we must balance the need to promote economic development and our thriving mineral exploration and development sector with our commitment to meeting our constitutional obligations to aboriginal peoples,” Bartolucci said.

He said the province introduced the second phase of its “modernized Mining Act regulations” that provides aim to make rules and regulations clearer.

It will also provide “progressive guidance about aboriginal consultation as it relates to mineral exploration activities” for industry and aboriginal communities.

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Don’t throw resources under the bus – by Mike Byfield (National Post – November 8, 2012)

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

Mike Byfield is vice-president of Alberta development at the Frontier Centre.

That’s just what green lobbyists want to do

Energy represents Canada’s best economic and technology bet — by far. Once upon a time, Canadians prided themselves on extracting natural resources — farming, mining, logging, oil drilling and so on. Our workers were as skilled, courageous and productive as any in the world. Following the Second World War, however, Central Canada’s expanding manufacturers began to see themselves as this country’s class acts, while hewing wood and drawing water were sniffily dismissed.

Maybe it’s time to take another look. A really hard look. Ontario’s economic woes aren’t simply the result of cheaper labour in Mexico and Asia, though that factor is critical. Its high-tech champions are being overwhelmed by larger foreign rivals like Apple, Samsung and Cisco. Meanwhile, the resources sector has clocked some big wins. In particular, Alberta’s hard-charging oil producers and service companies have revolutionized the international energy outlook through technological innovation.

Nortel, a Toronto-based telecom giant that was once Canada’s biggest company by many measures, is evaporating into the final stage of bankruptcy. Research in Motion, the BlackBerry smartphone manufacturer, now finds itself reduced from international star to struggling desperately for simple survival. Even the Toronto Stock Exchange, pressed by technology changes in trading, has tried to hand over its future to London.

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Like joining a neighbourhood, says Boor [Cliffs – Sudbury ferrochrome facility] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 9, 2012)

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

Bill Boor felt as if he were among friends Tuesday at a sold-out luncheon of 330 people organized by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce. For Cliffs Natural Resources’ senior vice-president of global ferroalloys, it was like coming home in a sense.

That’s how Boor felt May 9 after delivering the news to investors in Toronto that Cliffs had selected the former Moose Mountain Mine site north of Capreol for its $1.8-billion ferrochrome processing plant.

“We made a lot more people unhappy that day than we made happy,” Boor told the lunch-time crowd. It was a long day, but Boor and other company officials opted to come to Sudbury for a late-afternoon reception with the city’s movers and shakers.

“It was the best thing we ever decided,” Boor told the chamber crowd. “It honestly felt like when you have a very long day at work and you go home.”

In Sudbury this week, Boor met with Mayor Matichuk, Nickel Belt New Democrat MPP France Gelinas and Nickel Belt New Democrat MP Claude Gravelle. All three attended the luncheon, sitting at the same table as Boor.

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Natives have ‘hand out,’ says mine CEO – by Sebastien Perth (Sudbury Star – November 9,2012)

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

The president of a mining company in the middle of a dispute with an aboriginal group in Northern Ontario said he feels he is being “extorted” by the Wahgoshig First Nation.

Darryl Stretch said his company, Solid Gold Resources Corporation, has made a high grade gold discovery near Lake Abitibi in 2011, but can’t explore any further due to a court order.

The Wahgoshig First Nation filed an injunction against Solid Gold to stop its exploration on land they claim treaty rights over, at least until the two groups can come to an agreement.

Solid Gold won a court ruling allowing it to appeal the original injunction decision. That case will be heard in January.

The root of the dispute can perhaps be traced back to a 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision that said the crown had a “duty to consult” with native groups when an activity had the potential to affect treaty rights. The federal government updated its guidelines for federal officials to “fulfill the duty to consult.”

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OPA wants to clear the air [NAN and Solid Gold] – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – November 9, 2012)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

The Ontario Prospectors Association says it wants to meet with high-ranking aboriginal leaders to clear the air after it was accused this week of supporting “radical and racist” tactics at a Sudbury exploration conference.

“We believe there has been a total misunderstanding about this, and we want to sit down and talk with NAN (Nishnawbe Aski Nation),” OPA executive-direct Garry Clark said Thursday from Sudbury.

Clark, who is based in Thunder Bay, emphasized that his organization is anything but racist, and said he was taken aback by the allegation.

“We’re an organization that promotes the province as a place for (mineral) exploration,” he said, noting the Sudbury conference included presentations by aboriginal representatives. About $1 billion worth of mining exploration occurred in Ontario last year, “mostly conflict-free,” among companies and First Nations, Clark added.

An uproar occurred Wednesday afternoon when NAN held a news conference at the conference to denounce what it sees “as a racist media campaign against the Wahgoshig First Nation.”

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Slow burn [Ring of Fire] – by Eavan Moore (CIM Magazine – November 2012)

http://www.cim.org/en.aspx

Tight markets, limited infrastructure and challenging ­relationships test the resolve of those exploring the Ring of Fire

From a geological perspective, the Ring of Fire region contains a little something for everyone. Since De Beers’ 2002 discovery of a copper and zinc-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit at Eagle One, explorers have uncovered chromite, nickel, gold, vanadium, iron and platinum group elements in and around the iconic crescent-shaped cluster of claims. But the extensive cash and patience required to operate in Ontario’s far north have turned junior exploration into a waiting game, as a few high-profile projects promise to open up inaccessible land to further development.

The region’s two heavyweights, Cliffs Natural Resources and Noront Resources, are each advancing a major project to the development stage. That does not lend itself to funder-friendly hype for explorers. “Where we are now in the cycle, there’s not as much flaming news coming out,” says Garry Clark, executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association. And in a generally dry investment climate, he adds, even strong drill results do not seem to move markets.

Operating costs

Exploring in the Ring of Fire – 300 kilometres from the nearest road or rail – takes serious money. Michael Murphy, spokesperson for exploration junior White Pine Resources, sketches out the figures: “Diamond drilling costs are approximately $750 per metre for a small drilling program.

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The quest for fire [Ring of Fire] – by D’arcy Jenish (CIM Magazine – November 2012)

http://www.cim.org/en.aspx

The rewards will be great for those intent on developing Ontario’s new mining district, but they will not come without plenty of hard work and more than a little patience

When Noront Resources made the first major discovery in the nascent mining region, dozens of junior exploration companies rushed into the formidable terrain of swamps, bogs, muskeg and mosquito-infested boreal forest to stake claims. Located near the shores of McFauld’s Lake, some 550 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, the region has yielded three major finds: the Black Thor and Big Daddy chromite deposits, and the nearby Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper-platinum-palladium resource.

Cliffs Natural Resources bought all of Black Thor and owns 70 per cent of Big Daddy. Together, those represent the first major chromite discoveries in North America, and current resource estimates indicate they may be large enough to support multi-generational mines. At the moment, Cliffs intends to develop Black Thor first, and is committed to investing $3.3 billion in that mine and a smelter located at Capreol, just outside Sudbury. Meanwhile, Noront is steadily developing its smaller Eagle’s Nest property close by. However, before either company ships a pound of metal to market, they have some difficult hurdles to clear.

Environmental assessments

Noront has been operating in the shadow of Cliffs, largely because its polymetallic deposits are not judged to be world-class scale, but Noront president and CEO Wes Hanson says the company aims to have an underground mine in production by late 2016 and hopes to be first to produce from the Ring of Fire.

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First Nations level racist charges against mining association – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 8, 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.

A contentious presentation at a mining symposium has raised the ire of a First Nation group and community. Darryl Stretch, president and CEO of Solid Gold Resources, presented at the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium put on by the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA) in Sudbury Nov. 6 and 7.

He has been fighting to resume exploration on his Lake Abitibi area property after an Ontario Superior Court upheld an injunction by nearby Wahgoshig First Nation to cease exploration early this year. The court also ruled that the company did not make an effort to consult with the community despite provincial requests to do so since 2009. Stretch is appealing the earlier court decision and the Divisional Court of Ontario will hear the appeal in January, 2013.

His presentation contained references to First Nations as “hostile third-party governments” and included a cartoon image of First Nation people. His main contention is that the duty to consult First Nations, in relation to exploration, lies with the Crown and not industry.

In response, Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno, along with Wahgoshig First Nation Chief David Babin, is calling on the province to withdraw its support and public endorsement of “racist and radical” mining industry representatives, and named the OPA and another group called Mining United.

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NEWS RELEASE: Batchewana First Nation wants apology from Ontario Prospector’s Association

November 08, 2012

Batchewana First Nation disappointed with Ontario Prospector’s Association

On November 1, 2012, Ontario introduced new rules and tools to the Mining Act to try and balance the interests of the mineral industry, Indigenous Peoples, and private land owners.

Changes in the act attempt to make Indigenous consultation a cornerstone of mineral exploration and mine closure activities.

The Batchewana First Nation is governed by their own law and policies, which include a consultation policy and detailed permitting process that has cultivated positive working relations with several proponents such as Superior Copper Corporation and BluEarth Renewables.

Batchewana First Nation’s Natural Resource department attended the Ontario Prospectors Association’s (OPA) Exploration and Geoscience Symposium on November 7, 2012 where these changes to the Mining Act came under fire.

Solid Gold Resources Corporation President and CEO, Darryl Stretch presented a slide show titled, Deathwatch of the Resource Industry, making claims that the Ontario Government has set mining back to the Stone Age.

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Where have all the cowboys gone? PwC on junior mining – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – November 7, 2012)

http://www.mineweb.com/

“Hold on, don’t give up” is the advice from PwC for those junior explorers and miners who have the financial strength to survive the current downturn.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – 2012 has seen turmoil in the TSX-V junior mining market and for many North American juniors it’s now a “matter of life or death” according to the latest survey of the sector from PwC. The top 100 TSX-V juniors in 2012 have seen a 52% decrease in debt and equity financing compared with a year earlier, and their market capitalisation has declined 43%. It’s thus been a pretty torrid time for junior miners as their financing lifeblood dwindles away.

Investors too are deemed to be far more risk averse and wary of the volatile markets. They appear to be looking increasingly to get more out of their holdings with a bias towards dividend payers (virtually no juniors can provide this by their very nature – only one of the PwC Top 100 juniors pays a dividend) or to those who are coming up with creative ways to give increased exposure to high commodity prices.

And 2013 doesn’t look like it’s going to be much better with those with good assets being particularly prone to falling to bigger predators as cash reserves dwindle and even minimal finance remains virtually impossible to raise for some. Bought deals have fallen drastically – from 43% of all equity raised down to 29%.

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Barrick now eclipsed by Goldcorp for title of largest market cap – by Peter Koven (National Post – November 6, 2012)

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

Barrick Gold Corp. is by far the world’s largest gold producer. It has the most mines and the most reserves. But it is no longer No. 1 where it matters most.

In recent days, Barrick has been eclipsed by Goldcorp Inc. for the title of largest market capitalization in the gold sector. It is an embarrassing development for Barrick, and comes shortly after the company went through a CEO change and reported massive cost escalation at its key growth project.

Goldcorp enjoys a premium valuation that Barrick can only dream of right now. Pawel Rajszel, an analyst at Veritas Investment Research, calculated that Goldcorp trades at 10.7 times forward cash flows, compared to 5.3 times for Barrick. Mackie Research Capital analyst Barry Allan has Goldcorp trading right at net asset value, while Barrick is at a 20% discount.

Their relative valuations prove that production is only a small part of the story when investors compare senior gold miners.

Barrick is aiming to churn out 7.3 to 7.8 million ounces of gold this year, more than triple Goldcorp’s guidance (2.35 to 2.45 million). However, Goldcorp has the better growth profile. While Barrick plans to have a production base of at least eight million ounces by 2015, Goldcorp hopes to reach 4.2 million ounces by 2016, nearly double the current level. And since Goldcorp has much less production, each mine that comes onstream has a greater impact on its earnings and cash flows.

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