Neskantaga’s fight to slow down the Ring of Fire and get First Nation consultation over mining hits a Toronto mining court today.
In a case with serious implications for the speed at which Ring of Fire development occurs, Neskantaga will argue to the Ontario Mining Commissioner that First Nation consultation has to happen before industry can buy and sell land on Neskantaga traditional territory.
The specific case revolves around a mining claim dispute between Cliffs Resources and KWG Resources. Cliffs wants to buy land claims from KWG on which to build its proposed Ring of Fire transportation corridor, but Neskantaga argues that First Nations hold rights to the land superseding those of industry.
“This is about a small First Nation in Northern Ontario standing up against an American mining bully hell bent on making a road and a mine no matter what First Nations say,” said Chief Peter Moonias of Neskantaga in a press release. “The McGuinty government continues to ignore First Nations and is desperate to see this northern Ontario mega project go ahead. We have Constitutional and Aboriginal and treaty rights on our side and we hope the Mining Court can help us put this project on hold so a proper consultation process can begin.”
Chief waits for MPPs’ replies [about Sudbury chromite smelter] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – July 6, 2012)
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
The chief of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek (Whitefish Lake) First Nation is waiting for replies from several Ontario cabinet ministers before weighing in on Cliffs Natural Resources’ plan to build a $1.8-billion ferrochrome smelter near Capreol.
Chief Steve Miller said he has asked Premier Dalton McGuinty and at least three of his ministers for meetings to discuss the possible impact of the smelter on his First Nation, located about 20 km west of downtown Sudbury. Miller has concerns about the environmental impact on the Vermillion River Watershed, which he said “flows right in front of our First Nation.”
He has written Sudbury MPP and Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci, Environment Minister Jim Bradley and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kathleen Wynne for meetings to get more information on the smelter.
What he reads about processing chromite ore is troublesome, said Miller. That cabinet ministers not getting back to him has only increased his anxiety.
“There’s so much on the Internet about chromite and nobody knows exactly the effect of it,” he said.
First Nation fights for control in Ontario’s ‘oil sands’ [Ring of Fire] – CBC Radio Thunder Bay (July 5, 2012)
Tiny First Nation takes on an mining giant at obscure provincial tribunal
Ontario’s Mining and Lands Commissioner will hear arguments Thursday about a road to be built in Ontario’s so-called Ring of Fire.
The nickel and chromite deposits in a vast area of the James Bay lowlands have been compared to Alberta’s oil sands in terms of economic potential. Tuesday’s case is a critical battle in the long fight by First Nations to control the pace of development in the most isolated part of the province.
U.S. mining giant Cliffs Natural Resources hopes to build a 340-kilometre road to truck its raw ore south for processing. It would snake across an esker — a long ridge — rising out of the muskeg, cross 85 waterways and three major rivers, and run right through the traditional lands of Neskantaga First Nation.
Chief Peter Moonias, wants a say in how — and even if — the road is built. “We’re not just stakeholders,” Moonias said. “We are people that live on the land that came from the land.”
Mining suppliers cautiously optimistic to the core – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – July 5, 2012)
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.
Craig Kipp’s business is booming. As he walks the floor of Boart Longyear Ltd.’s plant in Mississauga, Ont. , he looks upon row after row of steel drill rods that have no time to gether dust before being shipped to customers from Sydney to Santiago. This year, the Boart factory could hardly be busier. It’s the outlook for 2013 that makes Mr. Kipp a bit uneasy, because the mining world is swooning.
“Is the world more nervous than it was a couple of months ago? Yes,” said Mr. Kipp, the chief executive officer of the South Jordan, Utah-based company. “I’m more nervous.You wouldn’t be breathing in this environment without being a little concerned about what’s going on in Europe, in China and so on.”
But despite a murky outlook for his industry, Mr. Kipp is far from gloomy, energized by customers that include most of the world’s largest miners, which have not let up on drilling.
Every drill and drill bit pushed through the Boart Longyear plant in Southern Ontario has been spoken for, as have those it makes in seven factories around the world to supply companies from Ghana to Guatemala, Tucson to Tierra del Fuego.
Quebec should let the asbestos industry die – Globe and Mail Editorial (July 5, 2012)
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 news that the Jeffrey Mine will reopen may warm some hearts in the Eastern Townships. Nevertheless, the Quebec government’s decision to provide a $58-million loan to Canada’s last asbestos mine is a shameful thing.
As Canadians headed off to the beach and the cottage last Friday, Yvon Vallières, provincial Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and MNA for the riding of Richmond, visited Asbestos, Que. to officially announce the long-promised loan and the reopening. It’s a move that will provide 425 jobs for that community and may help the beleaguered Liberals hold Richmond and other ridings in the region when Premier Jean Charest calls an election. It’s also a move that will risk lives in India, where the mine will ship the white asbestos known as chrysotile for use as a composite in cement.
Although Canadian governments have long maintained that chrysotile is safe if properly handled, the World Health Organization, the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Cancer Society, along with a host of other health and environmental organizations, believe asbestos use should stop because exposure causes lung disease and various cancers.
[Marathon copper palladium] Mine won’t hurt environment – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – July 5, 2012)
The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.
A long-waited environmental report into a proposed copper and palladium mine near Marathon says the project won’t cause any “significant” impacts. The massive report, authored by mine proponent Stillwater Canada, is part of a lengthy review into the project overseen by an independent panel of experts appointed by the provincial and federal governments.
According to Stillwater’s report, the mine on the outskirts of Marathon “will not result in significant adverse effects on renewable resources and is not predicted to result in any significant adverse cumulative effects on the environment.”
If the project passes the environmental review and the company acquires numerous permits, the open-pit mine is forecast to employ 365 people for about a dozen years. The company said earlier that production could begin in about three years.
The report is subject to public input. Deadlines for comments won’t be set until hard copies of the report have been distributed at municipal offices and libraries, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency said.
NEWS RELEASE: Tim Hudak: Time to Break a New Frontier with the Ring of Fire
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario can change course from its slide to rust-belt status, but only with the courage to seize opportunities that lie dormant all around us, PC Leader Tim Hudak said today.
Hudak, a former Minister of Northern Development and Mines, made the comments after returning from the Ring of Fire – a vast, untapped deposit of chromite, nickel, copper, zinc and iron ore in the James Bay Lowlands. Chromite is now especially valuable because it is essential for making stainless steel, in huge demand worldwide because of rapid growth in developing countries. Ontario stands to gain 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, and potential economic activity of hundreds of billions of dollars, by moving the project forward, Hudak added.
“In 2001, Ontario was the world’s Number One in mining,” Hudak said. “By last year we had slipped to twenty-third, thanks to years of high taxes and electricity costs and over-regulation – and a government that seems to think mining is a dirty ‘sunset industry’. That’s wrong. This is a once-in-a-century opportunity for Ontario – but only if the Premier takes the lead in selling it.”
NEWS RELEASE: New President CEO for MIRARCO [Laurentian University mining research]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sudbury, ON, July 3, 2012 – The Board of Directors of MIRARCO Mining Innovation is pleased to announce the appointment of Vic Pakalnis, P.Eng. as President and Chief Executive Officer of the corporation effective July 1st, 2012.
Marc Boudreau, President and CEO of BESTECH and Chairman of the Board of Directors for MIRARCO welcomes Vic to MIRARCO. “Vic’s experience and relationships in both the industrial and public sectors will help to shape strong and vibrant strategic objectives for the long term success of MIRARCO. The Board of Directors looks forward to working with Vic and believe that he will bring; renewed energy, innovative ideas, growth, and diversification to the organization.”
Vic Pakalnis earned a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Mining Engineering and a Master of Engineering Degree from McGill University in 1972 and 1976 respectively. In 1994, he obtained a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University.
Vic brings expertise from a career with various mining companies including Inco Ltd, Iron Ore Company of Canada and Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd. In the later company, he served as their Senior Ground Control Engineer.
Polish PM tours [Sudbury] Morrison deposit during brief visit – by Northern Ontario Business staff (Northern Ontario Business – June 29, 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.
Whirlwind tour
A May sojourn to Sudbury by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was kept so quiet, few knew he had visited the city until he was already gone. The PM made a brief stop in Sudbury to visit the Morrison deposit at Levack Mine, one of three properties owned by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., the Polish, state-run company that bought out Quadra FNX in early 2012.
Quadra now operates as KGHMInternational Ltd., a subsidiary of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., which focuses on growth in copper and other metals. KGHM also owns Sudbury’s McCreedy West and Podolsky mines, as well as the Victoria exploration project.
KGHM accesses the Morrison through the shaft and underground infrastructure at Xstrata Nickel’s Craig Mine, an arrangement agreed upon by the two companies last fall.
Under terms of the arrangement, Quadra will have access to the Craig Mine and infrastructure for the life of the Levack Mine/Morrison deposit, and will operate the Craig shaft and underground infrastructure but will not undertake mining from Xstrata Nickel’s Craig property.
Open minds, open mines [Ring of Fire] – by Russell Noble (Canadian Mining Journal – June/July 2012)
Russell Noble is the editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication.
“Behind-closed-doors” meetings are usually far less important than those on the private side of the door think they are; but when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recently slammed the door on the pestering media to talk about Ontario’s Ring of Fire and its vast chromium deposits, something worthwhile was actually up for discussion.
In fact, I applaud the two leaders for meeting (almost) secretly to talk about one of the hottest issues in Canada’s mining history. Ontario’s chromium is of world-scale proportions and, if and when developed, would put Ontario (and Canada) in the same league as Alberta and its oil sands when it comes to a national resource.
Both Prime Minister Harper and Premier McGuinty know this, and now it’s just a matter of developing a plan to develop this resource without upsetting those who think that mining is bad.
It’s not an easy task, and that’s why I think the recent “closed-door” meeting was tactically correct, because it gave both men a chance to roll up their sleeves and throw the whole matter on the table with¬out fear of their every word being quoted.
Tensions rising over Ring of Fire – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – July 4, 2012)
Matawa First Nations’ efforts to slow down development of the Ring of Fire and advance First Nation input over mining has received support from First Nations across northern Ontario. Both the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and Mushkegowuk Council last week released statements of support for Matawa’s stance.
Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Stan Louttit said offers of “small” Impact Benefit Agreements made by industry to affected First Nations are not enough, and that First Nation voices need to be heard when it comes to how and when mining happens in northern Ontario.
“We too are very frustrated with how the project is being aggressively advanced with little or no regard for First Nations rights and jurisdictions,” Louttit said. The Grand Chief said that Mushkegowuk First Nations are prepared to engage in direct action against Ring of Fire companies in support of the Matawa First Nations.
“We are ready to stand with our brothers and sisters to be heard,” Louttit said. “We have tried, but no one has listened. It is unfortunate indeed that we have to resort to this type of action.”
In Peru, Chinese mining firm moves a town to get to the copper underneath – by Caroline Stauffer (Globe and Mail/Reuters – July 4, 2012)
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.
MOROCOCHA, PERU — Reuters – High in the Andes mountain range, a Chinese mining company is now in the housing construction and demolition business as it works to relocate a Peruvian town that sits in the way of its $2.2-billion (U.S.) Toromocho copper mine.
By late July, state-owned miner Chinalco says it will finish building a new city of paved roads and multistorey homes for 5,000 people currently living on the side of a giant red mountain of copper 4,500 metres above sea level.
Residents from the poor, ramshackle town of Morococha, where children attend school steps away from discarded mine tailings, will get access to amenities they currently lack, like modern water, sewage and electrical systems. They will all also own their homes and no one will need to pay rent.
Chinalco calls the new $50-million town the biggest privately funded social project in Peru’s mining history and it may help the company avoid community opposition that has stalled other major projects.
NEWS RELEASE: KWG Provides Big Daddy Resource Update
MONTREAL, QUEBEC–(July 4, 2012) – KWG Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KWG) has taken delivery of a 43-101 compliant resource estimate from Sibley Basin Group. The resource estimate is an update based on a 42-hole core-drilling program totaling 13,459 metres completed in March, 2012, and managed by the project operator, Cliffs Chromite Far North Inc. The objective of the program was to upgrade resources to the indicated and measured categories, suitable for use in mine design.
At a 15% cutoff, the measured resource is 29.5 MT, grading 29% Cr2O3, the indicated resource is 7.9 MT grading 26.7% Cr 2O3, and the inferred resource is 4.8 MT grading 25.0% Cr2 O3. The previous resource estimate prepared by Micon International (KWG PR, May 3rd, 2010) also modeled the deposit at a 15% cutoff and produced an indicated resource of 26.4 MT grading 39.37% Cr2 O3. The Micon indicated resource corresponds to the Sibley combined measured and indicated of 37.4 MT grading 28.5% Cr2O 3. The lower grade and higher volume of the new model contemplates the use of a less selective approach to mining and incorporates lower grade material, resulting in a lower average grade. Moe Lavigne, VP Exploration and Development stated, “Decisions on selectivity of mining will be subject to change during ramp-up to production and during production as the market conditions dictate.”
The most significant difference between the two resource estimates is in the inferred category. The Micon model extrapolated the depth continuity to 250 to 300 m beyond the drilling intercepts while the new model extrapolates the resource to only 50 m beyond drilling. For the purpose of mine planning, this conservative approach is more prudent.
The case for opening up Canadian businesses to foreign ownership – by Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew (Toronto Star – July 4, 2012)
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.
Foreign ownership can help Canadian businesses get an injection of new capital and gain access to international supply chains or new technology, says Laura Dawson, a researcher, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa, and a consultant on cross-border trade, market access, and regulatory issues.
“Foreign investors can help Canadian businesses do things they couldn’t do on their own,” she said. “You can develop an industry domestically but in order to take it to the next step, you often have to have an infusion of foreign capital or know-how.”
Canadian high-tech firm Newbridge Networks, for instance, was acquired by telecommunications giant Alcatel for more than $7 billion in 2000. At the time, Newbridge was floundering with poor earnings and a sinking stock price.
Today, Alcatel-Lucent is headquartered in France and ranks among the world’s telecom powerhouses. It is also considered one of the most innovative companies in the world.
The case against opening up Canadian businesses to foreign ownership – by Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew (Toronto Star – July 4, 2012)
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.
Erin Weir, economist for the United Steelworkers, doesn’t dispute the potential upside of new investment, but he says it’s important to consider the potential pitfalls of foreign takeovers – particularly the loss of Canadian head offices and the jobs that go with them.
For unions, a foreign owner can lead to a loss of bargaining power. The United Steel Workers had substantial bargaining power with Inco but that changed when Vale bought the company in 2007.
“Then the unions representing Canadian miners had a lot less negotiating power because Vale operates mines producing the same commodities around the world,” Weir said. Not only are they more difficult to bargain with, but foreign managers are less tolerant of Canadian norms, Weir said.
“We have found that foreign employers have been especially aggressive in trying to take away defined benefit pensions. That probably reflects the fact that in many countries, an employer would not be expected to provide a pension,” he said. “Managers of multi-national corporations are often not very accepting of the need to provide defined benefit pensions in Canada.”