Republic of Mining

McGuinty to defend his budget in the north – by Maria Babbage (National Post – June 23, 2012)

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012

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

“I wish we had a few more Sudburys around the province,” Mr. McGuinty said.
“Frankly, you’re doing so well and experiencing so much growth. So we’ll ask
ourselves what can we learn from the examples that are right in front of our
eyes here in Sudbury.”

SUDBURY – Premier Dalton McGuinty is in for a bumpy ride in northern Ontario this weekend in spite of his attempts to smooth over the budget crisis that pushed the province to the brink of an election, critics say.

Now that the budget has passed and an election is averted, Mr. McGuinty will have to appease northerners who are angry that he’s privatizing Ontario Northland rail service after promising not to do so, the New Democrats say.

He’ll also have to explain why his budget doesn’t do much to create jobs in the north, which has lost 9,000 jobs since the Oct. 6 election and where the unemployment rate is the highest in the province at 10.4%, said the Progressive Conservatives.

“The premier is here in northern Ontario where this budget did absolutely nothing for the 60 mills that are closed, the 10,000 resource-sector jobs that we lost, the skyrocketing hydro rates that caused Xstrata Copper to move from Timmins to Quebec and shed 670 jobs in a community of 45,000,” said Vic Fedeli, the party’s energy critic.

Canada’s pink gold rush [Saskatchewan Potash] – Marc Davis (National Post – June 25, 2012)

June 25, 2012

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

With the precious cargo slung over his shoulder, Vikram Singh strides through his field spreading the white granular stuff where it matters most. “I can’t afford to waste any … I had to buy it on the black market,” says the 38-year-old farmer from Dostpur Mangroli village in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

For the past two decades, Mr. Singh has toiled his field for wheat and rice to feed his family of six, using the white stuff to stimulate the crops and his livelihood in India’s once-fertile Gangetic Plain.

“I have to use more and more because the land is not as good as it once was … This is not only expensive, it’s very hard to get,” says Mr. Singh, who paid twice the retail amount of 1,200 rupees (about $23) for a bootleg 50-kilogram bag of the white stuff – potash-based fertilizer.

Like Mr. Singh, farmers around the world are demanding better access and prices to the indispensable and irreplaceable pink salt known as potash, which optimizes the delivery of nutrients to plants.

B.C. Fraser River’s mining history still shaping waterway’s future – by Randy Boswell (Victoria Times Colonist – June 23, 2012)

June 24, 2012

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

British Columbia residents facing a flood emergency this weekend can partly blame 19th-century gold miners for their woes.

Two Canadian scientists have shown how the Fraser River — the waterway at the heart of British Columbia’s history, and currently the focus of a flood threat in Abbotsford and elsewhere in B.C.’s Lower Mainland — was significantly altered by 19th-century fortune seekers, whose dumped mine tailings from the Fraser’s gold-rich banks and tributaries accumulated at critical points along the southern course of the river and continue inching toward its Pacific outlet today.

The study of the ongoing “geomorphic impact” of 1800s-era placer mining in the Fraser watershed, co-authored by UBC researchers Andrew Nelson and Michael Church and published in the latest Geological Society of America (GSA) Bulletin, argues that present-day flood and fishery management for the 1,375-kilometre river — B.C.’s longest — need to account better for the “legacy effects” of the Gold Rush and carefully distinguish between the pre-1858, “natural” state of the Fraser’s riverbed and its post-Rush condition.

Millions of tonnes of gravel flushed into the Fraser by miners as early as 154 years ago have been “accumulating in the river in the Lower Mainland throughout the 20th century,” Church told Postmedia News.

How will the city [Sudbury] capitalize on investment and growth? – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – June 23, 2012)

June 23, 2012

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

Click Here For the Speech: City of Greater Sudbury Mayor Marianne Matichuk “State of the City Address”

Mayor Marianne Matichuk’s State of the City address this week was more of a review than a visionary speech. There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as it captures what’s important on her agenda. But the speech spent a lot of time explaining how mining is important to the city — in case you were wondering — and why Sudbury is important to the mining world.

All speeches make room for reflection, but they also need to generate excitement and show what will come of all that potential.

Some of that potential was there, in the speech, but the buzz just wasn’t galvanized for a city that is expected to move into an expansion phase that it hasn’t seen for years. The mayor’s speech was sprinkled with affirmation phrases: “Sudbury is the epicentre of Canada’s hard-rock mining sector”; “there is an incredible sense of energy and prosperity in the air”; “Sudbury is an island of prosperity”; “no one in this entire country can begrudge our community its moment in the sun.”

Timmins working to attract New Brunswick mine workers to the city – by TEDC News Release/The Timmins Times (June 22, 2012)

June 23, 2012

http://www.timminstimes.com/

Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) travels to Bathurst, NB where mine is closing next year

Timmins is heading to the east coast of Canada to see if it can find more skilled mine workers to come to the City With a Heart of Gold.

Cheryl St-Amour, from the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC), has travelled to Bathurst New Brunswick with representatives of Xstrata Copper Kidd Operations to promote the City of Timmins, and specifically, www.jobsintimmins.com said a news release from TEDC. Cheryl St-Amour noted that the “jobsintimmins” website has now become a central source of information on available employment opportunities in the City of Timmins, said the release.

Bathurst is home to the Brunswick Mine, an Xstrata Zinc operation. In March 2012, the company announced that Brunswick Mine would close in 2013 after almost half a century of mining activity. More than 800 people will be seeking to use their skills at other projects. These employees consist of a variety of skilled and unskilled workers, equipment operators, professionals and other mining related positions, said TEDC.

Xstrata Zinc is working to assist employees and their families transition to new opportunities and have been holding both internal and external job fairs for employees.

Job-hungry Alberta scours globe for workers – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – June 23, 2012)

June 23, 2012

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

CALGARY – For the past seven years, the mining community of Baia Mare in Romania’s northern interior has eagerly stepped up to alleviate Alberta’s labour shortages. For Joe Giusti, founder and CEO of one of Western Canada’s largest construction companies, it was a long way to travel to search for workers.

It was hard, too, once he found them. His firm, Giusti Group, had to teach recruits basic English so they would understand safety regulations. They had to meet rigid immigration requirements for temporary foreign workers. They had to be moved to an unfamiliar work environment, and sent back home just as they were getting used to their new jobs and way of life.

Yet Mr. Giusti was so encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by hundreds of young people who answered his calls for carpenters, cement finishers and general labourers, and by their performance in Alberta, he led recruitment missions there several times. Meanwhile, he was pleased to notice how the local community’s economy flourished from a steady influx of Alberta oil cash, as people dressed better, bought new furniture and renovated houses.

“When I went to Romania the first time, it brought me back to the 1960s in Italy,” said the builder, who since moving to Western Canada four decades ago from Treviso, near Venice, completed more than 50,000 multi-family units and took on some of the West’s biggest industrial projects, even as he fine-tuned a passion for oil painting using Titian’s colour techniques.

[Ontario] Premier determined to mine Ring of Fire, despite opposition – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – June 23, 2012)

June 23, 2012

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

“We’ve been blessed with some rich mineral deposits (in Ontario). There will be
some stops and starts (in the development), as is human nature,” he said. “If
you bring some good will to the table, it’s amazing what you can get done.”
(Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty – June 22, 2012 – Sudbury)

Premier Dalton McGuinty is determined to work through any complications that threaten Ring of Fire development, he said while at a Vale event in Sudbury. “We need to find a way to work through any differences,” he said. “It’s not an option not to find a way.”

McGuinty’s comments come after six northwestern Ontario First Nations communities threatened to prepare eviction notices for mining companies working in the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich area located about 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay. These communities are demanding to be more involved in any decisions made in the area.

When asked if he is concerned about growing First Nations opposition to Ring of Fire development, McGuinty remained optimistic.

“We’ve been blessed with some rich mineral deposits (in Ontario). There will be some stops and starts (in the development), as is human nature,” he said. “If you bring some good will to the table, it’s amazing what you can get done.”

First Nations plan to evict mining ‘intruders’ – CBC Radio Thunder Bay (June 22, 2012)

June 23, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Northwestern Ontario communities aim to stop development in the Ring of Fire until First Nations’ concerns are met. Six northwestern Ontario First Nations are preparing eviction notices for mining companies working in the Ring of Fire.

Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming , Long Lake 58, Neskantaga and Nibinamik plan to give the companies 30 days to cease all activity.

Neskantaga chief Peter Moonias said unless there are government-to-government negotiations over First Nations’ participation in the mining projects, the communities will evict what he calls the intruders on their lands. The chiefs have been calling for those negotiations for more than two years.

“Cliffs, Noront and all the other mining companies active in the Ring of Fire will have 30 days from the time the eviction notice is served to pack up their bags and leave our lands,” Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation said. His comments were echoed by Chief Johnny Yellowhead of Nibinamik First Nation.

MEDIA RELEASE: Chiefs Take Action and Prepare Eviction Notice to Mining Companies working in the Ring of Fire

June 22, 2012

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA – JUNE 22, 2012: Six Northern Ontario First Nations who will be impacted by the proposed mines and infrastructure development in the Ring of Fire are in the final stages of issuing a 30-day eviction notice to all mining companies with exploration and development camps in the region. The forthcoming eviction notice for a moratorium on all Ring of Fire mining activity will come from the First Nation communities of Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming, Longlake #58, Neskantaga, and Nibinamik. Other First Nations in the area will also have the opportunity to sign on before it is distributed.

Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation said, “Cliffs, Noront and all the other mining companies active in the Ring of Fire will have thirty days from the time the eviction notice is served to pack up their bags and leave our lands.”

Chief Peter Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation said, “We are sending a strong message to Ontario and Canada that we need to negotiate a process for First Nation participation in the mining projects that will be changing our lives forever. Unless and until we have a table for government to government negotiations we will evict the intruders from our lands.”

Chief Johnny Yellowhead of Nibinamik First Nation said, “All the Memorandums of Cooperation in the world cannot hide the fact that there are no negotiations or agreements in place with Ontario and Canada to deliver First Nation decision making, a full and thorough regional environmental assessment with hearings in our communities and resource revenue sharing.

Media Release: New public opinion polling shows significant support for First Nations benefiting from Ring of Fire mineral development

June 22, 2012

Municipality of Greenstone and Aroland First Nation release polling results

(Greenstone, ON, June 22, 2012) Ontario-wide polling indicates that while there is a low level of awareness of the massive Ring of Fire mineral find, Ontarians believe that area First Nations have an important role in shaping the area’s future. The poll was undertaken in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Municipality of Greenstone and Aroland First Nation (a member of the Matawa Tribal Council).

The telephone poll of 1,000 randomly selected Ontarians was conducted June 8 – 13, 2012 by OraclePoll Research.

Greenstone Mayor, Renald Beaulieu observed, “This research was undertaken to better understand Ontarians’ opinion of the position that Greenstone supports – that, Ring of Fire resources should be processed in or smelted in the First Nation territory where they are found. The polling indicates that many more people support this position than oppose it.”

Aroland First Nation Chief, Sonny Gagnon commented, “We are extremely pleased with these research findings; they validate what we have known for a long time. It is important for us to know that the majority of Ontarians support the position that we the First Nations should not allow the mining to happen unless processing occurs in our territory.”

NEWS RELEASE: VALE BREAKS GROUND ON HISTORIC $2 BILLION CLEAN AER PROJECT

June 23, 2012June 22, 2012

(L to R) David Pearson, Laurentian University Biology Professor; Kelly Strong, VP of Vale’s Mining and Milling, North Atlantic Operations, and General Manager of Ontario Operations; John Pollesel, Chief Operating Officer of Vale Canada and Director of Vale’s North Atlantic Base Metals; Rick Bartolucci, Sudbury MPP and Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines; Marianne Matichuk, City of Greater Sudbury Mayor; Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario; Jim Bradley, Ontario Minister of the Environment; Dave Stefanuto, Vale Clean AER Project Director

For Immediate Release

SUDBURY, June 22, 2012 – Joined by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, government cabinet ministers, community leaders, local residents and employees, Vale today officially broke ground on its $2-billion “Clean AER Project”, one of the largest single environmental investments in Ontario’s history.

The Clean AER Project, where AER stands for ‘Atmospheric Emissions Reduction’, will see sulphur dioxide emissions at Vale’s smelter in Sudbury reduced by 70% from current levels, as well as dust and metals emissions reduced a further 35 to 40%. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015.

“This is an historic day for Vale and demonstrates the importance that Greater Sudbury plays in our global operations,” said John Pollesel, Chief Operating Officer of Vale Canada Limited and Director of Vale’s North Atlantic Base Metals operations. “Starting today, we are building a lasting legacy for our employees, the community and future generations who will live and work in Greater Sudbury, and that is truly a reason to celebrate.”

[Ontario Mines Minister] Bartolucci talks resource revenue sharing – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – June 21, 2012)

June 22, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Ontario is committed to discussing resource revenue sharing with First Nation communities. “As you know, Ontario has committed to our First Nations community to have that discussion in regards to resource revenue sharing,” said Rick Bartolucci, minister of Northern Development and Mines during the 2nd Annual Ontario Mining Forum, held June 19 at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay.

“Ontario is also calling on the federal government for financial commitments to help share the costs associated with regional infrastructure and social economic supports for First Nation communities,” Bartolucci said.

Resource revenue sharing and social, economic and community supports were among the key issues addressed in the June 12 signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between Ontario and Webequie.

“There were some key areas that (Webequie) Chief (Cornelius) Wabasse and his community wanted us to become involved in,” Bartolucci said. “Some of that was the regional environmental monitoring, regional infrastructure, the discussion about resource revenue sharing, the opportunity to bring the federal government to the table.”