Republic of Mining

Provincial Budget reveals a multi-faceted plan to improve Ontario’s finances

March 28, 2012

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.

Everyone will be called upon in different and sometimes unequal ways to make a contribution to improve the province’s finances in the future, according to the Budget delivered by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan yesterday. “Strong Action for Ontario” outlined a combination of spending cuts, administrative streamlining and new revenues to reduce the province’s projected 2011-2012 deficit of $15.3 billion and produce a balanced budget by 2017-2018.

“Right now, the single most important step the Ontario government can take to grow the economy is to balance the budget,” said Mr. Duncan. “We must change the political culture and the way all of us in this legislature and across the province approach and confront the challenges we all face. To ensure strong job growth into the future, Ontario must eliminate the deficit to strengthen the foundation of the economy.”

Mining is mentioned several times in the Budget. Mining companies pay all of the same taxes as corporations in other sectors of the economy. In addition, mining companies are the only enterprises, which pay the Ontario Mining Tax. The Budget has fully endorsed the recommendation of the Drummond Report to review this industry specific tax.

Labrador Trough a promising play in iron ore – by Martin Mittelstaedt (Globe and Mail – March 28, 2012)

March 28, 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.

Canada is a two-bit player when it comes to iron ore production, but that could be in for a dramatic change because of two words: Labrador Trough.

The trough is a little known geographical feature straddling Quebec and Labrador that is causing quite a stir in mining circles. The more than 1,000-kilometre-long, sausage-shaped landform hosts numerous iron ore deposits of a size and grade that suggest they will eventually lead to new mines. Investors should be taking notice because the trough’s ferrous riches, only moderately exploited to date, appear to be on the cusp of rapid development.

“The Labrador Trough has the potential to be a major global area” for iron ore production, contends Jackie Przybylowski, an analyst at Desjardins Securities Inc. who has just issued a 64-page report devoted to the investment prospects of companies active in the region. The firm initiated coverage on five of the area’s pure play iron ore prospects.

New risk spurs oil sands pipeline push – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – March 27, 2012)

March 28, 2012

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

If it feels like new oil sands pipeline plans are being pitched with a sense of urgency, it’s because they are.

There are two primary reasons. With the northern portion of the proposed Keystone XL and Northern Gateway stuck in controversy due to environmental and First Nations opposition, and pipeline capacity out of Alberta expected to fill up in three years, oil companies are putting pressure on pipeline operators to come up with new options so production from places like the oil sands is not stranded or heavily discounted.

And, as tough as it is to get these projects off the ground, what’s also unfolding is a battle between pipeline companies as North American oil production rebounds.

The flurry of moves and counter-moves shows there’s a battle “between a couple of very large gladiators for market share in the oil transportation market in North America,” said Mike Tims, chairman of the Calgary-based investment dealer, Peters & Co., referring to Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corp.

Rush to build pipelines aimed at breaking crude logjam – by Nathan Vanderklippe (Globe and Mail – March 28, 2012)

March 28, 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.

CALGARY— For Alberta’s energy industry, Enbridge Inc.’s (ENB-T38.520.060.16%) plan to build a pair of major pipelines through the heart of North America promises to help break an export logjam that has severely discounted the value of crude surging from the oil sands.

At a cost of $3.8-billion, the Enbridge new pipes won’t be cheap. But for Canadian oil producers, that amount pales in comparison with what they are losing – by one estimate, $18-billion a year – as an export bottleneck weighs on prices for Canadian oil.

A shortage of capacity for moving oil out of the oil sands has stirred a broad rush to build new pipelines to all points of the continent – Kitimat, B.C., Quebec City, Houston.

The battle to build new pipes comes as energy companies seek to gain back some ground, after more than a year of “taking the short end of the stick … simply because we can’t move product,” said Lowell Jackson, chief executive officer of WestFire Energy Ltd. and chairman of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Junior mining firms in ‘revolt’ over native deals – by Jeff Gray (Globe and Mail – March 28, 2012)

April 25, 2012March 28, 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.

On the sidelines of the mining industry’s massive annual conference in Toronto in early March, a group of disgruntled junior exploration companies held a private meeting.

Calling themselves Miners United, the ad-hoc group of about 60 small-firm executives shared concerns about the concessions and cash they say native bands expect from companies looking for minerals on Crown lands that are considered traditional aboriginal territory, where bands retain hunting and fishing rights. Scores of disputes between native groups and mining companies now end up in court.

A landmark 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision said the Crown has a “duty to consult” native bands about development on Crown land that is considered part of a band’s traditional territory. Courts have allowed governments to delegate part of this duty to resource companies, many of whom then negotiate agreements with native groups. But there is a growing backlash among junior miners about these agreements.

Ontario PCs slam Bisson for not defeating the Far North Act – By Ontario Progressive Conservative new release (Timmins Times – March 27, 2012)

March 27, 2012

http://www.timminstimes.com/

PC Norm Miller said Bisson’s vote could have made the difference

While Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson is angry at the decision to sell off Ontario Northland, the PC Party is just as angry with Bisson for not voting to shut down the controversial Far North Act.

The move to repeal the Far North Act was put forward last week by Progressive Conservative MPP Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka), who argued the act is damaging to the North and goes against what most Northerners want.

“This is just another example of bad public policy rammed through by Mr. McGuinty without consultation or accountability to First Nations, municipalities and businesses whose lives and livelihoods have been changed – for the worse.”

Miller’s bill went to the legislature on March 22nd but the Liberals were joined by New Democrats in defeating the second reading of the bill with a vote of 50 to 36.

Timmins disappointed and angry at Premier Dalton McGuinty – by Len Gillis lgillis (Timmins Times – March 27, 2012)

March 27, 2012

http://www.timminstimes.com/

City council lashes out in response to decision to sell Ontario Northland

Mayor Tom Laughren and several Timmins city councilors expressed dismay and disappointment Monday night with Premier Dalton McGuinty and senior ministers at Queen’s Park in light of the announcement last Friday that the Ontario Government plans to sell off the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

Their anger comes in view of the fact that the mayor and several councilors were in Toronto just a few weeks ago to meet with the premier and several cabinet ministers at the annual meeting of the Ontario Good Roads Association.

That is one of the few times in the year when municipal councilors get face time with the Premier and the cabinet to discuss vital issues for the North.

“There was no hint at anytime in our meeting with Minister Bartolucci, or formerly Minister Gravelle, that anything like this was being considered,” Laughren told council Monday night.

[Ontario Northland Railway] ONR paved the way in Northern Ontario – ON THE ROCKS – by John R. Hunt (North Bay Nugget – March 27, 2012)

March 27, 2012

http://www.nugget.ca/

“This has to be in Toronto tomorrow,” my wife said. “Will you take it to the station for me?”

Only old timers will understand much of this column, but I want some younger folk to understand how much the ONR once meant to folk who lived in Northeastern Ontario.

I am still livid. On Friday when I heard that the ONTC was to be killed, it felt as if I had been kicked in the gut. What made it worse was that The Nugget had just published a short piece recalling how Tembec was built out of ruin.

Tembec became a great Canadian success story because management, the workers and the community joined together for a common purpose. Why not the ONTC or Air Canada and too many others?

I took the letter to Cobalt ONR station, which in its time was the biggest and most handsome of its kind. When the southbound train pulled in, I gave the letter to the man running the mail car.

Indigenous Peoples Get Last Word on Mines [in Canada] – by John W. Miller and Alistair MacDonald (Wall Street Journal – March 26, 2012)

March 27, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Canadian Court Ruling Encourages Firms to Seek Cooperation Before Digging Begins, Creating Frustration Over Cost

TORONTO—Annita McPhee, the leader of the 5,000-member Tahltan First Nation in British Columbia, recalls mining-company executives seeking the nation’s chieftains’ permission to dig for coal next to their land.

“They walked in and handed us all blankets, and we were like, ‘What do we need blankets for?’ ” she says. “We showed them the door.”

Lesson one in mining in the mineral-rich, indigenous-inhabited Canadian territories: avoid stereotypes, Ms. McPhee advised executives gathered early this month at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada International Convention, the world’s second-largest mining conference.

After bypassing indigenous peoples in Canada, who inhabit some of the richest lands in the world, mining companies increasingly are realizing that they can’t just hand out blankets and begin drilling.

Gold Fields says skills shortage is mining’s biggest concern – by Ed Stoddard (Mineweb.com – March 26, 2012)

March 27, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland says the escalating shortage of skilled workers is a major concern for executives globally as the industry presses ahead with projects in increasingly tough and remote places.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A worsening shortage of skilled workers is the top worry for mining executives globally as the industry presses ahead with projects in increasingly tough and remote places, the chief executive of world No. 4 gold producer Gold Fields said.

“A lot of people ask me what is my biggest concern. What keeps me awake? Having skilled people available to do the job and go to locations that ordinarily they might not be too keen to go to,” Nick Holland told the Reuters Global Mining and Metals Summit on Monday.

“That is one of the biggest challenges. We are looking to build a whole lot of mines in the future. And getting the right skills to build those mines is a challenge, not only for us, but for the various engineering companies,” he said. The Gold Fields project pipeline ranges from Ghana in West Africa to the Philippines.

Most Controversial Mining Companies of 2011 – by RepRisk

March 27, 2012

RepRisk is the leading provider of dynamic business intelligence on Environmental, Social and Governance risks (ESG).

MOST CONTROVERSIAL MINING COMPANIES OF 2011

The extraction industry is traditionally one of the most criticized by various stakeholders for its negative impacts on communities and the environment. This RepRisk special report focuses on mining companies and their projects in 2011. In order of ranking, the 10 Most Controversial Mining Companies of 2011 were:

1. Alpha Natural Resources
2. Newmont Mining Corp
3. Glencore International
4. BHP Billiton
5. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
6. Rio Tinto
7. Compania de Minas Buenaventura
7. Barrick Gold (equal ranking)
9. Anglo American
9 Vedanta Resources (equal ranking)

These mining giants and their global operations have come under fire for allegedly polluting potable water supplies, scarring landscapes and damaging sensitive ecosystems. There were also numerous allegations detected by RepRisk related to impacts on local communities and effects on the traditional way of life of indigenous peoples. Furthermore, these companies were accused of having poor occupational health and safety standards, which resulted in toxic emissions and accidents that have caused injuries,
fatalities or serious illness.

ONTC cuts: ‘Like a kick in the gut’ – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – March 27, 2012)

March 27, 2012

The provincial government is standing by its decision to sell Ontario Northland. And Northern Ontarians are taking it personally.

“Funny, it’s only when we invest in the North that we’re taking money away from education and health care. When we invest in the south, it’s fine,” Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas said.

Gelinas’s comments come days after Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced the province is divesting itself of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency that offers rail and bus service in Northern Ontario. The government also announced that eight buildings across Ontario, including one in Sudbury, will be sold.

Ontario Northland was at the heart of a question raised by John Vanthof, MPP for Te m i s k a m i n g-Cochrane, in provincial legislature on Monday. “I accused (Bartolucci) of killing the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission. (He said) they’re not killing it. They’re divesting themselves of it. Basically, they’re privatizing it,” he said, adding that he was shocked when the decision was made.

Mining issues front and centre in Queensland’s electoral bloodbath – by Ross Louthean (Mineweb.com – March 26, 2012)

March 26, 2012

www.mineweb.com

The incumbent Labor government in the region experienced the biggest political rout in Australia’s electoral history as the country continues to lurch to the right.

PERTH (MINEWEB) – Even the incoming Liberal National Party (LNP) Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, had not anticipated the biggest political rout in Australia’s electoral history when the incumbent Labor Government lost 48 sitting members which prompted outgoing Premier Anna Bligh to quit politics.

With eight seats in the one-house Queensland Parliament still in the undecided category this morning the Australian Labor Party had five seats and was expected to hold another two while the LNP held 82, the Katter Australian Party (named after firebrand rural politician Bob Katter) has two, and independents retained two.

There will be a by-election called for Anna Bligh’s seat after she said Queenslanders had made it clear she was not wanted. Some commentators said this morning that her seat may now well go to the LNP because Australians don’t like by-elections of this type.

The swing against Labor was about 16% and political commentators were saying yesterday that Queensland Labor was on the nose for a variety of issues, including financial management.

ONTC: Other shoe drops – SOAPBOXING – by Dave Dale (North Bay Nugget- March 24, 2012)

March 26, 2012

http://www.nugget.ca/

It should be a crime for Premier Dalton McGuinty to open his mouth during election campaigns. The Liberal leader has done more to erode voter trust in politicians than any Canadian before him.

The decision to sell off the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, announced shamefully via media teleconference from Sudbury Friday morning, adds another car to a long train of broken promises.

He even left it to Sudbury MPP Minister of Northern Destruction Rick Bartolucci to break the news. In April 2002, McGuinty stopped in North Bay to bolster the campaign of then Grit candidate George Maroosis during the byelection against Conservative Al McDonald.

The Grit leader loved to sign contracts back then. He signed a contract promising the people of Nipissing he wouldn’t sell the provincial agency.