Republic of Mining

Strictly Legal: Creating Cree Corp. makes perfect sense – by Kathryn Leger (Montreal Gazette – April 27, 2012)

April 27, 2012

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

When Cree Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come visited law firm Lavery LLP’s offices recently for a packed encounter with local mining entrepreneurs, his talk began with the up-close and personal.

“I am a son of a hunter, a fisher and a trapper,” said Coon Come, 56, the head of the Grand Council of the Crees, the political body representing Quebec Cree.

“My dad lived on the land and so did my mother. I am a father to five children. I have three daughters and two sons. I am a husband to Mary Ann Coon Come. We have been married for 35 years and I am also a grandfather to two children.”

With that informality out of the way, which he later said is essential to relationship building with the Cree, Coon Come proceeded to enthrall those in attendance as he explained the aboriginal perspective on Quebec’s Plan Nord.

Goldcorp Inc. pledges its commitment to Timmins – by Len Gillis (Timmins Times – April 26, 2012)

April 27, 2012

http://www.timminstimes.com/

Goldcorp holds its first ever corporate annual meeting in Timmins

Goldcorp President and Chief Executive Officer Charles “Chuck” Jeannes told a Timmins audience Thursday that his company has made a substantial investment in both the Porcupine camp and in Porcupine Gold Mines and Goldcorp has every intention of growing that investment.

Jeannes was presiding at Goldcorp’s first ever annual general meeting held outside of Toronto or Vancouver. The meeting, with most of the board of directors in attendance, was held in Timmins in honour of the city’s 100th anniversary celebrations.

“You know we’re a dynamic business and we buy new assets and on occasion we’ve sold assets. I think the fact that we’ve continued to invest so much in Porcupine should be indicative of the commitment we have to this operation,” said Jeannes.

He said the commitment of the company made this year for the Hollinger Project, combined with the decision made in 2010 to expand the Hoyle Pond operation is a commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars and is clear evidence the company has long term plans for the city.

[Goldcorp Latin American] Mine closing sparks concerns – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – April 27, 2012)

April 27, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Activists travel from Central America to share concerns at Goldcorp AGM

Here in Timmins we are reminded of mining operations everywhere we look. It’s written on the sides of trucks, headframes thrust into the skyline and shafts driven deep into the Earth. Here, mining means life, prosperity and reason.

For some in Central America, however, they claim mining means many other things: Suffering, loss of independence and sickness. Activists blame mining corporations.

“Goldcorp does not operate in Honduras and Guatemala the way it does in Canada,” said Reina Gamora, a Honduran school teacher and activist, who made the 6,000-kilometre trek to appeal to the hearts and minds of those who understand mining. “They operate through utilizing the corrupt government that operates in Honduras. They ignore the human rights and environmental impacts their operations have.”

Gamora and two colleagues made the trip to appeal to the shareholders in Goldcorp at the firm’s annual general meeting in Timmins on Thursday. They want to ensure proper cleanup measures are taken as the San Martin mine undergoes its closure process.

Ceremony honours fallen workers – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – April 27, 2012)

April 27, 2012

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

Hans Brasch spent 40 years working in the mines, where every work-related fatality led to the same question. “The question always came up. Who was next?”

Brasch took his first-hand experience to St. Gabriel’s Villa of Sudbury on Thursday, where he participated in a ceremony remembering those who died in the workplace.

The event, which took place for the residents during the villa’s chapel service, comes several days before Canada’s National Day of Mourning on Saturday, which commemorates workers who have been killed or injured on the job.

Several Sudbury miners were included in the list of names read out during the villa’s ceremony, including Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, who died in Stobie mine when they were hit by a run of muck. Miners like Stephen Perry, 47, who died while working at Vale’s Coleman mine this year, were remembered during a moment of silence.

NEWS RELEASE: MacDonald Mines Signs Exploration Agreement with Kasabonika Lake First Nation

April 26, 2012

MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (TSX.V: BMK) (“MacDonald” or “the Company”) is very pleased to announce the signing of an Exploration Agreement with the Kasabonika Lake First Nation (“KLFN”).

In accordance with the Government mandate to advise and consult, MacDonald Mines continues its history of reaching accords with First Nation Communities. The company firmly believes that strong and fair working relationships between the mining exploration sector and First Nation’s traditional beliefs and objectives is the cornerstone of a harmonious interface between both parties.

Kirk McKinnon, President & CEO, commenting “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chief Eno H. Anderson and the Kasabonika Council for their time and desire to reach a fair and responsible agreement with MacDonald Mines. During this negotiating process, we at MacDonald Mines saw and understood the important relationship that the Kasabonika Lake First Nation has and enjoys with their traditional lands.

It is this appreciation of the relationship to their traditional lands that gave MacDonald Mines the necessary understanding to work to find a fair resolution to our negotiations. I am especially gratified at the role the elders, Mr. Geordie Semple and Mr. Harry Semple, played in reaching this agreement in cooperation with Chief & Council. Their comments and passion relating to their traditional lands provided great insight and understanding for MacDonald through this process.”

Huge mining projects in works – by Robert Gibbens (Montreal Gazette – April 25, 2012)

April 26, 2012

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

Quebec-Labrador on track to be world’s third biggest iron-ore draw within decade

Two jumbo projects could turn Quebec-Labrador into the world’s third biggest iron-ore mining region in a decade – and one of them has just deepened its footprint in Quebec.

The jumbos are New Millennium Iron Corp., with international partner Tata Steel of India, and Adriana Resources Inc., with partner Wuhan Iron & Steel Corp., China’s third biggest steelmaker.

Their multi-billion-dollar projects, along with Iron Ore Co. of Canada’s ongoing expansion, a fast-track project by Alderon Iron Ore Corp. with Hebei Iron & Steel Group, China’s biggest steelmaker, and many smaller developments could triple the region’s annual capacity to 150 million tonnes.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., which bought Consolidated Thompson for $4.9 billion last year to merge it with Wabush Mines, is also expanding. Century Iron Mines Corp. and Champion Minerals Inc. are working on key properties. though Oceanic Iron Ore Corp.’s Ungava project is remote. Another contender is Labrador Iron Mines Holdings.

NEWS RELEASE: Newfoundland and Labrador helps Canada maintain its global mining superpower status

April 26, 2012

Rich resources, skilled workforce and large investments poise province for billions in new mining growth

ST. JOHN’S, April 25, 2012 /CNW/ – Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy will benefit from billions in mining investment in the near term as more than $140 billion in new mining investment is expected across Canada over the next five years. This growth is largely attributed to a number of promising projects located in the province, according to the Mining Association of Canada (MAC).

In a speech to members of the St. John’s Board of Trade, MAC President and CEO Pierre Gratton said strong commodity prices, driven by growing demand in rapidly developing nations such as China and India, are creating more opportunities for new mine development and major mine expansions not seen in many years.

“The overall strength of the mining industry is evident in virtually all regions of Canada and will result in numerous economic benefits. This includes the mineral-rich province of Newfoundland and Labrador, which is currently the fifth-largest mining jurisdiction in the country,” said Gratton.

MAC estimates that about $140 billion in mining-related projects are currently proposed in Canada. In Newfoundland and Labrador, that includes billions worth of investments in the iron ore sector from many of the world’s leading mining companies.

Chile $100bn copper push under threat on power scarcity – by Matt Craze (Mineweb.com – April 26, 2012)

April 26, 2012

www.mineweb.com

President of Chilean mining lobby group Consejo Minero, Joaquin Villarino, says the country will have to shelve many of its mining investments due to the high cost and scarcity of electricity.

(Bloomberg) – The biggest-ever pipeline of copper projects is under threat as Chile, the world’s top producer, struggles to contain rising opposition to new power plants.

At least 5,000 megawatts of capacity, including a $5 billion coal-fired plant proposed by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, are facing delays or have been shelved as companies including BHP Billiton Ltd. and Anglo American Plc spend as much as $100 billion on copper and metals projects in Chile.

The country, struck by a power blackout as recently as this week, needs to boost capacity by 47 percent within 8 years to keep pace with consumption. Protesters from fishermen to university students oppose the plants, prompting miners to consider their own projects to help meet China’s copper demand.

Vale sees profit halved – by Jeb Blout and Sabrina Lorenzi, Reuters (Sudbury Star – April 26, 2012)

April 26, 2012

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

RIO DE JANEIRO — Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore miner, said on Wednesday that first-quarter profit fell by nearly half from a year earlier because rains limited exports, prices for its main products fell and spending on new mining projects rose.

Net income in the three months ended March 31 fell 44% to $3.83 billion compared with $6.83 billion a year earlier, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said in a filing to Brazil’s securities regulator.

Results were in line with the average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Reuters. They expected net income to fall to $3.8 billion, 45% less than the year-earlier period and 19.4% less than in the fourth quarter.

“The first quarter is generally the weakest of the year from a financial and operational perspective,” the filing said. “This year, the strong rain volumes in Brazil deepened the seasonal effect on sales and costs, that along with lower prices for iron-ore and pellets cut our operating margins and profit.” Profit was 18% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The drop in profit comes as Chief Executive Murilo Ferreira boosts investment to keep up with strong demand for iron ore, nickel, copper and coal from China and other Asian markets. The high demand comes as output from existing mines falls.

Will pipelines be activist B.C.’s latest trophy? – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – April 26, 2012)

April 26, 2012

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

VICTORIA – During the past few months, the main front in the fight against development of the Alberta-based oil sands has moved to British Columbia. It’s a situation the westernmost province is uncomfortable with and an expansion it’s unmotivated to defend.

The aggressive push by the oil sands industry and the Alberta and federal governments to open a new market for Canadian oil through shipments from the West Coast has been met by equally forceful resistance starting at the AlbertaB.C. border.

Anger has escalated since the start of public hearings in January into the Northern Gateway pipeline, proposed by Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., interrupting years of friendly relations between the neighbouring provinces, particularly on energy development.

Indeed, condemnation of the pipeline through B.C.’s rugged north and its associated oil tanker traffic has erupted into the type of popular revolt that is becoming a B.C. mainstay – from the campaign against the harmonized sales tax to the fight to preserve the Great Bear Rainforest and the moratorium on oil tanker traffic and offshore drilling.

Mining skills battle heats up – by Liezel Hill (Mineweb.com – April 25, 2012)

April 25, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Whether it be a junior, an intermediate or a major, it seems mining companies are scouting the world to find skilled workers for the latest mining boom.

TORONTO (BLOOMBERG) – Bruno Rizzuto’s father, Cesare, was 19 when he got off a boat in Halifax from southern Italy in 1951. With no coat, and “5 cents in his pocket” he headed for the gold mines of Timmins, Ontario, where he worked underground for 41 years.

Six decades later Rizzuto, a Calgary-based recruiter, is looking for people like his father, with a proposal to bring 10 to 20 miners to Canada from South America as companies scour the world to find workers for the latest mining boom.

“There are just simply not the people there, and I think it’s going to be the Achilles heel of the industry,” said Rizzuto, 38, managing partner at Cadre Staffing Inc. “A lot of these projects will not be able to get off the ground because they will not have either the management capacity to do so or the operational workforce.”

Mining companies such as Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) are struggling to fill vacancies amid a skills shortage that stretches from the iron-ore pits of Western Australia to Chile’s copper mines and the gold deposits of Quebec.

NDP sells out the North – by Thomas Perry (Timmins Daily Press – April 25, 2012)

April 25, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Party trades away leverage for a few trinkets, bobbles

The NDP has sold out Northern Ontario for a few trinkets and bobbles. Instead of standing firm and voting against Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s budget unless the province agreed to halt its plans to divest Ontario Northland, the party caved.

“We tried to get the government to bend on the ONTC issue, but they just wouldn’t,” MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) told our sister paper, the North Bay Nugget.

“We put proposals on the table, but the government wasn’t prepared to move on the ONTC. They were hanging on.” Just like they “tried” to get Xstrata to reverse its plans to close our smelter and save close to 700 jobs in Timmins.

Well, guess what? Tried just doesn’t cut it in our books! Are we supposed to hold our collective breath, as Mr. Bisson and his party brethren continue to tilt at windmills?

Budget passes, ONTC fate sealed – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – April 25, 2012)

April 25, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

NDP backs down on ‘regional issue’ to avoid election

The fate of Ontario Northland is not worth triggering a provincial election. This was the message from MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) minutes before stepping into the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to push the much-criticized Liberal budget forward.

“We will allow the budget motion to pass by not voting against it,” said Bisson. “We are essentially choosing to abstain from the issue. We aren’t voting for it because this is still a Liberal budget and there are still things in this budget that we don’t like.”

The provincial NDP are choosing to sit this one out, said Bisson, taking what they can from the budget for the province and hoping that the ONTC doesn’t fall through the cracks. A leap of faith, some might say.

“At this point, people don’t want an election, so we made some amendments to the budget and we are allowing it to move forward,” he said. “If the budget motion was to fail today, we would be in an election by this afternoon.”

Bartolucci brands NDP as ‘hypocritical’- by Jacob Touchette (Sudbury Star – April 5, 2012)

April 25, 2012

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

By not voting against the Liberal budget — which includes plans to get rid of Ontario Northland — the NDP has been “smoked out of their hole” on the issue and exposed as hypocrites, Sudbury’s Liberal MPP said Tuesday.

In a statement, Rick Bartolucci first thanked the NDP for not voting on the budget, which passed Tuesday by vote of 52-37. All Conservatives MPPs voted against the budget, while NDP MPPs simply didn’t vote at all.

It means the budget has passed first reading and that the minority Liberal government was not defeated, thus forcing a provincial election.

Bartolucci then tore into the NDP, which he said cut Ontario Northland Transportation Commission subsidies and services when it was in power almost 20 years ago.

Bartolucci’s post-budget reproach not productive – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – April 5, 2012)

April 25, 2012

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

Why on Earth did Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci feel it necessary to trash the NDP after his government’s budget passed in the legislature Tuesday with the help of a mass abstention by the New Democrats?

As the NDP and the Liberals came closer to a deal that would see Premier Dalton McGuinty’s minority government pass a budget that will allow the province to divest itself of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, the language from the two parties became more respectful, despite the obvious tension.

The NDP convinced the Liberals to agree to a 2% tax on those making $500,000 a year, boost child-care spending by $240 million, provide $20 million for northern and rural hospitals, and increase welfare and disability benefits by 1% ($55 million).

In return, the NDP dropped several demands, including a call to remove the HST on home heating and to retain the ONTC, which provides some bus, rail and communications services in the North.