Republic of Mining

[Northwestern Ontario] Treaty 3 bans 60 mining companies from territory – by Jon Thompson (Kenora Daily Miner and News – April 5, 2012)

April 6, 2012

http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/

A coalition of junior mining companies who observed “a revolt is taking place” with respect to First Nations consultation is no longer welcome in Treaty 3 traditional territory.

Representatives of Miners United spoke to the Globe and Mail last week, saying the 60-member organization was taking a “hard line” stance on consultation. They accused First Nations of demanding compensation rather than consultation and raising prices for junior companies to explore in their traditional territory.

“We disagree strongly with the hard-line tactics discussed at the Miners United forum,” said Treaty 3 Grand Chief Diane Kelly in a release. “In many instances, Treaty 3 communities have developed strong partnerships with mining companies because of the early commitment of companies to talk with us, build our capacity to understand the projects and the real impacts and potential benefits.”

Kelly called the Miners United statements “hurtful” and “full of stereotypes,” pointing out gold was an important part of negotiations leading up to signing Treaty 3. She argued Grand Council Treaty 3’s definition of consultation defines a constitutionally sound process and was clear Miners United’s member companies “will not be tolerated” in the territory.

GRAND COUNCIL TREATY #3 NEWS RELEASE: CONTROVERSIAL “MINERS UNITED” GROUP WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN TREATY #3 TERRITORY – TREATY #3 COMMUNITIES PROMMISED TO SHARE IN MINERAL WEALTH IN THEIR TERRITORY

April 9, 2012April 6, 2012

Grand Council Treaty #3 – Office of the Ogichidaakwe

Kenora – March 30, 2012

News

Earlier this week, the Globe and Mail reported on a meeting of a group of junior mining companies who have met under the name “Miners United.” In the March 27, 2012 newspaper account a “revolt” by the group was said to be happening because of First Nations’ requests for Resource Benefit Sharing, compensation for loss of Treaty Harvesting Areas, and capacity building.

“We agree that the Crown must do more than what is now being proposed within the Mining Act regime,” said Treaty #3 Ogichidaakwe (Grand Chief) Diane Kelly. In responding to the article, Kelly added, “we disagree strongly with the ‘hard-line’ tactics discussed at the Miners United forum.”

She added that the Grand Council Treaty #3 Chiefs-in-Assembly found the comments in the article to be totally unacceptable by depicting community leaders as greedy and money-hungry. “We see ourselves as protectors of the land,” she said.

In many instances, Treaty #3 communities have developed strong partnerships with mining companies because of the early commitment of companies to talk with us, build our capacity to understand the projects and the real impacts and potential benefits,” Kelly said.

Mining Now – Sit down together, show each other respect, and lets get things done – by James Murray (NetNewsLedger.com – March 30, 2012)

April 6, 2012

http://netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – It could be suggested that instead of sitting down to work toward real solutions, the Ontario Government has established a platform for what might be a massive fight between junior mining companies and First Nations. Perhaps the epi-centre of that fight has already started in the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (KI).

The McGuinty Government has moved twice now to buy out mining companies, and has moved on its own from what the Chief of KI, Donny Morris is reporting, first to take out lands from mining exploration, and second in buying out the mining companies rather than open talks and sit down with all concerned parties and serve as a responsible government might do.

The solution offered by Minister Bartolucci in first taking all lands in the KI land claim out of contention for mining, and second in buying out the mining company sends the wrong messages to First Nations, miners, prospectors and investors.

Junior mining companies are banding together in a group called Miners United to start working together to oppose some of the efforts by First Nations on land claims. Some of the concerns being raised are because it appears that the McGuinty Government is more interested in the optics of looking good in Toronto rather than working to solve real problems.

Canadian junior miners claim ‘lack of industry support’ in disputes with First Nations – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 29, 2012)

April 6, 2012

www.mining.com

Cecilia Jamasmie is a news editor at MINING.com.

Canadian exploration companies feel their industry association doesn’t hear them, Neal Smitheman, a lawyer who represents junior mining companies in disputes with First Nations, told CBC.

According to the attorney, the Prospectors and Developers Association tries, but fails to represent both parties. Smitheman represents a group of 60 junior companies, which call themselves “Miners United.”

“Some people think that PDAC, by trying to accommodate both First Nations and the industry, finds itself in an unresolvable conflict from time to time,” he told CBC.

The Globe and Mail reports this group got together at the recent PDAC, in Toronto, only days after the Ontario government withdrew from exploration all lands near the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) community, 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The decision was in response to opposition by that band, which has opposed any mining activity on what they consider its traditional territory.

NEWS RELEASE: Rainy River Resources Signs Participation Agreement with Rainy River Area First Nations

April 5, 2012

04/03/2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – April 3, 2012) – Rainy River Resources Ltd. (“Rainy River” or the “Company”) (TSX:RR) and the Naicatchewenin First Nation, Rainy River First Nations, Mitaanjigamiing First Nation, Couchiching First Nation, Lac La Croix First Nation and Seine River First Nation (together, the “First Nations”) are pleased to announce the signing of a Participation Agreement (“PA” or “Impact and Benefits Agreement”) with respect to the development and operation of the Company’s Rainy River Gold Project, located in Northwestern Ontario. The PA is the culmination of negotiations initiated by the parties pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding entered into in May of 2010.

The PA was developed together with the First Nations, each of which is a member of the Fort Frances Chiefs Secretariat, in order to define their participation in the development and operation of the Rainy River Gold Project. The agreement identifies key project milestones and ways to work together with the First Nations, as the Company initiates mine environmental assessment and permitting in 2012.

The PA sets out a schedule of benefits that the First Nations communities will receive, including employment and business opportunities, funding to support skills development, occupational training and education, as well as equity participation. The PA reflects the Company’s continued commitment to environmental stewardship, respect for First Nations’ traditional culture and values and the need for economic sustainability.

Sudbury wins? [Cliffs Natural Resources ferrochrome plant] – by Leith Dunick (tbnewswatch.com – April 4, 2012)

April 5, 2012

www.thbnewswatch.com

For the video newscast click here: http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Video/24256/No-Processor

Mayor Keith Hobbs said the writing’s been on the wall for a year or more, and the message probably isn’t a good one for Thunder Bay. Hobbs was reacting Monday to news that Cliffs Natural Resources’ suggestion the mining giant is still working with its best case scenario location for a much-sought after ferrochrome processing plant and it’s likely Sudbury will be made the official location.

A decision could come in a matter of weeks. Hobbs called the decision disappointing, though hasn’t entirely given up hope the project and 500 jobs can be salvaged for Thunder Bay.

“We wouldn’t be surprised by that,” Hobbs said. “The Northwest, NOMA and the City of Thunder Bay, we were all prepared for that.

“When we went to Cliffs last year in Cleveland and met with them, they told us that when they found out the Kinghorn (rail) line was gone, that we dropped from base case to maybe second base case. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if it went to Sudbury at all.”

Andrew Mitchell, a director of development for Cliffs Chromite Ontario Inc., said the final decision will come down to one factor – energy.

Ontario Mining Act Modernization: The Repercussions – by David S. Hunt, P. Geo. (April 3, 2012 – Thunder Bay, Canada)

April 5, 2012April 4, 2012

David Hunt is the President of the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association. This speech was given at the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association at the Northwestern Ontario Mines and Minerals Symposium

The coming, modernized mining act, is set to dump a whole new pile of rules and regulations upon us, starting this coming summer.

The Act, originally designed to address a few very valid complaints from First Nations Communities and private land owners, has mushroomed into a mass of plans, permits, regulations, bureaucrats, trainers, go-betweens and compliance officers who will give you a ticket if you break the rules.

Instead of tweaking a few regs that would have made things work better, the government has created a sledgehammer to swat a few mosquitoes. And I fear, when they start to swing that hammer, that it will end up doing a whole lot of unintended damage.

It will take you much longer to gain approval to explore.

Canada’s mining boom takes a back seat to no industry – by Philip Cross (Globe and Mail – April 4, 2012)

April 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.

Instead, mining’s rapid closing-in on manufacturing reflects the continuing
flood of money into this sector, not a relative weakness in manufacturing….
Even in Ontario, the $3.4-billion of investment in mining is half of all the
investment by its manufacturing sector, which is mistakenly held to be the key
to its wealth. (Philip Cross – April 4, 2012)

Philip Cross is a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute and former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada

The recent release of the annual survey of business investment is, for me, among the most important data releases from Statistics Canada. If eyes are the window to the soul for humans, then investment is the window to understanding what firms are thinking, not just this year, but their plans for the future.

As interesting as the overall increase of about 8 per cent in business investment intentions for 2012 was its industrial composition. The surge of energy investment is well-known, led by the oil sands. What is less appreciated is the historic boom in mining investment, which has lifted capital spending in this sector to nearly $16-billion, not far from the $20-billion Canada invests in all of its manufacturing industries.

[Northwestern Ontario] Aboriginal mining careers promoted in training portal – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – March 26, 2012)

April 4, 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. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Mining 101

Aboriginal youth in northwestern Ontario are getting a head-start on training opportunities in the mining industry.

Oshki-Pimanche-O-Win Education and Training Institute is receiving more than $700,000 from Ottawa and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to inform and steer young people in the 16-to-29 age range toward careers in the minerals sector.

A project called Learning 2 Mine will provide training and work experiences in the industry for Aboriginal youth in Northern Ontario. The project will focus on increasing “mining literacy” and training them in essential skills.

Gordon Kakegamic, Oshki-Pimanche-O-Win’s e-learning coordinator, said the first part of this two-phase project is a sort of Mining 101 course, giving young people some fundamental knowledge of this industry sector.

Gilbertson ‘very, very bullish’ on platinum-group metals – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – April 2, 2012)

April 4, 2012

www.mineweekly.com

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining industry doyen Brian Gilbertson, who has been involved in several landmark industry-making investments, foresees South Africa’s platinum endowment as providing the potential for yet another industry-making surge.

Besides the outlook of growing demand and struggling supply, there is a snowballing conviction that South Africa could and should become the first mover in creating a kind of ‘Platinum Valley’ that emulates the great Silicon Valley success of the US – and Gilbertson’s Newco is willing to stride towards that potential goal, with the full backing of the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), exciting new technology that is poised to assist in adding value and a local community leader who is champing at the bit to see that it happens in his area.

“Being a miner and a beneficiater will allow shareholders to participate in the entire value chain,” Newco’s Arne Frandsen tells Mining Weekly Online in a video interview (see attached).

The IDC, which currently has R100-billion-plus on its balance sheet, is part of a special task force that, together with the R23-billion Newco, is driving the beneficiation initiative.

Northerners must seize their own destiny — now – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – April 4, 2012)

April 4, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper and Wayne Snider is the city editor.

Don’t expect NDP MPPs to save Ontario Northland

Is it possible that one of the reasons the provincial government wants to scrap the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission is that it’s too helpful to Northeastern Ontario? The ONTC has a long history of being progressive in terms of economic development for the region.

In recent history, it was the ONTC that stepped up to the plate to help establish a phosphate mine near Kapuskasing by creating a new spur directly to the site.

And it was the ONTC that recently joined Timmins officials during discussions for a chromite processing facility from the Ring of Fire Project — the biggest mineral discovery in Ontario in the last 100 years. Ontario Northland isn’t just a key component to development in the North, it is part of the North.

Race on to dig new zinc mines as old ones run dry – by James Regan (Mineweb.com – April 3, 2012)

April 3, 2012

www.mineweb.com

With experts saying zinc could be in deficit by 2017 if not earlier, miners from Australia to Africa to the European Union are racing against time to attract investment in new projects.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Zinc miners are betting a long-running global supply glut of the metal used in steel making will turn into a deficit over the next five years as old mines run dry, sparking massive investment in new projects.

From Australia to Africa to the European Union, mining firms are laying the groundwork to dig up an additional 1 million tonnes-plus of zinc annually, nearly one-tenth of world consumption and more than is parked in London Metal Exchange warehouses already overflowing with unsold metal.

Zinc could be in deficit by 2017 if not earlier, experts say, as consumption rises in China, steel manufacturing picks up in Europe and North America and – most importantly – several super deposits run dry, forcing buyers to dip into swollen producer and exchange stockpiles.

Research, innovation bolstered by federal budget [Sudbury mining innovation] – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – April 3, 2012)

April 3, 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.

It was an admittedly bittersweet occasion for Darryl Lake when FedNor Minister Tony Clement visited Sudbury’s Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT) March 30.

Lake was pleased to guide Clement, a long-time friend and supporter, on a tour of the innovation centre, but it was also Lake’s last day at the helm of the organization, which he played an essential role in shaping. And the poignancy of the day wasn’t lost on Clement.

“There’s no way you can capture an understanding of NORCAT without feeling the passion and the commitment of Darryl Lake over the years,” he said in an address. “Really, it’s such a moment for this organization, but I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for everything you’ve put into this. You’ve put your body and soul into this organization.”

Clement, president of the federal treasury board, assured Lake and others that FedNor’s support of NORCAT—which, since 2008, has totalled $3.4 million—would be bolstered through Budget 2012 and the federal government’s Economic Action Plan.

British Columbia to spend C$25bn improving Asian trading opportunities – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – April 3, 2012)

April 3, 2012

www.mineweb.com

BC’s Premier announced Monday the launch of the Pacific Gateway Transportation Strategy which aims to expand Canadian mining exports to Asia

RENO (MINEWEB) – British Columbia Premier Christy Clark Monday launched the new Pacific Gateway Transportation Strategy 2012-2020 to expand international trade in coal, potash, minerals, forest products, grain, container traffic and growth in air travel.

The strategy targets Cdn$25 billion in new public and private sector investment needed to meet demand, in addition to $22 billion already committed since 2005.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take advantage of the fastest growing economy in history,” Clark said. “Asia is right at our doorstep-our ports are closer than anywhere else in North America. Our government is making sure we can get our goods to market as efficiently and quickly as possible and this strategy is a huge part of that plan.”

For instance, Teck has invested more than $1 billion and hired an additional 1.000 people in British Columbia to expand its steelmaking coal, copper and zinc operations.