Republic of Mining

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation Letter to Supporters – April 10, 2012

April 12, 2012

“We are under attack by the ultra-conservative mining lobby group Miners
United. Already Miners United members have pledged to challenge the
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug right to say ‘no’ to mining abuse and
protect the Watershed Declaration area.”

Office of the Chief and Council – Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug

Dear Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Friends,

God’s Lake Resources plan to drill on our sacred landscape at Sherman Lake has been stopped. It looked like we were facing another $10 billion lawsuit and the risk of being jailed again, but after our community took action backed up by all your letters, emails, calls, and rallies to the Ontario Government and hundreds of media stories about our campaign, Ontario bough out the God’s Lake Resources leases and claims and stopped the drilling.

Thank you for standing up for indigenous rights. Your support helped tip the scales to prevent the drilling and protect the sacred. Your solidarity made a huge difference. Without help from supporters like you, our campaign to protect our sacred landscape at Sherman Lake might have taken a much harsher toll on our community.

Selling ONTC will hurt Northern Ontario – by Madeleine Tremblay (Sudbury Star – April 11, 2012)

April 12, 2012

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

Madeleine Tremblay is the Mayor, Township of Fauquier-Strickland (Cochrane District)

The province’s announcement March 23, to divest of all business lines of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission came as a complete surprise and left us dumbfounded as to why our provincial government would deliver such devastating news on the heels of so many promises.

As minister responsible for the development of Northern Ontario, Rick Bartolucci should have argued with his caucus that consultation take place with northern municipalities and communities. This simple consideration could have provided opportunities for different solutions. Instead, his government ignored our multiple pleas for inclusion with decision making, which affects our livelihood and future.

Who will now look at Northern Ontario as a good place to invest, when the most economical way of transportation is being pulled out? The Northern Ontario Growth Plan included statements on improving all transportation models. Now the plan has to be re-written or, was the exercise just a smoke screen to hide the real agenda and plan of the government towards Northern Ontario?

Wabauskang mobilizes against Red Lake resource boom – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – April 11, 2012)

April 12, 2012

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Fed up with getting no benefits from the resource boom on their traditional territory, Wabauskang First Nation is vowing to make its voice heard.

Wabauskang’s chief and council say they are in a tenuous position of having their traditional territory overlapping the gold mining explosion happening around Red Lake.

Chief Leslie Cameron said his community of 250 members is overwhelmed with having to deal with more than 40 resource companies that have staked claims on Wabauskang traditional territory, and frustrated that the provincial and federal governments are neglecting their duty to consult First Nations on development.

“We are a small community but we still have rights,” Cameron said. “We are the First Peoples here and we never gave up our right to our resources. We’re tired of being pushed to the side.”

Gold production hit high in 2011 – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 12, 2012)

April 12, 2012

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

Global gold production continues to rise, bringing new supply into the market. But as long as investor demand for the yellow metal remains skyhigh, it may not matter.

Gold consultancy GFMS launched its 2012 gold survey on Wednesday, and it took a bullish stance on prices despite a recent correction and a couple of worrying trends in the market.

One of them is that supply keeps going up. The survey showed that mine production hit a record high in 2011, rising 3% year-over-year to 2,818 tonnes (or almost 100 million ounces). It is the second straight year that production reached a new high, defying the “peak gold” theory that some commentators have thrown about.

Neil Meader, research director at Thomson Reutersowned GFMS, said the trend of rising production should continue in the short and medium terms.

Peru miners rescued six days after being trapped by cave-in – by Mauricio Munoz (Toronto Star – April 12, 2012)

April 12, 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.

Associated Press

ICA, PERU—Nine Peruvian miners were rescued Wednesday after six days trapped in an abandoned copper mine.

The nine, ranging in age from 23 to 58, walked out without assistance about an hour after dawn from a reinforced tunnel that rescuers had built as they removed more than 8 metres of dirt and rock.

The miners wore sunglasses and were covered with blankets. President Ollanta Humala greeted them. Humala had spent the night at the mine 240 kilometres southeast of Lima. The miners were trapped by a cave-in triggered by an explosion they themselves had set.

They had communicated with rescuers through a hose, in place before the collapse, by which they also received food and medicine during their ordeal in a horizontal shaft dug into a mountainside.

“It’s pretty ugly inside,” one of the rescued men, Edwin Bellido, told RPP radio. “We slept on the ground on muddy plastic.”

As natural gas prices collapse, producers pin hopes on Asia – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – April 12, 2012)

April 12, 2012

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

For natural gas producers in Western Canada, these are the best of times and the worst of times.

On the bright side, the opening of a new export market for liquefied gas from the British Columbia coast is so close they can smell it. A consortium led by Royal Dutch Shell PLC seemed close Wednesday to a go-ahead decision on a $12.35-billion gas liquefaction terminal in Kitimat, while another proposed LNG project secured a federal export permit. The developments provide solid support for the takeoff of an LNG industry that promises richer prices for Canadian gas from Asian consumers, a reason to develop massive shale gas deposits that are now stranded, and fuel merger and acquisition activity.

But a dark side is also haunting the consortium. North American gas prices sank below US$2 per million British thermal units in New York Wednesday, the lowest point in a decade and far below what it costs to produce it, threatening gas producers’ ability to survive long enough to capture the pot of gold on the other side of the Pacific.

According to a report in the Tokyo-based Nikkei business daily Wednesday, Shell and partners Mitsubishi Corp., China National Petroleum Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. are close to completing terms on a project to start shipping gas around 2020 at an annual rate of 12 million tonnes.

The Future Starts Now: Economic Space For First Nations (Mining) – by David E. Smith and Nathan Elliott – Insightwest Research)

April 11, 2012

Insightwest Research is a Regina, Saskatchewan company that provides insight-based, compliance-based and technical-based solutions for the energy and resource sectors in western Canada. http://www.insightwest.ca/

For the full report click here: The Future Starts Now: Economic Space For First Nations

First Nations Mining:

From diamonds to gold, coal to potash, nickel to zinc, and copper to uranium, mining is one of Canada’s greatest industries, and a major force propelling regional and national prosperity. Internationally recognized as a leader in engineering, Canada remains an innovator in mining. It is a reputation that continues to grow. Of the world’s top ten most favorable mining jurisdictions, five are located in Canada. Of these five, New Brunswick has been recognized by the international mining industry as the most attractive jurisdiction for mineral exploration and development.

Mining stimulates economic growth, job creation and spin-off activity in urban centres, rural areas and Aboriginal communities across the country. In 2009, mining contributed $32 billion in GDP (3.2 per cent of overall GDP) and employed 306,000 workers in mineral extraction, processing and manufacturing. That same year, mining accounted for 19 per cent of Canadian goods exports and $5.5 billion in taxes and royalties paid to levels of government. Further, there are more than 3,200 companies that provide the industry with services ranging from engineering consulting to drilling equipment.

Cliffs’ land deal ‘encouraging ‘ [for potential Sudbury chromite refinery] – by Northern Ontario Business staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 11, 2012)

April 11, 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.

While Cliffs Natural Resources has yet to announce where it will establish its chromite smelter, Sudbury is encouraged by news of a land deal north of Capreol.

According to a CBC report, Cliffs entered into a deal a year ago with businessman Bruno Gervais to purchase the former Moose Mountain Mine site for $330,000.

“According to the schedule Cliffs put out, they wanted to be in operation by January, 2015. As part of that schedule, the announcement would have to be made some time the first quarter of 2012 so it can move forward with planning and permitting,” said Greater Sudbury Coun. Dave Kilgour.

“It’s encouraging and we are putting two and two together but I haven’t heard anything concrete. Talks are still going on and moving on to the final phase of the evaluation as far as the environmental assessment goes.”

Massive Mongolian mine raises environmental fears – by Josh Tapper (Toronto Star – April 11, 2012)

April 11, 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.

Economic project led by Canadian miner Ivanhoe a boon – except it’s soaking up valuable water

Buried in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia’s economic future rests on a massive mining project called Turquoise Hill.

Known locally as Oyu Tolgoi, the copper and gold mine, co-owned by Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and the Mongolian government, is expected to balloon the Central Asian country’s GDP — an estimated $13.28 billion in 2011 — by more than 30 per cent when it starts full production later this year.

But the economic boon is also, for some, an environmental nightmare as the project will allegedly soak up valuable water resources in the already-arid Gobi. While reports vary, the mine plans to use up to 920 litres of water per second.

Dugersuren Sukhgerel, executive director of local NGO Oyu Tolgoi Watch, said lack of water is the “No. 1 issue” in the region.

HudBay Minerals eyes further growth in Peru – by Euan Rocha (Reuters.com – April 10, 2012)

April 11, 2012

http://uk.reuters.com/

HudBay seeks to replicate its Manitoba model in Peru

TORONTO, April 10 (Reuters) – Base metals miner HudBay Minerals is looking at expanding its asset base in Peru as it seeks to create a new hub that will replicate the successes enjoyed at its mines in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the company’s top executive says.

HudBay, which traces its roots back more than 80 years to the Flin Flon mine in northern Manitoba, has used much of the infrastructure developed at Flin Flon for decades, moving gradually from one deposit to the next.

“We are trying to do the same thing in Peru,” said HudBay Chief Executive David Garofalo. “We are building a large 70,000 to 80,000 tonne a day concentrator there and we’ve tied up about 22,000 hectares of real estate along the trend and we’re looking to tie up more.

Sudbury expected to win Cliffs lottery – by Mike Whitehouse (Sudbury Star – April 11, 2012)

April 11, 2012

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

The consensus among Greater Sudbury’s northern rivals is the nickel city has — as expected — won the marathon to host Cliffs Natural Resources’ prized ferrochrome smelter.

Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs made clear last week that Cliffs officials told him the company, long leaning toward the northeast, is now entirely focused on Sudbury.

Cleveland-based Cliffs is the principal in the development of the Ring of Fire deposit in the James Bay Lowlands and plans to spend close to $3 billion to get its chromite project into production. About $1.8 billion of that is to build a ferrochrome processing plant.

In addition to Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Timmins and Greenstone, the town closest to the minesite, were considered possible locations for the plant.

In 2010, Cliffs announced its base-case smelter location was Moose Mountain Mine north of Capreol because of proximity to rail and hydro corridors and Sudbury’s large, experienced workforce.

In Ghana, a mining activist fights the gold goliaths – by Paul Carlucci (Toronto Star- April 7, 2012)

April 10, 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.

TARKWA, GHANA—Whether on billboards along the roads or embroidered on shirt collars, mining companies are ubiquitous in this jungle hub of Ghana’s Western Region.

Their presence is sometimes lost behind the lazy-leafed plantain trees, drooping palm fronds, and steep, green hills encasing the town, but a mountain of waste rock obscures much of the horizon.

“They take the gold and leave these kinds of things,” says Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, executive director and co-founder of the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM).

Ghana, once known as the Gold Coast, is the continent’s second-biggest producer of gold, after South Africa. It is also home to significant deposits of bauxite, manganese, aluminum and diamonds.

The real reason why Canada is cozying up to Burma’s dictators [resources] – by Thomas Walkom (Toronto Star- April 7, 2012)

April 10, 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.

Now we know why Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was so anxious to trek to Burma last month. Baird showed up in the southeast Asian country ostensibly to argue for human rights and, in particular, to laud the military dictatorship for letting dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters contest seats in Burma’s army-dominated legislature.

But recent rumblings from world capitals confirm that the real reason was the usual one: resources. Resource-rich Burma is subject to strict economic sanctions by Western countries. Big companies — and particularly big oil companies — are lobbying hard to have those sanctions lifted.

And Canada hopes to have its firms front and centre when the great barbecue begins. The fact that Burma’s military-backed leaders allowed any opening toward democracy — and that Suu Kyi gave them her imprimatur — offers Western countries the excuse they need to let trade and investment rip.

The United States has already lifted some sanctions against Burma. The Financial Times reports that more will be relaxed soon.

Reality lost in big pipeline debate – by Diane Francis (National Post – April 7, 2012)

April 10, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper

Talk recently about the possibility of Chinese workers building a pipeline through British Columbia threatens the project’s future more than does any statements by First Nations leaders, Robert Redford, Greens or New Democrats.

It’s also an indication that the private sector does not get it. The pipeline will only be built if Albertans, British Columbians and B.C. First Nations make a deal.

This must be an Alberta-B.C. negotiation. This is not about the federal government or regulators. And there’s no room for foreigners or those financed by them such as Greenpeace, the Sierra Club or groups that are fronts from rival oil producers in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia or Russia. It’s apparent to me that some opaque “environmental groups” don’t disclose their donors or real agendas and have targeted Canada’s oil sands. I have written about ending foreign intervention in the regulatory process and foreigners are being excluded. This is not about what companies and their foreign customers want to do. Here is the playbook for a deal:

1. A pipeline through B.C.’s pristine territory must be built and operated with a minimum of environmental impact. The pipeline should be buried, have sensors all along and lands post-construction should be returned to their original state.

Bashing Western Canada, once again – by Conrad Black (National Post – Apr 7, 2012)

April 10, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper

One of the points I was trying to make in last week’s column, in general support of Pierre Trudeau’s efforts to make both official languages present in all parts of the country, was that in any federal state, some concessions to particular regional concerns are necessary or the country will fall apart, or even atomize. In a little over a century, this fate has split Norway from Sweden, Singapore from Malaysia, Bangladesh from Pakistan, the Czechs from the Slovaks and, most painfully, the Sudanese and South Sudanese.

This was what made the Quebec separatist threat so dangerous; though there was never much prospect of heavy violence, there was a danger of the permanent diminution of the country after a prolonged and immobilizing constitutional crisis. Of course, the separatist leaders greatly and treacherously underestimated the complexities and problems of any such step, and aggravated the problem with trick referendum questions about seeking authority to negotiate sovereignty and association with Canada: Simultaneously to eat and retain the same rich cake.

My fear in those days was that the federal Progressive Conservative leaders, Robert Stanfield and Joe Clark, were men of such goodwill, but such limited familiarity with the devious Quebec nationalists and with the French language, that they could not win the federalist argument in Quebec. Trudeau thus emerged as the temporarily indispensable horse for that race.