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China consolidates position as World No. 1 gold miner – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – March 14, 2012)

 www.mineweb.com

China’s annual gold production continues to grow comfortably maintaining its position as the world’s biggest gold miner assuming official statistics tell the full picture – which they may not!

LONDON –  The most recent  figures from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology note that China, already the world’s No. 1 gold miner since 2007, continued its dominance in world gold production with output rising last year by 5.89% to  360.95 tonnes.  The most recent statistics also show that the country’s gold mining sector continued to expand in January with a rise of about 3.69% from the same month a year ago, suggesting that we may well see further annual gold mine output growth in 2012.
 
China’s ever-increasing gold output though is still nowhere near the country’s huge appetite for consuming gold which rose to perhaps some 800 tonnes in 2011, although such figures tend to be speculative in nature as the officially reported statistics may not show the true picture.  There does seem to have been a fall-off in demand however at the end of last year and in the first two months of 2012 with official figures for imports through Hong Kong – the main import route – seeming to show a significant decline over the same period a year ago.

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The not so Dirty Dozen [Alberta Oilsands] – by Peter Foster (National Post – March 15, 2012)

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

COSIA is the latest oil sands initiative to enter a now-crowded field 

Last week, 12 leading oil sands producers came out of the gate at a big ceremony in Calgary, apologizin’ hard. The Dirty Dozen (as they want, under no circumstances, to be known) were announcing the formation of yet another environmental initiative, the Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, COSIA. Steve Williams, president and CEO-designate of oil sands pioneer Suncor, expressed a “genuine desire to do better.” Than what? Sure, the oil sands are big, but where are objective measures of their impact? Indeed, are objective measures even possible? Everybody knows that a flock of ducks died four years ago at Syncrude due to failure of a warning system, but more birds are mangled by wind farms every few minutes.
 
Nobody denies that the oil sands have potential problems with pollution and tailings ponds, but the new organization, which is headed by Dan Wicklum, a well-regarded former CFL linebacker, aquatic ecologist, and Environment Canada bureaucrat, will also look at greenhouse gas emissions. According to Mr. Wicklum, ­“COSIA is a science organization, run by scientists for scientists.” So will COSIA address the science of climate change? Not on your life.

Mr. Wicklum was also quoted as saying “We don’t see COSIA playing a role in a flashy media campaign, we want to stick to our knitting, which is accelerate the pace of improvement around environmental performance.”

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Mining to continue boosting growth in Canada’s North – report – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – March 15, 2012)

www.mineweb.com

The latest Conference Board of Canada territorial economic forecast says mining has helped economic growth in the territories far surpass that of the rest of Canada.

RENO (MINEWEB) –  A Conference Board of Canada report says the global mining boom will help economic growth in Canada’s three northern territories far surpass that of the rest of Canada in the next two years.
 
“While the global economy is facing challenges that dampen the outlook for many Canadian industries and provinces, demand for metals and non-metals is expected to hold up,” said Marie-Christine Bernard, associate director, forecasting and analysis, for the Conference Board.
 
“The immediate concern for mining industry development in Canada’s North is not so much finding a market, but rather finding the skilled workers to lead these projects forward,” she stressed.
 
Current developments in the resource sector will have long-term impacts on the northern economies, suggests the Conference Board report, “Territorial Outlook: Winter 2012.”

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IDNR-TV delivers natural resource industries programming to Canadian viewers – by Lisa Fattori (Ontario Mineral Exploration Review – Spring 2012)

The above video is a beautiful mining story , about people , friendship, prosperity, and environmental respect that was produced by IDNR-TV:www.idnrtv.com

Published by DEL Communications Inc. www.delcommunications.com

A Toronto-based cable television company offers a welcome reprieve from the banality of reality TV and other ho-hum mainstream programming. Established in 2003, In Depth Natural Resources Television (IDNR-TV) hit the airwaves in 2006 to provide viewers with comprehensive coverage of the country’s natural resource industries and the impact of these industries on Canadian society and the economy. The network takes a balanced, unbiased view as it profiles key players, examines issues and presents the reality of natural resources industries and the role that they play in the everyday lives of Canadians.

IDNR-TV is the brainchild of Ivor Barr, the station’s producer, who has 35 years experience in the film industry and who saw an opportunity to shine a limelight on the importance of natural resource development. “We are all professional filmmakers and I had made some films about mining,” Barr says. “I realized that this is an industry that has no voice – yet it’s such an important part of the Canadian economy. As far as I know, this is the only specialty channel about natural resources in the world.”

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Canada’s North set to cash in on mining boom – by Chantal Mack (National Post – March 15, 2012)

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

Canada’s North is poised to lead the country in economic growth over the next two years as a boom in mining projects takes hold, a new report predicts.

The economies of the three territories are expected to grow by more than 7% in both 2012 and 2013, says the Conference Board of Canada’s Territorial Outlook-Winter 2012, released Wednesday. That easily surpasses the Canadian average of 2.1% this year.

The demand for metals and non-metals is expected to remain high, regardless of the challenges the global economy is facing, according to MarieChristine Bernard, associate director of forecasting and analysis for the Conference Board.

“The territories are wellpositioned to satisfy this demand,” which is expected to keep prices elevated over the next few years, she said.

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[Sudbury Vale] Smelter reno awarded – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – March 15, 2012)

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

An American company has won a $55-million contract to design and supply a new sulfuric acid plant for Vale Ltd.’s smelter in Sudbury — part of a massive, multibillion-dollar retrofit of the facility.

“We are very pleased that Vale has selected our technology for this important project, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Vale,” Andy Kremer, vice-president of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., said in a release.

The new acid plant is part of Vale’s Clean Atmospheric Emissions Reduction (AER) Project. The overall project is designed to cut sulfur dioxide emissions at the Sudbury site by more than 70% from current levels, and and cut dust and metal emissions by up to 40%. Vale considers the $2-bllion Clean AER Project to be the most significant environmental investment ever contemplated in the Sudbury Basin.

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Oilsands a lesson for Ring of Fire – Column by Brian MacLeod – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – March 15, 2012)

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

If you don’t put a priority on the environment, you can milk a province’s natural resources in good times, but it catches up with you. Alberta is a perfect example, though you’d never know that by Ontario’s Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Hillier’s comments.

In a column on the Calgary Herald’s website, Hillier vents about the Dalton McGuinty Liberal government’s excessive number of environmental regulations, which Hillier says has turned “a land of milk and honey into a land of mediocrity.”

He laments that the Ring of Fire chromite deposit in Northern Ontario remains undeveloped. “McGuinty has locked our resources away and they remain untouched. Rather than accepting the word of their beloved environmental advisers, McGuinty and his Liberal government should spend more time discovering Ontario for themselves.”

The oilsands are a major economic driver in Alberta. The province expects to bring in $184 billion in royalties over the next 25 years.

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KI rallies Toronto as chief mobilizes in North – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 14, 2012)

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

Inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on March 6, the bustle of thousands of mining executives drowned out nearly everything but talk of the benefits of mining.
 
Outside however, in the cold wind on Toronto’s Front Street, a very different message was on display.
 
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) councilor Cecilia Begg was telling the national media and everyone else who asked that yes, she was ready to be arrested again for protecting her community’s traditional lands.
 
KI lands and environment coordinator Stephen Chapman was at the microphone, speaking to the hundreds of KI supporters who had gathered in the cold to wave banners, shout slogans and demand that the government take KI’s concerns seriously.
 
“If the world is contaminated, where else can we move to?” Chapman asked, to cheers. “We need to realize now, before it is too late, that we are destroying ourselves and our future generations.”

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Ontario Mining Association forum expands First Nation-mining industry dialogue

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.

An Ontario Mining Association forum on mining sector and First Nation issues held last week has expanded the dialogue on the expectations and realities of both groups.  The panel had three representatives from industry and three senior First Nations representatives. 

The moderator was Sandra Gogal, an expert in Aboriginal and resource industry law with Miller Thomson, an OMA member.  “We want to facilitate open dialogue and a sharing of information amongst panelists and the audience,” she said.  “There are many successes but we want the forum to be challenging and address issues where there may be differences on both sides of the debate.”

On the topic of overlapping land claims by more than one Aboriginal group, Michael Fox, President of Fox High Impact Consulting, said “This is a relatively new phenomenon dealing with overlapping traditional protocols changed by a third party. You can only move as fast as the communities can move and an educational platform has to take place first.”

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Murder at Royal York Hotel mining convention [PDAC – March 9, 1987] shocked Timmins 25 years ago – by Len Gillis (Timmins Times – March 8, 2012)

www.timminstimes.com lgillis@timminstimes.com

What happened that two close friends became deadly enemies?

“You bastard,” the dying man shouted.

Those were the last words that Timmins “Timmy” Bissonnette was ever to hear from his lifelong friend Guy Maurice Lamarche just moments after Bissonnette shot Lamarche with a .38 calibre pistol.

It was 25 years ago this week that the people of Timmins and the Canadian mining exploration community were stunned when the news of the shooting flashed out from The Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto where the annual Prospectors and Developers Convention was underway.

It was the tragic end of a friendship that had begun years earlier when two Timmins boys became close friends, drinking buddies and lifelong pals.

It was the supper hour on Monday March 9th, 1987. It was the first full day of the convention. Lamarche was standing near the top of the up-escalator leading to the main exhibit hall at the Royal York. Lamarche was well known to the mining crowd and was smiling and greeting many friends and associates.

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Ontario scraps plans to expand mining in an old-growth area near Temagami – by Moira Welsh (Toronto Star – March 14, 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.

For the rest of this article, please go to the Toronto Star website: Ontario has scrapped plans to expand mining in an ecological gem that is home to North America’s largest stand of old-growth red pine trees near Temagami.
 
A Star story in December detailed the Ministry of Natural Resources’ proposal to change the “forest reserve” designation for 340 hectares around Wolf Lake — 50 kilometres from Temagami — to “general use,” which would have put a greater focus on mining instead of forests and recreation.
 
The ministry now says it won’t tamper with the government protections around Wolf Lake. “It was really about finding the appropriate balance,” Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle said in an interview Tuesday.
 
“We are always trying to find that balance between making sure we maintain the opportunity for economic development in northern Ontario while at the same time . . . we are very committed to the protection of our forests, particularly old-growth forests,” Gravelle said.

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Threatened ferrochrome eyeing Canada’s potash turnaround model – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – March 13, 2012)

 Mining Weekly is South Africa’s premier source of weekly news on mining developments in Africa’s most important industry. Mining Weekly provides in-depth coverage of mining projects and the personalities reshaping the mining industry.

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Stability can be brought to South Africa’s ferrochrome industry by creating a marketing organisation for ferrochrome similar to the Canpotex marketing arm that boosted potash in Canada, the South African ferrochrome industry says in a brochure handed to the media.

The stricken ferrochrome industry says that Canada in 1972 faced a similar situation in potash to what South Africa is facing in chrome – a long-term potash price depression.

It was then that Canada formed Canpotex, a marketing and logistics company that sells and delivers Saskatchewan potash to international markets as a wholly owned entity of potash producers.

“The Canadian potash industry provides an excellent case study,” says the South African ferrochrome industry in the nine-page handout to analysts, investors and journalists at the presentation of the results of the black-controlled Merafe Resources, which is part of a chrome-to-ferrochrome venture with the London-listed and South African-led Xstrata, the world’s biggest ferrochrome producer.

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NEWS RELEASE: ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE TERRITORIES FAR SURPASSES THAT OF SOUTHERN CANADA

Ottawa, March 14, 2012 – A global commodities boom is helping to make Canada’s three northern territories economic growth leaders in the next two years. Real GDP in the three territories will collectively grow by more than seven per cent in both 2012 and 2013 – easily outpacing the Canadian average of 2.1 per cent this year, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Territorial Outlook-Winter 2012.

“While the global economy is facing challenges that dampen the outlook for many Canadian industries and provinces, demand for metals and non-metals is expected to hold up,” said Marie-Christine Bernard, Associate Director, Forecasting and Analysis. “The immediate concern for mining industry development in Canada’s North is not so much finding a market, but rather finding the skilled workers to lead these projects forward.”

The Yukon and Nunavut economies performed well in 2011, and both territories are entering a period of sustained mining growth with several large projects proposed over the next decade. Not all projects have the green light for development, but several have made sufficient progress that they are included in the Conference Board’s forecast.

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Oh, the irony – rare-earth minerals aren’t that rare – by Simon Avery (Globe and Mail – March 14, 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.

Don’t be misled by the name. Rare-earth producers saw their stocks jump Tuesday as a result of the international spat over China’s decision to withhold some of the key industrial minerals from global markets. But investors hoping to profit from the trend have to confront an unpleasant reality.

Rare-earth minerals aren’t all that rare. While China provides almost all the world’s supply, that is more a factor of economics than geology.

Rare-earth elements are found around the globe. But China has managed to produce them more cheaply than other countries, and it has kept prices low for so long that it became uneconomical for mines outside the country to stay in production.

Today, however, two Western-based companies are close to bringing mines outside China to full production, a move that could weaken prices for several rare-earth minerals.

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China’s rare-earths monopoly under fire – by Nicolas Johnson (Globe and Mail – March 14, 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.

The world’s biggest economies are joining forces to oppose China’s limits of exports of rare-earth metals and other key minerals as the risk of a global shortage increases.

The United States, the 27-country European Union and Japan filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization on Tuesday against China’s export restrictions and duties on metals including 17 rare-earth minerals, which are used in electronics and high-tech products and are valued for their properties of magnetism, luminescence and strength.

China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, has about one-third of the planet’s deposits of rare earths, yet controls more than 90 per cent of global production. It has been reducing shipments abroad to keep more of the metals and minerals for its own manufacturers, leading to shrinking supplies and soaring prices worldwide.

China began dominating the industry in the 1990s by expanding output and driving prices so low that Western countries shut their own mines.

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