Republic of Mining

Ontario Mining Association helps teach teachers about mining

March 7, 2012March 7, 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.

The Ontario Mining Association has been busy lately making sure teachers – and students – gain a better understanding of the mineral industry and the employment opportunities it offers. Lesley Hymers, OMA Environment and Education Specialist, carried the educational flag at three different outreach events recently.

On February 17, 2012, 85 teachers from the Toronto District School Board were guests of the University of Toronto’s Geology Department to learn more about the mineral industry and career options. It was a day dedicated to Earth science professional development.

Ms. Hymers ran a session focused on career education that presented the wide-range of job opportunities in mining. In addition to sharing mineral industry career themed hands-on learning activities with the teachers, she delivered a presentation that outlined a variety of career resources available to teachers from the OMA and partner organizations, including Skills Canada Ontario, the Mining Industry Human Resource Council (MiHR) and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s Mining Matters program.

NEWS RELEASE: Miller – “McGuinty government’s random approach to mining policy sends wrong signal to exploration companies.”

March 7, 2012

For Immediate Release

March 6, 2012

(Queen’s Park) The McGuinty government and Minister of Northern Development and Mines continue claims of support for the industry while simultaneously removing more land from exploration in Ontario’s North.

This highlights the government’s contradictory and confused mining policies. Since the McGuinty government took power, just as DeBeers’ Victor Mine was about to open, they slapped on a diamond royalty; shifted the provincial burden for the “duty to consult” onto mining industry; and removed more than a quarter million square kilometers from exploration.

Quotes

“The decision to remove this land from mining was a surprise, even to the First Nation community. These kind of arbitrary decisions are a big negative for mining exploration companies. It says that Ontario is closed for business.”
PC Northern Development and Mines Critic, Norm Miller.

Montreal company to manage $2-billion Vale project in Sudbury – Star Staff (Sudbury Star – March 6, 2012)

March 7, 2012

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

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc of Montreal won a contract to manage the modernization of Vale’s nickel smelter complex in Sudbury.

SNC did not say Monday how much the Vale contract was worth, but analysts estimated it to be about C$200 million over three years.

A construction and engineering company, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. will oversee the $2-billion environmental upgrade at the smelter, known as the Clean AER (Atmospheric Emissions Reduction) Project.

The firm said it will work with local contractors. The project is expected to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide by 70% from current levels, and cut dust and metal emissions by up to 40%.

[Ring of Fire] Chiefs oppose chromite plant for Sudbury – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – March 7, 2012)

March 7, 2012

A $1.8-billion ferrochrome processing facility and the 500 jobs it will create won’t be located in Sudbury if native leaders from northwestern Ontario have their way.

The chiefs of the Marten Falls and Aroland First Nations say the plant – and others like it built to process minerals from the Ring of Fire area – should be located on their territories.

It was one of a list of demands Chief Eli Moonias of Marten Falls First Nation and Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation made public Tuesday during a press conference in Toronto.

The two chiefs are in Toronto to monitor Ring of Fire related activity at the Prospector & Developers Association of Canada International Convention, Trade Show & Investors Exchange.

Bisson fears ONR will derail – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – March 6, 2012)

March 7, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Drummond Report calls for privatization

Since 1902, the Ontario Northland Railway has been providing transportation, supplies and a life link to the countless communities that dot the Northern reaches of the province.

Recently, the government commissioned a report to assess the provincial deficit, make suggestions for cost cutting and provide a five-year fiscal plan. The result was the Drummond Report.

The report raises a number of issues for Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson, the most prominent being the future of Ontario Northland.

“The problem is that when the government commissioned Drummond to make his report, they essentially said to him, ‘you can only look at the expenditures side of the budget sheet, you cannot look at the revenue side,’” he said. “How do you balance a budget a if you don’t look at the revenue side?”

Ontario to protect 23,000 square kilometers of native land from mining – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – March 6, 2012)

March 6, 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.

In a surprise move, the province has protected 23,181 square kilometres of traditional First Nation land in northern Ontario away from mining firms.

The land in question is near the territory of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. God’s Lake Resources, a junior gold mining firm, has plans for a 3,000-metre drill program in the area.

This is not the first time KI has been in a dispute over land use. Four years ago, KI was embroiled in a long-standing conflict with Platinex, a Canadian exploration firm, who sued Ontario and the Cree First Nation because they said they were prevented from accessing their mining claims.

The province spent $5 million to settle the dispute.

Native law a growing field – by Drew Hasselback (National Post – March 6, 2012)

March 6, 2012

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

One of the newest and most rapidly developing areas of the Canadian legal system is aboriginal law.

If you think about it, it’s downright bizarre that this should be “new.” The documents that underpin the legal relationship between First Nations and the British Crown date back centuries. For whatever reasons, the court rulings that define the current legal relationship are just a few years old.

With so many Canadian mining projects on or near aboriginal territories, this has tremendous legal consequences for mining companies.

The law is simple to state, but hard to implement. First that easy part, stating the law: If you want to develop a mine any place that affects a First Nations community or its land rights, the Crown has a duty to consult with that native community before the project gets a green light.

Copper miner has golden touch – by Peter Koven (National Post – March 6, 2012)

March 6, 2012

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

Ross Beaty is the first to admit it – he is an incredibly lucky guy. Thanks to an epic financial crisis and the hard work of an outside company, Mr. Beaty’s Lumina Copper Corp. has stumbled into the biggest new copper discovery in years. The Taca Taca project in Argentina seems to add more pounds of copper by the week, and Mr. Beaty’s favourite hobby these days is just keeping track of it.

He keeps a giant wall map of Taca Taca in his office. Each day, he receives a report from the property and plots it out on the map. Despite being a veteran of many copper discoveries, the results from this project continue to amaze him.

“Just this morning, today, we had a hole that could add 800 million pounds to the size of this project,” the famed Vancouver mining entrepreneur and founder of Pan American Silver Corp. said in an interview in February. “It’s just ridiculous.”

China’s growth forecast chills commodity markets – by Richard Blackwell and Nicolas Johnson (Globe and Mail – March 6, 2012)

March 6, 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 prospect of slower growth in China threw a scare into commodity markets on Monday, raising worries about the sustainability of Asia’s voracious demand for a host of natural resources.

Commodity prices slumped and stocks in the sector retreated sharply after China lowered its gross domestic product growth target for the year to 7.5 per cent from 8, extending a trend of slowing expansion. Last year the economy grew by 9.2 per cent, down from 10.3 in 2010.

The new GDP target, if hit, would be the first dip below 8 per cent since 2004, a significant change for the world’s second-largest economy. China is a huge buyer of raw materials – its demand takes up more than 40 per cent of the world’s copper, zinc, aluminum and nickel – so any slowdown in consumption can send prices tumbling in those commodities and many others.

The S&P/TSX capped metals and mining index sank 4.4 per cent Monday. Copper prices fell about 1 per cent, while gold was down $5.90 (U.S.) an ounce to $1,703.90.

Honourable Joe Oliver, P.C., M.P. Canadian Minister of Natural Resources PDAC Speech – (March 5, 2012 – Toronto, Canada)

March 6, 2012March 6, 2012

(L to R)Honourable Joe Oliver, P.C., M.P. federal Minister of Natural Resources, Ross Gallinger, Executive Director, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)

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Introduction

Thanks very much, Scott (Scott Jobin-Bevans, President of PDAC), and thanks to the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada for the opportunity to be part of this great event.

I also want to thank Alex Jacobs, elder and member of the Ojibway First Nation of Whitefish Lake, for being here.

It is a pleasure to be here, and to welcome all of our visitors to Toronto and to Canada.

I have to congratulate P-DAC for putting together yet another outstanding program. When P-DAC says this is “where the world’s mineral industry meets,” it’s not exaggerating.

P-DAC is the premier event of its kind in the world. The 2011 convention attracted over 1,000 exhibitors and nearly 28,000 attendees, including 1,500 students and 7,000 international delegates from 120 countries.

Honourable Joe Oliver, P.C., M.P. federal Minister of Natural Resources tours PDAC convention

Honourable Rick Bartolucci: Minister of Northern Development, Mines Official Opening Ontario Pavilion (PDAC) Speech – (Toronto – March 5, 2012)

March 6, 2012March 6, 2012

(L to R) Garry Clark, Executive Director of the Ontario Prospectors Association; Honourable Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development, Mines; Chris Hodgson, President of Ontario Mining Association; Bill Mauro, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Northern Development and Mines

Metro Convention Centre Toronto

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Good afternoon, everyone.

I’d like to begin by thanking Garry Clark, Executive Director of the Ontario Prospectors Association and Chris Hodgson, President of the Ontario Mining Association for joining me here today.

I welcome this opportunity to officially open the Ontario Pavillion and to highlight or, to be blunt, brag to the international mining community, about the many accomplishments and strengths of Ontario as a world leader in mining.

I’ve had the opportunity to discuss mineral and mining development with Garry and Chris on many occasions. Their insights are invaluable and, when it comes to achieving the ultimate goal of sustainable mineral development, I believe we are all “on side.”

I would also like welcome Mayor Marianne Matichuk of Greater Sudbury, Mayor Keith Hobbs of Thunder Bay, Mayor Tom Laughren of Timmins, and Mayor Al MacDonald of North Bay, who are in attendance today.

Honourable Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development, Mines; Marianne Matichuk, City of Greater Sudbury Mayor

Huge [Ontario] land withdrawal catches KI off guard – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 5, 2012)

March 6, 2012

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

The Ontario government says its recent land withdrawal near Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) will help avoid future disagreements like the ongoing conflict between God’s Lake Resources and KI.

The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines announced Mar. 4 that it has withdrawn 23,181 square kilometers “in the vicinity of KI” from prospecting and mine claim staking.

But KI Chief Donny Morris said the land withdrawal caught his community off guard, considering that negotiations between the First Nation and Ontario over land claims broke down months ago.

Ontario Government move surprises KI – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – March 6, 2012)

March 6, 2012

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation Chief Donny Morris says his community needs time to ponder the province’s move to make a huge tract of land north of the reserve off-limits to mining.

“For something of this size, it’s an historical event,” Morris said Monday from Big Trout Lake, a fly-in community of 1,300 Oji-Cree located 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

In a surprise announcement Sunday, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci excluded from mining 23,000 square kilometres of KI traditional territory “to give clarity to the province’s mineral exploration industry and avoid future disagreements over the land in question.”

In 2009, the Ontario government paid Toronto-based exploration company Platinex $5 million, plus options for future royalties, when the company agreed to stop exploring south of the KI community.

NEWS RELEASE: Ring of Fire- Agreement at PDAC 2012

March 5, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Northern Ontario First Nations Sign East-West Corridor Collaborative Agreement in Ring of Fire.

Toronto, Ontario, March 5, 2012: – Four First Nations in Northern Ontario today signed a landmark collaboration agreement to pursue the development and operation of an East-West corridor in the Ring of Fire.

The East-West Corridor Collaborative Agreement was signed between the communities of Webequie, Neskantaga, Eabametoong and Nibinamik at the Aboriginal Forum at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention. Other regional communities such as Mishkeegogaman have also joined the collaboration. The First Nations have been working together to formalize a community-driven strategy on regional infrastructure development. The ultimate goal is to establish a joint venture that will operate an infrastructure, transportation and service corridor for potential mining companies in the Ring of Fire.

These four identified are impacted by the potential mining developments in the Ring of fire area, and are committed to working collectively together to capitalize on the potential benefits while mitigating the potential issues.

Record streak for mining takeovers extends into 2012 [PDAC] – by Nicolas Johnson (Globe and Mail – March 5, 2012)

March 5, 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 global mining industry’s appetite for deal-making has returned after a record year for mergers gave way to a relatively quiet few months.

Glencore International PLC’s $41-billion (U.S.) offer last month to buy out Xstrata PLC has catapulted the value of transactions announced this year to almost a quarter of last year’s $184-billion. While such giant deals are rare, they can trigger moves by competitors.

Mergers and acquisitions will be a major focus as mining companies descend on Toronto this week for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada annual conference – a key event for the industry as it faces severe headwinds. Metals producers are desperate to combat rising costs so they can capitalize on the soaring prices of gold, silver and copper.