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Are the Conservatives making Northern Gateway pipeline hearings irrelevant? – by Tim Harper (Toronto Star – January 18, 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.

OTTAWA—Provincial premier or pipeline protester, you had a common plight Tuesday. You both found yourself in British Columbia, pushing back against that immovable object, Stephen Harper.

At their waterfront hotel in Victoria, most premiers took turns over two days spitting disdain at Harper’s 10-year, no-strings-attached health-care funding plan presented to their finance ministers — without debate — last month.

Harper was unmoved.

In an interview with CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge, he told the provinces to get on with health-care innovation (they did) and stop obsessing about money.

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Confessions of a radical environmentalist – by Alan Broadbent (Toronto Star – January 18, 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.

Alan Broadbent is past chair of the board and current board member of Tides Canada. He is chairman and CEO of Avana Capital Corp. and founder and chair of Maytree.

Hello. My name is Alan, and I’m a radical environmental extremist.

I don’t know how I ended up being part of a group with a radical environmental agenda. It all happened so gradually.

I do remember being invited to join the board of the Tides Canada Foundation when it was founded over a decade ago. It seemed innocent enough, a registered Canadian charity that offered Canadians a chance to donate to protecting the environment and creating socially just communities. In fact, it seemed so Canadian. Silly me, but hey, this was over a decade ago.

In fact, I used to tell people that Tides Canada was just like a community foundation, say the Vancouver Foundation or the Winnipeg Foundation, except that instead of a geographical community it was a community of interest. A community of people interested in the environment and social justice.

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Oil sands money trail – by Vivian Krause (National Post – January 18, 2012)

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

Billionaire U.S foundations fund Canada’s green groups

Last week, on the eve of the environmental review for the $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline project that would carry Alberta oil to Kitimat for export to Asia, Canada’s Minister for Natural Resources, Joe Oliver, expressed concern that foreign-funded environmentalists would jeopardize the review and block the pipeline. Oliver didn’t mention my name, but the research that raised concerns about the foreign funding of environmentalism in Canada is apparently mine.

For five years, on my own nickel, I have been following the money and the science behind environmental campaigns and I’ve been doing what the Canada Revenue Agency hasn’t been doing: I’ve gathered information about the origin and the stated purpose of grants from U.S. foundations to green groups in Canada. My research is based on U.S. tax returns because the U.S. Internal Revenue Service requires greater disclosure from non-profits than does the CRA.

By my analysis and calculations, since 2000, U.S. foundations have granted at least US$300-million to various environmental organizations and campaigns in Canada, especially in B.C.

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NEWS REALEASE: Lonmin Plc Makes Private Placement in Wallbridge Mining

Toronto, Ontario – January 17, 2012 – Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX:WM) today announced that it had entered into an agreement (which is subject to approval of the TSX) with the world’s third largest platinum producer Lonmin Plc (“Lonmin”) whereby Lonmin will purchase 13,157,895 units (“Units”) of Wallbridge at a price of C$0.19 (Canadian) per Unit which was calculated based on the 90 day volume-weighted average price to December 13, 2011, being the date the parties agreed upon the pricing for the transaction.

“This recent investment shows Lonmin’s continued confidence and support for our exploration work in Sudbury. The Sudbury Basin is the most attractive target area in the world for the discovery of high grade copper, nickel and platinum deposits” stated Alar Soever, CEO of Wallbridge.

“The long term relationship with Lonmin since January 2002 demonstrates that Lonmin continues to be not only a great Joint Venture partner, but also a supportive shareholder of Wallbridge in our exploration work in Sudbury” said Marz Kord, President of Wallbridge.

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Cape Breton’s undersea coal field a vein to energy wealth – by Neil Reynolds (Globe and Mail – January 18, 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.

OTTAWA— French explorer Nicholas Deny discovered abundant coal (“a mountain of very good coal four leagues up the river”) on Cape Breton Island in 1672. Within a few years, miners were prying coal from rock outcroppings along the coast with crowbars. Although Cape Breton’s fabled coal mines closed a decade ago, ostensibly forever, the chances are good that the island will soon be back in the coal business – mining a huge and distinctly Canadian energy source: the undersea Sydney coal field.

Cape Breton University (CBU) president H. John Harker, an energy authority, describes this energy resource as “a vast deposit [150 billion tonnes] of quality coal under the waters of the North Atlantic extending from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and Labrador.” Swing westward into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and undersea coal deposits more than double, to 350 billion tonnes.

Cape Breton’s undersea coal field is so big that Mr. Harker thinks Canada, Britain and the United States should develop it strategically, recalling the Second World War alliance (Roosevelt, Churchill and Mackenzie King) that won the Battle of the Atlantic.

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Kinross pays the price for mine delays in West Africa – by Sean Silcoff (Globe and Mail – January 18, 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.

OTTAWA— Kinross Gold Corp.’s drubbing by investors over delays at its trophy gold mine in West Africa is a fresh reminder of the gulf between the fortunes of those who dig for gold, and the metal itself.

While gold continues to trade at historically high levels – closing up $24.80 at $1,655.60 an ounce Tuesday – gold miners are contending with market antipathy due to rising costs and a string of unpopular and costly acquisitions. In such an environment, tolerance for bad news is low.

Kinross discovered that the hard way Tuesday, after saying it would take six to nine months more than expected to study and plan its Tasiast mine in Mauritania, delaying development and possibly negatively affecting production.

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Minister points finger at McGuinty [Ontario power rates to high] – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – January 17, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper

Tony Clement says high energy costs in Ontario forces industry to take processing elsewhere

As the federal minister for Northern Economic Development, Tony Clement says he would like to see processing of minerals from the Ring of Fire done in Northern Ontario.

However, Clement says it is up to the provincial government to make that happen. Officials with Cliffs Natural Resources, a Cleveland-based company looking to develop a chromite mine within the James Bay lowlands, have publicly expressed interest in doing some of the processing in Asia.

“We’d like to see more of the processing here but one of the major impediments are energy costs,” Clement said during a stopover in Timmins on Monday. “That’s Mr. (Dalton) McGuinty’s bailiwick. He’s got to do his job as premier of this province to get energy costs more in line.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Co-Founders of Hunter Dickinson Inc. Inducted into Canadian Mining Hall of Fame

VANCOUVER, Jan. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI) is proud to announce that Robert Hunter and Robert Dickinson were inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame on January 12, 2012, in a gala ceremony in recognition of their outstanding lifetime achievements in mineral exploration and mining. They join a select group of prominent and respected leaders from the minerals industry who represent the very best of Canadian mining and its accomplishments.

Mr. Hunter and Mr. Dickinson co-founded HDI more than 25 years ago, forming an entrepreneurial business that has led to the development of one of the most successful teams in Canadian mining history. Today, HDI is a diversified, global mining group that has advanced mineral projects in Canada and around the world. The HDI track record of success includes 19 public and private companies, and dozens of mineral properties on six continents. Notable projects within the HDI fold include Mount Milligan, Kemess and Prosperity in BC, Pebble in Alaska and Xietongmen in China.

Both Mr. Hunter and Mr. Dickinson have been recognized by industry and business for their exceptional contributions to the Canadian and international minerals industry. Awards received include the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s Developer of the Year (1990), Mining Association of BC’s Mining Industry Person of the Year (2000), Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® (2004) and PDAC’s Thayer Lindsley International Discovery (2007).

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NEWS RELEASE: QUADRA FNX & SAGAMOK ANISHNAWBEK SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR THE VICTORIA PROJECT

Sudbury, Canada– January 17, 2012 – Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation (“Sagamok”) and Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. (the “Company” or “Quadra FNX”) (TSX: QUX) are pleased to announce that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) that will serve as a foundation for a working relationship between the parties with respect to the Advanced Exploration Program at Quadra FNX’s Victoria Project until an Impacts and Benefits Agreement (“IBA”) is concluded. The agreement process is being pursued in conjunction with environmental permitting for the Victoria Project.

The MOU with Sagamok was signed by Chief Paul Eshkakogan and Michael Winship, Chief Operating Officer, Quadra FNX in Sudbury on December 23rd, 2011.

“This Memorandum of Understanding will facilitate open and timely dialogue between Quadra FNX and our First Nation as it relates to the Company’s activities to develop the Victoria Advanced Exploration Project. We look forward to negotiating an IBA that will provide benefits for our members and ensure the environment and our traditional territories are protected” said Sagamok Anishnawbek Chief, Paul Eshkakogan.

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Quadra boosts ore estimate at Victoria mine – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – January 17, 2012)

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

Quadra FNX Mining announced Monday it has increased the resource estimate of its Victoria project in Sudbury by 16%.

The results from the company’s 2011 drill program at Victoria led Quadra FNX to boost resource tonnage to 14.5 million tonnes. When operating, the mine will produce nickel, copper and precious metals.

In addition, geophysical surveys show possible extensions of Victoria. Diamond drilling in 2012 will test these areas, Quadra FNX said in a release.

Even before the latest drill results became known, Quadra FNX had said the Victoria deposit was an exciting find. Its goal is to begin production in 2017, creating hundreds of new jobs.

The Vancouver, B.C.-based company also said that during 2011, it produced 220 million pounds of copper, 103,000 ounces of precious metals and 10 million pounds of nickel.

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Ottawa stalls foreign takeover review – by Tara Perkins (Globe and Mail – January 17, 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 Harper government appears to have dropped plans to clarify the rules for foreign takeovers, leaving investors in the dark as to how Ottawa would react if an acquirer were to bid for a major Canadian company.

When the government killed BHP Billiton Ltd.’s proposed takeover of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan in late 2010, the industry minister at the time, Tony Clement, promised to spell out the principles to guide the global business community on takeovers of Canadian companies. He also said he would ask the House of Commons industry committee to study the Investment Canada Act, the piece of legislation that governs such deals, and suggest improvements to it.

But more than a year later, new Industry Minister Christian Paradis is still quiet on the issue, and the industry committee is not studying the matter, according to two of its members, an indication that the issue is not high on the government’s agenda.

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Canada: A global energy superpower – by Joe Oliver (National Post – January 17, 2012)

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

Joe Oliver is Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. These remarks, from a speech titled Canada: A global energy superpower, were made Monday at the Hart House Alumni Committee Dinner Series in Toronto.

Today, the oil sands account for one-10th of 1% — that is one, one-thousandth — of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Studies have shown that life-cycle GHG emissions from the oil sands — the well-to-wheels calculation — are similar to, and in some cases lower than, several of the heavy crude oils produced elsewhere in the world, including California.

Close to 90% of the water used in the oil sands is recycled.

Scientists with my department are working with a consortium of oil sands companies to develop new technologies to deal with tailings. Rather than sitting in open ponds, we may soon see the day where tailings are reduced and compressed into dry, stackable blocks.

Yes, it takes time to reclaim land that has been used for oil sands mining, but it is being done. I walked through a forest in northern Alberta last summer. You would never know it had once been part of an oil sands project.

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PwC 2012 GOLD PRICE REPORT: Keeping up with the price of gold

Click Here: 2012 Gold Price Report

PwC’s 2012 Gold Price Report assesses gold companies globally, with companies surveyed representing 26.5 million ounces of gold mined in 2011, and 37.75 million ounces to be mined in 2012.

Eighty percent of the mining executives surveyed expect the price of gold to continue to increase in 2012, with the majority of respondents expecting gold to peak at $2,000 in 2012.  Sixty-two per cent of respondents reported the price of gold was positively impacting their stock price, yet the impact was less than expected. Gold has risen 23.4% so far this year, but the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index increased only 3.9% through November 30, 2011.

One main driver behind this unprecedented disparity between the price of gold and gold stocks is the recent popularity of ETFs. This disparity is having an impact on how executives plan to spend their increased cash flow:

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Capital spending and the proposed mining-related investment that lies ahead – by Paul Stothart (CIM Magazine – December, 2011)

Founded in 1898, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries.

Paul Stothart is vice-president, economic affairs, at the Mining Association of Canada. He is responsible for advancing the industry’s interests regarding federal tax, trade, investment, transport and energy issues.

The single most important contribution that companies can make to Canada is in the form of capital expenditure. In the mining sphere, capital spending pays for new mine construction and increases to existing mine capacity. It generates process and technology improvements and the modernization and expansion of mills, smelters and refineries.

It leads to the implementation of new product lines and improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. When companies commit to a particular capital spending program, the direct result is new jobs, contracts and production, as well as more modern and productive facilities.

Capital spending plans are driven by an array of variables, including: projected future global market demand and mineral price trends; degree of confidence in existing plant capacity; level of comfort with host government rules and regulations; and the state of a company’s existing financing capabilities.

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A Mining Law Whose Time Has Passed – by Robert M. Hughes and Carol Woody (New York Times – January 11, 2012)

http://www.nytimes.com/

Op-Ed Contributors Robert M. Hughes and Carol Ann Woody are fisheries scientists based in Corvallis, Ore., and Anchorage, respectively.

IN 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a mining law to spur the development of the West by giving hard-rock mining precedence over other uses of federal land. But the law has long since outlived its purpose, and its environmental consequences have been severe.

Mining claims for copper, gold, uranium and other minerals cover millions of those acres, and the law, now 140 years old, makes it nearly impossible to block extraction, no matter how serious the potential consequences. Soaring metal prices are now driving new mine proposals across the West.

Oregon’s Chetco River is one example. The river’s gin-clear waters teem with wild trout and salmon, including giant Chinook salmon tipping scales at more than 60 pounds. In 1988, Congress designated the Chetco a national wild and scenic river “to be protected for the benefit of present and future generations.”

But the river is now threatened by proposals to mine gold along almost half of its approximately 55-mile length. Suction dredges would vacuum up the river bottom searching for gold, muddying water and disrupting clean gravel that salmon need to spawn.

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