Republic of Mining

[Sudbury] City, mining companies to share costs – by Mike Whitehouse (Sudbury Star – January 13, 2012)

January 13, 2012

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

The city of Grater Sudbury is poised to announce a landmark agreement to share the costs of rebuilding a local road with area mining companies.

The deal, which will be introduced to council at its Jan. 24 meeting, will split the cost of improvements to Regional Road 4 in Whitefish between Vale, Quadra FNX and the city. The city’s share of the $20-million project is expected to be about $5 million, Greg Clausen, the city’s general manager of infrastructure, said.

The road, more commonly known as Worthington Road, serves Vale’s Totten Mine and a handful or residential and camp properties. It will also serve Quadra’s Victoria Mine, for which constr uction is expected to begin this year. When completed by 2017, Victoria Mine will employ more than 200 full-time people throughout its 15-to 20-year lifespan.

Gateway gate may be closing – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – January 13, 2012)

January 13, 2012

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

It’s early days for the long federal regulatory review into the Northern Gateway oil sands pipeline, but already it’s hard to feel optimistic that the project will get off the ground as proposed.

At least three major stumbling blocks surfaced repeatedly in the review’s important first days that are likely to dog the $5.5-billion pipeline, which would carry product from the Alberta oil sands to this community on the northern West Coast, throughout the two-year review process: aboriginal opposition, little community buy-in and lack of trust that it can be built safely.

They are essential building blocks of any major development in Western and Northern Canada, from liquefied natural gas plants coming to this town, to oil sands projects in Alberta, to potash mines in Saskatchewan. Even the much-delayed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline had them largely nailed down before Imperial Oil Ltd. and its partners moved forward with an application for regulatory approval.

Fair play and pipeline politics – by Nathan Lemphers (National Post – January 13, 2011)

January 13, 2012

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

Nathan Lemphers is a senior policy analyst with the Pembina Institute, a national nonpartisan sustainable energy think-tank. This op-ed originally appeared on The Mark.

Apparently, Canada is open for business, but closed to criticism, no matter how constructive. This is the clearest conclusion that can be drawn from Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver’s open letter to Canadians (“Radicals threaten resource development,” National Post, Jan. 10), in which he attacks advocates of responsible oilsands development as “radicals,” and dismisses the concerns of thousands of Canadians who want to have a say in the decision of whether to build Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

The $6.6-billion project would run two parallel pipelines carrying diluted bitumen and condensate along a 1,177kilometre route linking the oilsands in Alberta with the remote port of Kitimat on the northern B.C. coast. The pipelines would traverse hundreds of salmon-bearing rivers and streams, mountainous and landslide-prone terrain, the Great Bear Rainforest and the territory of more than 50 First Nations.

[Alberta Premier] Redford questions credibility of Northern Gateway hearings – by Dawn Walton (Globe and Mail – January 13, 2012)

January 13, 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.

CALGARY— Alberta Premier Alison Redford is questioning the credibility of federal hearings that have attracted more than 4,000 people requesting comment on Enbridge Inc.’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which has sparked a debate about balancing the economy against the environment and aboriginal rights.

The Alberta government will not be making a formal pitch during the National Energy Board’s regulatory review, which started this week in northern British Columbia, but the province has made no secret of its support for the pipeline that would help bring oil-sands crude to markets in Asia and the United States.

Ms. Redford told reporters on Thursday that she supports the independent regulatory process, as she did when a similar review took place in the United States regarding the divisive Keystone XL pipeline project, but she has concerns about the transparency.

Ned Goodman (Born 1937) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 12, 2012

Ned Goodman has made transformative and enduring contributions to Canada’s minerals industry and capital markets as a company-builder, merchant banker and investment advisor during a dynamic career spanning almost half a century. He applied his geological training and business acumen to help build several successful mining companies — notably International Corona and Kinross Gold — and nurtured many other mineral producing companies through astute and timely investments. In addition to being anoutstanding member of the philanthropic community, Montreal-born Goodman is considered one of the leading architects of Canada’s investment management industry.

Along with his partners, he founded the first exploration flow-through partnership, CMP Group, which has raised almost $5 billion since the 1980s to help companies explore and develop mining and petroleum companies, leading to the generation of jobs and benefits for rural and northern economies in Canada. He was also the driving force of the Dundee group of financial companies, which grew under his leadership from a $300-millionbase to a $50-billion mutual fund entity.

Phillip G. Hallof (1931-1992) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 12, 2012

Phillip Hallof earned his status as one of the “fathers of modern geophysics” for his pioneering and innovative work in the field of frequency domain induced polarization (IP), which grew from an obscure research effort into an essential exploration tool. He contributed in many ways to the research and development of geophysical equipment, techniques and interpretation, and also provided technical expertise to the mineral exploration industry through his leadership of McPhar Geophysics Inc. and later Phoenix Geophysics. Another legacy of his 35-year career was aiding the discovery of mineral wealth for the benefit of Canada and the global economy.

Hallof was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and educated at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in geology (geophysics option) in 1952. While still a graduate student, he undertook research into the then-novel, variable frequency IP method being developed by Newmont Exploration and demonstrated that it gave measurable responses over certain known sulphide deposits. The technology was further refined and successfully field tested, resulting in a valuable new tool to help identify buried mineral deposits that were not conductive and which conventional electromagnetic (EM) surveys could not detect. He also created a new and useful mode ofdisplaying multi-spaced IP and resistivity data in the now standard pseudosection format.

John A. Hansuld (Born 1931) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 12, 2012

John Hansuld served Canada’s mining and minerals sector with distinction as a pioneering geochemist, entrepreneurial company-builder and dedicated industry advocate. As a scientist, he advanced the application of geochemical techniques to mineral exploration and enhanced the profile and prestige of its practitioners.

As a corporate leader, he built Amax Exploration (Canada) into a premier exploration and mine development group later taken public as Canamax Resources Inc. He was also instrumental in transforming the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) from a largely Canadian organization to one of global influence.

Hansuld is perhaps best remembered for his leadership role in using the “flow-through share” tax-incentive program to fund Canadian mineral exploration at a time when many juniors were finding it difficult to access traditional capital markets.

Robert Hunter (1927-2007) and Robert Dickinson (Born 1948) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductees

January 12, 2012

A partnership formed by Robert Hunter and Robert Dickinson more than 25 years ago has endured as the inspirational foundation for Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI), one of North America’s most respected mineral exploration and mine development groups. With Hunter as the financier and promoter and Dickinson as the technical advocate and project potential savant, the efforts of this entrepreneurial duo led to the development of one of the most successful teams in Canadian mining history.

The HDI team has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to advance mineral projects in Canada and around the world. The list includes many important porphyry deposits — notably Mount Milligan, Kemess and Prosperity in BC, Pebble in Alaska, and Xietongmen in China — as well as gold and other deposit types. Hunter and Dickinson both began their careers in their home province of BC. Hunter was a top-performing life insurance agent for 20 years before joining the mining scene in the early 1980s.

Ontario Mining Association co-sponsors high school video workshop

January 12, 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 is joining forces with Cambrian College in Sudbury to run a video production workshop for high school students. The one-day course, which can accommodate up to 30 students, will be held on January 21, 2012 at Cambrian. This workshop, with the OMA and Cambrian as partners, is designed to promote the OMA’s “So You Think You Know Mining” video competition.

Participants will be provided with an opportunity to learn the basics of video production, use Cambrian’s modern facilities and film equipment and benefit from the experience of college staff. The workshop is being facilitated by Dan Maslakewycz from CTV.

The OMA’s “So You Think You Know Mining” high school video competition is now in its fourth year. This year $33,500 in prize money is up for grabs. The deadline for submitting two to three minute videos on any aspect of the benefits of mining is March 15, 2012. There is also a new category this year for short commercials. The SYTYKM awards gala will be held June 5, 2012 at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Not much insight from [Sudbury] community leaders – by Karen Pappin (Sudbury Star Letter to the Editor – January 12, 2012)

January 12, 2012

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

Re: “Community leaders share hopes for 2012” — Dec. 31.

Reading the story, I anticipated some insight or vision. The mayor sees environmental knowledge as an economic generator because she has spoken to many international mining interests from around the world.

Former mayor Jim Gordon continues to wail about youth out-migration. It is no longer a worthwhile conversation after some 25 years and still no solution after many studies.

The first study, which I facilitated about 20 years ago for the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, stated that youths leave for many reasons, not just jobs. They will return for a job when it kicks into their 30- something heads, as they become parents themselves and begin to think that perhaps it would be nice to raise their kids in an environment similar to what they grew up in.

Critical Metal Shortages – a look at global graphite, manganese and vanadium supply – by Brian Sylvester (Mineweb.com – January 11, 2012)

January 12, 2012

http://www.mineweb.com/

The U.S. is now dependent on foreign sources for critical metals like graphite, vanadium and manganese. The Critical Metals Report interviews Michael and Chris Berry.

PETALUMA, CA (The Critical Metals Report) – The Critical Metals Report: In a presentation at the China Investment Conference in December, you said that over the last 20 years the U.S. government has mismanaged its supplies of critical metals to the point where it depends almost exclusively on foreign sources. How did this happen?

Michael Berry: It’s just now starting to dawn on Washington that we don’t have a stockpile. We had a stockpile through World War I and World War II (WWII) that was necessary to our national security. The U.S. was the biggest producer of rare earth elements (REEs) in the 1970s and 1980s. But then we allowed China to undercut our prices and we shut down the Mountain Pass mine, which was one of the largest if not the largest producer of rare earths in the world.

We lost not only production and access to REEs, which are critical for weapons systems, automobiles, alternative energy and a number of other applications, but we lost the processing chain that actually integrates and creates the metal, creates the alloy and magnets, and integrates it into material. China now controls these markets. There are four or five pieces of legislation pending in Washington, but it will take a decade or more to replace and rebuild these crucial supply chains.

Chris Berry: When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the idea of a unipolar world came into vogue and I think the United States took its eye off the ball by selling off stockpiles of numerous metals.

[Solid Gold Resources vs. Wahgoshig F.N.] Court, government threw junior miner “under the bus,” company claims – by Northern Ontario Business staff (January 11, 2012)

January 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.

A Thornhill, Ont. junior miner has come out swinging against an Ontario Superior Court decision that temporarily halted exploration in northeastern Ontario.

Solid Gold Resources fired back at Justice Carol Brown’s Jan. 3 ruling to side with the Wahgoshig First Nation in granting an injunction to temporarily halt exploration at the company’s Legacy gold project.

Solid Gold was ordered to stop its activity for 120 days while the company and the Ontario government pay for a third party mediator to begin a consultation process. The First Nation claimed it was not consulted on exploration activity and that the area in question holds significant cultural and archaeological values.

The company declined an interview request, but in a statement company president Darryl Stretch called the court’s ruling “plainly wrong on many levels.”

Éléonore could be the next Val d’Or [Quebec mining] – by Kevin Dougherty (Montreal Gazette – January 11, 2012)

January 11, 2012

http://www.montrealgazette.com/

The prospecting mission led by Premier Jean Charest and Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume to promote Charest’s Plan Nord struck gold Tuesday in the wilderness of northern Quebec, visiting the site of the Goldcorp Inc.’s Éléonore gold mine.

Labeaume, who led a delegation of about 25 Quebec City-area business people and who made his personal fortune in the mining business, said Éléonore is “opening up a new mining region in Canada.”

“It is major, major, major,” he said. Guy Belleau, director of the $2.2-billion mining project, set to begin production of 600,000 ounces of gold yearly in 2017, went further.

“The Plan Nord is Éléonore,” he said in a presentation to the business delegation, political leaders and representatives of the Cree First Nations who count on landing about half the 700 construction jobs and 400 mining jobs Éléonore will generate.

Pipeline rhetoric is a radical attack on due process – Globe and Mail Editorial (January 11, 2012)

January 11, 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 proposed Northern Gateway pipeline is a good idea, to judge from the information available thus far. But the regulatory process should go ahead and hear all concerns in an evenhanded way, as that process was designed to do. The federal government’s warnings about foreign influences and “environmental and other radical groups” are exaggerated.

Canada needs to trade with diverse markets, and China will have a huge appetite for oil for a long time to come. The pipeline, transporting petroleum from the Alberta oil sands to Kitimat, B.C., where it can be loaded on to ocean tankers, would serve the Asian market. Better access to international markets (not only through Gateway) could add $131-billion to this country’s gross domestic product between 2016 and 2030, and $27-billion in tax revenues, a paper published by the University of Calgary’s School of Policy studies argues.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was circumspect when he spoke with this newspaper’s editorial board in late October.

Our ecological treasure is the issue with Northern Gateway – by Gerald Butts (Globe and Mail – January 11, 2012)

January 11, 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.

Gerald Butts is president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada.

The hearings to decide the future of the Great Bear Sea and Rainforest got off to quite a start this week. Big oil, foreign intrigue, a grassroots uprising, duelling polls, angry ministers – this one has all the makings of a blockbuster. But the fervour obscures the heart of the matter: whether and under what conditions we should permit supertankers and a bitumen pipeline in one of the last intact temperate coastal rain forests on Earth.

I suspect most Canadians would be surprised that the proposed route of the Northern Gateway pipeline bisects this ecological treasure. Pipeline proponents would rather frame this issue around developing an Asian market for oil sands bitumen – and the allegedly nefarious U.S.-based interests who would prevent us from doing so – than have a science-based debate about the real risks associated with getting it there by this route.