Republic of Mining

Failing [Aboriginal] kids in our [Ontario] north – (Toronto Star Editorial – September 10, 2011)

September 10, 2011

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.

A coroner’s inquest into a suicide routinely results in recommendations for more accessible, comprehensive and better funded mental health services. Ontario’s examination of the suicides of 16 children on a northern First Nations reserve is no different on that score. It’s Ontario deputy chief coroner Dr. Bert Lauwers’ call for other things — things so basic that they shouldn’t need mentioning — that really make his report stand out.

Access to clean water. Indoor plumbing. A decent school. How can communities without such basic necessities still exist in Ontario? The level of poverty and deprivation in the fly-in community of Pikangikum First Nation, 100 kilometres east of the Manitoba border, is appalling. It helped to create such deep despair that children, like the 12-year-old boy who hanged himself from a poplar tree outside his grandmother’s home and a 16-year-old girl who hanged herself with a shoelace in the laundry room, could see no way forward.

The coroner’s 100 recommendations are not just a blueprint to stem the dramatically high suicide rate of First Nations children and youth in northern Ontario. They are an indictment of the conditions that Ottawa has allowed to persist for far too long.

Northeastern Ontario Chambers Joint Policy Statement About Far North Act-Bill 191

September 10, 2011

A joint statement by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce and North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce on the Far North Act – Bill 191.

The provincial government introduced the Bill 191 for First Reading on June 2, 2009. The Act passed Third Reading on Sept. 23, 2010 and received Royal Assent on Oct. 25, 2010. Its purpose is to permanently protect at least half of Ontario’s Far North for the “sustainable development of natural resources” as well the preservation of biological diversity and ecological processes.

The legislation puts forward a process for community-based land-use planning that will ultimately set aside at least 21% of the province’s total landmass, or half of the Far North’s 450,000 square kilometers, in an interconnected network of protected areas. The region reaches from the Manitoba border in the west to James Bay and Quebec in the east and north along a line several hundred kilometers north of Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Hearst and Cochrane.

This area contains 24,000 people spread across 34 communities (31 of which are First Nations). It is also host to the socalled “Ring of Fire,” an area of potential significant mineral wealth that includes a world-class deposit of chromite,deposits of nickel and other base and precious metals. It is expected that $1.5 billion will be spent over the next 10 years to develop this area in advance of mineral extraction.

NDP promises respect for Northern Ontarians – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – September 9, 2011)

September 9, 2011

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. cmulligan@thesudburystar.com

If the New Democratic Party is elected in Ontario, it would ensure resources that could be processed here are, it would cut the HST from electricity and home heating bills and encourage 200 doctors to practise in underserviced areas of the province, at least 50 of them in the North.

Northeastern Ontario would also get the positron emission tomography scanner that thousands of northerners have been calling for, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath told a partisan crowd at Laurentian University on Thursday.

Those promises and more are contained in the Respect for the North plan Horwath unveiled in Sudbury at her first stop on a northern tour.

It is time Queen’s Park showed respect to the people and the communities of the North, said Horwath, and hers is the party to do it.

NEWS RELEASE: Probe Mines Announces Memorandum of Understanding With Brunswick House, Chapleau Cree and Chapleau Ojibwe First Nations for Its Borden Lake Gold Project, Chapleau, Ontario

September 9, 2011

Sep 07, 2011

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Sept. 7, 2011) – Probe Mines Limited (TSX VENTURE:PRB) (“Probe” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the Brunswick House, Chapleau Cree and Chapleau Ojibwe First Nations communities near Chapleau, Ontario. The MOU establishes a commitment by Probe to develop an ongoing relationship with the three communities in the area of the Company’s Borden Lake Gold Project and provides the communities with an opportunity to participate in the benefits of the project through training, ongoing communication and business development.

An Elders Committee (the “Committee”) will be created to provide advice to the Company on traditional values and local cultural and environmental matters during the exploration phase. Probe has also agreed to negotiate an Impact Benefit Agreement with the communities should the project proceed to production.

David Palmer, President of Probe, states “The signing of the MOU is an important first step in building a relationship based on mutual respect and cooperation with the First Nations communities. We are looking forward to working with the communities and receiving their input as we explore the Borden Lake area. Their contribution of local knowledge will be invaluable in helping us create a socially responsible exploration program to the benefit of all involved.”

Global Uncertainties Are A Sure Bet – Ned Goodman (Canadian Mining Journal – September, 2011)

September 9, 2011

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication.

Ned Goodman is President and CEO of Dundee Corporation, an asset management company dedicated to private wealth management, real estate and resources.

“We remain solidly long-term bullish on our
scenario that demand for most commodities,
including food, will remain in excess of
the world’s ability to supply.”(Ned Goodman –
President and CEO Dundee Corporation)

It was some months ago that I was asked by Russ Noble if I would write a few words for an op-ed article in Canadian Mining Journal. There were several subjects that came to mind, just about all would have been too lengthy and not bear the kind of information required for this specialized and excellent magazine.

Sitting back, I thought I would write about development, global economic movements, freedom and the overall investment climate.

Amartya Sen, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, wrote a book in 1999 called “Development as Freedom”. He concluded the book with a quote from William Cowper: “Freedom had a thousand charms to show, That slaves, however contented, never know.”

Sen wrote too that, “Development is indeed a momentous engagement with freedom’s possibility”. In his book, Sen presented and defended a particular approach to the development of the global human population. He recommended as a process the expansion of substantive freedoms that would be available to people all over the world. He presents the perspective of freedom in both an evaluative analysis of assessing change and in a predictive analysis of “seeing freedom as a causally effective factor in the generation of rapid change.”

Shoe on the other foot for Thunder Bay’s Gravelle – by Adam Radwanski (Globe and Mail – September 9, 2011)

September 26, 2011September 9, 2011

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.

For the web’s largest database of articles on the Ring of Fire mining camp, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

THUNDER BAY – For most of his political career, Michael Gravelle has been seen as a fighter for his hometown of Thunder Bay – a little guy, literally and figuratively, standing up to those who would neglect Ontario’s Far North.

This fall, he’s fighting charges that he’s the one doing the neglecting.

Such is the mixed blessing of spending the past four years as Northern Development Minister for a government perceived not to have done enough to develop the region. So what was once one of the safest Liberal seats in the province is now up for grabs, with Mr. Gravelle one of several northern Liberal MPPs fighting for their political lives.

But who the real contenders are in Thunder Bay-Superior North, a sprawling riding that includes half of northwest Ontario’s largest city and some more far-flung communities, is less clear.

Horwath plays to Northern [Ontario] discontent – Anna Mehler Paperny (Globe and Mail – September 9, 2011)

September 9, 2011

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.

THUNDER BAY – Over 19 hours and 3,300 kilometres, Andrea Horwath laid out her battle plan for Ontario’s north.

The region was home to some of the closest-fought races of the 2007 election. This year, the parties are going at it again. Their game plan? To duke it out over who is the best champion of a recession-hit region that tends to feel politically disenfranchised and far removed from Queen’s Park.

So Ms. Horwath, campaigning on a platform of average-Joe discontent, has a receptive ear to complaints of neglect.

“We can create a future for the North that creates good jobs. But it won’t happen by sticking with the made-in-Toronto status quo,” she said Thursday. “We are shipping away logs and we are buying back the sawdust. It makes no sense. And we can do better.”

[Caterpillar’s] $14.5-Billion vote of confidence in mining – Russell Noble (Canadian Mining Journal – September, 2011)

September 13, 2018September 9, 2011

Russell Noble is the editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication.

What Caterpillar did not only made headlines around the
globe, but it also sent a message to the entire world
and its leaders that the company believes in mining and
that it is committed to the industry for its own future
too. (Russell Noble – CMJ/September, 2011)

Fourteen-and-a-half billion dollars! That’s a lot of money and I don’t care how rich you are, those figures are attention grabbers in any circle. Even the richest of rich raise their eyebrows when the words “fourteen-and-a-half billion dollars” are mentioned because there’s always some serious business, and usually interesting opportunities, associated with that kind of money.

In mining, particularly when that amount of money is mentioned in conversation, juniors from coast to coast envisage more drill rigs or even a mine on their property someday while active miners probably start thinking deeper and wider about the properties they already own and operate.

And like the prospectors and developers I just mentioned, there are also others associated with mining (and big money) that think investing in the industry is a good thing too. And that’s exactly what Caterpillar Inc did when it recently announced that it bought Bucyrus International, Inc. for $8.8 billion and is planning to spend another $5.7 billion on research and development (and “yellow” paint) to make the products they just bought even better.

NEWS RELEASE: PwC takes a new look at mining company taxation in Quebec

September 8, 2011

Mining companies in Quebec face one of the highest tax burdens in Canada

Click here for: Digging deeper: Canadian mining taxation

MONTREAL, Sept. 7, 2011 /CNW/ – An independent study conducted by PwC on provincial taxation of mining companies in Canada reveals that nearly 41% of mining profits in Quebec are paid as taxes and royalties, including the federal component, while the Canadian weighted average based on the value of output is 36.8%. Quebec ranked 11th back in 2007, when it was the lowest taxing province; today, it ranks third.

“Amid the ongoing lively debate over mining company taxation in Quebec, a number of the study’s conclusions are relevant when it comes to taking a new look at Quebec’s tax regime, particularly income tax and the mining tax”, said Nochane Rousseau, Leader‚ Mining Industry Services and PwC’s Plan Nord Initiative.

•In Canada, the overall tax burden (combined federal/provincial) in all jurisdictions fell between 2007 and 2011 (going from weighted average based on the value of output of 40.7% to 36.8%), with the exception of Quebec, where it rose from 35.4% to 40.9%.
•In Quebec, 41% of mining profits are paid as taxes and royalties, including the federal component. Quebec has the third-highest overall tax burden (combined provincial/federal) in Canada.

It’s [Saskatchewan premier] Brad Wall vs. green all-stars [Keystone XL pipeline] – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – September 8, 2011)

September 8, 2011

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

As the United States’ review over whether to grant a permit to the Keystone XL pipeline enters the final stretch, the debate has gotten so out of hand it’s bordering on a gong show.

Wednesday, world jet-setters including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other Nobel Peace Prize laureates joined former U.S. vice-president Al Gore in opposing the $7-billion Canadian project to carry Canadian oil to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, based on their general disdain for fossil fuels.

Saskatchewan’s Premier, Brad Wall, arguably Canada’s most articulate pitchman, will seek to bring the debate back to reality with a speech to an influential group of U.S. state leaders on Friday facilitated by the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins.

At the National Speakers’ Conference, which represents all U.S. state speakers, in Charleston, S.C., the popular Premier plans to talk about the attributes of Canadian oil that are failing to get much needed air time — that it’s “conflict-free,” that it comes from “another freedom-loving country that is a champion of human rights and that has everything in common with the United States, certainly a lot more in common than their other sources of oil.”

Author Naomi Klein arrested in oilsands [Keystone XL pipeline] protest – by Mitch Potter (Toronto Star – September 3, 2011)

September 8, 2011

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.

WASHINGTON—More than 1,000 people have been busted at the gates of the White House the past two weeks, as the most ambitious of climate protests against Canadian oil comes to a head.

Toronto author and activist Naomi Klein was not planning to be among them. Support the cause? Sure. Speak to the anti-tarsands faithful? Absolutely. But to actually get arrested?

No, Klein and the other Canadian protesters in Washington agreed — that is a stand best left to their U.S. counterparts, who need not worry whether such close encounters with law enforcement will hamper their ability to cross borders in the future.

Yet there was Klein on Friday, being led away by police in the latest harvest of detainees after a last-second decision to put her liberty on the line in opposition to the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

[Keystone XL pipeline] Ex-Tory message maven tailors his spin to oil sands – by Colin Freeze (Globe and Mail – July 28, 2011)

September 8, 2011

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.

Alykhan Velshi, a 27-year-old who established himself in Ottawa as a master of messaging and a crucial cog in the Conservative machine, has a new job – he’s out to polish the image of Canada’s oil sands in the minds of freedom-loving people everywhere.

“When petroleum reserves were deposited around the world, it is unfortunate that they were all given to the world’s bastards,” he said. “With the exception of Canada, most of them are with the world’s bastards. You need to recognize that when you are buying oil.”

Never known for subtlety, Mr. Velshi now runs EthicalOil.org, a blog set to relaunch on Thursday. A few months ago, he was the communications director for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. He was also an important part of the Tory war room that steamrolled the Liberal Party en route to victory.

How Ontario provincial political parties seeking office on October 6th view mining

September 8, 2011

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 election campaign in Ontario is now officially underway. On October 6, 2011, Ontario voters will determine who forms the next government in this province. In advance of this election day, let’s take a look at what the major parties are saying about the mining industry in their official campaign documents.

The Liberal Party has packaged its election platform in the paper titled Forward Together. This document both presents what the government has done during its last two terms of office and outlines plans, if elected, for a third term. It contains a section on mining – Northern Opportunity: The Best Mining Industry in the World.

“One of the most promising opportunities Ontario has seen in generations is the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario. This massive mineral deposit is one of the most significant and exciting natural resources Ontario has, already attracting more than 50 companies who want to be part of the development.”

“We need to work together to seize its benefits just as we always have when supporting Ontario’s mining sector. With our leadership, the entire province will be able to benefit economically from the Ring of Fire. That is why we have made sure that the mining industry and the Ring of Fire are an important piece of our economic plan for Ontario,” said Forward Together.

NEWS RELEASE: MINING CONTINUES TO DRIVE THE ECONOMIES OF CANADA’S NORTH

September 8, 2011

The Conference Board of Canada is the foremost independent, not-for-profit applied research organization in Canada that delivers knowledge about economic trends, public policy and organizational performance.

Ottawa, September 8, 2011— With minerals in high demand in global markets, the mining sector is bolstering economic growth in Canada’s three northern territories, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Summer 2011 edition of Territorial Outlook.

“Both Yukon and Nunavut are entering a period of sustained growth in their mining industries. New mines opened in both territories last year and more are scheduled to start up over the next decade,” said Marie-Christine Bernard, Associate Director. “In the Northwest Territories, however, the diamond extraction industry has reached maturity and production is expected to wane over the next four years, limiting economic growth.”

“The economies of Canada’s territories are prone to sharp rise-and-falls as mining projects move through the assessment, construction, production, and closure phases,” said Bernard. “All three territories face the cyclical nature of growth based on resources.”