Republic of Mining

Be Not Afraid of Greatness or Sudbury: A Cosmic Accident – by Kenneth Hayes (Part 2 of 2)

August 27, 2011August 27, 2011

Sudbury-born Kenneth Hayes currently teaches architectural history at the University of Toronto.

This essay was commissioned by the Musagetes Foundation on the occasion of the Musagetes Sudbury Cafe. It appears in the book Sudbury: Life in a Northern Town / Sudbury: au nord de notre vie.

Musagetes is a private foundation based in Guelph, Ontario which seeks to transform contemporary life by working with artists, cultural mediators, public intellectuals and other partners to develop new approaches to building community and culture.

Kenneth Hayes – Be Not Afraid of Greatness or Sudbury: A Cosmic Accident (Part 2 of 2)

Sudbury’s development displays some of these features in their later, more advanced forms. The “I” in Inco’s name proclaimed the venture international, but the dominant company in the exploitation of Sudbury’s ore reserves was essentially American. Inco may nominally have been based in Toronto, but Canada’s role in this relationship was at best that of junior partner in a kind of corporate suzerainty.

Falconbridge, the newer and smaller corporation in Sudbury, generally enjoyed a better reputation than Inco, but it was not that different. In fact, the rivalry between Inco and Falconbridge over the course of the twentieth century often had the unreal air of a duopoly — the minimum diversity required to maintain the appearance of open competition while colluding for the same ends. (11) In the last decade, Inco and Falconbridge were purchased, respectively, by the giant mining corporations Vale, from Brazil, and Xstrata, from Switzerland. This situation is still regarded (not without some degree of xenophobia) as abnormal, but the truth is that Sudbury has never really ruled itself.

Understandably, diversification has been Sudbury’s cultural and economic mandate in recent decades. Fuelled by the North’s long-standing regionalist grievances, the city went through a phase of public investment that resulted in the creation of the Taxation Data Centre, Science North and improved health-care and educational facilities, but there are now signs that vigorous private initiative is rising from the thrall of the mines, and doing so in Sudbury’s own inimitable way.

Be Not Afraid of Greatness or Sudbury: A Cosmic Accident – by Kenneth Hayes (Part 1 of 2)

August 27, 2011August 27, 2011

Sudbury-born Kenneth Hayes currently teaches architectural history at the University of Toronto.

Kenneth Hayes – Be Not Afraid of Greatness or Sudbury: A Cosmic Accident (Part 1 of 2)

Sudbury is not ugly, as the old “moonscape” slur has it, nor is it beautiful, as its boosters claim, pointing to the city’s many lakes. At once awesome and terrible, harsh and majestic, Sudbury lies beyond the register of ugly and beautiful. The place can only be described as sublime, for Sudbury is a phenomenon as much as it is a city.

This status is revealed by the fundamental confusion about its name, which never makes clear what is nominated: the city itself, the larger region, the Sudbury Basin on which the city is perched, the fact of the mines, or even the reputation of the place. Without proper limits, one signifier encompasses all of these identities.

Sudbury is, in the final analysis, the slow unfolding of a cosmic accident. The nickel ore that fuelled the city’s development was deposited in a vast cataclysm, the impact of a meteorite that would have destroyed all life on earth — had there been any. But this occurred so long ago that life did not yet exist on earth. (1) The shock was so great that seismologists can still detect its faint reverberation — planet Earth literally quivers with the pangs of Sudbury’s birth.

[MAC’s Pierre Gratton says] embrace foreign investment – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – August 26, 2011)

August 26, 2011

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

“We have already succeeded as Canadians on the global
mining stage. We are every-where…Canada’s voice is
loud, the Canadian industry is loud, our expertise is
used everywhere, our government legislation is copied
everywhere. We have nothing to fear about our place
in the world.” (Pierre Gratton, President and CEO,
Mining Association of Canada)

It can be a difficult message to deliver, but someone has to do it, says the head of an organization that calls itself the voice of the mining industry in Canada.

Foreign investment in mining companies is a good thing and should not be feared, says Pierre Gratton.

In Sudbury, for instance, the billions in investments that Vale is looking to make in its Sudbury operations might not have been made by the former Inco Ltd.

Gratton, president and chief executive officer of the Mining Association of Canada, urged an audience of 200 people Thursday to “avoid protectionism.”

Sudbury ready to cash in [on mining investments] – by Carol Mulligan

September 13, 2018August 26, 2011

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

“If we do the right things, mining can literally help
dig Ontario out of its debt.” (Chris Hodgson, President
and CEO Ontario Mining Association)

Sudbury is well-positioned to benefit from that mining
boom because it has the largest integrated mining complex
in the world and one of the largest nickel-copper
sulphide bodies. (Pierre Gratton, President and CEO,
Mining Association of Canada)

Sudbury stands to benefit from investments in mining operations to the tune of about $5.2 billion in the next five years. That’s a healthy percentage of the $136.4 billion in capital expected to be invested in mining projects throughout Canada from 2012 to 2017.

All of those billions will go into mining projects already in existence, says the president and chief executive officer of the Mining Association of Canada.

That doesn’t include private and public money that may be invested in projects to develop, mine, smelt and transport chromite from the Ring of Fire in northwestern Ontario.

Pierre Gratton was one of two guests who spoke to the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce on Thursday about how the city can benefit from the current up cycle in the metals industry.

China will continue to be a mineral price driver as its econo my continues to grow at double-digit rates. That demand is long-term, with expectations its growth will still be in the 6% to 9% range from 2020-2025.

Ribbon cut for Vale Living with Lakes Centre – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – August 26, 2011)

August 26, 2011

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

John Gunn may have won the battle, but now he’s focused on the war. The director of the Vale Living With Lakes Centre, which was officially opened on Thursday, first started raising funds for the building in 1992.

Since then, the Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit at Laurentian University has tried to build a new centre three times. Instead, the unit’s researchers operated out of several small white houses by Ramsey Lake.

“I feel like I’m (still) fighting. The work is ahead of us. The most important thing now is the work itself,” said Gunn, the Canada Research Chair in Stressed Aquatic Systems at Laurentian.

“I think we’re just starting out. This is the time to be looking ahead. How do we attract those new young researchers?”

OMA President points out a greater potential for mining in Ontario

September 13, 2018August 26, 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.

Ontario Mining Association President Chris Hodgson presented a positive vision for the future of mining in Ontario at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce President’s Series Luncheon event today. Sharing the podium with Mr. Hodgson was Pierre Gratton, President of the Mining Association of Canada.

A sell-out crowd of about 200 attended the gathering, which was held at Bryston’s On The Park in Copper Cliff. Mr. Hodgson’s remarks were based on the OMA document “Action Plan for Ontario: Taking Advantage of a Critical Window of Opportunity,” which is available on the OMA website www.oma.on.ca.

This vision sees mining helping all Ontarians achieve greater prosperity and a greener economy with more concerted government support and a deliberate strategy. Increasingly rapid globalization and urbanization have analysts around the world anticipating unprecedented commodity demand in the next two decades. For a jurisdiction like Ontario with an enviable geological endowment, this is a call to action.

Federal government gets it! Harper supports northern mining – by Marilyn Scales

May 4, 2015August 26, 2011

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Miners rejoice! The Canadian government understands the enormous potential of developing natural resources in the Arctic.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his annual pilgrimage to the North this week, including a stop at Agnico-Eagle’s Meadowbank gold mine near Baker Lake, NU. He told miners and guests, “Development of the North’s awesome resource potential is a national economic challenge which could yield enormous national economic benefits. The primary beneficiaries will be Northerners themselves, but the wealth generated here will create jobs and opportunities for Canadians all across the country.”

Since the Harper government was first elected in 2006, it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in development of the North. Some of the money has gone into the GEM geo-mapping program, better to understand where resources might be found. And this week the feds committed $230,000 over three years to support an office in Iqaluit for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

NEWS RELEASE: [Sudbury-based] NORCAT Recognized for Outstanding Achievement by NASA

September 13, 2018August 26, 2011

August 25, 2011 – The Northern Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. (NORCAT), has been awarded the NASA Group Achievement Award for outstanding efforts in support of the 2010 International Lunar Surface Operations InSitu resource Utilization Field Test (ILSO-ISRU). Specifically this distinction is awarded in recognition of the quality of results and level of impact on NASA programs, effective management of cost and schedule, customer satisfaction, capacity for future contribution and the development of innovative approaches in responding to unforeseen crises.

In addition to technical contributions such as the drill and sample acquisition system for the NASA RESOLVE lunar water prospector testing and fuel cell system design for the lunar water utilization experiment, NORCAT’s role during this ILSO-ISRU field exercise was as overall field mission lead and coordinator.

Harper defends Nunavut waste decision – by Mike De Souza (Montreal Gazette – August 25, 2011)

May 16, 2012August 25, 2011

http://www.montrealgazette.com/

Gold mine allowed to dump in lake; Environmental issues ‘have to be addressed, but that can’t stop development,’ PM says

Prime Minister Stephen Harper pointed to environmental effects of development in Canada’s largest cities Wednesday and defended a government decision to allow a local gold mine to dump its waste into nearby fish habitat.

“Obviously, when you dig holes here you create some environmental issues and those have to be addressed, but that can’t stop development, any more than we would let that stop development in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver,” Harper said, drawing applause from local workers at the Meadowbank gold mine.

“The people here care about the environment. They’re partners in the environment, but they have as much right to development and opportunity as people in any other part of the country.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper pushes mining expansion in Arctic – by Gloria Galloway (Globe and Mail – August 25, 2011)

May 16, 2012August 25, 2011

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous impact and influence on Canada’s political and business elite as well as the rest of the country’s print, radio and television media.

The GDP in this territory [Nunavut] rose nearly 15 per cent last
year, due in large part to the [Agnico-Eagle] Meadowbank
mine. And developers are considering 10 to 12 other mines
for gold, uranium, diamonds and iron ore.

“Development of the North’s awesome resource potential
is a national economic challenge, which could yield
enormous national economic benefits…The primary
beneficiaries will be Northerners themselves, but the
wealth generated here will create jobs and opportunities
for Canadians all across the country.” (Prime Minister
Stephen Harper – Baker Lake, Nunavut – August 24, 2011)

BAKER LAKE, NUNAVUT – While Billie-Jo Eindhoven’s friends back in the Nunavut hamlet Rankin Inlet are having babies, she is 300 kilometres away, driving 150-tonne trucks around the rocky pit of the Meadowbank gold mine.

Ms. Eindhoven, 24, started off as a kitchen helper, and moved to the trucks five months later “mostly for the challenge,” she said on Wednesday after Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his entourage arrived at what is now the only working mine in this territory.

The recent surge in the price of gold, which is still above $1,700 an ounce despite a recent dip, has made it easier for the Prime Minister to boast about the burgeoning development of the natural resources that lie below the tundra in Canada’s far North.

Diefenbaker gave Canada a [northern] dream worth following – by Arthur Milnes (Toronto Star – June 8, 2007)

August 25, 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.

“This is the vision,” Diefenbaker shouted on the hustings
in 1958. “One Canada. One Canada, where Canadians will have
preserved to them the control of their own economic and
political destiny. Sir John A. Macdonald saw Canada from
east to west: He opened the west. I see a new Canada –
a Canada of the North. This is the vision.”

It was 50 years ago Sunday that collectively as Canadians we began to “Follow John.” On June 10, 1957, John Diefenbaker did the impossible and removed the Liberals from the government benches in Ottawa after 22 years in power.

And what a journey it was, as the drama of Diefenbaker and what became known as the Tenth Decade (leading up to Centennial year in 1967) played out before us.

The final scenes in the storied legend – a train to return him to his beloved Prairies for burial, as ordinary Canadians came out and stood at rural sidings in respect for the great man as he went by a final time – are now ingrained in our collective memory and history.

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August 28, 2011August 25, 2011

John Diefenbaker’s “A New Vision” Northern Speech – (February 12, 1958)

August 25, 2011

John G. Diefenbake’s “A New Vision” speech was given at the Civic Auditorium, Winnipeg, 12 February 1958

Ladies and gentlemen, we started in the last few months, since June the 10th, to carry out our promises, and I can tell you this, that as long as I am Prime Minister of this country, the welfare of the average Canadian will not be forgotten. We intend to launch for the future, we have laid the foundations now, the long-range objectives of this party.

We ask from you a mandate; a new and a stronger mandate, to pursue the planning and to carry to fruition our new national development programme for Canada. For years we raised that in the House of Commons, and those in authority ridiculed it. Day before yesterday, Mr. Pearson came out in favour of a national development policy. Why didn’t they do it when they were in power?

This national development policy will create a new sense of national purpose and national destiny. One Canada. One Canada, wherein Canadians will have preserved to them the control of their own economic and political destiny. Sir John A. Macdonald gave his life to this party. He opened the West. He saw Canada from East to West. I see a new Canada – a Canada of the North. What are these new principles? What are our objectives? What do we propose? We propose to assist the provinces, with their co-operation, in the financing and construction of job-creating projects necessary for the new development, where such projects are beyond the resources of the provinces.

Nunavut’s future is underground, says Harper – Allan Woods (Toronto Star – August 25, 2011)

May 16, 2012August 25, 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.

“Our government is the first since that of Prime Minister Diefenbaker to put the north at the top of Canada’s agenda. We put it there and we will keep it there, and the north’s best years are only beginning.” (Prime Minister Stephen Harper – Agnico-Eagle’s Meadowbank Mine, Nunavut – August 24, 2011)

BAKER LAKE, NUNAVUT—A gold mine on the tundra is helping Nunavut blast, haul, crush, melt and pour its way to prosperity and that is just the way Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants it to be.

The future in this long-impoverished territory is under the ground and the role he has set for his government is to help mining companies find it. The environmental consequences won’t exactly be damned, but they won’t exactly stand in the way either.

“Obviously when you dig holes here, you know, you create some environmental issues and those issues have to be addressed, but that can’t stop development any more than we would let that stop development in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver,” Harper said at the Meadowbank Mine, which is owned by Toronto-based Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.

There are “extraordinary circumstances” in which the government has and would refuse to permit certain projects to go ahead. Under normal circumstances, when the environmental checks and balances are completed “we want to see projects occur,” Harper said.