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Growth plan to include all of Northeast – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – September 27, 2011)

 The Daily Press, the city of Timmins newspaper. Contact the writer at news@thedailypress.ca.

Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA) representatives provide input into pilot project

COCHRANE — The two urban centres targeted by the provincial government to pilot the Northern Growth Plan are making a concentrated effort to include all areas of their regions in the project.

The government selected Thunder Bay and Sudbury to begin the plan. Both groups are including input from Northwestern and Northeastern Ontario communities respectively for a broader based plan.

Sylvia Barnard, president of Cambrian College, was at Saturday’s meeting of the Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA) in Cochrane. Her discussions with NEOMA was just one of a series of meetings with regional groups to get input to define a model for Regional Economic Development Areas (REDAs).

“When we heard from sister communities, the feeling was ‘here we go again, Sudbury gets everything,'” Barnard explained. “But we wanted to see consultation from across Northeastern Ontario from people involved in economic development.”

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Northern [Ontario] leaders are determined to be heard – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – September 27, 2011)

 The Daily Press, the city of Timmins newspaper. Contact the writer at news@thedailypress.ca.

“The North has the potential to be one of the wealthiest
regions in the world. Yet we are not permitted to realize
the full benefits of our natural resources — while the
federal and provincial government rake in big time tax
revenues. (Wayne Snider – Timmins Daily Press)

Tired of being ignored by provincial politicians

Municipal leaders in Northeastern Ontario are hungry for political change at the provincial level. But the change they desire is over and above what happens in the Oct. 6 election.

They want the North to be taken seriously in Queen’s Park. It is a tall order, given the fact that only 11 of the 107 seats in the provincial legislature are based in Northern ridings. In terms of voting support, which is what political parties really care about, the North isn’t a significant player at the provincial level.

That is why policies — such as the Far North Act and the Endangered Species Act — get pushed through despite vocal protests from Northern municipalities. Both of these acts will limit economic growth in the North.

In the case of the Endangered Species Act, specifically the protection of caribou habitat in areas where the animals haven’t been seen for 60-80 years, it will mean economic regression for the forest industry.

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Strategic Minerals: Is China’s Consumption a Threat to United States Security? – by Dr. Kent Hughes Butts, Mr. Brent Bankus, and 2nd Lieutenant Adam Norris (U.S. Army War College – July, 2011)

“China’s resulting role in the mineral trade has increased
Western security community concern over strategic minerals
to its highest point since the end of the Cold War….The
U.S. dependence on overseas sources of strategic minerals
essential to sustain its economy and defense sector is more
pronounced than its dependence upon foreign oil….There is
not, for example, a substitute for … chromium in the
production of stainless steel.”
(U.S. Army War College Issue Paper)

 Center for Strategic Leadership,U.S. Army War College

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

No great nation willingly allows its standard of life and culture to be lowered and no great nation accepts the risk that it will go hungry. — Hjalmer Schacht, German Minister of Economics, 1937

The vitality of a powerful nation depends upon its ability to secure access to the strategic resources necessary to sustain its economy and produce effective weapons for defense. This is especially true for the world’s two largest economies, those of the United States and China, which are similarly import dependent for around half of their petroleum imports and large quantities of their strategic minerals.

Because China’s economy and resource import dependence continue to grow at a high rate it has adopted a geopolitical strategy to secure strategic resources. China’s resulting role in the mineral trade has increased Western security community concern over strategic minerals to its highest point since the end of the Cold War.

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Voice for the North [Ontario]: NEOMA forming professional lobby group – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – September 26, 2011)

 The Daily Press is the city of Timmins newspaper.

COCHRANE — Tired of southern-based special interest groups influencing provincial legislation that impacts the North, municipal leaders are prepared to fight back.

Members of the Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA) are gearing up to create a professional lobbying effort to represent their interests.

Saturday, at NEOMA’s meeting held at Cochrane’s Tim Horton Event Centre, political leaders voted to establish a subcommittee to set up a framework for the lobby effort. It will report back to the group by early January, in time for member municipalities to support the effort in their 2012 budgets.

“I am happy that we are actually rolling up our sleeves and getting active on this issue,” Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis told The Daily Press after the meeting. “I know we’ve been talking for a long time about not having a value (to the Northern perspective) in the legislature.

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Vale’s massive Newfoundland nickel refinery takes shape – by Paul Brent (Canadian Mining Journal – September, 2011)

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication providing information on Canadian mining and exploration trends, technologies, operations, and industry events.

Vale Canada Ltd.’s $2.8-billion nickel processing facility at Long Harbour in Newfoundland will be a showcase for the mining giant’s newly developed hydrometallurgy refining technology when the plant is completed in early 2013.

Long Harbour, which will process 50,000 tons per year of nickel from the Voisey’s Bay concentrate deposit in Labrador, will operate much differently than traditional nickel processing facilities. The key difference is the use of hydrometallurgy or “hydromet” technology that utilizes a combination of water and oxygen under pressure to dissolve selected metals from the incoming concentrate.

“It is a process called POL, which means Pressure Oxidative Leaching,” says Rinaldo Stefan, who is project director of the Long Harbour processing plant.

For Vale, one of the big payoffs from the POL process is a significantly reduced sulphur dioxide footprint for the Long Harbour operation. As part of the traditional nickel refining process, sulphur is mixed with oxygen to be removed, captured and then converted into sulphuric acid to be disposed of.

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Planning for a gold mine: Plan Nord’s impact on Quebec’s mining industry – by Nochane Rousseau (Canadian Mining Journal – September, 2011)

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication providing information on Canadian mining and exploration trends, technologies, operations, and industry events.

Nochane Rousseau, Leader, Mining Industry Services and Plan Nord Project – PwC. For more information, please visit PwC’s mining site at: www.pwc.com/ca/mining.

“The plan addresses these issues [infrastructure] by
outlining actions the Quebec government will take to
build the necessary strategic infrastructure in
territories with the highest economic potential—an
“if you build it, they will come” mentality.”

“Beyond being rich in resources, the province’s mining
industry is well established and affordable
hydro-electricity is a competitive advantage for miners
operating in Quebec.” (Nochane Rousseau, Leader, Mining
Industry Services and Plan Nord Project – PwC)

Twenty-five years may seem like a lifetime away, but the Quebec government’s Plan Nord could result in a huge transformation of Northern Quebec in what’s, in reality, a relatively short amount of time, given its ambitious objectives.

The numbers are nothing short of impressive. The Quebec Government projects Plan Nord to lead to over $80 billion in investments – $47 billion towards renewable energy and $33 billion for investments in the mining sector and public infrastructure such as roads, rail and airports. It will also create or consolidate about 20,000 jobs per year over a 25-year period. In its recently released plan, the government says it hopes the initiative will be to the coming decades what the development of La Manicouagan and James Bay were to the 1960-70s.

The mining industry could play a huge part in this investment. The 1.2 million km area the plan covers is a wealth of untapped opportunities that could surely captivate the interest of domestic and global mining companies. This territory produces all of Quebec’s nickel, zinc and iron ore, to name a few, and also represents a significant portion of gold production.

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How Canada’s economy can come down – David Frum (National Post – September 24, 2011)

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

Is Canada’s luck finally running out? Through three bad economic years, Canada has emerged as an island of relative stability amid the global storm. More Canadians are working today than were working in the summer of 2008. No other major Western economy has done so well.

Canada has the lowest debt burden of any G7 country. The turmoil in the Eurozone and the gloom in the United States feel very far away from the stability and prosperity of Canada.

Yet Canadians should be warned:

I was talking the other day to a diplomat from a small northern European country. I congratulated him on his nation’s relative economic success. He shrugged. “It’s only a matter of time. You cannot long remain a winner country in a loser region.”

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Republic of Mining.com Stan Sudol CBC Radio Sudbury Interview (March 9, 2011)

Wednesday March 9, 2011   A new miner is going to drill the ocean floor for nickel nodules. Offshore oil and gas companies are about to be joined by a mining company extracting nickel and copper. Stan Sudol is a blogger (RepublicOfMining.com) and mining industry watcher in Toronto he fills us in: http://www.cbc.ca/morningnorth/past-episodes/2011/03/09/a-new-miner-is-going-to-drill-the-ocean-floor-for-nickel-nodules-mar-092011/

Bright future for mining [Northern Ontario] – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – September 24, 2011)

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

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

“Mining is on the agendas … But, that’s because the southern
Ontario manufacturing economy is in serious trouble. While our
major customer (the United States) will probably be going through
a most troubling economic time the next decade or so, the only part
of the Ontario economy that is doing well is the mining sector.”

Sudol said not having a low-enough electricity rate could be the
deal breaker for Cliffs Natural Resources locating its proposed
chromite processing plant in Ontario. “Right now, power rates in
Manitoba and Quebec are 40- 60% lower than Ontario … There’s no
way they are going to locate that refinery in Ontario.” (Mining
strategist Stan Sudol – RepublicOfMining.com)

AT ISSUE: What is the vision for mining in Greater Sudbury and Northern Ontario?

Chris Hodgson has good reason to believe things are looking up — way up — for Ontario’s mining sector. That’s primarily because the Ontario Mining Association’s recent vision paper and its 10 recommendations about what the mining sector wants addressed by the province is getting serious attention in the Ontario election.

“It’s a big difference,” he said. “In the late 1990s, it was a sunset industry. Now, it may be the key to getting us out of the hole financially.”

A former minister of Northern Development and Mines in the Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government from 1995-99, Hodgson has been president of the OMA for seven years. The association has 70 members who operate 40 mines and employ 20,000 people.

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[Sudbury] City to make pitch for chromite plant on Monday – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – September 24, 2011)

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

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

The fact Sudbury is a global mining centre is one of the compelling reasons Cliffs Natural Resources should build a chromite processing plant and the 400 to 500 jobs it would create in the city.

That’s the pitch Mayor Marianne Matichuk and city staff will make when they meet with Cliffs officials on Monday. “Cliffs is looking at places to establish its smelting operation,” Matichuk said in a release Friday. “To me, there is only one place; here in Greater Sudbury.

“If Cliffs decides to build in Ontario, we want Greater Sudbury to be the only choice for them.”

Earlier this year, Cliffs, a Cleveland-based mining company, looked at different places for the ferrochrome production facility and announced a Sudbury location, Moose Mountain, north of Capreol, as the benchmark site.

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Hudak, Horwath scold McGuinty for missing [Northern Ontario] debate – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – September 24, 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.

THUNDER BAY—He skipped the debate on northern Ontario issues, but Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty was far from forgotten as his main rivals for the premier’s job took him — and each other — to task.

So did local farmer Peter Lang, who showed up with a hen named Henrietta and a sign reading, “Dalton’s chicken!” as NDP Leader Andrea Horwath arrived at the event hosted by the Northern Ontario Municipal Association.

To the chagrin of New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives, there was not an empty podium on stage in an airport hotel to symbolize the absent McGuinty, who was campaigning in the GTA while his challengers were quizzed on boosting the northern economy if they win the Oct. 6 vote. “We’d love to have an empty chair,” said one Tory strategist, adding the municipal association wanted to avoid controversy.

With the Liberals holding all but three ridings in northern Ontario, McGuinty’s decision to stay away showed northerners they should feel his government is “taking them for granted,” said Horwath.

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The Ontario campaign begins today [Northern debate] – by Martine Regg Cohn (Toronto Star – September 24, 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.

Here’s something you may not have heard before: An Ontario election is underway. And it starts in earnest today.

Until now, the campaign has barely cracked the front pages. Since the writ was dropped 2 ½ weeks ago, almost nothing has happened — and yet everything has happened. Now, the race is being turned upside down.

The Forum poll published in today’s Star shows that as voters belatedly start to focus on the campaign, a longstanding Tory lead has dissolved. We’re headed for a photo finish — with the NDP holding the balance of power (but holding a lot less of it than many had thought).

For the next 12 days, brace yourself for one of the closest elections in recent Ontario history. And the possibility of regime change. The drama comes not merely from the horse race. It’s about who takes the reins of power after Oct. 6 and which direction they take us in the next day.

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Mining issues dominate upcoming Yukon elections – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – September 23, 2011)

www.mineweb.com

Yukon New Democrats want to increase mining royalty rates to help pay for education, health and social programs. Yukon Liberals and the Yukon Party are against the proposal.

RENO, NV –  Mining royalties and other mining issues may define differences among the Yukon Territory’s political parties as voters go to the polls on October 11, the day after the Canadian Thanksgiving.

The Yukon economy is doing well thanks to record high mineral prices, resulting in a mining exploration boom, three new hardrock mines and nearly 100 placer mines.

This week Yukon New Democrats Party leader Liz Hanson announced the Yukon Resource Legacy Fund, which will be financed by “a reasonable increase in hard rock, placer gold, and other mineral and non-renewable resource royalties.” The amount of the increase would be determined through consultation with mining industry experts and economists, as well as the public to determine a fair rate of return.

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Forestry seen as key issue in Ontario election – Special to The Chronicle-Journal (September 23, 2011)

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

The three sitting political parties at Queen’s Park are weighing in on a key election issue in Northwestern Ontario, the forestry sector.

In July, the Ontario Forest Industries Association, the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce, the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities developed a series of questions for the Liberals, NDP and Tories to answer on forestry policies.

The responses were released on Thursday.

“We’re very pleased that all three parties took the time and effort to respond,” said Scott Jackson, manager of forest policy with the Ontario Forest Industries Association. “It’s very clear that forestry is a key issue going into this election, and rightfully so.”

The questions addressed timber production, the Endangered Species Act, the caribou conservation plan, the Ontario Forest Tenure Modernization Act, road construction and maintenance, and electricity rates.

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The forest and the trees [Aboriginal social issues] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (September 22, 2011)

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

IN MATTERS of public policy, it’s sometimes difficult getting to the heart of the matter. Large bureaucracies formed to address major issues often are unable to tackle them on a community level, let alone among individuals who “fall through the cracks” in the all-too-familiar phrase.

A variety of northern lifestyle issues currently challenges regional authorities: rampant drunkenness in Thunder Bay; painkiller addiction in Marten Falls and other First Nations; violence and abuse across the Far North; the unexplained deaths of seven aboriginal youth who came to Thunder Bay for schooling.

It would be difficult to catalogue the number of services, agencies and departments that are set up to address these very things. Federal, provincial and municipal governments and First Nation organizations spend billions of tax dollars to operate programs aimed at pressing social issues. Yet many of the issues are getting worse.

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