Twitter

First nations, corporate leaders meet to map out partnership blueprints – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – june 27, 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.

Armed with new clout over development on their traditional lands, Canada’s aboriginal people are increasingly looking to be partners in energy and mining development.

At the same time, first nations groups are insisting on their right to reject projects that fail to provide real benefits or are too damaging to the environment – even if Canadian law does not give them a formal veto.

In Niagara Falls this week, Shawn Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, is co-hosting the first International Indigenous Summit on Energy and Mining, with his U.S. counterpart, Jefferson Keel, president of the national Congress of American Indians. The summit is a chance for corporate leaders from the energy and mining sectors – as well as financial institutions – to talk with native leaders and government officials about the opportunities for and challenges with first nations project partnerships.

The stakes are enormous, with virtually every major energy and mining project in Canada requiring consultations with native communities.

Read more

First a Gold Rush, Then the Lawyers – by Randal C. Archibold (New York Times – June 26, 2011)

http://www.nytimes.com/

SAN ISIDRO, El Salvador — When a Central American gold rush brought a Canadian mining company here a few years ago, the company promised to stake a claim that would be as green as the lush hills.

The copious amounts of water needed would come only from the rain, not from the nearby Rio Lempa that is this country’s lifeline, the company said. Cyanide, a toxic chemical used to extract gold embedded in rocks, would be dispersed naturally, dried by sunlight in vast double-lined pools. Several hundred jobs could be created here, in one of the country’s poorest regions.

“No other mine in North America has gone to this level of environmental protection,” said Tom Shrake, the chief executive of the Canadian company, Pacific Rim, which is seeking to tap a vein that it says could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

But when the government of El Salvador, facing mounting public concern over the consequences of mining, failed to grant the company the final permit it needed, Pacific Rim sought to extract a different kind of green: $77 million from the nation’s treasury as compensation for lost profits.

Read more

Don McKinnon Dreams of a Deep Sea Port in Moosonee for Northern Prosperity – by Gregory Reynolds (Highgrader Magazine – Fall, 2005)

This article was originally published in the Fall, 2005 issue of Highgrader Magazine . Highgrader is committed to serve the interests of northerners by bringing the issues, concerns and culture of the north to the world through the writings and art of award-winning journalists as well as talented freelance artists, writers and photographers.

Don McKinnon, a man with a vision. 45 years ago the Ontario government ordered a study on the viability of a northern port. Naturally, it has been put on the shelf. Now Don McKinnon explains why a sea port some 28 kms form Moosonee would rejuvenate the North’s economic viability for decades to come.

Northern Ontario was opened up as the result of the dream of politicians who wanted to secure it for future generations. The major communities were born as a result of men with dreams refusing to accept defeat and pursuing their ambitions beyond the bounds of logic. Iroquois Falls today is the result of entrepreneur Frank Anson’s vision. He established a mill, which, at one time was the largest pulp and paper mill on the continent.

His imagination was sparked by the reports about timber possibilities written by two students he had grubstaked in 1909 to seek gold. Anson then went north to access the potential of the frontier. Who would believe the ramifications of this man’s dream would result in the development of a modern community?

In 1910, Anson investigated the site and lumber properties. Two years later, Anson sent several experts to the Iroquois Falls mill site. Anson’s dream of creating the Abitibi Pulp and Paper Company Limited became known as ‘Anson’s Folly’ but he refused to give up.

Read more

[Canadian] National interest at stake in TMX deal – by Diane Francis (National Post – June 25, 2011)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. dfrancis@nationalpost.com

No self-respecting nation would allow its stock exchange, the cornerstone of a financial system, to be sold to foreigners. Australia, for instance, rejected a proposed sale of its exchange to Singapore as a “nobrainer.”

And yet, on June 30, the board of directors of the Toronto Stock Exchange will ask its shareholders to bless a sellout to the London Stock Exchange that will, eventually, result in both being sold to even bigger foreign entities. The vote is being staged before regulators and governments have given special permission required to allow the deal to be closed.

There is another competing bid, by Canadian financial players, that won’t need special permission. I don’t want to comment on the merits of that deal, which raises antitrust and other issues.

But the sellout to the British is not in the national interest. It will orphan Canadian entrepreneurs, ideas and corporations.

Read more

Mining Marshall Plan for Canada now – by Diane Francis (National Post – March 8, 2009)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. dfrancis@nationalpost.com

For instance, the single greatest discovery in Canadian mining history is the nickel belt
in Sudbury, the world’s biggest deposit. This multi-billion dollar development would never have been found nor discovered if the  Canadian Pacific Railway had been routed
differently. The railway passed through the area in remote northern Ontario.
(Diane Francis – National Post, March 8, 2011)

Canada’s best stimulus package is to launch a Marshall Plan for Mining by building unpaved roads and other infrastructure to open up the country’s vast, unexplored and untapped mineral wealth in its interior and the north.

The world expert on Canada’s geology is petrologist Wayne Goodfellow with the Geographic Survey of Canada in Ottawa. He’s an expert on rocks and petrology is a multidisciplinary incorporating a knowledge of chemistry, physics, mathematics, geophysics, structural geology, and geochemistry.

I interviewed him at last week’s Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada giant conference in Toronto about how Canada is a mining giant but is also one of the most unexplored nations in the world with vast untapped reserves in Canada’s remote interior.

“If I was going to hazard a guess,” he said in an interview this week, “there are three to five times’ more than has ever been found or exploited….three to five times more the current reserves as well as what we have left. It’s huge. There are vast areas in this country where boots have never been on the ground.”

Read more

With asbestos, we are the Ugly Canadians – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – June 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.

Billions of dollars will be spent over the next two decades to repair the Parliament Buildings. One reason for the repair: The buildings are full of asbestos, a cancer-causing substance that Canadians no longer use.

But we mine asbestos, we ship it, we make money from it, and we’ll use every diplomatic trick in the book to defend this odious practice. We are the Ugly Canadians.

The Harper government could care less. It vigorously defends mining asbestos because of one little corner of Quebec, near Thetford Mines, where the asbestos is mined and shipped to developing countries, mostly in Asia. Stephen Harper’s top Quebec minister, Christian Paradis, used to head the Thetford Mines chamber of commerce. Mr. Harper campaigned in the area and supported the mining. He spent part of Friday, St. Jean Baptiste Day, in Thetford Mines, thereby reinforcing his government’s political marriage to asbestos.

This week, the Ugly Canadians stood alone against the world in blocking the listing of chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous chemical under the Rotterdam Convention.

Read more

Canada’s toxic asbestos trade – Toronto Star Editorial Comment – June 25, 2011

The Toronto Star, which has the largest broadsheet circulation in Canada,  has an enormous impact on Canada’s federal and provincial politics as well as shaping public opinion.

For years the federal government has been warned by doctors, environmentalists, unions, even Health Canada, about the deadly impact of asbestos. But Ottawa remains intransigent about curbing exports of this harmful mineral. Once again this week it opposed listing chrysotile asbestos on the United Nations’ list of dangerous materials. Once again it acted irresponsibly.

At a summit in Switzerland to discuss the Rotterdam Convention — a UN treaty on the international trading of hazardous substances — Canadian officials quietly blocked the inclusion of asbestos on the list of dangerous materials, joining such countries as Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The hypocrisy is staggering. The federal government has spent millions to clear its own buildings of this noxious material — including taking it out of 24 Sussex Drive to protect the Prime Minister and his family. Canadian companies, schools and homeowners have also removed asbestos from their structures. Yet we happily export it.

Read more

LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY NEWS RELEASE: Senate approves new School of Mines and School of Architecture

Sudbury – June 24, 2011 -Tuesday’s Senate meeting at Laurentian University proved to be an eventful one, with both the creation of its new School of Mines, as well as the School of Architecture program being approved.

“Both of these decisions by faculty represent Laurentian’s continued focus on being responsive to the communities we serve,” said Dominic Giroux, president and vice-chancellor for Laurentian University. “The establishment of the School of Mines represents a very significant step, creating a space for faculty from various disciplines to exchange ideas, better align programs and focus on mining related research, and in doing so, continuing to establish Laurentian as the go-to university for mining”.

Michael Lesher, director of mining initiatives at Laurentian University said, “We are striving to become the world’s leading mining-education centre covering the complete spectrum of the mining cycle from exploration to environmental rehabilitation, including cultural and economic sustainability, management, Native studies, and occupational health and safety.  When students worldwide think about mining, we want Laurentian to be top of mind.” 

Read more

Ontario’s Mythical & Potentially Lucrative Ring of Fire -by Blogger Milkyminx (January 18, 2011)

Approximately 480 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario is the mythical Ring of Fire, which has, for years, been whispering hope to miners and investors, while steadily disquieting environmentalists.

The story of the Ring is punctuated with surprises.

It begins with junior exploration companies (including Spider Resources Inc., KWG Resources Inc., and Freewest Resources Inc.) digging for diamonds in the McFauld’s Lake area of northern Ontario. None could resist fortune’s lure in the mid 1990s when diamond company, De Beers Canada Inc., began re-examining the area’s diamond-producing kimberlite pipes.

Instead of diamonds, however, they found copper and zinc. But that was enough to spur other small players to begin digging nearby.

Then in 2007, Noront Resources Ltd. found high-grade nickel with copper and palladium, confirming the potency of the area. This excited mine operators, who coined and began publicizing the phrase, “Ring of Fire,” to describe the mineral-rich exploration zone.

Read more

When less asbestos is best – Globe and Mail Editorial (June 24, 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.

What does the federal government have against a five-page form? That’s what its opposition to “listing” chrysotile asbestos – a hazardous material – under the Rotterdam Convention amounts to. Canada was wrong to block an emerging consensus in favour of listing at a Convention meeting on Wednesday, especially given the small restrictions involved in the listing procedure.

Chrysotile, of which Canada is the world’s fifth-largest producer, is a material that can be used to make cement. Can be used – most developed economies have forsaken it for other materials, because chrysotile contains tiny fibres that, if exposed, can lead to respiratory ailments and even cancer. But it is a cheap enough alternative that growing Asian countries are a growing market for the product. An Asian medical journal recently reported that it expects a “surge of asbestos-related diseases in the immediate decades ahead” as a result.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis said in the Commons last week that “scientific publications show that chrysotile can be used safely under controlled conditions.” We’re not sure which publications he’s referring to, but presumably not the ones read by Health Canada’s director-general for the safe environments program, when he recommended listing of chrysotile under the Rotterdam Convention in 2006; nor statements by the World Health Organization or the Rotterdam Convention’s review committee.

Read more

Asbestos’s last, lonely champion – by Susan Riley (Ottawa Citizen – June 24, 2011)

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/ Susan Riley writes on national politics. E-mail: sriley.work@gmail.com.

I still remember the shock and dismay I felt walking through the ByWard Market in 2005, when I noticed newspaper headlines announcing that Chuck Strahl had been diagnosed with a deadly form of asbestos-related cancer.

Not only was Strahl fit and strong (fortunately, he still is), he was a well-liked Reform, then Conservative, MP and, subsequently, a successful cabinet minister in a number of posts. He decided not to run in the last election – his son Mark took over his B.C. seat on May 2 – and has returned to Chilliwack, his cancer apparently in remission.

This memory makes Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s adamant support for Quebec’s asbestos industry in recent weeks seem even more confounding and cold. After all, within his own cabinet he had sobering evidence of the cost of unprotected exposure to asbestos.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Generous Barrick Gold Gift a Boon to Marathon and Northern Ontario

Lakehead University and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) are pleased to accept substantial gifts from Barrick Gold Corporation – Hemlo Mine. The value of the Barrick Gold gift is $150,000, but with matching funds from the Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS), the total value of the gift is raised to $235,000. This donation makes a significant contribution to learning and healthcare in Northern Ontario.

The gift will be used to establish an endowed Barrick Gold Graduate Scholarship valued at $100,000, with $50,000 coming from Barrick Gold and $50,000 from matching funds through OTSS. This Scholarship will be awarded to a Lakehead graduate student with financial need who is focused on mining issues with preference given to persons of Aboriginal heritage.

As well, a total of $100,000 will go to support the work of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. This portion of the gift is made up of a number of components:

• Creation of a $10,000 Learner Suite in Marathon with exam rooms, office and study space, and a Learner/Resident suite;

Read more

[Thunder Bay] Ring of Fire session jam-packed – Chronicle-Journal (June 23, 2011)

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

Those looking for a piece of the Ring of Fire mining project action crammed a Thunder Bay conference hall on Wednesday while a small group of employees who walked off the job at the mining camp protested outside the Valhalla Inn.

The Ring of Fire infrastructure conference has brought “a wide range of different parties together,’’ said Christine Kaszycki, the province’s Ring of Fire co-ordinator and assistant deputy Northern Development, Mines and Forestry minister.

“First Nations, municipalities, provincial and federal government agencies, and environmental groups as well, to really begin doing some collective thinking, particularly the infrastructure requirements in the far north,” are in the city for the conference, she said.

Kaszycki said the goal is to get a grip on the key considerations for the project, identify common ground and start thinking about short-, medium- and long-term goals.

Read more

Constraints shackle [Australian mining] boom – by Wayne Cole (National Post – June 23, 2011)

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

Australia’s road to resource riches is proving bumpier than first thought as miners struggle to meet ambitious investment plans, another reason for the country’s central bank to go slow on further interest rate rises.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has long assumed it would have to tighten policy to temper inflationary pressures from a mining boom. But the sector’s race to meet red-hot demand in China and India is running into other constraints, from dire weather to a dearth of skilled labour.

“The mad rush to spend is already dissolving into delays and cost overruns, so there’s no way the mining industry is going to meet its investment targets,” said Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie.

A record A$430-billion ($442billion) in resources investment is either underway or on the drawing board in Australia, a real stretch for an economy with an annual output of A$1.3-trillion.

Read more

HISTORICAL – The Death of Mining [in America] (Business Week – December 17, 1984)

http://www.businessweek.com/

America is losing one of its most basic industries

Just south of Tucson, a two-lane highway rolls through the desert to Mexico. Along one 26-mile stretch, it skirts five open-pit copper mines amid the saguaro cactus, mesquite, and ironwood. This is U.S. 89, known as el camino de la muerte – “road of death” – for the toll it has taken on drivers zooming north of Nogales. But the macabre name might just as easily refer to the mines that line this lonely road. Once the workplaces of thousands, they are now either closed or up for sale – a stark reminder of the sad state not only of U.S. copper companies, but of most of the rest of the North American metals mining industry.

The recovery of the 1983-84 largely bypassed producers of copper, iron ore, nickel, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Now, after a prolonged period of painful losses, these companies are reeling from what are clearly chronic problems: shrinking markets, huge debt, and depressed prices. Three or four major metals producers may even be forced out of the business over he next few years. In a very real sense the industry is dying.

The pangs of mining are the latest example of what may be an industrial megatrend: the inexorable shift of the production and processing of all basic materials from the industrial countries to the Third World. Like steelmaking, metals mining is vulnerable to some fundamental forces. It is an industrial activity in which, these days, the developing nations have an almost unbeatable pair of economic advantages: cheap labour plus very low cost reserves.

Read more