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The [Ontario] Ring of Fire – by Peter Gorrie (ONnature Magazine: Fall 2010)

Ontario Nature is a charitable organization representing more than 30,000 members and supporters and 140 member groups across Ontario. Their goal is to protect wild species and wild spaces through conservation, education and public engagement. This article is from their magazine On Nature. A more thorough explanation of Ontario Nature’s mission and goals is listed at the end of this posting.

Peter Gorrie is a Toronto-based freelance writer specializing in environmental and energy issues, and the environment columnist for The Toronto Star.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

The Ring of Fire – by Peter Gorrie

Buried treasure – copper, nickel, diamonds, chromite – lies beneath northern Ontario’s vast boreal landscape, prompting a frenzy of unchecked mining activity despite the provincial government’s two-year-old promise to safeguard half the boreal region and promote sustainable development in the other half. Will the Ring of Fire become Ontario’s tar sands?

Standing beside the metal-clad head frame of a former gold mine in the middle of the broad northern Ontario landscape near Aroland First Nation, Andrew Megan Sr. tells me a story that, he says, took place some 70 years earlier.

His father and uncle, working their trapline, found a rock flecked with gold. The men showed the rock to a non-native prospector and, when asked, showed him where they had come upon it. In return, he gave each a pouch of tobacco.

Months passed – how many is unclear – but one day as Megan, his father, uncle and relatives sat in their bush camp, they heard a mechanical roar. They scattered as a bulldozer crashed through the trees and brush. The next year, work began on a mine that continued, off and on, until 1984. Prospectors had been exploring and staking the area for more than a decade, but the rock found by Megan’s father and uncle pinpointed a potentially rich vein of gold that spurred development of the site. Over the next four decades, a series of companies, including Osulake Mines and Consolidated Louanna, attempted to determine the extent and value of the ore body and start operations, but the mine didn’t produce any gold for sale until near the end of its life.

Megan, now 72 and a respected elder, recounts the story to make a point he considers crucial.

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Liberals committed to developing northern Ontario – by Rick Bartolucci

Rick Bartolucci is the MPP for Sudbury and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 

The famed economist John Kenneth Galbraith said, “Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.” It’s a quality held by those who want you to forget the results of the NDP and the Harris/Hudak Conservatives during their respective years of governing Ontario.

I often say that in order to appreciate how far we’ve come, we need to remember where we’ve been. I recall what Sudbury endured during those years. I also know that the Ontario Liberals sprung into action once elected in 2003, determined to focus on our region. 

We have a strong northern caucus with three northern cabinet ministers who passionately advocate for northern communities on a daily basis. That commitment was recently evidenced as we launched the Northern Growth Plan and set aside $5 million to create a Northern Policy Institute to ensure northerners have a greater say in policy decisions affecting our region. 

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Commentary on Mining Watch: Ring of Fire Report – by Stan Sudol

  

Map Courtsey KWG

Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant who writes extensively about the mining industry. stan.sudol@republicofmining.com

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

“In the next 25 years, demand for metals could meet or exceed what we have used
since the beginning of the industrial revolution. By way of illustration, China needs to
build three cities larger than Sydney or Toronto every year until 2030 to accommodate
rural to urban growth. This equates to the largest migration of population from rural to
urban living in the history of mankind.” (John McGagh, Rio Tinto – Head of Innovation)

Mining Watch Reputation 

Mining Watch was established in 1999 in response to the actions of Canadian exploration companies operating in Latin America and other jurisdictions in the developing world.

As stated on their website, “MiningWatch Canada … addresses the urgent need for a co-ordinated public interest response to the threats to public health, water and air quality, fish and wildlife habitat and community interests posed by irresponsible mineral policies and practices in Canada and around the world.”

In contrast to many in the mining sector I find a few of Mining Watch’s criticism’s legitimate and they have worked cooperatively with the industry in Ontario. In 2008, Mining Watch in conjunction with the Ontario Mining Association supported the amendment of the Ontario Mining Act that enabled companies to voluntarly rehabilitation mine sites even thought they had no legal requirments to do so. 

Recently, Mining Watch has issued a report titled, “Economic analysis of the Ring of Fire chromite mining play”. It was written by former Sudbury resident and well-known social activist Joan Kuyek. While the report covers a wide range of topics, I would like to focus on some important issues that have been downplayed or omitted, primarily the current state of mining, geo-politics and a history of enormous wealth creation from the mineral sector due to government infrastructure support. 

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[Northern Ontario] Forest fight is electric – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun)

Christina Blizzard is the Queen’s Park columnist for the Toronto Sun, the city’s daily tabloid newspaper. This column was originally published March 10, 2011. christina.blizzard@sunmedia.ca

Is the industry dead or is government a killer by implementing high hydro rates?

When it comes to electricity prices, New Democrats say Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro can’t see the forest for the trees. A sure sign that the Liberals are under pressure from the NDP in northern ridings is a spat that’s erupted over forestry.

Mauro, a Liberal, slammed the NDP in the Legislature on Monday, saying it’s wrong to blame high electricity prices for the demise of forestry in northern Ontario.

And he blamed the NDP’s campaign to lower industrial hydro rates for misleading northerners to believe that if rates were lower, jobs will come back. They’re deferring decisions to move to the oil patch or to go back to school, he said.

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Another plan for the North [Ontario] – by Livio Di Matteo (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal, March 12, 2011)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal  is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This opinion piece was originally published on March 12, 2011.

Livio Di Matteo is a professor of economics at Lakehead University. Visit his Northern Economist Blog at ldimatte.shawwebspace.ca.

“What is more telling of this plan is what is not specifically mentioned: nothing on tax
incentive zones, nothing on a regional energy grid, nothing on regional government,
nothing on ever completely four-laning the Trans-Canada Highway.”
(Livio Di Matteo, March 12, 2011)

The release of the Northern Growth Plan is the latest installment in a long list of plans for Northern Ontario’s economic development stretching back now almost half-a-century.

The Northern Growth Plan joins an esteemed list of contributions that include the Rosehart Report (2008), Embracing the Future (2002) and my personal favourite — Design for Development — which was released in the 1970s — and confused many people about what the provincial government actually had in mind for the North given its designation of Thunder Bay and Sudbury as “primate” growth centers.

The current plan is again the result of many years of work and consultation and is “a call to action and a roadmap for change” organized to provide policy direction for growth around six principles:
• a globally competitive economy,
• education and skills for a knowledge economy,
• aboriginal partnership,
• networks of social, transport and communications infrastructure,
• sustainable environment, and
• innovative partnerships to maximize resource potential.

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Uranium: Political Baby’s Growing Pains [Elliot Lake History] – by R. M. Baiden (April 29, 1961)

This article was orginally published in Saturday Night (a Canadian general interest magazine that ceased publication in 2005) on April 29, 1961.

Uranium: Political Baby’s Growing Pains

Who is hiding what?

Canada’s uranium industry was fathered by the military necessity and mothered by politics. Deserted by its father in childhood, it now faces adolescence with only a mother  – at least until mother can find a new husband among the world’s nuclear power stations, most of which are not yet built.

But until this happy union, estimated at perhaps a decade away, the future of this ailing child is tied by political apron strings. More than that, both the form and the fact of its very existence depend upon political decisions to be made soon in Ottawa: How to allocate among the various producing mines the recently publicized agreement to sell 24,000,000 pounds of uranium to Britain.

At current shipping rates, this represents 13 months additional production for the three Canadian mining areas of Elliot Lake, Bancroft and Beaverlodge. Upon wise allocation of this order depends not only the ability of some mines to stay in business, but also the ability of the industry as a whole to take quick advantage of developing civilian demand in the 1970s.

It was undoubtedly, in recognition of the critical importance of this order that the federal government decided that allocation would be a political decision and not a decision by its agent, the Eldorado Mining and Refining Co. In short, allocations of this order, and possibly some reshuffling of existing contacts, must be based upon the national interest, not on strictly economic factors.

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Honourable Norman Moore MLC, Western Australia Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Vancouver Speech (March 3, 2011)

This speech was given at the Canada-Australia-New Zealand Business Association Luncheon, Sutton Place Hotel, Vancouver, Canada on March 3, 2011.

“Despite the global financial crisis, Western Australia has enjoyed
a decade of average annual economic growth of about 14 per cent,
which is an outstanding result by any measure.”
(Western Australia Minister Mines and
Petroleum, Norman Moore, Mar/3/2011)

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to thank Nerella Campigotto, President of the Canada-Australia-New Zealand Business Association, for inviting me here today. I always enjoy the opportunity to talk about Western Australia’s resources industry.

I have been a member of the Western Australian Parliament since 1977 am currently the longest serving sitting member. I serve the state government proudly and have seen many changes to the economy over the past thirty-four years. Nonetheless, I remain focused on the future.

Both the Australian and Western Australian governments place great importance on ensuring their economies reach their full potential. Far from simply enjoying the short-term material benefits of increased employment and wealth, we aim to build a sustainable long-term industry, with all the benefits this brings.

Western Australia is blessed with geology that makes it highly prospective for most mineral commodities and we have a highly skilled exploration sector seeking to exploit that prospectivity.

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Problems With Woodland Caribou Habitat Regulations – Roger Sigouin, Town of Hearst Mayor (February 23, 2011)

 

Hearst is a small community of approximately 5,600 people, located in northern Ontario, 935 kilometers north of Toronto http://www.hearst.ca/. The community is primarily dependent on the forestry sector. For a short history of the community, click: http://www.scierieshearst.com/indexEn.html.

•Despite previous concerns voiced by municipalities and their associations that point out weaknesses and omissions in Ontario’s Woodland Caribou conservation strategy, and despite our numerous collective attempts at dialogue and at becoming involved as partners in the formation of this recovery strategy, it is evident that nothing has changed in government policy or in Ontario’s direction towards regulation that to will ensure the survival of Northern Ontario communities alongside this threatened species

•Forest-based industries and/or mining are the lifeblood of the vast majority of Northern Ontario communities, but no socio-economic analysis has been undertaken to determine the potential impact of the caribou conservation strategy on such industries and Northern communities – yet Ontario is intent on forging ahead with habitat protection regulations 

•Regulations will be based on the conservation plan and recovery strategy, even though parts of both plan and strategy remain in dispute and the science has yet to be completed

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Scarcity of talent threatens profitability – by Van Zorbas

Van Zorbas is a partner in Deloitte Canada’s Human Capital practice. He can be reached at 403-503-1460 and vzorbas@deloitte.ca

This column is from the February/March 2011 issue of the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication.

Aging workforces. Looming waves of retirement. An inability to attract new talent to the field. In recent years, demographic trends like these have plagued the mining industry—and the situation only promises to get worse. According to the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHRC), by 2020, over 60,000 Canadian mining employees will retire. To maintain current levels of production, that means the industry will need an additional labour force of 100,000 people(1). And that doesn’t take into account the higher levels of production likely required to meet escalating global demand for commodities.

Already, labour shortages are creating untenable situations for mining companies. In western Australia, for instance, some companies fly employees thousands of miles to their workplace. Aside from the financial and logistical challenges this entails, this heightened level of worker mobility puts bargaining power squarely in the hands of skilled talent. Critically, this comes at a time when the mining industry is experiencing a serious talent gap. Due to low participation in the industry over the past several decades, many mining companies lack experienced middle managers.

The recent Deloitte report, “Empower your talent: Building a high-performance organization,” details approaches for surviving this talent gap. Here are some strategies to consider as you structure your own talent management program.

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A call to all Canadian Mining Associations – by Russell Noble

Russell Noble is the editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. This column is from the February/March 2011 issue. rnoble@canadianminingjournal.com

Most industry associations aren’t worth a damn and that unfortunately holds true for many of those involved with mining here in Canada. They’re good at collecting dues and putting on Annual Meetings for their fraternity but aside from those events, little is done throughout the year for the good of their members at large and, more importantly, the industry they serve and represent.

To support my opinion, when was the last time you heard of any association affiliated with mining make headlines beyond their own Newsletter telling about all the good they are doing on behalf of the mining industry as a whole?

Sure we hear about meetings with various government officials or other regional dignitaries where “position papers” are given on the price of electricity or the importance of water, air and the rest of the environment, but what about concerns on a broader, national scale involving mining people and the growing scarcity of them?

What are the “mining associations” doing to address this problem?

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One more [provincial Liberal] plan for the North [Ontario] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (March 6, 2011)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was originally published on March 6, 2011.

A plan to create a plan. This is what the provincial government has in its hands as it rolls out its highly-anticipated Growth Plan for Northern Ontario.

They assure it’s a comprehensive framework aimed at guiding Northern Ontario through the next 25 years, developed after a consultation phase so intense it was the subject of more than a little bragging at the plan’s unveiling on Friday.

This plan hits on all the tentpole issues. It’s broken up into sections covering the economy, the people, communities, infrastructure, the environment and Aboriginal people. It touches on mining, forestry and energy (although there’s no mention of energy pricing). But that is absolutely all it does. Touches. There is nothing firm or final. This is just another plan to be the subject of still more consultation.

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An Overview of Nickel in 2011 – Excerpt From Global Mining Finance 2011

Global Mining Finance was created four years ago as an annual book to provide international mining executives and their peers in the financial community with an overview of the industry from a World-wide perspective. For the main website: http://www.globalminingfinance.com/past-editions.html

The following research on nickel was provided by Paradigm Capital, a research-driven investment dealer, providing Research, Trade Execution and Investment Banking services.

Commodity Focus – Nickel

Two-thirds of all nickel produced goes into stainless steel, but is also important in the world of hi-tech where the soft magnetic properties of nickel and its alloys are employed. In this article, Paradigm Capital takes a look at the market for nickel.

Demand: Driven by The Stainless Steel Recovery

Nickel has a high rate of recyclability, This distinction is often made between the use of newly produced metal and recycled scrap. By far the most important first use of nickel is the production of stainless steel which accounts for over 60% of total demand with other first-use sectors being alloys, casting, electroplating, chemicals and batteries. The stainless steel sector is growing at a CAGR of about 5-6% per annum.

The nickel market rebounded strongly in 2010 compared to a very weak 2009, as a result of improved stainless steel demand conditions in combination with an amplified restocking period. In addition, the austenitic ratio (i.e. nickel bearing stainless steel) which has traditionally run at around the 75% level, has slipped lower. This was due to nickel’s meteoric price rise in 2007 to $25/lb. which proved to be the catalyst that triggered substitution, particularly into lower nickel bearing intra stainless steel grades. This proved to be one of the double whammies.

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Vale supports francophone sporting and cultural event in Sudbury

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 member Vale has donated $75,000 to support the fifth Canadian Francophone Games, which are being held in Sudbury July 20 to 24, 2011.  Vale is the official presenting sponsor of the event, which will involve about 1,200 francophone youth from across the country.

“Vale is proud to be associated with the Canadian Francophone Games, the largest national gathering of francophone youth in Canada,” said Angie Robson, Manager of Corporate Affairs for Vale’s Ontario Operations.  “This is a great opportunity to help showcase Greater Sudbury on a national stage, while bringing significant economic benefits to the community.”

“Vale’s sponsorship will allow us to invest in our programming and eco-responsible planning,” said Paul Lefebvre, Chairman of the Board for the games.  “This will help make the Games an event that will be recognized on a national level.  Vale’s contribution also reiterates its commitment to the community.”

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NEWS RELEASE: YUKON PROSPECTOR IS AMONG THE 2011 ANNUAL AWARDS RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED TODAY BY THE PROSPECTORS AND DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (PDAC)

TORONTO (December 9, 2010) – Prospector Shawn Ryan will receive the Bill Dennis Award for prospecting success, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) announced today. Ryan is one of six awards winners to be honoured at an awards evening on Monday, March 7, 2011, in Toronto during the association’s annual international convention (March 6-9).
 
Ryan worked for close to 15 years to locate the source of the alluvial gold that sparked the Klondike gold rush more than a century ago. In 2004 he identified the anomaly that led Underworld Resources to its White Gold deposit and a subsequent $138-million takeover by Kinross Gold Corporation. Ryan’s efforts and prospecting success have had a substantial impact on exploration in Yukon, stimulating renewed exploration interest and activity in the territory.
 
One of the discoverers of gold in the Klondike was Skookum Jim Mason. An award commemorating him is presented by the PDAC for aboriginal achievement in the mineral industry. The winner of the 2011 Skookum Jim Award is Jerry Asp who is being recognized for promoting mining’s benefits to aboriginal communities in British Columbia. Asp established the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation to provide construction and maintenance services to northern BC mines and was responsible for negotiating two mining impact and benefits agreements in the province.

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Money, brains and buried treasure at PDAC 2011- by Norm Tollinsky

Norm Tollinsky is editor of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. This article is from the March, 2011 issue.

It’s no accident that 22,000 members of the global mining community take over Front Street in Toronto every year about this time. Ontario, the epicenter of the global mineral exploration business, is where the deals get done. It’s where money is raised and expertise is sought for discovering and mining the resources that are more in demand than ever as prosperity in the developing countries puts cash in the pockets of hundreds of millions of new consumers.

Downtown Toronto is where it all happens, but Ontario’s stature as an international centre of mining expertise begins with the province’s inexhaustible natural endowment of gold, diamonds, copper, nickel, zinc, platinum group metals and now, chromite. After a brief dip in mineral exploration caused by the global financial meltdown in 2008, Ontario is once again firing on all cylinders.

As reported in our cover story this issue, the province reported record-breaking mineral exploration expenditures of $825 million for 2010 and there is every indication that 2011 will be just as busy. All across Northern Ontario, from Detour Gold’s 14.9 million ounce Detour Lake project in the northeast to Osisko’s 6.7 million ounce Hammond Reef project in northwestern Ontario, we are seeing former producing mines returning to production, new resources being discovered, shafts being sunk or deepened and head frames rising from the earth.

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