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Federal Snub of CEMI was Unnecessary — Editorial Comment by Sudbury Star Editor Brian MacLead

There was quite a hullabaloo last week over Industry Minister Tony Clement’s funding announcement that saw $5.5 million go to the University of Toronto’s Innovation Centre for the Canadian Mining Industry, and nothing for Sudbury’s Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation.

The similarity in names is no coincidence — they are both research centres vying for government support and private investment. The difference, of course, is that one is located where mines are and one isn’t. Is that bad?

It might not be the problem that some make it out to be, but Clement’s decision to fund the U of T program and not Sudbury’s can only be interpreted as a political move, despite the semantic squirming that was done to explain how all this came about.

CEMI — which has about half a dozen staff members and 20-odd researchers — partners with local educational and industry organizations to conduct research into exploration, deep mining, mining processes and environmental sustainability.

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Former Premier David Peterson’s July 30, 1986, Laurentian University Speech Announcing the Relocation of MNDM and the OGS to Sudbury

In light of the recent decision to put Federal and Provincial money into mining research at the University of Toronto instead of Laurentian, I have posted former Premier David Peterson’s July 30, 1986 historic speech announcing the relocation of MNDM and OGS to Sudbury.

This was one of the most significant economic turning points in the community’s history.

In this speech, Peterson outlines a previous Liberal Government’s entirely different attitude to the sustainable, long-term development of Northern Ontario as well as proudly helping build a global cluster of mining expertise in Sudbury, the richest mining district in North America and among the top ten most strategic in the world.

Honourable David R. Peterson PC, QC

Just over three weeks ago, I was in Sault Ste. Marie with some of my colleagues to announce elements of a northern Ontario economic development strategy this government will carry out over the next few years.

As a first step in this process, we announced a combination of new and accelerated government projects to provide a needed short-term stimulus to that area’s flagging economy.

But we also recognized that the challenges facing the North are related to deeper, more profound changes taking place in the economy. This restructuring is needed to ensure the competitiveness of our resource industries in the international market place.

To better understand and address these longer term, structural changes, we announced in Sault Ste. Marie a number of measures the Government will take.

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Grit’s David Peterson Was Northern Ontario’s Best Friend – Stan Sudol

This column was originally published in the Sudbury Star on February 20, 2004

Liberal Premier David Peterson had the vision and the will to support Northern Ontario

History will probably show that The Honourable David R. Peterson PC, QC was the best advocate Northern Ontario ever had. Ontario’s 20th premier, who was also Minister Responsible for Northern Development and Mines, was a true visionary, in the same mold as John A. McDonald, this country’s first prime minister.

Premier Peterson’s greatest legacy was the decentralization of parts of the Ontario civil service to various regions of the province. This forward thinking Liberal policy was initiated to spread the wealth and stability that government jobs provide. At that time, a disproportionate number of civil servants were located in the booming Toronto region which was choking on its excessive growth.

By relocating government offices and jobs throughout the province, the Peterson Liberals helped diversity the economic base of many communities that were affected by rapidly changing economic conditions.

In those innovative years, the Ministry of Natural Resources was relocated in Peterborough, the OPP headquarters went to Orillia, the Ministry of Agriculture moved to Guelph, parts of the massive Ministry of Health was shifted to Kingston and a section of the Ministry of Transport headed for St. Catherines. Unfortunately the Conservatives stopped the relocation of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to Niagara Falls.

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Funding Mining Innovation in Toronto Instead of Sudbury Fuels Northern Ontario Resentment – Michael Atkins

Growth Not & Fed Not

How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Michael Atkins is president of Northern Life and sits on the Board of Governors of Laurentian University

“Growthnot” is a term for the much-hyped, once-upon-a-time Northern Ontario Growth Plan promoted by the province, which has been diligently crisscrossing the north interviewing, caucusing, conferencing, engaging with, and otherwise teasing northerners about a new beginning in economic planning for northern Ontario.

The plan would feature bringing together and aligning many ministries of the province to attack the disastrous economic conditions in the north. The first announcement of significance to affect the north came from the co-chair of the Northern Ontario Growth Plan, George Smitherman, who is also deputy premier of Ontario and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. He announced an infrastructure investment in a mining innovation centre at the University of Toronto, which competes with the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) at Laurentian University.

“FedNot” is a term for FedNor — the once proud and (some might say) cocky federal economic development organization that stands humiliated by its minister and mocked by Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci (we must credit him for the FedNot moniker) for refusing to invest in CEMI.

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The Chinese are coming! The Chinese are coming! – by Marilyn Scales

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.

Readers are advised to get out their chopsticks and start practising because the Chinese are coming to Canada. In two separate deals since the beginning of this year, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry has shelled out cash to gain a toehold in potential new nickel producers.

In April, Jien agreed to advance $30 million to Edmonton’s Liberty Mines. Liberty has suspended work at its Redstone nickel mine, but it is hoping to reopen the McWatters nickel-copper mine and make a development decision on the Hart nickel-copper-PGE project. These projects are all near Timmins, ON, and all have measured and/or indicated resources.

For its investment, Jien has received 51% of the issued and outstanding Liberty common shares. The Chinese partner also holds close to 187 million convertible and redeemable preferred shares. If all the preferred shares are converted, Jien will hold 76.8% of Liberty. Jien will also appoint four of the seven Liberty directors.

Separately, Jien has become a joint venture partner with Vancouver’s Goldbrook Ventures on Goldbrook’s Raglan Belt property in northern Quebec.

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Nickel Belt MPP Gelinas Slams MP Clement for Funding U of T Mining Research – by Bill Bradley

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Bill Bradley’s article. www.northernlife.ca

Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas has joined a chorus of those who are slamming the federal government for funding mining innovation research in Toronto instead of Greater Sudbury.

“This is wrong. To me it shows how little they consider us. Mining takes place in Sudbury, not Toronto,” said Gelinas. “This is an insult. It is not acceptable.

She said while she supports students who wish to pursue careers in mining, there was no room for two centres of mining innovation. Gelinas dismissed affirmations by Industry Minister Tony Clement Friday that the University of Toronto had been involved in mining programs for over 100 years and that the infrastructure money granted was to renew a portion of a campus building.

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Revisting the Idea of Northern Ontario Separation – by Stan Sudol

This column was originally published in Northern Life on Jun. 21, 2007

The McGuinty Liberal’s policies of the past four years are severely hampering Northern Ontario’s two main industries – forestry and mining.

In the spring, Premier Dalton McGuinty ignored a delegation of five northern mayors, whom collectively represented two-thirds of the region’s population, and were presenting a policy document – Northern Lights: Strategic Investments in Ontario’s Greatest Asset – that detailed constructive solutions for the region’s many problems.

After 130 years of being a resource colony for the south, has the time finally come to create our own province?

Yes, I see the eyes rolling and the heads shaking, but northern separation does have merit.

And if it was possible to carve out Nunavut from the former Northwest Territories with a tiny population of about 30,000 – roughly twice that of Kenora – then a separate province in the north is economically feasible.

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Clement Spurns Sudbury’s Mining Expertise By Not Funding CEMI – Brian R. Gatien

Brian R. Gatien is the Chair, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce

As Chair of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, I feel it necessary to express the incredulous dismay of our members and that of the community upon hearing the announcement to provide funding to establish a mining innovation centre at the University of Toronto.

The country (and province) already has a world class facility here in the heart of the world’s leading mining community, whose sole purpose is to develop the very best mining technology and pursue innovative research projects.

As part of the Laurentian University campus, the Centre for Mining Excellence and Innovation (CEMI) is exclusively dedicated to developing new technologies and conducting cutting edge research in the field of mining. Full time researchers are working with undergraduate and graduate students from the university, the country and world to conduct important investigations that will eventually guarantee Canada’s position as the leader in mining.

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Federal Funding for U of T Mining Research a “Slap in the Face for Northern Ontario”

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post these articles. www.northernlife.ca

A government funded $20-million mining innovation centre that will be built at the University of Toronto has key players in Sudbury’s mining industry fuming. “It was almost like a covert operation,” said Richard DeStefano, executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA).

“There was no discussion, no revelations, no informal potential partnerships with Laurentian (University) during this entire process, which probably took close to six months to finalize. People are very upset.”

The federal and provincial governments have each given $5.5 million for infrastructure funding to the Toronto mining innovation centre, which will be built at the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus in the city’s downtown core. Private donations of $9 million will bring the total cost of the project to $20 million.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), located at Laurentian University in Sudbury, has not yet received any federal funding. CEMI wasn’t eligible for the the infrastructure funding because no projects were ready to be built immediately, said Peter Kaiser, CEMI president and CEO.

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No Plan, No Succession, No Future for Local Ownership in Sudbury- by Michael Atkins

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Michael Atkin’s column. www.northernlife.ca

Last month, I wrote about the hollowing out of Northern Ontario and the continuing deterioration of authority, influence and relevance in key sectors.

The topic of the day was the destruction of CBC Radio as a connecting force in the North and the ignorance of the people who made the decision to save such piddling amounts of money in the shadow of such benefit.

This month another storyline.

Vale Inco is restructuring. They are taking people in the finance, human resources and procurement departments and moving the strategic thinking and execution out of Sudbury and down to São Paulo and Toronto. In simple terms, it means that local procurement (say rock bolts) will remain in Sudbury but worldwide purchasing (say tires and information technology) will be done elsewhere. It means that the analysis of the business will move from Sudbury to São Paulo.

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Celebration Set for Historic Kirkland Lake Toburn Gold Mine – by Marilyn Scales

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.

The first gold mine in Kirkland Lake, ON, is reopening this summer, not as a producer but as a monument to the early days of prospecting in Ontario’s North. The hunt for gold was filled with characters — “Swift” Burnside, the Tough brothers, Sir Harry Oakes and Bill Wright — all eager to make a profit on the next great gold mine. Part of their legacy is the headframe of the Toburn mine that began commercial production in 1913.

The Toburn mine struggled along with a 90-t/d stamp mill from 1913 to 1931. Then Toburn Gold Mines Ltd. was incorporated and installed a new, larger mill, which operated until 1953. A total of 1.1 million tonnes of ore grading almost 17.0 g/t Au (0.5 opt) was treated. 

The site was abandoned after mining ceased and reverted to the Crown. In 2006 the Northern Prospectors Association set about acquiring the last remaining original headframe on the “Mile of Gold”. Project funding was contributed by individuals, corporations and public institutions. Two years later, the Town of Kirkland Lake acquired the property and the Toburn Operating Authority was created to oversee its rebirth as a tourist and learning destination.

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Big Brains and Why Mining in British Columbia Needs Them – by Pierre Gratton

Pierre Gratton, President and CEO of The Mining Association of British ColumbiaThis speech was given by Pierre Gratton – President and CEO of the Mining Association of British Columbia – on May 4, 2009 at the Vancouver Board of Trade in Vancouver, British Columbia.

This is a must read speech!

Globe and Mail columnist Patrick Brethour wrote about this speech in the May 15, 2009 edition of the paper: After the election, a quiet revolution.

Introduction

Good afternoon.

Before I begin, I would first like to thank the Vancouver Board of Trade for the opportunity to speak to you today. This is an annual address on the state of the mining industry by the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) and we appreciate the opportunity the board provides
us to do this.

I would like to thank my colleagues on the executive committee and board of directors and the staff at the MABC who work tirelessly on behalf of the mining industry, along with friends and colleagues at AME BC and the Mining Suppliers Association of BC. I especially would like to
thank all the members of the Mining Week Committee who have worked hard to plan and organize this week’s events. In particular, I’d like to thank one of my staff, Claire Thomson, who has worked unstintingly but cheerfully pulling so much of this together.

Mining week, a venerable tradition for the past 102 years, celebrates the role this industry plays in making British Columbia a great place to live, work and play.

This week events take place in Vancouver, Kamloops, Elk Valley and in many other communities across the province.

Here in Vancouver, Mining Week celebrations started with a well-attended gala awards reception last evening at the Terminal City Club. The Mining & Sustainability Award 2008 – a tie this year – was presented to Absorbent Products and the Upper Similkameen Indian Band in
recognition of their respective contributions to sustainability in the mining industry.

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Where Ontario’s New Mining Act Fails the Industry – by Marilyn Scales

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.

I had a lengthy and most interesting phone call from Michael Leahy last week concerning the proposed changes to the Ontario Mining Act. First, he said, the Mining Act passed in 1873 was never a static document. It has been amended many times, including a complete rewrite in 1990. Leahy knows whereof he speaks because he was involved in the revisions two decades ago, and until 2006 he sat on (and chaired) the Minister’s Mining Act Committee.

Still actively prospecting from his home in Kirkland Lake, Leahy says enforcement of the Mining Act will come through the passage of various regulations as set out in the Act. Until these regulations are written, much of the practical application of the Act is uncertain. 

The Ontario government has also significantly broadened its powers of regulation with this Mining Act. Leahy is correct to point out that regulations are passed without the public readings and procedures necessary to get bills through the provincial parliament. That leaves me wondering if regulatory changes will be made arbitrarily, with no notice and less consultation.

Leahy pointed out that the concept of ‘native traditional lands’ is unclear.

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Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster Council (OMICC) Opposes McGuinty Plan to Stop Sustainable Resource Development in Half of Northern Boreal Region

The Government of Ontario established  the Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster Council (OMICC) in 2003. The OMICC mandate is to lever Ontario’s current mineral industry assets to create a larger and more globally competitive cluster and to foster a sustainable and rising standard of living. The OMICC is co-chaired by Jim Gowans, President and CEO of De Beers Canada Inc. and Warren Holmes, Chairman, Nuinsco Resources Limited.

The following OMICC policy response has been sent to key Liberal Cabinet Ministers in the McGuinty Government:

Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster Council’s Position on Protecting a Northern Boreal Region
 
On July 14, 2008, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the protection of 225,000 square kilometres of the far north boreal region under its Far North Planning Initiative. On behalf of the Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster Council (OMICC), we are pleased to submit OMICC’s position on the announcement and its potential impact on the Ontario economy, the communities, the industry and Ontario’s reputation as a preferred destination for mining exploration and development.

The OMICC, a provincial organization is mandated to foster a sustainable and rising standard of living from Ontario’s rich mineral endowment and lever the current mineral industry assets to create a larger and more globally competitive cluster of mineral and related industries. Members represent a range of mineral related industries, businesses, associations and organizations.

We find it encouraging to note that the Government of Ontario, as part of its Far North Planning initiative, has demonstrated its commitment to work with Northern communities and the mining companies to create opportunities for economic development and to ensure that the mining industry remains strong. You are well aware of OMICC’s strongly held position that responsible development of Ontario’s mineral wealth must ensure full and fair opportunities for the province’s First Nations to participate in all phases of the mining cycle and benefit from resource revenue sharing.

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Aboriginal Communities and the Mining Sector are Essential Partners for Poverty Alleviation and Industry Success

The Mining Industry Resources Council (MiHR) contributes to the strength, competitiveness and sustainability of the Canadian metals and minerals industry by collaborating with industry, organized labour, educational institutions, the Aboriginal community, and other groups to develop and implement solutions to the industry’s national human resource challenges. Visit www.mihr.ca for more information.

The following news release was recently distributed by the MiHR:

Aboriginal communities to play critical role as Canada’s minerals and metals industry faces daunting shortfall in trained workers

Tens of thousands of skilled positions must be filled in next decade to keep mining industry robust

OTTAWA (April 27, 2009) – One of Canada’s most productive industrial sectors faces a serious skills shortage in the next decade according the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), which today launched an awareness campaign to educate Canada’s Aboriginal communities and the mining industry how to work together to find a mutually beneficial solution.

A key player in the global mining industry, Canada is one of the world’s largest exporters of minerals, metals and diamonds. Aboriginal Peoples represent a significant, largely untapped resource for addressing the expected labour shortfall next decade, when tens of thousands of workers from the baby boom cohort are set to retire.  The Aboriginal population in Canada is growing six times faster than Canada’s non Aboriginal population. To address this, MiHR, an independent, industry-driven organization, has developed several tools including a website (www.aboriginalmining.ca) and two extensive informational guides for Aboriginal communities and industry employers.

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