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Taking the Message to Canada’s MPs – 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.

Last Tuesday, Nov. 18, mining executives from across Canada met in Ottawa for their annual Mining Day on the Hill. Organized by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), the event puts industry supports in the offices of select Members of Parliament and federal officials to deliver the message that our industry deserves their support.

“A strong mining sector benefits Canadians in every riding across this country,” said Jim Gowans, president and CEO of De Beers Canada and MAC chair. “We are all facing difficult economic times. Now it is more important than ever that we work with government to ensure that programs, regulation and legislation help to sustain mining jobs across Canada. This is more relevant in remote locations where economic development options are limited and operating costs are high.”

The mining industry has enjoyed one of the longest prosperous periods in history, but it is not immune from worldwide economic events. Due to the financial crisis, all capital expenditures are under review as is the level of discretionary expenditures on exploration. All spending will be reduced in line with changing market realities. Canadian policymakers and businesses cannot be complacent.

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The Canadian Oil Sands: Where Economy Meets the Environment – by Paul Stothart

Paul Stothart - Mining Association of CanadaPaul Stothart is vice president, economic affairs of the Mining Association of Canada. He is responsible for advancing the industry’s interests regarding federal tax, trade, investment, transport and energy issues. This article was originally published in May, 2007.

Arguably the single most significant development in the Canadian economy over the past decade has been the emergence of the western oil sands as a creator of jobs, exports, tax revenues, and wealth.

Technological advances since the 1970s have made the recovery and processing of oil sands financially feasible. Increases in world oil prices, from the $20 to $30 level of decades past to the $60 to $70 range today, have further enhanced the economic viability of these projects. Political rhetoric about Canada as “an energy superpower” and talk of “reserves larger than Saudi Arabia’s” speak to the emergence of the oil sands.

It is difficult to over-state the magnitude of this development. On a macro scale, it has served to increase wealth and economic activity in western Canada. On a micro scale, the city of Fort McMurray has grown from a population of some 20,000 two decades ago to 75,000 today. The 200,000 jobs that have been created in the oil sands over the past decade is of similar magnitude to the job losses seen within the central Canadian manufacturing sector— in effect creating a job cushion for the entire country.

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SAMSSA Members Confident and Ready During Slowdown – by Dick DeStefano

Dick DeStefano - Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA)Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA).

These past months have been difficult for the mining sector but Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) members have maintained a high degree of confidence with some caution that their value and expertise will eventually mitigate against the prevailing and relentless bad news. 

Many SAMSSA members have been in business for over 40 years and understand the cyclical nature of their markets.  They have survived at least three major slowdowns and continue to operate.

In recent months SAMSSA Members have attended a number of trade shows and visits to mining camps in Mexico and Brazil in order to develop business relationships in the long term. Next week, Sudbury will host a company from Chile who needs to spend over $500 million on a mine development and the Potash Corporation is slowly moving forward on their potash mine in New Brunswick.

Working closely with the Export Development Corporation and FedNor as supporting partners will allow our mining supply and service sector to maintain its viability in the long term.

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Mining Sector Human Resource Needs Remain Strong Despite Downturn

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.

The mining industry´s need for a large infusion of skilled workers over the next decade may be curbed by current economic circumstances but it will not be eliminated.  In a presentation for the Mining Association of Canada, Ryan Montpellier, Executive Director of the Mining Industry Human Resource Council (MiHR), laid out several scenarios on the sector´s workforce needs looking out to 2016. 

Local, provincial, national and international forces all impact projections of mining´s human resource needs in Canada.  When you look at the massive alterations which have been occurring in global financial systems and the downturn in commodity markets, it is all too apparent that the impact of changing macro economic variables influence the human resource requirements of the industry.  In earlier studies, MiHR projected that the industry in Canada needed 80,000 new workers over the next 10 years.  As the world demand for Canada´s mineral products grew, the number of new employees needed in Canada´s mining sector from 2007 to 2016 was increased to 92,000.  That level still may be required.

However, in offering alternatives, MiHR presented a no-growth scenario for the future.  In this case, the need for retirement and non-retirement replacement requirements still showed a need for more than 62,000 new mining employees out to 2016 — or more than 6,200 per year.   In a more negative projection of industry contraction over a four year period, there still was a demand for more than 46,000 new mining employees out to 2016 — or more than 4,600 per year. 

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Vale Inco’s New Invoicing System Causing Some Layoffs in Sudbury Supply Sector – 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 (This artilce was originally published on November 12, 2008)

Some Greater Sudbury businesses are having trouble getting paid by Vale Inco.

It is not because Vale Inco is broke, but because of a new invoicing system that is being implemented by the company, said small businesses in Lively and Vale Inco itself.

Harry Sheppard, owner of Home Hardware in Lively, said Tuesday morning that some smaller business customers cannot pay him for what they have purchased because they in turn have not been paid by Vale Inco.

“I do not have much business with Vale Inco myself. However, it is affecting a dozen businesses in the Walden area that deal with my store. They say they will pay me when Vale Inco pays them,” said Sheppard.

“These business customers of mine are good customers so the fault does not lie with them.”

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Western Australia Lifts Uranium Ban – 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 six-year ban on uranium mining in Western Australia has been lifted, newly elected Premier Colin Barnett announced on Nov. 17, 2008. New mining leases will no longer exclude the hunt for uranium.

Australia is the world’s second largest producer of uranium (19.7 million lb U3O8 in 2006), behind Canada (26.7 million lb). Between them they account for half the world’s production. With the hunt on again for new uranium producers in Western Australia, that country may give Canada a run for the its top-ranked status.

The change in policy will benefit companies with advanced projects in Western Australia.

Canada’s Cameco Corp. looks like it was ahead of the curve when it partnered with Mitsubishi Development (30%) to pay US$346.5 million to buy the promising Kintyre deposit earlier this year. The project, located 1,250 km northeast of Perth, is in the advanced exploration stage. The original uranium discovery was made in 1985, and former owner Rio Tinto eventually outlined eight separate deposits. Cameco estimates that the Kintyre project may host between 62 million and 80 million lb of U3O8 with grades averaging 0.3% to 0.4% U3O8. These numbers do not comply with 43-101 definitions.

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Mining Sector Budget Cuts Go Global – by Marilyn Scales

Marilyn Scales - Canadian Mining JournalMarilyn 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.

At the risk of being the bearer of even more bad news, I have been watching the world’s mining industry react to the turmoil in global stock and money markets. Not only in Canada, but around the world companies big and small are conserving capital and cutting output.

Let us recap: Liberty Mines has placed its Redstone and McWatters nickel mines in Ontario on care-and maintenance. Breakwater has suspended mining at its Langlois base metals mine in Quebec and its Myra Falls base metal producer in British Columbia. Teck is paying particular attention to debt reduction. Capital budgets have been trimmed at Suncor’s oil sands project in Alberta.

And the announcements just keep coming. It seems producers of all commodities and all parts of the world are announcing cutbacks.

Rio Tinto is slicing approximately 10% from its iron ore output in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

BPH Billiton also expects to send fewer shiploads of iron ore to China next year.

Brazilian mining giant Vale will be slowing iron ore shipments to customers. Additionally, it has suspended a pre-feasibility study for a new bauxite and aluminum project in Ghana.

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Looking Through Stone – Poems About the Earth – by Susan Ioannou

Poet - Susan IoannouTwo Excerpts from Susan Ioannou’s book of poetry Looking Through Stone – Poems About the Earth. If you would like to order Susan Ioannou’s book of poetry, go to Your Scrivener Press

AQUAMARINE

To mollify sea deities,
ancient lapidaries prescribed
blue amulets carved from aquamarine
whose inner lapping soothed
and as seasoned sailors believed
wore away the dark coast of worry.

Others cast their woes inside the gem,
then soaked it in a little bowl
beneath the waning moon.
Perhaps within a day or two
where crystals cooled and brittled
a six-rayed star would fan and twinkle
love light toward a long marriage,
restore youth, hope, and friends,
or calm a throbbing tooth.

Today Brazilian pegmatites
host the clearest and the bluest,
named (her birthstone) Santa Marias.
A famous one, unearthed in 1910,
was heftier than a bongo drum:
110.5 kilograms
—an amulet with cleansing tears enough
for a thousand sailors
not to drown.

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A Blast From the Past – A Glimpse into Garson Mine’s 100 Years of Evolution – Hans Brasch

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post this article. www.northernlife.ca (Originally published on September 16, 2008)

Taken with permission from Garson Mine: 100 Years of Mining Excellence, authored by Hans Brasch

1907 – Garson Mine came into existence, purchased by the Mond Nickel Company. Development work began on a vertical shaft, six by 14 feet. The shaft was sunk to a depth of 225 feet and opened up at the 100- and 200-foot levels. Workforce average (WA) – 100.

1910 – No. 1 shaft was deepened to 600 feet. Production – 70,004 tonnes of ore. WA – 250.

1914 – No. 1 shaft was sunk to 870 feet. The miners dry-house was enlarged and several other buildings were built during the year. Production – 123,143 tonnes of ore. WA – 420.

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Hans Brasch: Retired Miner Keeps Sudbury Mining History Alive – by Laurel Myers

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Laurel Myers’ article. www.northernlife.ca (Originally published on September 16, 2008)

LMYERS@NORTHERNLIFE.CA

Hans Brasch has been an avid photographer since the time he was 16. What started as a hobby, developed into a passion and a means by which to keep the history of mining alive.

At the age of 76, Brasch has now compiled three books, documenting the past 100 years of mining in the Sudbury basin. The books – Structure and Operation of the Steelworkers, Mining: Then and Now in The Sudbury Basin, and Garson Mine: 100 years of Mining Excellence – are a mixture of maps, timelines, general information and photography, courtesy of the author, that show an evolution underground from a miner’s perspective.

The retired miner, who spent 40 years – from 1952- 1992 – working in nearly all of the most hazardous underground jobs at Vale Inco’s Levack Mine, admitted the pictures took a bit of undercover work.

“At that time, we weren’t really supposed to take pictures (in the mine),” he said, explaining he used to sneak his camera into the mine with him. “But I’m glad I did. I recorded a very nice history.” Despite his camera being bulky with a big light on it, the private eye, of sorts, was
able to document Inco’s ever changing past.

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Early Miner Credited for Sand-fill Development at Sudbury Basin Garson Mine – by Laurel Myers

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Laurel Myers’ article. www.northernlife.ca (Originally published on September 16, 2008)

LMYERS@NORTHERNLIFE.CA

Mining isn’t what it used to be. Ninety-two-year-old Harvey Jarrett was part of the mining evolution. In 1945, he developed the first and only underground sand-fill plant at the time.

Dave Duncan, present superintendent of Garson Mine, explained a sand-fill plant is actually located only 90 feet below the surface, and is still in use today.

“We take in aggregate material (sand) from the pit across the road,” Duncan said. “There is cement silo on surface where we mix the sand with cement and water, then it flows down a funnel into a pipe a fills our stopes.”

Stopes are filled when they can no longer be mined, and are used as support to drill other stopes. After being a pilot in the war for three years, Jarrett returned to the Sudbury area and began work at the Creighton Mine as a mining engineer. He later moved to the Garson and Frood Mines.

“I did all the layouts,” he said. “This place (Garson) is unique. Garson was having a cave-in and it was very serious. “It was going to break through under the lake, and that would have been the end of the mine,” he continued. The supervisor at the time was trying to figure out how to save the place, Jarrett explained. “I happened to be standing there. I put my underground clothes on and just started looking around to find where I could find some fill. There was a sand plant nearby.”

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Sudbury Basin’s Garson Mine Celebrates its Centennial – by Laurel Myers

Northern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Laurel Myers’ article. www.northernlife.ca (Originally published on September 16, 2008)

LMYERS@NORTHERNLIFE.CA

Vale Inco marked a century of operations at Garson Mine on Sept. 5. Company officials, local dignitaries, United Steelworkers Local 6500 representatives and Garson Mine employees, both past and present, were on hand to celebrate the milestone.

“For over a century now, Garson Mine has been producing high value ore that is vital to the ongoing success of our operations,” said Murilo Ferreira, president and chief executive officer of Vale Inco, in a news release.

“Not only has Garson Mine enjoyed continued success in production, it has also proven itself to be a leader in health and safety, and we are very proud of that.” In 1907, the first shaft at Garson Mine was sunk 225 feet from the surface, and in 1908, production for the mine began at a rate of 200 tonnes of ore per day. Today, with 253 employees and a shaft depth of 4,200 feet, Garson Mine produces 2,300 tonnes of high-value ore daily.

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Honourable Buyelwa Sonjica – South Africa Minister of Minerals & Energy – 10th China Mining Conference, Beijing, China

Honourable Buyelwa Sonjica – South African Minister of Minerals & Energy10 November 2008

Programme director,
Minister of Land and Resources of the People’s Republic of China, Minister Xu Shaoshi,
Captains of the mining industry from South Africa, People’s Republic of China and elsewhere in the world,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to extend a warm welcome to you this morning to the South African Mining Seminar here in China. As South Africa celebrates the 10th successive year of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, depicting the political will of the respective countries to co-operate on various areas on common interest, we deemed it appropriate to assemble a multi-stakeholder platform, with particular emphasis on reciprocal investment prospects between the two countries.

The seminar is intended to focus on existing opportunities for Chinese and other foreign companies here present to partner with South African companies and communities in the mining industry. Notwithstanding the current financial challenge, which we project will have a limited shelf life, I believe that the relationships envisaged between our respective companies are intended for long-term periods.

One of the oldest Chinese proverbs has never been more applicable than today, namely: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. We all should remember that when former President Mandela announced South Africa’s intention to recognise the People’s Republic of China ten years ago, that was indeed a small step. In this context I believe South Africa’s journey with the People’s Republic of China has progressed remarkably towards its intended objective of increasing bi-national trade.

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Nationalization Is Theft – by Thomas A. Bowden

Thomas A. Bowden is an analyst at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, focusing on legal issues. Mr. Bowden is a former lawyer and law school instructor who practiced for twenty years in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ayn Rand Center is a division of the Ayn Rand Institute and promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand–author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

Venezuela, Russia, and other countries that nationalize natural resources are violating private property rights.

For years, the Canadian operator of a huge Venezuelan gold project known as Las Cristinas has been seeking an environmental permit to start digging. Well, Crystallex International Corporation can stop waiting–the mine is being nationalized as part of dictator Hugo Chavez’s long-running program of socialist takeovers. “This mine will be seized and managed by a state administration” with help from the Russians, said Mining Minister Rodolfo Sanz.

It’s not surprising that a brute like Chavez would want to grab the 16.9 million ounces of gold estimated to lie buried in the Las Cristinas reserve. But what’s more puzzling is why–when gold mines, oil rigs and refineries worth billions of dollars are nationalized by regimes such as Venezuela and Russia–the ousted companies can muster no moral indignation, only tight-lipped damage appraisal.

The reason, in a nutshell, is that resources like gold and petroleum in their natural state are universally regarded as public property that cannot be extracted by private companies except with government permission, revocable at will. “Venezuela will not accept that foreign organizations tell them what to do with their own resources,” said a local journalist recently.

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Risk Taking and Venezuela – 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 nationalization of the Las Cristinas gold project by the Venezuelan government looks like a done deal. There has yet to be an official pronouncement, but Toronto-based Crystallex International looks to have lost its chance to develop and operate this project.

Where is the outrage over such actions, asks Fredric Hambler, a financial systems analyst in San Francisco. “I say it’s time for Crystallex, and the Canadian Mining Journal, to loudly condemn the actions of the Venezuelan government. Thomas Bowden of the Ayn Rand Institute has an excellent article on the subject of ownership rights and the Las Cristinas project, which is available online at: http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=21879&news_iv_ctrl=1021”

Our reader is right, of course. We are outraged by the turn of events in that Latin American country. The planning, hopes and money expended by Crystallex will never be recovered. The truly angry among the industry can call this an outright theft. But what is to be gained by ranting and raving?

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