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Pollution Prevention Avoids Future Problems – (Digging Through the Sudbury Soils Study) – 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

Designing Out Trouble

(Final instalment of a four-part series) Sudbury Soils Study

Both Vale Inco and Xstrata have committed to being part of the solution and not the problem. They said that in a joint news release on May 13 after the release of the Sudbury Soil Study Human Risk Assessment.

The first necessity is better information about what emissions, such as dust, are being released.

Before the Sudbury Soils Study, the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE) conducted monitoring of air emissions at Nickel Street in Copper Cliff and Lisgar Street in Sudbury. In 2003, both companies agreed to fund an expanded air monitoring program, including samples of particulate matter (PM10) which is thought to be more relevant for inhalation into a persons’ lungs. In 10 locations, 20 monitors were set up. That data was used in the Sudbury Soil Study.

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Lead: It Will Follow (Digging Through the Sudbury Soil Study)-By Janet Gibson

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

What people can do to reduce their exposure to this toxic heavy metal

(Third instalment of a four-part series) Sudbury Soils Study

JGIBSON@NORTHERNLIFE.CA

The average citizen can get lost reading the $10 million Sudbury Soils Study, which sits in three volumes on a shelf at your local library. But it’s worth the read if you take a proactive attitude toward your health. Volume 2 is the human health risk assessment, done to find out if residents’ health was at risk from exposure to the soil, air, drinking water or food. Consultant Chris Wren and his colleagues concluded there were “no unacceptable health risks predicted for exposure to four of the six chemicals studied: arsenic, copper, cobalt and selenium.”

As for the other two chemicals – nickel and lead – “the study calculated a minimal risk of respiratory inflammation from lifetime exposures to airborne nickel in Copper Cliff and the west portion of Sudbury Centre.” As well, “there’s a potential risk for young children living in Copper Cliff, Coniston, Falconbridge and Sudbury Centre due to levels of lead in some soil samples and indoor dust.”

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Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese – Canadian Club of Montreal Speech – Rio Tinto: A world leader in mining and minerals,creating value and opportunity for Quebec and Canada

Tom Albanese - CEO Rio TintoGood afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to begin by thanking the Canadian Club for the invitation to speak here today. I am aware of the long and proud history of this forum, which Rio Tinto Alcan is pleased to support as an associate corporate member.

My visits to Montreal are frequent enough these days that I am beginning to feel very much at home here. Of course, Montreal is home to the global headquarters of our Rio Tinto Alcan product group, and also serves as the Canadian hub for Rio Tinto’s other extensive interests in this country.

Last month, we brought our Board of Directors into town for a regularly scheduled meeting and we also hosted a visit for a group of analysts and institutional investors from Australia, the UK and elsewhere. Aside from the opportunity to sample your famed Montreal hospitality, the visitors were given a first-hand look at our aluminium facilities in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region. I am pleased to report that they
were suitably impressed with the high calibre of our Quebec operations, both existing and planned, — the people and organisation. They gave the visit some glowing reviews.

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Roy Thomson’s Timmins Adventures – Michael Barnes

All millionaires have to start somewhere. After chubby,ambitious Roy Thomson started his first radio station on a shoestring in North Bay, his attention turned to the bustling Timmins-Porcupine area.

The hard luck,hustling salesman came to Timmins in the early thirties and worked to open a radio station.No one would loan him any money but he found an ally in J.P. Bartleman.

The insurance salesman thought a radio station would be a good thing and he rented the newcomer space in a building of his in the seamier part of town.

Thomson’s long suffering engineer cobbled together the parts for broadcast output and fell foul of the law until his tight fisted boss paid union dues. The new station started with a piano and a few records. Even the sole announcer became fed up with playing ‘In a Monastery Garden’ several times a day because the discs were scarce.

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Seven lives 70 Questions (Digging Through the Sudbury Soil Study) – Janet Gibson

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

Citizens Speak Out About Soil Study

(second instalment of a four-part series) Sudbury Soils Study

JGIBSON@NORTHERNLIFE.CA

In 1986, Copper Cliff resident Silvana Oppedisano hung the laundry out to dry in the backyard of the family home on Serpentine Street. That afternoon, her husband Pat found a hole in one of the bedsheets.
“Ever since that day, there’s been no more clothesline outside,” Pat said. The hole, he said, was caused by fallout from the chimney at the Inco smelter. “That’s the way it is,” he said. “The wind shifts every which way.”

Pat, an affable barber, said people aren’t talking about the Sudbury Soils Study released two weeks ago. But he’s interested in reading it if he can find out where it is. “We know the soil’s contaminated,” he said. “Are we happy? No. The question is, ‘What can we do about it?’ Because you can’t live in a place like this without it being contaminated.”

The $10 million study, paid for by mining giants Vale Inco and Xstrata, said there were “no unacceptable health risks predicted for exposure to four of the six chemicals of concern studied: arsenic, copper, cobalt and selenim. The risk calculated for typical exposure to lead throughout the Greater Sudbury area is within acceptable benchmarks for protection of human health.

However, lead levels in some soil samples indicated a potential risk for young children in Copper Cliff, Coniston, Falconbridge and Sudbury Centre.” Pat said things have changed in Copper Cliff since 1961, when he first moved there. Some days in the 60s, he said, “you couldn’t see across the street.”

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O’Donnell Roasting Yard Significantly Cut Down the Sulphur – Gary Peck

At the onset it became evident to the pioneer companies that the ores of the Sudbury district should not be direct smelted. The grade of mate produced was usually quite low resulting in too heavy a strain on the converters. Also with the sulphur content so high, it was imperative that it be driven off. Hence recast yards were required.

The summer of 1888 saw the Canadian Copper Company firing its first roast heap. This was but five years since the ores had first been exposed near what became known as Murray Mine. Then mechanization was not the norm with the ore brought to the Copper Cliff beds by wheelbarrows.

By 1912, there were three roast yards within a mile of Copper Cliff. With as many so close to the town, it was virtually impossible for the vegetation and the inhabitants to escape the sulphur atmosphere. However, 1915 saw plans under way for the establishment of beds in an area distant from the community.

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Digging Through the Sudbury Soils Study – By Bill Bradley

Copper Cliff Roast Yards - CGS Libraries and Museums Historical DatabaseNorthern Life, Greater Sudbury’s community newspaper, gave Republic of Mining.com permission to post Bill Bradley’s article. www.northernlife.ca

A Primer on the Study, the Process and the Players Involved

(First instalment of a four-part series)

There is some excellent information on the history of mining activities in the Sudbury area in the first background study of the Sudbury Soil Study finished in January 2008, that can be downloaded at their website. Visit Sudbury Soils Study. Copies for public viewing are available at public libraries and post-secondary institutions.

Here are some highlights and quotes from the study that indicate the extent of the devastation of the Sudbury area:

  • Roasting yards were an early method of separating valuable minerals from rock. The first roast yard, where crushed ore from pits was piled on beds of cordwood, was built in Dec. 1886. Between 1890 and 1930, 28 million tonnes of ore was smelted primarily in the open. After 1920, ore was mechanically smelted indoors. Until the process stopped in 1929, “they released about 10 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide at ground level, killing plants and acidifying soils…open-bed roasting was a cheap but ultimately inefficient method, as it allowed some of the nickel and copper to be washed into the soil by rains.” In 1916 one former resident of the community near the O’Donnell roast yard said there were days when “I could not see my hand in front of my face.”
  • The wartime surge in nickel production in 1916, “increased the volume of noxious gases that wafted from the roast beds into the gardens and fields of the Sudbury basin.” Agriculture in the Blezard Valley was being smothered by the 600,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide emitted annually by the nickel companies. “In 1916, after successive years of ruined crops, the farmers had had enough, forcing Canadian Copper to pay $137,398 for smoke damages in the year ending March 31, 1916.”
  • As the landscape deteriorated around the smelters, effects of emissions could no longer be ignored. Early studies dealt with sulphur dioxide emissions. “Not until the late 1960s did the focus expand to include metal contamination and acidification of the soils. At that time, studies by local foresters and ecologists showed that soil acidity and concentrations of copper and nickel were elevated in the same areas where sulphur dioxide damage had been measured.”

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CEMI: The High Cost of Split Jurisdictions – 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

Michael Atkins

If you have even a passing interest in the politics of northern Ontario, and Sudbury in particular, you will take note of last week’s refusal by FedNor to support the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) at Laurentian University and weep.

The message came from a PR flake in Toronto or Ottawa (it doesn’t really matter where) who was kind enough to point out that it “would not serve to maximize FedNor’s priorities of promoting growth, economic diversification, job creating and sustainable, self-reliant communities in northern Ontario.

Of course, and the tooth fairy henceforth is declining visits to our children on the grounds it no longer fits her mandate.

You will note this piffle did not come from the Sudbury office. It didn’t come from the Sudbury office because the Sudbury office was involved in helping to imagine this project from the beginning and has supported it strongly.

In fact this decision has nothing to do with the merits of the project, pro or con.

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Honourable Michael Gravelle – Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines – OMA Conference Speech – Ontario Mining – The Best is Yet to Come

Honourable Michael Gravelle - Ontario Minister of Northern Development and MinesThe Honourable Michael Gravelle, Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines, gave this speech at the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) conference in Windsor, Ontario on June 10, 2008.

It is great to be back in beautiful Windsor, Ontario –The City of Roses.  My Cabinet colleagues Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello, who represent local ridings, never tire of singing the praises of this community – and I can see why.

I know that my colleague, Sandra Pupatello had a chance to speak to you last night regarding initiatives that are being undertaken by her Ministry to help boost the competitiveness of both the mining industry in Ontario as well as the Ontario economy as a whole – initiatives that are important to ensuring future prosperity in our province.

Windsor is acclaimed as Canada’s automotive capital. It is also is home to the Hiram Walkers Canadian Club whisky plant.

And while great automobiles and fine beverages may have a special place in our collective hearts, I, as Minister of Northern Development and Mines, also like to think of Windsor as one of the premier salt producing regions in the country — home to the Canadian Salt Company’s nearby Ojibway mine.

The Canadian Salt Company is a source of pride not only for the local community but also Ontario’s mining community. It is a leader in modern salt processing methods and it is our nation’s largest salt manufacturer.

Ontario is recognized as a major producer of metallic minerals. Perhaps we don’t mention often enough that we also produce almost a quarter of Canada’s non-metallic minerals.  In that context, southern Ontario is an important and active contributor to our province’s mining industry.

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Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll – Amsterdam GRI Conference Speech – Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Reporting – A Business Perspective

Anglo American CEO Cynthia CarrollIt is an honour to address such an assembly – and to be able to contribute to the debate about the future of company reporting of our non-financial impacts on the societies in which we work.

I would like today to look at various aspects surrounding sustainable development from a business perspective as the head of Anglo American plc.

I will start by introducing the company and will then move on to issues that concern us all, which include:

• the sustainable development challenge for the natural-resource industry;
• the problems surrounding water;
• the world’s future energy demands;
• Anglo American’s ‘clean’ initiatives and what we are doing to stay in the forefront of the sustainable development field
• the need for greater transparency in our SD partnerships and SD reporting.

Anglo American is one of the world’s top five mining groups and occupies a position in the top ten of the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 100 Index. It has a market capitalisation of about 90 billion dollars.

We have a presence in 45 countries, stretching from Alaska to Australia and from Chile to China. Outside of the oil and gas sector, we are Africa’s leading investor.

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Global Reporting Initiative

The following information came from the Global Reporting Initiative website: The Global Reporting Initiative is a large multi-stakeholder network of thousands of experts, in dozens of countries worldwide, who participate in GRI’s working groups and governance bodies, use the GRI Guidelines to report, access information in GRI-based reports, or contribute to develop the Reporting Framework …

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The Great Clay Belt Hoax – Michael Barnes

During the nineteen twenties and thirties the province of Ontario and its northern railway perpetuated a cruel hoax on unsuspecting settlers they had persuaded to come north for a new life.

The public relations ploy which set in motion this series of events was totally irresponsible but it was never widely exposed. Those who suffered because of it are mostly widely dispersed or dead now. The sense of injustice remains.

When Ontario bowed to pressure and built the railway north from North Bay in 1902, it was solely to transport settlers and open up the country. This was only changed when silver was found at Cobalt.

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The Sorry Saga of the H.H. Vivian Company-Gary Peck

The arrival of the H.H. Vivian Company was preceded by its reputation. Enthusiasm must have been present in Sudbury for an operation hailing from Wales recognized the nickel worth of this area. The future looked good for the small town in New Ontario. Yet, the local expectations never were met. Disappointment would accompany failure, particularly when so much had been expected. However, its origins, development, and ultimate failure constitute an interesting tale.

The Murray Mine, familiar to so many over the years, would be the main mine for the H.H. Vivian Company’s Sudbury operations. Though accidentally discovered by Dr. Harvey, and on another occasion by Thomas Flanagan, only on February 25, 1884, would there be an offer to purchase the site. At the price of one dollar an acre, 310 acres would come under the control of four non-residents – Thomas and William Murray of Pembroke, Henry Abbott of Brockville, and John Loughrin of Mattawa. In 1899, Murray Mine, located on the north half of lot one, concession four of McKim, was purchased by the Welsh company.

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Norilsk Nickel CEO Denis Morozov – Beijing China Mining Conference Speech, 14th November 2007

Growth and Diversity: The Changing Face of Global Mining

Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen. It is an honour for Norilsk Nickel to present at this conference. This is our first major corporate presentation in China.

Could I begin by extending my congratulations to the organisers for the work they have put into the preparation of the conference and for helping to reinforce the reputation of China Mining as one of the premier events in the mining industry’s calendar.

For those not familiar with the name, Norilsk Nickel is Russia’s leading mining company and the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium. It is also a major producer of copper, cobalt, platinum, and a host of minor metals from operations in the far north of Russia on the Taimyr and Kola peninsulas.

The company’s principal mining operations, located around the town of Norilsk, are extremely remote from other centres of population in Russia and exposed to some of the harshest conditions faced by miners anywhere in the world.

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Denis Morozov, General Director of MMC Norilsk Nickel – An Introduction

On April 3, 2007 Denis Morozov took up the post as General Director of MMC Norilsk Nickel. Mr. Morozov was previously Deputy General Director and Member of the Management Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel. Born on March 30, 1973, Mr. Morozov is married and has two children. He graduated with distinction from the Lomonosov Moscow …

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