Realities Surrounding Nuclear Energy Ensure Prosperity for Uranium Miners for the Rest of this Century – 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.

Few energy sources attract the controversy that is associated with nuclear energy and the fuel it requires – uranium. The spectre of potential radioactive accidents and leakages has long been presented by environmental groups as a cause for opposition, as has the technical and social challenge of long-term waste management. A number of governments over the years, ranging from nations such as Germany to provinces such as British Columbia and Nova Scotia, have introduced policies specifically prohibiting uranium mining and/or nuclear reactor development.

Available evidence suggests that these opponents are generally engaging in exercises of political hypocrisy. No energy source is without environmental and social consequence. Fossil fuel combustion has links to smog, acid rain and attendant health concerns. Wind energy requires large land masses, creates noise pollution and poses a hazard to birds — all to generate minor amounts of unreliable power. Hydro-power requires large-scale flooding, ecosystem destruction and resultant mercury releases. Even supposedly clean ethanol is proving to be disruptive to world food prices while presenting a marginal (or by some studies, negative) benefit regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to gasoline. On the health and safety front, in terms of worker and population impacts, few if any major energy sources measure up to the record of nuclear energy.

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Long and Sad Mining History With Canada’s Aboriginals Keeps Repeating Itself – by Juan Carlos Reyes

Juan Carlos ReyesJuan Carlos Reyes is the organizer of the annual Learning Together conference and an aboriginal consultant with Efficiency.ca. He is passionate about human rights and works tirelessly to help improve the lives of Canadian aboriginal people.

Let me begin this article by testing your knowledge of a famous case involving the mining industry and aboriginal communities.

Do you remember the Mica Bay incident — the one where a group of aboriginal leaders, dissatisfied with the federal government’s decision to grant inappropriate mining permits and its disregard to local aboriginal land claims, decided to forcibly take over a mine?

The events unfolded when a band of Indians and Métis, led by the renowned Chief Shinguakouse, travelled from Sault Ste. Marie along the shores of Lake Superior for about 200 miles to Mica Bay, where they assailed the mining installations of the Quebec Mining Company. This armed initiative by a group estimated at between 30 and 100 strong inclined the company agent, John Bonner, to surrender without resistance. The incident shocked the government, who proceeded to send a force of 100 rifles to suppress this “Indian uprising.”

If you don’t remember, it’s OK. I am certain that you are not alone — this incident took place in 1849, predating even confederation. I wanted to highlight this occurrence, however, to illustrate how long the mining industry’s relationships with aboriginal peoples have been strained. At the time of the Mica Bay incident, Lord Elgin, the Governor General of Canada, had said: “I cannot but think that it is much to be regretted that steps were not taken to investigate thoroughly and extinguish all Indian claims before licenses of exploration or grants of land were conceded by the government in this territory. This omission is the pretext for the present disturbances and renders the Indians much more difficult to treat with.”

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Kevin Costante – Deputy Minister of Northern Development and Mines SAMSSA Speech – Sudbury, Ontario

Kevin Costante - Deputy Minister of Northern Development and Mines at the SAMSSA Annual MeetingSudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA) Speech
 
November 26, 2008
Sudbury, Ontario

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INTRODUCTION

While the mining sector has seen unprecedented growth, driven by high commodity prices, it is not immune to the current economic climate.

No one understands that better than the mining community in Sudbury.

Accepting the reality of boom and bust cycles and dealing with them over the course of a century has made Sudbury’s mining industry competitive and a cut above the rest.

The minerals industry knows it cannot depend solely on high commodity prices to drive business. What it can and does depend on are the perseverance and innovation that characterize the industry, at all times, good and bad.

It is the strength developed during the lean times that gives industry the efficiencies that lead to profitability during the good times.

Commodities demand has definitely slowed, but it has not disappeared.

Growth trends may recede for a while but they will not grind to a halt. 

Demand from growing countries like China and India will not evaporate.  China’s GDP is still above 7 per cent.  Chinese demand for oil and most key commodities is still growing.

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Ontario Deputy Minister of Northern Development and Mines – Kevin Costante – An Introduction

Prior to joining the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Kevin was the Deputy Minister and Associate Secretary of the Cabinet, Policy, Cabinet Office. He served as Deputy of the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) twice from June 1999 to August 2000 and mostly recently from February 2004 to May 2007. He has …

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HudBay, Lundin Combo Under Fire – 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 wonder who first said, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Wherever that bit of wisdom came from it would seem to apply perfectly to the proposed friendly business combination of Toronto’s HudBay Minerals and Vancouver’s Lundin Mining. Major backers are weighing in with their opposition, and shareholders have voted with their wallets.

On Nov. 21, HudBay and Lundin announced their intention to create “a new Canadian leader” in the mining sector. Lundin would become a wholly owned subsidiary of HudBay with each Lundin shareholder receiving 0.3919 of a HudBay common share. The offer represents a 32% premium over Lundin’s 30-day average trading price. HudBay CEO Allen J. Palmiere will be CEO of the combined company. Other members of the HudBay board will be Philip J. Wright, Lukas Lundin, M. Norman Anderson, Colin K. Benner, Donald K. Charter, Ronald P. Gagel, R. Peter Gillin and William A. Rand.

The combined company will be Canada’s second-largest base metals producer as measured by market capitalization. It will have a portfolio of mining assets in Canada, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland. It will have development projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guatemala.

If all goes according to plan, HudBay will have cash-on-hand of $900 million and a total debt of US$240 million (as of Sept. 30, 2008), it says. HudBay will then loan Lundin $135.8 million for capital investments and general corporate purchases. Lundin will issue 97.0 million common shares to HudBay in return.

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Sudbury Basin Mining Cluster Still Awash With Opportunities – 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

Times may not be as bad as they may seem for the mining cluster, said participants at a mining cluster meeting Wednesday morning at the Howard Johnson Hotel on Brady Street.

The Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) was holding its annual general meeting. Association members employ an estimated 15,000 workers locally.

Though executive director Dick DeStefano has admitted several hundred layoffs have occurred, in general, the mining cluster remains healthy.

Access to financing, a key component of business health, still remains viable so far.

Denis Goupil, associate director of northern Ontario operations of Roynat Capital, said while the chartered banks may be tightening up their lending practices in the short term, other long term finance companies like his organization and the Business Development Bank, have a longer outlook.

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Is the KI – Platinex Conflict Canada’s own Tibet? – by Juan Carlos Reyes

Juan Carlos ReyesJuan Carlos Reyes is the organizer of the annual Learning Together conference and an aboriginal consultant with Efficiency.ca. He is passionate about human rights and works tirelessly to help improve the lives of Canadian aboriginal people.

During a recent teleconference call with associates in Central America, someone made a comment regarding the imprisonment of aboriginal leaders from Kitchenuh¬maykoosib Inninuwug (KI) and how this showed that the government of Canada will go to any length to advance its industrial agenda, even if it means the oppression of aboriginal people. This individual went on to compare the policies of our government to those of China imposed in Tibet. I found that I couldn’t really counter these comments because, although extravagant, they were partially factual.

On March 18, 2008, six KI band members, including the community’s Chief and Deputy Chief, were sentenced to six months in jail over an ongoing dispute between the community and Platinex, an exploration company conducting work in the region. This decision did not take place overnight. I have been closely following this case since 2005 when KI First Nation and other communities in the region first declared a moratorium on mining exploration in the Far North.

Around the same time as the moratorium was announced, Platinex made a deal with Inco to acquire a number of mine leases in the Big Trout Lake region, which is in the traditional territory of KI. Even though there was a moratorium in effect, Platinex carried on with its exploration work, claiming its rights under the Ontario Mining Act, which provided the permission required to carry out this exploration. KI community members and leadership began peaceful protests that escalated to the point where the workers had to leave the exploration site. This continued until Platinex launched a $10 billion lawsuit against the community and an injunction to prevent KI from interfering in the company’s exploration program. Initially, the court sided with the community, noting that the company knew the risks involved in carrying out work in the region and mandated both parties back to the negotiation table.

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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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