May 26, 2011 – Republic of Mining

Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011 – Background and Section-By-Section

May 26, 2011

Minerals are the building blocks of our nation’s economy. From rare earth elements to molybdenum, we rely on minerals for everything from the smallest computer chips to the tallest skyscrapers. Minerals make it possible for us to innovate and invent – and in the process shape our daily lives, our standard of living, and our ability to prosper.

There is no question that an abundant and affordable supply of domestic minerals is critical to America’s future. And yet, despite that, our mineral-related capabilities have been slipping for decades. Rare earth elements garner most of the headlines, but according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the United States was 100 percent dependent on foreign suppliers for 18 minerals in 2010 – and more than 50 percent dependent on foreign sources for some 25 more.

To revitalize the domestic, critical mineral supply chain, Senator Lisa Murkowski and sixteen of her bipartisan colleagues introduced the “Critical Minerals Policy Act” on May 26, 2011. The bill provides clear programmatic direction to help keep the U.S. competitive and will ensure that the federal government’s mineral policies – some of which have not been updated since the 1980s – are brought into the 21st century.

PRESS RELEASE: United States Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources – Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Critical Minerals Supply Chain

May 26, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: ROBERT DILLON (202) 224-6977
MAY 26, 2011 MEGAN HERMANN (202) 224-7875

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Critical Minerals Supply Chain

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced the Critical Minerals Policy Act, along with Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), Jim Webb (D-Virginia), James Risch (R-Idaho), Kay Hagan (D-North Carolina), Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota), Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Dean Heller (R-Nevada), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia).

The legislation seeks to revitalize the United States’ critical minerals supply chain and reduce the nation’s growing dependence on foreign suppliers by directing the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish a list of minerals critical to the U.S. economy and providing a comprehensive set of policies to address each economic sector that relies upon critical minerals.

Murkowski: “Minerals shape our daily lives, our standard of living, and our ability to prosper. We rely on minerals for everything from the smallest computer chips to the tallest skyscrapers, and yet the United States somehow lacks clear policies to ensure an affordable and abundant domestic supply. The Critical Minerals Policy Act will help solve that problem by modernizing our policies for production, processing, environmental protection, manufacturing and recycling. Through this Act, we will ensure more opportunities for domestic jobs, technological innovation, increased national security and greater competitiveness.”

Speech by Tim Hudak, MPP, Ontario PC Leader to the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) – May 12, 2011

May 26, 2011

This speech was given in Timmins, Ontario on May 12, 2011

“It took 23 Premiers 136 years to accumulate Ontario’s first $148 billion in debt. Dalton
McGuinty will single-handedly double that number in his eight years in office. Over the
past decade, the economic performance of Ontario – as measured by GDP per capita –
has been the worst of any Canadian province. We have fallen into have not status.”
(Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak, Timmins, May 12, 2011)

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Good morning et bonjour!

C’est un plaisir d’être ici avec vous à Timmins.

I want to thank you all for having me here today – it’s always a pleasure to be back in Timmins.

I’d also like to recognize Vic Fedeli (PC Candidate, Nipissing) who is joining us today. In his eight years as mayor for North Bay, Vic brought real change to northern families – we’re delighted he’s now working with us to bring change for all of Ontario.

And Vic isn’t alone in the experience he brings to the PC Party – we’ve also recruited Joe Chapman, mayor of Northeastern Manitoulin & the Islands, to run for us in Algoma-Manitoulin.

Joe couldn’t be here today but he sends his regards. And of course, thank you Alan [Spacek, President of FONOM and Mayor of Kapuskasing] for that kind introduction. I met with Alan just a couple of months ago to discuss FONOM’s priorities. His passion for not just Kapuskasing, but the whole of northern Ontario, is incredible.

Not only has he shown decisive leadership at FONOM, I had the pleasure of working with him at the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund when I was Minister of Northern Development and Mines.

Canadian Mining in Africa: “Do As You Please” Approach Comes at High Cost – by Bonnie Campbell (Canadian Dimension – Jan/Feb 2011)

May 26, 2011

Canadian Dimension is a Canadian leftist magazine founded in 1963 by Cy Gonick and published out of Winnipeg, Manitoba six times a year.

Bonnie Campbell is a professor of political economy at the Department of Political Science at the University of Québec in Montreal where she heads the Research Chair C.-A. Poissant on Governance and Aid for Development.

While Canadian miners have expanded to all continents, Africa now accounts for about 17 percent of Canadian mining assets abroad, up from 11 percent in 2001. Next to South African investments, companies registered on Canadian stock exchanges now represent the most important source of investment in mining in Africa. From a total amount of C$ 2.87 billion in 2001 and $6.0 billion in 2005, Canadian mining investment in Africa exceeded $23.6 billion in 2010. The trend illustrating the growing presence of Canadian companies in Africa is given in Graph 1 and the 2010 distribution of assets by countries in Graph 2. The country distribution of that investment and the minerals concerned as of December 2008 are in the pictures above.

The map shows that 91% of Canadian investments are concentrated in eight countries, with the order of countries’ importance being the following: South Africa (25.6%), DR Congo (17.8%), Madagascar (13.8%), Zambia (9.9%), Tanzania (9.5%), Ghana (6.5%), Burkina Faso (4.7%) and Mauritania (3%).

Issues of violence, environmental damage and human rights abuses abound in mineral rich Africa and according to a 2009 report produced by the Canadian Centre for the Study of Resource Conflict, Canadian mining companies have been the most significant group involved in such violations.

Thinking About the Ontario North: Too Many Planners or Too Many Plans? – by Livio Di Matteo

May 26, 2011

Livio Di Matteo is Professor of Economics at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Visit his new Economics Blog “Northern Economist” at http://ldimatte.shawwebspace.ca/

The process of Northern Ontario economic development has recently taken an even more convoluted turn given what seems to be a proliferation of task forces, steering committees and summits in the wake of the release of the Northern Growth Plan and the recent provincial budget. There has been a call for the establishment of “pilot economic development planning areas” in Northern Ontario and regional leaders here in the Northwest decided that there needed to be another group to steer this process and formed the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Northwestern Ontario Economic Development Planning.

The JTF (not to be confused with JTF2 which is the Canadian Armed Forces Special Operations Force) is to play a lead role in developing a proposed model and implementation plan for regional economic planning in northwestern Ontario.

The JTF joins the Northern Ontario Development Network (NODN), the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA), the City of Thunder Bay (CTB), Common Voice Northwest (CVNW) and the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) together to begin a process with counterparts in Northeastern Ontario who no doubt also have a large number of organizations with confusing acronyms.