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Day: June 1, 2011

Innovation in hard rock mining alive and well in Northern Ontario – Dick DeStefano (May 2011 – Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal)

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). destefan@isys.ca This column was originally published in the June, 2011 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

In the past weeks and months, it has become evident that the mining sector is on a continuous upswing.  There is a general consensus that we are only at the midpoint of a super cycle in commodities and much needed mining products and services.

I was impressed during the recent Canadian federal election campaign to read and hear a much-awaited acknowledgement about the importance of Northern Ontario’s mining cluster from Michael Ignatieff, the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Ignatieff said “One of the great things about Northern Ontario — you see it everywhere – is that this is a part of the world that has absolutely world-class expertise in mining technology, mining research and mining science. And we mustn’t lose that.”

It has been a bit of a struggle over the past few years to inform and motivate government agencies and others that there is a major cluster of innovative mining supply and service companies situated in Northern Ontario. This cluster consists of world leaders in producing goods and services that are innovative and adaptable to the increased demands for efficiencies required by mines to reduce costs and operating expenses.

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Statement from Barrick Gold Corporation concerning the North Mara Mine, Tanzania (May 30, 2011)

Introduction

Barrick Gold Corporation, and its affiliates and subsidiaries, operate in some of the most challenging environments in the world. Among Barrick’s operations and affiliates, the Mara region of Tanzania, in which African Barrick Gold (ABG) owns and operates the North Mara mine, is especially challenging. The North Mara mine is located in a very remote, underdeveloped part of the country in close proximity to the Kenyan border. In-migration from other areas and countries is rampant and law enforcement capacity is limited, making the area a magnet for transients, criminals and organized crime. Civil unrest due to poverty is a particular problem in the area, a fact widely recognized by Tanzanian authorities.

The vast majority of people living near North Mara share the same desire for security and safety as ABG and its employees. To that end, ABG is working with Tanzanian authorities to address a variety of issues that impact the community, particularly related to law and order. The end goal is to make this area safer for residents of the community and for the men and women who work at the mine.

The Investigation

It is against this background that ABG recently notified Barrick that it had received highly disturbing allegations of sexual assaults by the police and ABG security against local women. Following recent events at the Porgera Joint Venture in Papua New Guinea, employees have a heightened sensitivity to these issues. ABG has also been pursuing enhancements to its human rights program generally, in parallel to Barrick commencing its new human rights compliance program. Employees raised these allegations to external investigators retained by ABG to inquire into an unrelated matter.

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Birth of a gold major [Osisko Mining] – Peter Koven (National Post – May 30, 2011)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. Peter Koven is the Post’s mining reporter. This article was originally published in the Financial Post on May 30, 2011. pkoven@nationalpost.com

By 2006, Osisko Mining Corp. knew it had a major gold discovery near the town of Malartic in northwest Quebec. But it also had a serious problem.

“Everything was fine and dandy with the drilling, except that when you were standing by the drill, you could throw a rock at the closest house,” chief executive Sean Roosen recalls.

Five years later, Osisko is hosting an opening ceremony for the Canadian Malartic gold mine on Monday. It will be the biggest gold mine in Canada once it reaches full production, with an estimated 625,000 ounces of gold output a year for the first five years. And as the project starts generating major cash flow, Osisko will enter the big leagues of Canada’s mining sector.

But getting here hasn’t been easy. Mr. Roosen remembers almost losing the company following the financial crisis in 2008. And there was that little matter of the town being in the way of the mine.

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