July 12, 2011 – Republic of Mining

Along the Blacktop of Riches: The Abitibi-Greenstone Belt – by Charlie Angus (1999)

July 12, 2011

Excerpt from Industrial Cathedrals of the North written by Charlie Angus and photographed by Louie Palu (1999)

To order a copy of Industrial Cathedrals of the North, please go to Between the Lines press.

Take a drive along the blacktop as Highway 66 turns into 117 and you’ll be taking a drive over one of the richest geological treasures in the world. The highway forms the lower part of a belt of riches known as the Abitibi-Greenstone belt. Over 140 million ounces of gold have been mined from the belt, a feat unparalleled anywhere except in the gold fields of South Africa. The belt is made up of two parallel fault lines running east-west from Ontario into Quebec. The northern edge of the belt – the Porcupine-Destor Fault – runs from the Porcupine along Highway 101 to Destor, Quebec, while the lower fault – the Larder-Cadillac Break – runs from Matachewan, Ontario along 66 towards Val d’Or, Quebec. The fault lines have been the source of some of Canada’s biggest gold mines. The ground between the faults is host to numerous base metal deposits.

The Larder-Cadillac Break is as much a social line as it is a geological formation. The fault runs straight through the heart of many historic gold camps: Matachewan, Kirkland Lake, Larder Lake, V-Town, Rouyn-Noranda, McWatters, Cadillac, Malarctic and Val d’Or. The Abitibi-Greenstone belt has created a natural east-west link across the two provinces. Communities along the fault lines share common links of history, work and identity. Indeed the whole opening up of Northwestern Quebec to mining is a direct result of the movement of prospectors and miners along the lines of the Abitibi-Greenstone belt.

Prospector Ed Horne played a pivotal role in this early development. Before the first World War he was prospecting in Gowganda, Kirkland Lake and the Porcupine. He then moved along the westerly axis from the Kirkland-Larder camps into the Lake Osisko region of Rouyn Township, Quebec.

Aboriginals tap into oil sands – by John Shmuel (National Post – July 12, 2011)

July 12, 2011

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

As major Canadian resource projects across the country expand in the wake of rising commodity prices, a less noticed business boom in Canada’s Aboriginal communities is also taking shape.

Economic development corporations, which can loosely be described as businesses started and backed by regional First Nations, Métis or Inuit groups, are helping to grow Aboriginal incomes in communities throughout Canada.

Their benefit is reflected in a recent report by TD Economics. TD estimated that economic development corporations will help the combined income of Aboriginal households, businesses and governments reach $24-billion in 2011, and ballooning to $32-billion in 2016.

“We’re seeing more Aboriginal communities looking to business as a shining light to create opportunity for their young people,” Clint Davis, chief executive of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, said. “So we’ve seen some rapid creation of economic development corporations in the last, probably five to 10 years.”

Flurry of metal deals signals bold outlook – by Brenda Bouw (Globe and Mail – July 12, 2011)

July 12, 2011

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous impact and influence on Canada’s political and business elite as well as the rest of the country’s print, radio and television media. Brenda Bouw is the Globe’s mining reporter.

Miners bet commodities boom has legs by unveiling a handful of takeovers

A sudden rebound in mining acquisitions signals a return of confidence in the industry after weeks of uncertainty and volatile prices that froze deal activity in the sector.

As commodity prices begin to bounce back from a recent fall, miners are betting once again on strong and steady demand from fast-growing nations such as China, India and Brazil to prevent another severe global economic downturn.

The positive outlook driving these new deals comes despite worries that inflation and debt problems around the world will weigh on the economy and metal prices down the road. Stock markets dropped sharply Monday on renewed concerns about solving Europe’s debt crisis.

The largest deal announced Monday was Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal SA’s joint $5-billion (U.S.) bid for Australia’s Macarthur Coal Ltd., the world’s biggest producer of pulverized coal, a type of metallurgical coal, amid strong demand forecasts for the steel-making ingredient.