January 6, 2012 – Republic of Mining

NEWS RELEASE: Wallbridge Mining Highlights Plans for 2012

January 6, 2012

January 05, 2012

Highlights

Wallbridge Mining is to advance the Broken Hammer copper-PGE project through feasibility with permitting and a production decision expected in 2012.
Wallbridge Mining plans 15,000 metres exploration drilling in Sudbury with a focus on Implats, Lonmin and Xstrata joint ventures.
Continued drilling at Parkin, following up high grade nickel-copper-PGE results at Milnet.

Toronto, Ontario — January 5, 2012 – Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX: WM, FWB: WC7) (“Wallbridge”) today provided a business update highlighting its direction for 2012. Wallbridge plans include advancing its Broken Hammer copper-platinum group element (“PGE”) project through feasibility and completing over 15,000 metres of exploration diamond drilling on its Sudbury area projects.

First Quantum exits DRC with $1.25-billion settlement – by Brenda Bouw (Globe and Mail – January 6, 2012)

January 6, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM-T22.220.241.09%) is closing a painful chapter of its history in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by selling its mines and settling all legal claims for $1.25-billion (U.S.), years after its operations were nationalized by the government.

Vancouver-based First Quantum will sell the controversial Kolwezi copper-cobalt project, as well as its Frontier and Lonshi mines, to Kazakh miner Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC, also known as ENRC, the same company it has been battling in international courts over its properties in DRC, one of the world’s most attractive copper regions.

The settlement comes as copper prices (HG-FT3.40-0.03-0.80%) are struggling to rebound from a 20-per-cent drop last year, amid worries that debt concerns in Europe and a slowdown in China’s rapidly growing economy could curb demand for the metal used in everything from cars to construction.

Northern [Ontario] MPPS say growth plan fails – The Daily Press (January 6, 2011)

January 6, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

A pair of Northern MPPs say a government growth plan has missed the mark. Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) and Michael Mantha (NDP — Algoma-Manitoulin) say the Northern Growth Plan has failed to address the real needs of northern Ontario.

The plan calls for the creation of “hubs” to promote development, but Sudbury and Thunder Bay are the only cities designated as such.

“The fact is that there is no money tied to the Northern Growth Plan. We’re not even sure what these two ‘hubs’ in Sudbury and Thunder Bay are meant to do. What money is being allocated to make these projects work?” said Bisson.

“I’m not only concerned for the cities like Timmins and Sault Ste Marie that are left out but I’m also concerned for Sudbury and Thunder Bay because without a clear vision and funds attached to it these centres are not likely to succeed.”

Injunction ‘a matter of respect’ for First Nations – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – January 6, 2012)

January 6, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper

Wahgoshig First Nation is not out to stop development, says Chief Dave Babin. The community, he added, simply wants its values respected by industry.

Wahgoshig won an injunction this week to halt mining exploration by Solid Gold Resource Corporation on its territory. The company was drilling in an area which the First Nation had identified as sacred ground.

“It’s a long-overdue issue that First Nations are facing with the industry and these are the things the industry has to understand with First Nations,” said Babin. “I’m not going to have people coming around here and terrorize the land because they feel they are following the Mining Act.

“They have to have respect for our cultural values within our territories. We have issues out there that we want to protect. It has no value to them but it has value to us.”

[Aboriginal] Injunction shuts down [Northern Ontario] miner – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – January 6, 2012)

January 6, 2012

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

A court ruling in favour of a Timmins-area First Nation regarding a mining dispute is further evidence that courts are backing up Aboriginal legal requirements to be consulted before drilling and staking begins.

“It proves the point that if you don’t follow the law, you’re going to end up in court and it’s going to cost your investors money,” Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy said Thursday.

Beardy was reacting to Ontario Superior Court of Justice Carol Brown’s decision this week that granted a 120-day injunction to Wahgoshig First Nation to temporarily prevent junior miner Solid Gold Resources from drilling on their land.

According to the ruling, “no consultation occurred with (WFN) before Solid Gold’s drilling began in the spring of 2011.”