January 12, 2012 – Republic of Mining

Ned Goodman (Born 1937) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 12, 2012

Ned Goodman has made transformative and enduring contributions to Canada’s minerals industry and capital markets as a company-builder, merchant banker and investment advisor during a dynamic career spanning almost half a century. He applied his geological training and business acumen to help build several successful mining companies — notably International Corona and Kinross Gold — and nurtured many other mineral producing companies through astute and timely investments. In addition to being anoutstanding member of the philanthropic community, Montreal-born Goodman is considered one of the leading architects of Canada’s investment management industry.

Along with his partners, he founded the first exploration flow-through partnership, CMP Group, which has raised almost $5 billion since the 1980s to help companies explore and develop mining and petroleum companies, leading to the generation of jobs and benefits for rural and northern economies in Canada. He was also the driving force of the Dundee group of financial companies, which grew under his leadership from a $300-millionbase to a $50-billion mutual fund entity.

Phillip G. Hallof (1931-1992) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 12, 2012

Phillip Hallof earned his status as one of the “fathers of modern geophysics” for his pioneering and innovative work in the field of frequency domain induced polarization (IP), which grew from an obscure research effort into an essential exploration tool. He contributed in many ways to the research and development of geophysical equipment, techniques and interpretation, and also provided technical expertise to the mineral exploration industry through his leadership of McPhar Geophysics Inc. and later Phoenix Geophysics. Another legacy of his 35-year career was aiding the discovery of mineral wealth for the benefit of Canada and the global economy.

Hallof was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and educated at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in geology (geophysics option) in 1952. While still a graduate student, he undertook research into the then-novel, variable frequency IP method being developed by Newmont Exploration and demonstrated that it gave measurable responses over certain known sulphide deposits. The technology was further refined and successfully field tested, resulting in a valuable new tool to help identify buried mineral deposits that were not conductive and which conventional electromagnetic (EM) surveys could not detect. He also created a new and useful mode ofdisplaying multi-spaced IP and resistivity data in the now standard pseudosection format.

John A. Hansuld (Born 1931) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 12, 2012

John Hansuld served Canada’s mining and minerals sector with distinction as a pioneering geochemist, entrepreneurial company-builder and dedicated industry advocate. As a scientist, he advanced the application of geochemical techniques to mineral exploration and enhanced the profile and prestige of its practitioners.

As a corporate leader, he built Amax Exploration (Canada) into a premier exploration and mine development group later taken public as Canamax Resources Inc. He was also instrumental in transforming the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) from a largely Canadian organization to one of global influence.

Hansuld is perhaps best remembered for his leadership role in using the “flow-through share” tax-incentive program to fund Canadian mineral exploration at a time when many juniors were finding it difficult to access traditional capital markets.

Robert Hunter (1927-2007) and Robert Dickinson (Born 1948) – 2012 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductees

January 12, 2012

A partnership formed by Robert Hunter and Robert Dickinson more than 25 years ago has endured as the inspirational foundation for Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI), one of North America’s most respected mineral exploration and mine development groups. With Hunter as the financier and promoter and Dickinson as the technical advocate and project potential savant, the efforts of this entrepreneurial duo led to the development of one of the most successful teams in Canadian mining history.

The HDI team has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to advance mineral projects in Canada and around the world. The list includes many important porphyry deposits — notably Mount Milligan, Kemess and Prosperity in BC, Pebble in Alaska, and Xietongmen in China — as well as gold and other deposit types. Hunter and Dickinson both began their careers in their home province of BC. Hunter was a top-performing life insurance agent for 20 years before joining the mining scene in the early 1980s.

Ontario Mining Association co-sponsors high school video workshop

January 12, 2012

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 Ontario Mining Association is joining forces with Cambrian College in Sudbury to run a video production workshop for high school students. The one-day course, which can accommodate up to 30 students, will be held on January 21, 2012 at Cambrian. This workshop, with the OMA and Cambrian as partners, is designed to promote the OMA’s “So You Think You Know Mining” video competition.

Participants will be provided with an opportunity to learn the basics of video production, use Cambrian’s modern facilities and film equipment and benefit from the experience of college staff. The workshop is being facilitated by Dan Maslakewycz from CTV.

The OMA’s “So You Think You Know Mining” high school video competition is now in its fourth year. This year $33,500 in prize money is up for grabs. The deadline for submitting two to three minute videos on any aspect of the benefits of mining is March 15, 2012. There is also a new category this year for short commercials. The SYTYKM awards gala will be held June 5, 2012 at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Not much insight from [Sudbury] community leaders – by Karen Pappin (Sudbury Star Letter to the Editor – January 12, 2012)

January 12, 2012

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Re: “Community leaders share hopes for 2012” — Dec. 31.

Reading the story, I anticipated some insight or vision. The mayor sees environmental knowledge as an economic generator because she has spoken to many international mining interests from around the world.

Former mayor Jim Gordon continues to wail about youth out-migration. It is no longer a worthwhile conversation after some 25 years and still no solution after many studies.

The first study, which I facilitated about 20 years ago for the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, stated that youths leave for many reasons, not just jobs. They will return for a job when it kicks into their 30- something heads, as they become parents themselves and begin to think that perhaps it would be nice to raise their kids in an environment similar to what they grew up in.

Critical Metal Shortages – a look at global graphite, manganese and vanadium supply – by Brian Sylvester (Mineweb.com – January 11, 2012)

January 12, 2012

http://www.mineweb.com/

The U.S. is now dependent on foreign sources for critical metals like graphite, vanadium and manganese. The Critical Metals Report interviews Michael and Chris Berry.

PETALUMA, CA (The Critical Metals Report) – The Critical Metals Report: In a presentation at the China Investment Conference in December, you said that over the last 20 years the U.S. government has mismanaged its supplies of critical metals to the point where it depends almost exclusively on foreign sources. How did this happen?

Michael Berry: It’s just now starting to dawn on Washington that we don’t have a stockpile. We had a stockpile through World War I and World War II (WWII) that was necessary to our national security. The U.S. was the biggest producer of rare earth elements (REEs) in the 1970s and 1980s. But then we allowed China to undercut our prices and we shut down the Mountain Pass mine, which was one of the largest if not the largest producer of rare earths in the world.

We lost not only production and access to REEs, which are critical for weapons systems, automobiles, alternative energy and a number of other applications, but we lost the processing chain that actually integrates and creates the metal, creates the alloy and magnets, and integrates it into material. China now controls these markets. There are four or five pieces of legislation pending in Washington, but it will take a decade or more to replace and rebuild these crucial supply chains.

Chris Berry: When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the idea of a unipolar world came into vogue and I think the United States took its eye off the ball by selling off stockpiles of numerous metals.