January 25, 2012 – Republic of Mining

NEWS RELEASE: HUDAK PLANS TO GET NORTHERN ONTARIO WORKING AGAIN

January 25, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2012

TIMMINS – The North faces unique economic challenges and pressures, but this region has extraordinary and exciting potential, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak said today during a speech to the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.

“Today, Northern Ontario has a jobs crisis,” Hudak said. “This region’s unemployment rate is nearly twelve per cent – well above the provincial average at nearly eight per cent,” Hudak said.

“Big mills and small businesses are plagued by alarming energy costs. Some have even closed their doors permanently,” Hudak added.

“The McGuinty Liberals won’t listen. They think they know what’s best for the North. They don’t understand that the North’s success can’t be driven from the special interests’ office in Toronto.”

BESTECH [Mining supply company] Best foot forward – by Alan Swaby (Business Excellence Magazine – January 23, 2012)

September 7, 2018January 25, 2012

This article is from Business Excellence Magazine

http://www.bestech.com/

This Canadian engineering company is making its mark in the mining industry with a contribution to energy saving and the environment. Alan Swaby talks to co-CEOs Marc Boudreau and Denis Pitre and to the corporate services/sales & marketing manager Pat Dubreuil.

Aficionados of Doctor Who will be familiar with the Tardis concept – a deceptively small exterior encompassing a surprisingly large interior. In engineering terms, the Canadian company BESTECH is not dissimilar.

Started in 1995 by Marc Boudreau and Denis Pitre, the business initially offered electrical engineering services to the various mining operations found in and around the Sudbury region of Ontario. Since then, though, year-on-year growth in the order of 30 percent per annum has been achieved through the addition of more skills and operating divisions. Now you can find civil, structural and mechanical engineers working alongside their electrical counterparts and providing a full blown engineering and project management package.

Accreditation enhancing employment in mining engineering – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – January 24, 2012)

January 25, 2012

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

[Mining] employment gateway

As one of only two accredited mining engineering technology programs offered in Canada, Cambrian College’s course of study offers students a unique opportunity to prepare for the workplace, meeting the expectations of potential employers.

The Sudbury school, whose program was first accredited by the Canadian Technology Accreditation Board in 2004, recently renewed its accreditation until 2014. Having the designation creates a benchmark to ensure the college is teaching mining fundamentals recognized by industry, Tim Jones, a Cambrian mining engineering technology professor, explained.

“From our perspective as teachers, it’s a useful second setting of what we give to the students,” he said. “It helps us to identify and make sure that we’re covering all the areas necessary for the students to have when they graduate and enter into the workplace.”

Mike Mayhew, director of global business services with Stantec’s mining division, serves as chair of Cambrian’s Mining Program Advisory Committee.

Modular home builder eyes First Nation partnerships – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 25, 2012)

January 25, 2012

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Break out of the wood box

A First Nation-declared housing emergency in the Far North community of Attawapiskat may be a watershed event in rethinking social housing on reserves.

Steve Marshall, vice-president of the Sudbury-based Morris Group of Companies, watched last month’s flurry of media reports of deplorable housing conditions in the James Bay coast community and the federal government’s frantic efforts to find shelter for its residents.

“We’re certainly following it very closely because it’s not something unique to just Attawapiskat…it’s not all that different across most First Nation communities.”

In early December, he was meeting with representatives from seven First Nation communities in Ottawa, all interested in partnering up on modular home products that his company produces.

Pragmatic PM looks ahead as Chiefs air old grievances – by John Ivison (National Post – January 25, 2012)

January 25, 2012

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

The Crown-First Nations gathering in Ottawa was a classic example of a failure to communicate.

Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and National Chief Shawn Atleo recognized the history of Canada’s relations with its First Nations as a register of crimes and misfortunes. Both paid lip-service to the idea of unlocking the potential of aboriginal Canadians.

But they talked past each other when it came to moving forward. The Prime Minister said he has learned from the past but wants to focus on the future. Mr. Atleo spent most of his speech re-fighting old battles by pointing out how Canada has failed to live up to its treaty obligations.

Mr. Harper is likely the most pragmatic leader this country has seen since Sir John A. Macdonald, and his interest is in practical solutions that can have impact on the ground.

Focus first nations dialogue on self-sufficiency – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – January 25, 2012)

January 25, 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.

History does repeat itself, it would appear.

Pierre Trudeau had his constitutional conferences that involved aboriginal leaders. Brian Mulroney had his too, plus a big session in British Columbia to launch the B.C. Treaty Commission process, which has been a discouraging flop.

Jean Chrétien often went on about how splendidly he got along with the chiefs, having been Indian Affairs minister early in his career. Paul Martin had his Kelowna Accord. Stephen Harper had his reconciliation/apology statement over residential schools and, Tuesday, a day-long session with the chiefs.

Along the way, the national leadership of the Assembly of First Nations has obviously changed, as have the local chiefs. But the dialogue seldom changes, on either side of the table. Sonorous clichés mix with history lessons about “settlers” and their perfidy, lessons are repeated about the “honour of the Crown” and treaties that are/were not respected.

Harper sees jobs as key to better future for first nations [resource revenue sharing] – by Bill Curry and Gloria Galloway (Globe and Mail – January 25, 2012)

January 25, 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.

OTTAWA— Stephen Harper is pushing ahead with an agenda focused on practical steps to boost the economies of Canada’s reserves, pointing to a promising new generation of native leaders and entrepreneurs as examples of a brighter future.

More than 400 native chiefs from across the country arrived in Ottawa with wide-ranging demands for the one-day Crown-First Nations Gathering, but the Prime Minister quickly made clear that his priority was the economy.

His message: Canada’s resource sector is expanding, skilled labour is in short supply and the government is ready to make incremental changes to land and education policy that will boost first nations employment. “This is a new day,” he said. “New generations are arising, generations that seek a common vision, that have common goals.”

A growing number of first nations communities are striking their own direct land-management deals with Ottawa that make it easier to create businesses on reserve and attract non-native investment.

Life matters the most [Vale Sudbury mining deaths recommendations] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 25, 2012)

January 25, 2012

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

A team from Vale Ltd. investigating the June 8, 2011, deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram at Stobie Mine has made more than 30 recommendations to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.

Kelly Strong, Vale’s vice-president of mining and milling operations, said several factors contributed to the deaths of the men.

Chenier, 35, and Fram, 26, were killed about 9:45 p.m. when they were overtaken by 350 tons of muck while working around the No. 7 ore pass at the 3,000-foot level of the mine. Strong offered two scenarios for how the accident might have occurred.

One is that there was a buildup of wet, fine sandy muck above the crash gate on the 3,000 level, which collapsed and drove its way down the ore pass, overtaking the two men. The other is that there was a hang-up of wet, fine sandy muck above coarser material, which unexpectedly let go.

Gold junior [Solid Gold Resources] sues Ontario govt for C$100m over ‘precedent-setting’ ruling – by Matthew Hill (Miningweekly.com – Janaury 24, 2012)

January 25, 2012

Mining Weekly is South Africa’s premier source of weekly news on mining developments in Africa’s most important industry. Mining Weekly provides in-depth coverage of mining projects and the personalities reshaping the mining industry.

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Solid Gold Resources, a Toronto-based junior with precious-metals prospects in Ontario, said on Tuesday it is suing the Ontario government for C$100-million, and possibly more.

The company is seeking damages sustained as a result of a January 3 Superior Court of Ontario ruling that prevents it from drilling at its Lake Abitibi property, located east of Timmins in northern Ontario, for 120 days while the TSX-V-listed company consults with the Wahgoshig First Nation.

Judge Carol Brown’s judgement “squarely conflicts with the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Haida Nation v. British Columbia, which held that third parties cannot be held liable for failing to discharge the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate,” Solid Gold said in a statement on January 19.

It said it would appeal the decision.