June 28, 2012 – Republic of Mining

Proud of the oil sands – by Father Raymond J. De Souza (National Post – June 28, 2012)

June 28, 2012

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

As Thomas Mulcair can attest, it is rather easier to speak about the oil sands than it is to actually get up here and see what is going on. Fort McMurray, Alta. is remote, and while my first visit was rather longer than Mr. Mulcair’s, it was still only a full day.

Three years ago, upon the occasion of the merger of oil sands pioneer Suncor with Petro-Canada, this column examined some of the ethical questions posed by oil sands development. The argument then was just emerging about “ethical oil,” namely that Alberta oil is morally and strategically superior because it does not support odious regimes, from Venezuela to Saudi Arabia to Russia. The argument has only become stronger since then, propelled by Ezra Levant’s eponymous book, and adopted in the rhetoric of the federal government.

The argument is actually stronger than comparative politics, with “democratic” oil trumping “tyrannical” oil. Only some 25% of the world’s oil reserves are developed by private companies; the vast majority are state enterprises. Of that quarter of global reserves, half are in the oil sands. The oil sands are a minority phenomenon in the oil business – development by private companies subject to the rule of law, accountable to public shareholders, and disciplined by market forces. Those displeased with the oil sands can lobby Suncor and the other companies operating here, they can shape the public policy environment, they can even invest and become shareholders, something rather easier to do in Calgary than in Caracas.

Glencore courts Qatar as Xstrata revises merger pay – by Jesse Riseborough and Firat Kayakiran (June 28, 2012)

June 28, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Glencore yesterday met with Xstrata’s second-biggest shareholder Qatar Holding LLC over its call for a 16% increase in the commodity trader’s bid, people familiar with the London talks said.

LONDON (BLOOMBERG) – Glencore International Plc and Xstrata Plc (XTA), seeking to salvage the year’s biggest takeover, moved to appease dissident investors who have threatened to derail the 16 billion-pound ($25 billion) deal.

Glencore yesterday met with Xstrata’s second-biggest shareholder, Qatar Holding LLC, over the sovereign wealth fund’s call for a 16 percent increase in the commodity trader’s bid, people familiar with the London talks said. Xstrata revised payments for executives intended to keep them at the combined company by adding a link to performance and made all bonuses payable in shares after holders attacked them as excessive.

Qatar, which spent more than $4 billion amassing an 11 percent Xstrata stake, surprised investors and analysts two days ago with its criticism of the price. It asked Glencore (GLEN) to raise its February offer of 2.8 of its shares for each of Xstrata’s to 3.25, Qatar said June 26. Pressure on the companies intensified after Xstrata revealed May 31 it planned to pay top executives 172.8 million pounds in bonuses for their loyalty.

Province has to lead [in Ring of Fire]: [states Noront] miner – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 28, 2012)

June 28, 2012

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

The provincial government has to take a bigger leadership role in consultations between First Nations and mining companies in the Ring of Fire, says one of the companies developing a mine in the area.

“I think the root of the problem, is that the First Nations are seeking a greater amount of consultation. Our hope is that the government would lead those discussions,” Noront Resources president and CEO Wes Hanson said Wednesday.

Six First Nation leaders have threatened to issue eviction notices to all mining companies working in the Ring of Fire mining belt.

Upset over a lack of consultation, the leaders of Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming, Longlake #58, Neskantaga, and Nibinamik say they are in the final stages of issuing a 30-day eviction notice to all mining companies with exploration and development camps in the region, and implementing an immediate moratorium on all Ring of Fire mining activity.

Questions and answers [about Ring of Fire] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (June 27, 2012)

June 28, 2012

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

DETAILS have a way of getting in the way of ideas. You just get rolling when something unexpected stands in your way. How you deal with it determines if you succeed, fail or get bogged down. That’s where the huge potential of Ontario’s giant mining development sits — bogged down in jurisdictional disputes and, as of this week, a fundamental misunderstanding of events among Ontarians who had never heard of the Ring of Fire before a pollster called.

The Municipality of Greenstone and Aroland First Nation, both of which had sought consideration as sites for a chromite smelter, released a public opinion poll which they say shows Ontarians support them. They might, but this poll doesn’t prove it.

Cliffs Natural Resources, lead player in the Ring of Fire, considered several locations for its smelter and chose Sudbury because it has existing infrastructure. Other locations would add considerable cost and “put the economic viability of the project in jeopardy,” William Boor, a Cliffs vice-president, wrote in an open letter in this newspaper last month.

Greenstone, Aroland and other First Nations, are seeking changes to the development and the poll seeks to bolster their case. A thousand people across Ontario were asked their awareness of the Ring of Fire which has been compared to Alberta’s oil sands in terms of development potential. Only 30 per cent had even heard of it.

Newly elected First Nations regional chief zeroes in on Ring of Fire – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – June 28, 2012)

June 28, 2012

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

The new representative of Ontario’s First Nations is taking aim at protecting aboriginal interests as developers rush to haul the riches out of the Ring of Fire.

Stan Beardy was elected Ontario regional chief representing 133 provincial First Nations on Wednesday. Beardy, former Grand Chief of the northern Nishnawbe Aski Nation, narrowly beat out incumbent Angus Toulouse. Fifty-seven Ontario chiefs voted for Beardy and 53 for Toulouse.

Dubbed Ontario’s “oilsands” by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, the Ring of Fire is being promoted for development by both the federal and provincial governments. However, First Nations want a worthy piece of the economic benefits and they want to make sure proper environmental assessments of mining projects are carried out.

“The most important issue is the treaty relationship — when we sign a treaty that we never give up the right to cover ourselves or our aboriginal rights concerning natural resources,” he said from an airport hotel shortly after the vote.

Ontario’s emergency response protocols under review following Elliot Lake disaster – by Adam Radwanski and Anna Mehler Paperny (Globe and Mail – June 28, 2012)

June 28, 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.

With two bodies pulled from the wreckage of Elliot Lake’s Algo Mall, Dalton McGuinty’s government is set to begin a grim review of whether Ontario’s own emergency-response processes undermined the ultimately fruitless rescue mission.

A source in the Premier’s Office confirmed on Wednesday that the review will consider whether the specialized excavator used to dismantle the collapsed mall – four days after the crisis began – should have been brought in sooner.

After confusion about who was calling the shots on the ground, the review will examine whether the current emergency-response system delegates authority properly.

It will also consider whether structural concerns about the mall, brought to the Labour Ministry’s attention more than once, should have been identified and fixed before its collapse. But the overriding question hanging over the government concerns the strange sequence of events on Monday.

Damage control in Elliot Lake’s disaster zone – Martin Regg Cohn (Toronto Star – June 28, 2012)

June 28, 2012

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Disaster brings out the best in us — our bravery, our resolve, our heart. Tragedy also brings us together. Except in Elliot Lake, where the dark events of the last few days have shone an uncomfortable light on the gap between our government and ourselves.

When the authorities announced they were giving up rescue efforts Monday night, police reinforcements were called in to restrain crowds of vigilantes who volunteered to go in themselves. Their spontaneous protests evoked Elliot Lake’s heyday as a mining town where rescue crews famously pledged to leave no man behind.

But when government takes charge, an engineer from the labour ministry can declare the disaster zone an unsafe worksite — and obediently, seemingly, rescuers down tools. Will they one day restrict firefighters from fighting fires deemed inherently risky?

Amid the recriminations, officials are trying to rescue themselves from a public relations disaster of their own making. In this damage control exercise, which almost dwarfs the original rescue mission in scale, they insist no one ever truly gave up.