July 27, 2012 – Republic of Mining

Saying no to Canada’s asbestos – National Post Editorial (July 27, 2012)

July 27, 2012

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

Last month, the Quebec government revealed it would lend $58-million to the Jeffrey Mine, the country’s last operating asbestos mine. At the time, mine officials said the money would be enough to keep it operating for 20 years, and we condemned Quebec premier Jean Charest’s decision to essentially provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for a “carcinogenic corporate cadaver.” (The Jeffrey Mine already had closed when the province stepped in with the funds, and was unlikely to have reopened without the government’s intervention.)

Our objection, which is echoed by critics as varied as the New Democratic Party and the Canadian Cancer Society, was based on the fact that nearly all the mine’s clients are developing countries where the prospects of asbestos being used safely are remote. Thailand, India and China represent the core of the mine’s business and funding. Selling them a substance that we Canadians find too dangerous for our own use isn’t illegal, but it is ethically problematic, and thereby harms Canada’s reputation on the world stage.

But now it appears that Thai authorities are actively trying to ban chrysotile asbestos imports within the next few months. In January 2011, Thailand’s National Economic and Social Advisory Council recommended banning imports and sales of asbestos in Thailand due to its link to health problems, including cancer. A month later, Thai authorities adopted a resolution in furtherance of that goal. The package of measures proposed therein will be presented to Thai lawmakers this September.

Chris Nardi: Thailand’s move to ban asbestos leaves Quebec looking foolish – by Christopher Nardi (National Post – July 26, 2012)

July 27, 2012

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

Ever wonder what it feels like to loan $58-million to an industry whose biggest clients don’t even want your product and are actively working to ban it? If so, then look no further than Jean Charest for a prime example of an ill-advised investment. Last June, the Quebec Liberals announced a $58-million loan to Mineral Fiber, the company that owns Jeffrey Mine, in order to resuscitate the (rightfully) dead asbestos industry.

Nearly all the mine’s clients are developing countries, with Thailand, India and China representing the core of its business, and the core of its funding. Apart from Quebec’s loan, $11-million was invested by Baljit Chadha, leader of the Sikh community in Canada and co-owner of the mine, and $14-million was invested by a Thai company, Ulan Marketing. Ulan Marketing is part of a family of companies in Thailand known as Oran Vanich Co., which is the largest producer of construction products using asbestos in Thailand, with five plants and over 1,000 employees.

Surprisingly, La Presse is now reporting that Thai authorities are actively trying to ban chrysotile asbestos imports within the next few months. In January 2011, Thailand’s National Economic and Social Advisory Council recommended banning imports and sales of asbestos in Thailand due to its link to health problems, including cancer.

Weenusk struggles to keep home lands free – Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – July 26, 2012)

July 27, 2012

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Residents of Weenusk First Nation are fearing for the loss of their traditional lifestyles as Ontario gets set to release geological data on one of the province’s last pristine wildernesses.

The Ontario Geologic Survey (OGS) conducted aerial geological surveying over a broad section of untouched wilderness along the shore of Hudson Bay between November 2011 and February 2012.

Many people in Weenusk, a community of approximately 300, believe the release of the information will spur mineral exploration on much of the First Nation’s traditional territory, and in the process irrevocably alter a way of life that has been practiced since time immemorial.

“We want to keep the land free,” says George Hunter, a community member and former chief of Weenusk. “To us, freedom doesn’t have staked claims. The moment you have staked claims and private property, our true freedom is compromised forever.”

Legal fight tarnishing gold firm – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – July 26, 2012)

July 27, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The president of Solid Gold Resources blames the ongoing conflict with Wahgoshig First Nation and the provincial government for his company’s plummeting stock values.

“It has completely destroyed it,” said Darryl Stretch. “It’s at three cents, which values my company at less than what it costs to put a shelf together these days. “When we came out with our IPO (initial public offering), it was at 25 cents… For the stock price to be at three cents is unreasonable and outrageous.”

Solid Gold holds claims within a 200-square-kilometre area outside the boundary of the Wahgoshig reserve. In January, the First Nation succeeded in having an injunction imposed against the exploration company to stop drilling in that area.

In February, Solid Gold filed a Leave to Appeal on the basis that “any consultation and accommodation required should have been completed (with Wahgoshig) by the Crown long before mineral claims were granted to Solid Gold,” said Stretch.

The global (sled) race for the Arctic’s oil and gas riches – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – July 27, 2012)

July 27, 2012

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

Part 2 of a two-part series on the prospects and challenges of exploring oil and gas in the greater Arctic region.

The greater Arctic region is one of the world’s last few unexplored energy frontiers: foreboding and risky but irresistible to world powers given its treasures beneath.

A combination of high oil prices, the global race for new discoveries and climate change has lured oil majors to dip their toes in the frigid waters in the hunt for the estimated 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, despite a backlash from environmentalists.

While many fear the region’s rapid development will destroy its fragile and unique ecosystem forever, the Arctic has the potential to generate at least US$100-billion in oil and gas and mining investments within a few years, a Chatham House report says.

“There is a wide range of potential scenarios for the Arctic’s economic future, depending principally on local investment conditions and global commodity prices,” wrote Charles Emmerson, who co-authored the Chatham report and wrote The Future History of the Arctic. “Oil and gas, mining and the shipping industries will be the biggest drivers and beneficiaries of Arctic economic development.”

Ford’s Trade-In: Truck to Use Aluminum in Place of Steel – by Mike Ramsey (Wall Street Journal – July 26, 2012)

July 27, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

ALLEN PARK, Mich.—In this suburb just west of Detroit, Ford Motor Co. F +0.45%is working on one of the biggest gambles in its 108-year history: a pickup truck with a largely aluminum body.

The radical redesign will help meet tougher federal fuel-economy targets now starting to have wide-ranging effects on Detroit’s auto makers. But Ford will have to overcome a host of manufacturing obstacles, plus convince die-hard pickup buyers that aluminum is as tough as steel.

Ford is hoping the switch to the lighter metal will cut the weight of its F-150 truck by about 700 pounds, according to Ford executives familiar with the company’s plans. That is roughly a 15% reduction for the F-150, which is the company’s most popular pickup in the U.S., favored by farmers and suburbanites alike. Such a reduction would enable Ford’s trucks to go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and open the door to other changes, such as the use of smaller engines, that can further boost fuel economy. Along with the aluminum makeover, the new F-150 also is getting a more muscular look, according to one Ford designer.

In the summer of 2011, the Obama administration pushed through new fuel-economy regulations that would require the U.S. vehicle fleet to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The requirements ramp up fuel economy goals for vehicles of different sizes each year.

Soaring costs sting Barrick – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – July 27, 2012)

July 27, 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.

Barrick Gold Corp. announced a massive cost overrun and one-year delay at its key Pascua-Lama gold project, as the world’s biggest gold miner struggles with soaring industry costs that are also forcing it to shelve other large projects in the pipeline.

Less than two months after it suddenly ousted chief executive officer Aaron Regent, Barrick said it is shifting its strategy to focus more on returns rather than growth in gold production. It slashed its 2015 production target to eight million ounces from nine million previously.

“In my view, rate of return should drive production, not the other way around,” said Barrick’s new chief executive, Jamie Sokalsky, pledging to take steps to reverse the company’s recent slumping stock price.

Shares of Barrick have plunged 40 per cent since September, more than its competitors, amid concerns about its aggressive move into copper and a management shake-up this year.

[Noront’s Leanne Hall – First Nations] Skilled Builder (CIM Magazine – June/July 2012)

November 3, 2015July 27, 2012

Founded in 1898, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries.

Leanne Hall, vice-president, human resources, Noront Resources Ltd.

When Leanne Hall takes on an assignment, she does two things: “I always look at it from the eyes of different stakeholders,” she says, “and I always try to leave places in a better position than where I originally found them.”

These approaches have shaped her career in human resources and corporate social responsibility, which is now focused on developing the workforce to support Noront Resources’ Eagle’s Nest mine, currently under development in northern Ontario. Prior to joining Noront, Hall headed Woodland HR Inc. in northern Alberta, where she seized on the skills shortage and the province’s privatization and expansion of its career and employment services to carve out a niche for herself. “At the end of 14 years, we had assisted over 20,000 people in northern Alberta with their career and employment goals,” she says.

Hall explains that she used a “grassroots” approach. It involved meeting one-on-one and asking people what they had always dreamed of doing, uncovering their skills and talents, developing a career plan, and matching them with employment that could fulfill those dreams. In an economy where cyclical oil prices hit hard at times, she says, it’s important to love what one does; that is what makes it possible to thrive. Having a career plan not only helps achieve this, it aids retention at companies that smooth their employees’ path to advancement.