NEWS RELEASE: Canada’s Mines Ministers Agree to Collaborate on Key Priorities

September 11, 2012
 
CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND –
Federal, provincial and territorial energy and mines ministers agreed this week at their annual conference to pursue collective action to strengthen Canada’s position as a global energy and mining leader. The annual Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference, co-chaired by the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Wesley Sheridan, Prince Edward Island’s Minister of Finance, Energy and Municipal Affairs, focused on actions needed to realize the economic potential of Canada’s energy and mining sectors.
 
The ministers emphasized the enormous importance that natural resources play in Canada’s economy. In 2011 the natural resource sectors accounted for 15 percent of Canada’s nominal GDP and directly employed nearly 800,000 Canadians. An equal number of Canadians were employed through related sectors such as industry construction, technology and financial services. Major resource projects currently underway or planned over the next 10 years are estimated to be worth about $650 billion in capital investments.
 
“Canada’s mining sector is poised to undergo significant growth, creating high-quality jobs for Canadians in every part of the country,” said Minister Oliver. “But we must do more to fully realize Canada’s tremendous resource potential and planned investments. Our success will depend on a world-leading investment environment, greater access to diversified markets, continued innovation, efficient labour markets, stronger environmental protection and enhanced consultations with Aboriginal peoples.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Greenstone confirmed as Gateway to the Ring of Fire

(Greenstone, Sept. 12, 2012) “More and more it is becoming clear that the Municipality of Greenstone is emerging as the gateway to the Ring of Fire.” These words were used by Greenstone Mayor, Renald Beaulieu, while briefing Councillors on recent developments concerning the Municipality.

The first development is the Noront Resources (NR) announcement that their “base case” is predicated on transporting Ring of Fire ore using the proposed North-South Corridor (with a southern terminus in Greenstone’s Nakina ward. The second is that the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is now considering an East of Lake Nipigon transmission corridor.

When commenting on NR’s decision to transport ore on the planned north-south road, the Mayor said, “For decades, Nakina was viewed as the end of the road, but increasingly it seems that Nakina, a proud part of Greenstone, will soon be seen as the start of the road.”

Adding greatly to the Mayor’s enthusiasm was the low key, yet pivotal, news that the Northwest Ontario First Nations Transmission Planning Committee (NOFNTPC) has been informed by the OPA that the OPA is now studying an East side of Lake Nipigon transmission line.

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Parti Québécois mining promises under scrutiny – by Monique Beaudin (Montreal Gazette – September 10, 2012)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

Premier-designate Pauline Marois made a lot of promises about mining in the election campaign.  Her Parti Québécois promised to hike mining royalties, revamp the 25-year Plan Nord and require environmental reviews of new mining projects.
 
Now the industry and environmental groups are wondering which promises will come true. On Monday, a coalition of environmental groups called on the new government to make good on its promises, while an industry spokesperson denied companies were “in a panic” about the PQ plans.
 
“Despite being in a minority position, we believe that the Parti Québécois is in a good position to make quick and necessary reforms in Quebec’s mining sector,” said Ugo Lapointe, spokesperson for Québec meilleure mine, a coalition of 30 different groups.
 
There was a consensus among all political parties that Quebec’s mining law needs to be updated, the group said in a statement. It believes Quebecers should benefit more from the development of the province’s natural resources.

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Cliffs defers Ring of Fire chromite production to 2016 – Staff (Northern Ontario Business – September 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.

Cliffs Natural Resources is pushing back the start of production at its Ring of Fire chromite deposit in the James Bay lowlands by one year. 

In its latest investor presentation, the Ohio miner said Black Thor will begin production in 2016.
 
“The final decision on the furnace location (in Sudbury) took Cliffs longer than originally planned,” said spokeswoman Pat Persico by email. “This was due to the necessary discussions held with the province of Ontario regarding power and road. As these are very important decisions driving the long-term project, Cliffs is focused on making the best choices and adjusting schedules accordingly.”
 
First Nations concerns about the project’s impact on the environment and the lack of consultation were not a factor in adjusting the development timeline, she said.

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Robert Friedland returns with Ivanplats IPO – by Peter Koven (National Post – September 12, 2012)

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

Robert Friedland is back. The legendary mining promoter has launched a long-awaited initial public offering for Ivanplats Ltd., which controls massive mineral deposits in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The IPO is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, sources said, and could be the largest on the Toronto Stock Exchange this year.
 
The single largest Canadian IPO of the year is Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. (at $575-million), but that offering was in Hong Kong. The largest TSX IPO was Argent Energy Trust, which raised $244-million. Ivanplats will likely be bigger.
 
Previous media reports suggested Mr. Friedland wanted to raise as much as $1-billion with this deal. However, sources said expectations are much lower than that, given turbulent market conditions and high risk aversion among investors right now.

The offering marks a return to the TSX for Mr. Friedland, who disappeared five months ago when he resigned from Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (later re-named Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.). He left Ivanhoe after Rio Tinto Ltd. took majority control of the company and its flagship project, the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

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Despite U.S. ‘tight oil renaissance’, optimism pervades Canada’s oil sands sector – by Jameson Berkow (National Post – September 12, 2012)

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

TORONTO – Facing a rising tide of United States tight oil production, Canada’s up-and-coming oil sands producers aren’t afraid of drowning.
 
Often referred to as ‘the tight oil renaissance’, recent reports have pointed to the rapid growth of production coming from new U.S. resource plays as a major cause for concern over the future competitiveness of upcoming northern Alberta oil sands projects. Yet emerging companies attending the Peters & Co. Ltd. 2012 Energy Conference here remain optimistic their heads will remain above the surface.
 
Total U.S. oil production is expected to exceed 10 million barrels per day by the end of the decade, according to some estimates, with much of the growth coming from new unconventional plays such as the northern Bakken or the southern Eagle Ford.
 
The boom has raised questions about the demand for oil imports from Canada’s best energy customer as the U.S. currently gets nearly half the oil it consumes from abroad. However, Glen Schmidt, chief executive of Laricina Energy Ltd., questions whether that ambitious growth will actually materialize.

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Teachers learn about modern mining in Ontario – by Liz Cowan (Northern Ontario Business – September 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.

It took five days for Niagara Region elementary school teacher Chris Hoekstra to change her preconceived ideas about mining. “I was thinking picks and shovels, that it was very intrusive, not environmentally friendly, it was eating up our land and why do we really need it,” she said.
 
After spending five packed days at the Canadian Ecology Centre’s Mining Teachers’ Tour in August – including an underground visit – her view has totally changed.
 
“I had a picture of going down into a timbered shaft,” Hoekstra said. “But the technology that is used has really impressed me and I didn’t anticipate that. I had no idea of the number of engineers and tradespeople that are required and how environmentally conscious they are to the point of having staff that are just dedicated to that.”
 
The third mining tour was held Aug. 6 to Aug. 10 at the Mattawa facility housed in Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.

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Billions needed to save Canadian roads, water systems, report says – by Josh Tapper (Toronto Star – September 12, 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.

Canada’s leaky municipal infrastructure faces an increasingly grim future unless the federal government sinks an estimated $171.8 billion into repairing or replacing aging roads and water systems, a new report says.
 
With the Conservatives’ infrastructure funding plan set to expire in 2014, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ first-ever national infrastructure report card called for a commitment from Ottawa to support cash-strapped municipalities, many of which are home to decaying, “at-risk” infrastructure.
 
The report, a sweeping examination of 123 municipalities that was released Tuesday, paints a bleak portrait of Canada’s roads and wastewater systems. More than half of municipal roads received a grade of “fair” to “very poor” for displaying general physical decline, significant signs of corrosion or “widespread signs of advanced deterioration.”
 
“(The report) affirms that we know that there is infrastructure that is not meeting a certain standard across the country,” FCM president Karen Leibovici said in an interview. “We need to tackle that . . . to ensure that the infrastructure we have throughout this country is able to meet needs.”

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Philippines’ black market is China’s golden connection – by Rosemarie Francisco (Reuters.com – August 23, 2012)

http://in.reuters.com/

MOUNT DIWATA, PHILIPPINES – (Reuters) – Erich Mulato walked out of a dingy workshop in this mountain village and into a gold shop next door, clutching a handful of shiny warm nuggets newly refined from the ore he had brought in.

The 53-year-old father of six had come off a 24-hour shift at one of the hundreds of small-scale mines in this region of southern Philippines. He sold the 5.49 grams of gold in his hand – his share of the day’s output – for 8,260 pesos. That’s more than 16 times what a manual laborer earns daily in Manila.

“Here, we can easily make money,” Mulato said, blowing smoke from a cigarette as he waited for his money at the gold shop. “Whatever we want to buy, we can buy … Making a living is better here.” Better for Mulato, but not for the Philippine government.

In all likelihood, Mulato’s gold will find its way through middlemen and into the luggage of a tourist or the black market in Manila – not to its only legal destination, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or the central bank. Up to 90 percent of small-scale Philippine gold production is being smuggled out of the Southeast Asian country, according to estimates from officials and traders, much of it to China.

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UPDATE 2: World’s biggest platinum producer Amplats hit by unrest – by Christy Filen (Mineweb.com – September 1, 2012)

www.mineweb.com

Anglo American Platinum spokesperson, Mpumi Sithole has confirmed the miner is working with police to contain an outbreak of intimidation but is unclear how many people are involved.

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb) –  Anglo American Platinum on Thursday said its employees are not on strike but that some were unable to report for night shift last night due to intimidation and threats by ‘unidentified individuals’.
 
In a move that would suggest an evacuation of sorts, Amplats have decided to ‘re-direct employees to a neutral place’ to ensure their safety and security.
 
“Our priority is to ensure the safety of our people while we find solutions to address the situation. We will provide update information as it becomes available,” said the company in an email to media.
 
This update comes after the miner announced last night that it was trying to contain an outbreak of intimidation at its Rustenburg mines and had been working 24/7 to try to prevent the unrest.

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Environment and economy – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (September 11, 2012)

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

THE battle between industry and the environment — between progress and pollution — is being waged across Canada and around the world. A generation ago, the modern environmental movement was born to fight specific threats — against whales in the world’s oceans, old growth forests in Ontario and British Columbia, air and water surrounding industrial sites and populous shoreline areas. Lake Erie once was declared “dead” and the restoration of its water quality is an important measure of the ability of governments to jointly act in the public interest on issues that can seem overwhelming.

Since then, global economic challenges have intensified the battle between industry and environment. But this time, governments have to contend with the fact that in order to revive economies and reinstate people’s futures, new industrial activity is essential now despite environmental concerns.

Thus, in Canada we have oilsands and shale gas developments that cause unprecedented environmental disruption, and plans to ship the products in new pipelines despite growing accounts of pipeline spills — all of it encouraged by a federal government that is stripping Canada of parts of its regulatory catalogue.

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NEWS RELEASE: MINING POTENTIAL GIVES THE TERRITORIES BRIGHT ECONOMIC PROSPECTS

News release 13-24
www.conferenceboard.ca

Ottawa, September 12, 2012 – Despite the global economic uncertainty and the unresolved fiscal and economic woes in Europe, economic growth in the Canadian territories is forecast to outpace the country as a whole for several years to come. Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the territories is expected to grow by 3.6 per cent in 2012, and then accelerate by 5.4 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, in 2013 and 2014, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Territorial Outlook-Summer 2012.

“Commodity prices have declined in recent months, so the short-term economic outlook for the territories is not as robust as what we were projecting at the start of the year,” said Marie-Christine Bernard, Associate Director, Forecasting and Analysis. “Most mineral exploration plans are proceeding this year, albeit at a somewhat weaker pace than expected six months ago.”

In the medium and long-term, the territories’ economic forecast remains positive and the robust economic outlook can be attributed to new metal mine developments. While a mining project is never guaranteed to proceed, favourable global demand for metals suggest that Canada’s mining potential is bright over the next decade—particularly in the North.

On the fiscal side, all three territories are expected to post balanced budgets this fiscal year. However, the economic outlook among the individual territories varies greatly.

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