September 19, 2012 – Republic of Mining

What’s the plan for PQ’s Plan Nord? – by Sophie Cousineau (Globe and Mail – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 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.

MONTREAL — Watching Jean Charest resign after 28 years in politics, Quebeckers were struck when his voice choked with emotion. As premier, no one could recall him being so overwhelmed while speaking of his family.

Yet that was not the most poignant moment of his farewell. It was when he pleaded – almost desperately – with premier-designate Pauline Marois to press on with his ambitious plan to harness the province’s resources north of the 49th parallel. “The next government must absolutely pursue the Plan Nord’s development for the future generation of Quebeckers,” he said.

It is remarkable that Mr. Charest, who often appeared aloof as premier, became so passionate about the “construction site of a generation.” What started as a search for a project to win a majority government in the 2008 elections became what he now views as his political legacy. This 25-year plan to access the abundant resources of Quebec’s far north was unveiled in May of 2011. But its figures are still dizzying: $80-billion in investments that will create 20,000 jobs a year and bring in $14-billion in the government’s coffers.

Or so the original plan goes. It now lies in the hands of a skeptical Parti Québécois government, which will unveil its cabinet Wednesday. Everybody expects economist Nicolas Marceau will become the next finance minister.

Rail money offered to Quebec miners – by Ashley Fitzpatrick (St. John’s Telegraph – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 2012

http://www.thetelegram.com/

Adriana Resources not the only iron ore company backed by Wuhan Iron and Steel

Eager to get their hands on Canadian iron ore, Chinese backers of the Lac Otelnuk project in Northern Quebec — what Adriana Resources highlights as the country’s largest iron ore deposit — are willing to cover the construction of a new rail line to move the resource to processing and shipping facilities south, in Sept-îles.

President and CEO of Adriana Resources, Allen Palmiere, included the news when he spoke about Lac Otelnuk at an investors’ forum at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John’s Tuesday. He said regardless of the solution, transportation infrastructure is needed to move iron ore from the project across the 850-kilometre span to the coast.

The company is developing plans for a mine at the Lac Otelnuk find, expected to be capable of producing 50 million metric tonnes of iron a year. It hinges on having government approvals, aboriginal agreements, power and — something Palmiere focused on — rail access. “We have some challenges,” Palmiere said. “Mining’s the least of our issues.”

Despite having talked to CN about a rail project, Adriana Resources has not signed a deal with the Canadian railway company.
“We haven’t been in dialogue with CN for many months,” Palmiere said. “The discussions are certainly not closed by any means, but we seem to have hit a bit of a stumbling block.”

Canada’s last mining frontier about to be opened – by Bill Mann, (MarketWatch.com – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 2012

http://www.marketwatch.com/

Baffin Island iron mine poses daunting logistical challenges

PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. (MarketWatch) — It’s been called “Ice Train Station Zebra” by some Canadian quipsters. No one has ever built a railway on huge Baffin Island, part of which is north of the bottom half of Greenland. That is, until now. A huge iron mine that will use the railroad was formally greenlit by the government last week after months of hearings, four years of planning, and big proxy fights.

You can almost hear the strains of “I’ve been working on the railroad…and freezing my butt off.” Some of the native people who live up in the Canadian territory of Nunavut and attended the government hearings hunt caribou for a living and said they didn’t know what a railroad might look like.

When the arctic railroad (possible name: Burlington Far Northern?) is completed, it will truly be an iron horse — hauling some of the purest iron ore in the world from the Mary River open-pit mine to a port that also needs to be built, at Steensby Inlet. About 25 million tons a year of ore, to be exact. Waiting for that ore will be ice-breaking freighters — also not yet built — which couldn’t have reached the area until climate change made it accessible.

Lonmin deal stirs more South Africa mine strife – by Sherilee Lakmidas (Globe and Mail – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 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.

MARIKANA, South Africa — Reuters – South African police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters near a mine run by top platinum producer Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the first sign of unrest spreading after strikers at smaller rival Lonmin won big pay rises.

Within hours of Lonmin agreeing to a pay increase of 11 to 22 per cent, workers at neighbouring mines were calling for similar hikes, suggesting more trouble in store after six weeks of industrial action that has claimed 45 lives and threatened Africa’s biggest economy.

“We want management to meet us as well now,” an organizer for the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) at Impala Platinum, the number two producer, told Reuters.

“We want 9,000 rand ($1,098 U.S.) a month as a basic wage instead of the roughly 5,000 rand we are getting.” He declined to be named for fear of recriminations from the company. Lonmin shares soared more than 9 per cent to levels not seen since police shot dead 34 miners on August 16 outside its Marikana mine, 100 km northwest of Johannesburg.

KI pulls out of Far North planning process – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 2012

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

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) has pulled out of the Ontario land use planning process under the Far North Act. “At the end of the day, when everything is completed and done it is the minister who has the last say,” said KI Chief Donny Morris. “We want control and to have the minister have the last say, that is not what we want. So that is why we pulled out.”

Morris sent the Aug. 31 letter to Dianne Corbett, director of Far North Branch, Ministry of Natural Resources, announcing the decision. Posted on the kitchenuhmaykoosib.com website, the letter stated that KI entered the land use planning process in a good faith attempt to work with Ontario to reduce land use conflicts in the KI homeland.

“When we do the land use planning, it is for our own community membership to determine the future of our resources, our lands and water, not the minister,” Morris said. Morris said it has become clear to the community over time that land use planning under the Far North Act would change the jurisdiction and authority of KI on its homeland.

“It is our view that the Far North Act acts to deny or limit the Aboriginal rights, Aboriginal title or treaty rights of KI and limits or defines the consultation and accommodation obligations between KI and Ontario,” Morris said in the letter. “In short, we cannot work within the limitations of the current legislation.”

Gold junior miner takes on [Ontario] government – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 2012)

September 19, 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.

Darryl Stretch has his Howard Beale moments. Like the ranting fictional TV anchorman, emotion can get the better of the president of Solid Gold Resources when he discusses the exploration standstill at his Lake Abitibi gold play in northeastern Ontario.

The 25-year industry veteran admits to not being very polished, media-wise, in explaining his gloves-off approach in fighting to resume drilling at his Legacy Gold Project, a 200-square-kilometre property near the Quebec border that the junior miner has held since 2007.

“Everything we do in life is a double-edged sword,” said Stretch, whose torrent of colourful press releases attacking the province, the courts and First Nations as being “bullies,” “tyrants,” and speaking with “forked tongues” is the kind of vitriol that would make his company radioactive to investors.

“Even though I have a pretty pathetic-looking stock price (at $0.035 on the TSX Venture Exchange in mid-August), most of my shareholders are pretty comfortable with what I’m doing. We’ve been left with no alternative.”

Let’s get ready [Thunder Bay mining boom] – (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 2012

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

As mining potential in the region continues to grow, Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs says the Northwest has to be ready when things take off. “We want to be ready when the mining boom hits,” Hobbs told those taking part in Tuesday evening’s information session about the Mining Readiness Strategy at the Italian Cultural Centre.

“We need to be ready as a city and the Northwest has to be ready for what is coming at us,” he said before the meeting. “There are about 10 mines in the queue in the next three to five years with the potential for $130 billion in revenues.”

With 13 mineral exploration programs and more than $80 billion in spending expected to take place between 2013 and 2017, Thunder Bay is partnering with Fort William First Nation and the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission to develop a mining readiness strategy that will create a plan for the region on mining development and economic growth.

SNC-Lavalin is developing the strategy, which will focus on transportation, infrastructure, energy, business development, workforce and training development, housing, as well as financing and capital investment needs.

Goldcorp says industry primed for mergers – by Liezel Hill (Toronto Star – September 19, 2012)

September 19, 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.

Bloomberg News – Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second- largest producer of the metal, said mining acquisition targets are looking more attractive as tougher financing conditions have depressed share prices.

“The development-company valuations have come down to where, at least on paper, it looks like there’s some opportunities,” Chief Executive Officer Chuck Jeannes said in a recent interview. “There’s a lot of looking going on.”

Meanwhile Tuesday, Goldcorp said it has signed a deal to sell part of its stake in Primero Mining Corp. in a secondary offering worth $44.2 million. The big gold miner said a syndicate of underwriters have agreed to buy 8.4 million shares of Primero at a price of $5.25 per share.

Exploration and development companies, or so-called juniors, underperformed the large gold miners last year after they struggled to raise funds and investors shunned risky assets. The juniors are on average lagging the seniors again this year, even after rising 25 percent since hitting a two-year low on June 28. The 74 companies in a Bloomberg Industries index of gold explorers now trade at an average 1.54 times book value, versus a three-year average of 2.58.

NEWS RELEASE: Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) Announces Construction of a New Mineral Processing Pilot Plant

September 19, 2012

The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) today announced construction of a new mineral processing pilot plant. The new pilot plant, coupled with SRC’s existing mineral processing expertise, laboratory and testing facilities, will allow mining companies in Western Canada and beyond to access a full range of applied research, development, process design, scale-up, and pilot-scale demonstration, plus new and improved processes for recovering valuable metals and minerals.

Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saskatoon Fairview Jennifer Campeau on behalf of Economy Minister and Minister responsible for SRC Bill Boyd was in attendance today to announce construction.

Located in Saskatoon, the pilot plant will enable SRC to provide services and expertise previously unavailable in Saskatchewan, and will allow mining companies to increase productivity and competitiveness in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The new pilot plant will support the development and demonstration of new and improved methods for processing minerals such as potash, gold, base metals, coal, oil sand, oil shale and especially rare earth minerals. It will enable the pilot-scale demonstration of new technologies that will be able to increase mining yields and decrease costs.