Hiring of Chinese miners in B.C. sends unions to court – Petti Fong (Toronto Star – November 6, 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.

VANCOUVER—The hiring of about 200 Chinese miners to work in northern British Columbia has raised concerns with Ottawa as unions went to court Monday seeking to overturn the decision to allow the foreign workers into Canada.

The workers, some of whom are already at the mine near Tumbler Ridge, B.C., were allowed in after getting approval from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

The miners will be employed at HD Mining International Ltd’s Murray River coal mine extracting bulk samples.

“Canadians must always have the first crack at job opportunities,” said Alyson Queen, spokeswoman for Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley. “As we have indicated previously, we are concerned with the process that led to this decision.”

Queen said in a statement to the Toronto Star that the ministry is looking into the case to ensure that appropriate rules were followed but cannot comment further on matters because the issue is now in the courts.

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Mine plans will rely on markets: Cliffs – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – November 6, 2012)

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

The prospect of a large-scale chromite mine in the Ring of Fire — as well as new power and road infrastructure expected to go along with it — still seems do-able even as the main proponent ponders a less-than-rosy market outlook, possible time-line adjustments and a partner, leaders of an affected community say.

But the fact that Cliffs Natural Resources may yet again postpone its proposed production date is discomfiting. “It’s definitely a concern when they push (the date) back a second time,” Greenstone Mayor Ron Beaulieu said Monday.

“I mean, we met with Cliffs from day one, and they told us they had a production date set (2015) which seemed written in stone.”

Beaulieu added: “I still think it’s a viable project that will eventually come to fruition.” Cliffs spokeswoman Pat Persico said Monday that “officially we are working towards the end of 2016,” but the production date could be pushed “beyond 2017.”

Persico said the Cleveland-based iron ore giant remains committed to having a feasibility study and environmental assessment review for its Ring of Fire project completed by next year.

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New chairman envisions a modernized Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Elizabeth Witmer, Chairman of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), shared her vision for a modernized delivery of services and management of the province’s workers compensation system. She was a keynote speaker at the OMA’s Meet the Miners Day on October 30 at Queen’s Park.

“It is my opinion that mining is a key ingredient to Ontario’s economic growth and its future,” said Ms Witmer. “I commend you for your strong record in health and safety and I congratulate you for your accomplishments to reduce workplace injuries and the cost of workplace injuries.”

“The WSIB is almost 100 years old (it started in 1915) and it has been largely successful in serving the workers and employers of Ontario,” she said. “However, we need a bold new model for the workplace of today. The WSIB is being transformed to make it more financially sustainable.”

Recently, Ms Witmer announced a 2.5% increase in employers’ WSIB premiums for 2013. The WSIB is struggling to bring down its unfunded liability, which stands at about $14.2 billion. “The WSIB has a role to play in contributing to economic development and productivity but the WSIB’s unfunded liability is a drag on growth in the Ontario economy.”

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Cliffs could further delay Ring of Fire chromite mine – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – November 5, 2012)

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

Cliffs Natural Resources is considering delaying the expected start date of construction on its Ring of Fire chromite mine until 2017 or beyond.

Joseph Carrabba, Cliffs CEO and President, told international investors on Oct. 25 that in light of current global iron ore prices the company is reviewing the timeline for its proposed northern Ontario mine.

“This includes delaying the major capital spending outlays and could push the production target date beyond 2017,” Carrabba said. “We still expect to complete the feasibility stage of development and environmental assessment by next year. However, we have decided to shelve our early works plans until feasibility is complete.”

Carrabba said that Cliffs plans to decrease spending on exploration of its chromite site in 2013 as well as cancelling plans for capital spending at the site for the upcoming year. “Exploration will go down in 2013, just like everything. The first thing that always goes is exploration and R&D from any mining company that goes with it,” Carrabba said.

Carrabba also told investors that the company is exploring the option “to take on a partner for the project.”

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Banks struggle to adapt or survive in commodities – by Dmitry Zhdannikov (Reuters U.S. – November 5, 2012)

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – (Reuters) – Stick, twist or fold? Like card players, the top five banks in global commodities trade have reached the point where they must decide to hold strategy, adapt, or give up and get out.

The boom in resource markets that started 10 years ago attracted many big banks to trade oil, metals and agriculture, but the 2008 financial crisis forced a painful retreat and tighter regulation now means some banks may throw in the towel.

Decisions rest on whether the banks believe their business models can be changed to keep them sufficiently profitable under the rising oversight of regulators, after four years when their revenue from commodities was halved.

“The total wallet back at the peak was about $14 billion for the banking sector in commodities trading. I’d imagine this year it’ll be about $7 billion. There were 10-14 banks when it was at $14 billion, now there are really five relevant ones,” said David Silbert, who leads commodities trading at Deutsche Bank.

Deutsche, together with Barclays and J.P. Morgan, broke into the commodities arena in the last decade with acquisitions or aggressive growth to challenge established veterans Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ministry Issues 41 Orders at Site of Vale Mine Fatalities

Ongoing Safety Issues Reinforce Need for Mining Inquiry

SUDBURY, ON, Nov. 5, 2012 /CNW/ – A community-based committee created after two workers were killed at Vale’s Stobie Mine is shocked that a Labour Ministry inspection of the same mine has resulted in 41 health and safety orders against the company.

“It is deeply troubling for us that orders have been issued to Vale related to concerns with standing water – the very hazard that contributed to the deaths of Jason Chenier and my brother, Jordan Fram,” said Briana Fram of the MINES (Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone’s Support) committee.

“How can it be that, only 17 months after Jason and Jordan were killed, Vale is being ordered by the Ministry of Labour to rectify problems with standing water in this same mine?” Fram asked.

The community-based MINES committee was formed last month to ask the provincial government to call an inquiry into Ontario mines. Such an inquiry has not been held in three decades.

The Ministry of Labour inspection of Stobie Mine occurred October 17, 2012. At least 10 of the orders issued to Vale, under terms of the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act, are directly linked to water issues.

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Vale safety violations upset family of killed miner – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 6, 2012)

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

The sister of a miner killed June 8, 2011, at Vale’s Stobie Mine and the president of the union representing that worker say they were shocked the Ministry of Labour issued 41 health and safety orders against the company after an inspection at the mine last month.

Briana Fram asked how it could be that Vale is facing 41 infractions at the mine where, 17 months ago her brother, Jordan Fram, 26, was killed on the job.Fram and Jason Chenier, 35, died when they were overcome by 350 tons of muck while working at the 3,000-foot level at Stobie Mine.

Vale is facing nine charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and one of its super visors is facing six charges under the act after a Labour ministry investigation into the men’s deaths. Those charges are proceeding through court.

Briana Fram sits on an advocacy committee called MINES (Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone’s Support), struck to lobby for a provincewide inquiry into mining safety and practices to avoid tragedies such as the deaths of the two men.

MINES issued a statement Monday saying its members were troubled about the orders against Vale at Stobie, especially ones related to standing water. Excess water was identified as a large part of the reason the two men were killed.

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Great expectations fill Greenland as China eyes riches – by Alistair Scrutton (Reuters Canada – November 5, 2012)

http://ca.reuters.com/

NUUK (Reuters) – By a remote fjord where icebergs float in silence and hunters stalk reindeer, plans are being drawn up for a huge iron ore mine that would lift Greenland’s population by four percent at a stroke – by hiring Chinese workers.

The $2.3-billion project by the small, British company London Mining Plc would also bring diesel power plants, a road and a port near Greenland’s capital Nuuk. It would supply China with much needed iron for the steel its economy.

With global warming thawing its Arctic sea lanes, and global industry eyeing minerals under this barren island a quarter the size of the United States, the 57,000 Greenlanders are wrestling with opportunities that offer rich rewards but risk harming a pristine environment and a traditional society that is trying to make its own way in the world after centuries of European rule.

Great expectations could lead to greater disappointments, for locals and investors. Yet a scramble for Greenland already may be under way, in which some see China trying to exploit the icebound territory as a staging ground in a global battle for Arctic resources and strategic control of new shipping routes.

Whether in iron, zinc or rare earth minerals vital for 21st-century technology like smartphones, China, the emerging economic superpower is eyeing investments in the Danish-ruled country whose own, increasingly autonomous, national government is looking further afield for investors.

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