Aboriginal women offer solution to northern Canada’s skilled worker shortages – by Daniel Bland (Vancouver Sun – August 21, 2013)

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

Daniel Bland is lead instructor for the Eeyou Mining Skills Enhancement Program, an initiative of Cree Human Resources Development, in Mistissini, Quebec.

While economists and labour market researchers agree one of Canada’s greatest challenges over the next decade will be how to solve skilled worker shortages, there seems to be no consensus about just how to do that.

The skills shortage will be particularly acute all across northern Canada, where natural resource development and mining projects are projected to grow the northern economy over 90 per cent from 2011 to 2020. Led by northern B.C.’s mining output, which will increase by a whopping 300 per cent, that is more than four times the growth rate forecast for the Canadian economy over that same period.

And while that is good news on many fronts, the fact that many of the largest mining projects are close to remote First Nation communities without particularly well skilled or educated populations, is cause for growing concern. Our work in essential skills assessment and training for mining jobs with the James Bay Cree First Nation in northwestern Quebec has taught us some valuable lessons about what employers can do to maximize human resources in remote aboriginal communities.

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Ring of Fire makes Northern voices louder – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – August 20, 2013)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Province listening as mayors join forces to push their priorities

The mayors of the five biggest cities in Northern Ontario hope speaking with one voice will convince the province to act on some of the longstanding issues they say has held the region back for decades.

And with the Ring of Fire representing the biggest single economic development opportunity in the province, the government is listening, says Greater Sudbury Mayor Marianne Matichuk.

Matichuk, Al MacDonald of North Bay, Debbie Amoroso of Sault Ste. Marie, Tom Laughren of Timmins and Joe Virdiramo, acting mayor of Thunder Bay, unveiled their Northern Priorities document Tuesday at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario meeting in Ottawa.

The annual event offers Ontario’s 444 municipalities access to provincial cabinet ministers, opposition leaders – and even representatives from the federal government. Local politicians normally schedule one-on-one meetings with ministers and make a pitch for their city’s priorities.

But in an unprecedented move, the leaders of the North’s five biggest cities made a collective pitch, calling on the province to focus on six areas they say are key to economic development.

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Uranium miners face new hurdles as Fukushima disaster worsens – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – August 21, 2013)

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – (Reuters) – Revelations of more toxic leaks from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will raise second-thoughts about Japan’s nuclear future, but won’t halt the long-term global expansion of the industry, the head of a uranium mining company said.

“It reinvigorates the heightened state of nervousness, it surely will make the Japanese government and nuclear regulatory authorities more cautious and conservative in the decisions about the restart,” said Vanessa Guthrie, managing director of Australia’s Toro Energy Ltd (TOE.AX), which expects to start mining uranium in Australia in 2016.

Japan is set to raise the severity rating of the leak to level 3, or “serious incident”, on an international scale for radiological releases, underlining a deepening sense of crisis at the site.

The price of uranium, used mainly as fuel for nuclear reactors, plunged after the March 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima plant 240 km (150 miles) from Tokyo and has struggled to recover ever since. August uranium futures stood at $35.15 per pound on Wednesday compared with $68 per pound before the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the disaster.

However, Guthrie said contract prices between uranium miners and buyers standing at around $58-$59 a pound more accurately reflect the supply and demand balance than the spot price.

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Miners at ’30-year lows’ could bounce as rates rise – by Jenny Cosgrave (CNCB.com – August 20, 2013)

http://www.cnbc.com/

Mining stocks slipped on Tuesday, as weak earnings from BHP Billiton and Glencore Xstrata sent the sector lower. Analysts said miners were now the cheapest they have been in 30 years, relative to the market, and were set to bounce back when interest rates begin rising.

The majority of global miners are in correction territory year-to-date, due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the slump in commodity prices. However, this “severe de-rating” has not hit earnings to the same extent as share prices, making mining stocks a compelling buy, according to Henry Dixon, fund manager at Matterley Asset Management.

“Miners had a torrid time in the first half. Mining has been the worst performing sector this year, leaving it as cheap relative to the market as we can find,” said Dixon, who was confident mining stocks would be the first to benefit from the climb in bond yields that will follow the Federal Reserve’s tapering off of its stimulus program.

Dixon said he had increased his exposure to mining stocks in recent weeks. “Obviously a lot has been made of the move we have seen in bond yields, and with history in mind, and rising bond yields, it is actually the mining sector that stands tall as one of the best under this environment, with the key being a little bit more growth in the system,” he said.

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COLUMN-Diversified miners’ short-term challenges at odds with long-term views – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – August 21, 2013)

http://www.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 21 (Reuters) – The world’s top diversified mining companies are starting to resemble choir boys singing the same hymn about cutting projects and costs.

The recent financial results of BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Glencore Xstrata and Anglo American were remarkably similar, as were the accompanying comments by their chief executives.

All reported lower earnings, but not dramatically so, which may be a bit of a surprise given weaker commodity prices in the first half of 2013 and widespread concern of worse conditions to come.

And all four also repeated the mantra of cost cutting and slashing capital expenditure, while at the same time trying to give equity investors more of what they want in the form of dividends and higher share prices.

The question is whether this unanimity is the right path or whether the diversified miners are going too far in a bid to boost share prices.

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Harper trumpets N.W.T. mining jobs program – by CBC News North (August 20, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/north/

Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked about a northern mining jobs program for the second time in as many days on Tuesday, highlighting $5.8 million in federal funding over two years to train 400 aboriginal workers for mining jobs across Northern communities.

Continuing his six-day Northern Tour, the prime minister was in Hay River, N.W.T., on Tuesday, drawing attention to funding announced in the government’s 2013 budget. The government will provide $5.8 million over two years to the Northwest Territories Mine Training Society for a new mining sector-skills training program.

“The North’s rapidly growing extractive industry is driving prosperity and creating demand for local skilled workers,” Harper said.

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Glencore takes $7.7-billion writedown as mining industry woes continue – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – August 21, 2013)

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.

ROME — The falling fortunes of the global mining industry were again put on display Tuesday morning when Glencore Xstrata, the Swiss mining company and commodities trader that owns Canada’s Falconbridge Ltd. and Viterra Inc., wrote down the value of its mining assets by $7.7-billion (U.S.).

The writedown came three months after the completion of Glencore’s all-share purchase of Xstrata for $29-billion (U.S.), a deal that created a mining and trading giant capable of competing with industry heavyweights BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Vale and Anglo American.

Tuesday’s results, for the six months to the end of June, were the first for the combined group.

In deciding to write down the purchase price on Xstrata, Glencore took a more conservative approach to valuing early-stage and greenfield projects. It also took into account a lower commodity price outlook since the deal closed on May 2.

“We wanted to value them [Xstrata’s greenfield projects] a little bit more conservatively, noting that Glencore has no intention to develop them in the near future,” Glencore Xstrata chief excutive Ivan Glasenberg told journalists on a conference call.

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Michael Den Tandt: Harper sets up the 2015 campaign in the most unlikely spot – by Michael Den Tandt (National Post – August 21, 2013)

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

Hay River, NWT — As campaign launch pads go, it would be difficult to find one less likely than this low-slung, sprawling agglomeration of bungalows and shops clinging to the south shore of Great Slave Lake, on the southern fringe of the northern wilderness.

Hay River’s one sports bar, two grocery stores, hardware store, arena and weathered town hall have not seen the circus of a prime ministerial visit before and, quite likely, never will again.

But there it is: From this isolated outpost, more than a thousand kilometres and 12-hours drive north of Red Deer, Alta., Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s plan to win a fourth term and join the pantheon of Canada’s longest-serving leaders will unfold as night follows day. At least, that must be his hope — as his government places unprecedented emphasis on boosting economic growth in a territory whose entire population would fit inside one small central Ontario city.

Hay River, population 3,648, is, quite literally, the end of the line — the northernmost point in the North American continental rail network and the departure point to all parts northward. The village bills itself “The Hub of the North.” It is also, as of Tuesday, the epicentre of a Conservative plan to train an aboriginal workforce to match the growing need for skilled workers in the burgeoning northern mining industry.

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Miners Buying Hugo Boss Perfume as Chile’s Copper Booms – by Matt Craze & Javiera Quiroga (Bloomberg News – August 20, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/ 

Since starting work at the Esperanza copper mine in northern Chile two years ago, Erick Moreno has tripled his salary and is preparing to buy his first home. The pay, he says, is so good that he’d never take a job elsewhere.

“I am going to die in this industry, I don’t see myself anywhere else,” Moreno said by phone from Antofagasta, a city on the edge of the mineral-rich Atacama desert. “When you start working in a mine, everything changes and in a very little period of time.”

While Moreno, 27, completed his engineering course at Antofagasta University, he says many fellow students dropped out to start work at the mines without graduating. Most of them already own their homes and drive sports cars, while many older miners have five or more houses, some far from the mines that litter the northern desert, he said.

Spending by high-earning miners is spreading through the economy, fueling a consumer boom and driving unemployment to its lowest since 1973. The nation, squeezed between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, has become the wealthiest in Latin America, according to the International Monetary Fund, with gross domestic product per capita rising to about $16,300 this year from $4,780 ten years ago. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim last month congratulated the country on earning “high-income” status.

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Feds should pursue stronger EA on Ring of Fire – by Steve May (Sudbury Star – August 21, 2013)

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

Letter to the Editor

Kenora MP Greg Rickford, minister of Science and Technology, with responsibilities for FedNor and the Ring of Fire, was in Greater Sudbury last week to discuss resource development in northwestern Ontario.

Rickford says he wants to push partisan politics aside and begin a process of “thorough consultation”. This new approach from Stephen Harper’s Conservative government is long over due.

The extraction of mineral resources in the remote Ring of Fire represents a multibillion-dollar enterprise, potentially creating thousands of jobs throughout the North. The challenges are significant –but the boost to the North’s economy (and the province) may be worth the investment of public dollars on capital projects, such as a rail or road access.

With comparisons being made between the Ring of Fire and Alberta’s oil sands, it’s no wonder that environmentalists and First Nations communities are wary of runaway development decisions being made by governments without due consideration of future impacts.

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BHP plans $2.6-billion potash investment in Saskatchewan – by Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – August 21, 2013)

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.

VANCOUVER — Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. is strengthening its commitment to a multibillion-dollar potash investment in Saskatchewan even as an industry shakeup has increased competition in the market for the key crop nutrient.

BHP announced Tuesday that it will pour another $2.6-billion (U.S.) into its Jansen project over the next three years, earmarking funds to build, with other investors, what might become the world’s largest potash mining operation.

Melbourne-based BHP has already spent $1.2-billion so far on the Jansen mine, about 140 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon. But speculation about the company’s commitment to the Saskatchewan project arose three weeks ago, when one of the potash industry’s two main marketing groups abruptly disbanded, raising the prospect of a prolonged period of low prices for the resource.

Despite today’s gloomy market conditions, BHP chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie said his company envisages demand growth for potash will average 2 to 3 per cent a year until 2030, bolstered by population growth and the consequent need to bolster food production.

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An African gold rush slows to a crawl – by Iain Marlow (Globe and Mail – August 21, 2013)

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.

ACCRA, GHANA – On a shaded patio off a large pink and yellow building in central Accra, Kweku Boohene, a Ghanaian goldsmith with a stubbly grey beard, is watching the glowing coals of his makeshift smelter turn to white ash.

A colleague has just melted down a bit of gold, poured it into an ingot mould and returned inside to a cluttered workshop where five of them usually shape the precious metal into rings and chains with hammers and rolling mills. But for now, there is only one person working. As Mr. Boohene stands there in sandals and a loose-fitting green shirt, two others lounge in patio chairs.

“I used to make 10 rings a day, but now it’s not even one,” said Mr. Boohene, a 35-year veteran in the jewellery business.

In Ghana, Africa’s second-largest gold producer, the yellow metal is big business: Gold currently accounts for about 40 per cent of export earnings. As global gold prices have plummeted – 26 per cent in the first half of 2013 alone – the small-scale miners who supply this workshop have stopped coming by to sell the gold dust and tiny nuggets dug out of Ghana’s red earth.

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Another gold CEO bites the dust – this time at African Barrick – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – August 21, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

African Barrick Gold’s CEO Greg Hawkins has resigned and has been replaced by Bradley Gordon, formerly with Intrepid Mines, to try and improve the fortunes of the African gold miner.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – African Barrick Gold (ABG), which has seldom seemed able to meet its operating objectives since its spin-off from parent Barrick Gold and listing on the London Stock Exchange three years ago, has announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer, Greg Hawkins ‘to pursue other opportunities’, and his replacement by Australian Bradley Gordon who takes over with immediate effect. Gordon resigned from his previous position as CEO of Intrepid Mines last month – presumably with the ABG appointment already settled.

Thus, Hawkins is the latest gold mining company CEO to be ousted, in this case to see if new blood can revitalise the ailing African gold miner. African Barrick stock has lost 73% of its value since its launch in 2010 and, although part of this fall is attributable to the plunging gold price and so outside management control, Hawkins is seemingly carrying the can for the company’s continual underperformance.

ABG operates three mines in Tanzania and is that country’s largest gold miner. The flagship mine is the Bulyanhulu underground operation and the others are Buzwagi (open pit) and North Mara, also an open pit operation. A fourth mine, Tulawaka, was closed down earlier this year as it was uneconomic.

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Mayors want Northern Ontario summit – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – August 21, 2013)

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

In an effort to put life into Northern Ontario’s economy, the region’s five largest municipalities will host a summit with the province later this year. “We’re looking towards the end of the year (for the Northern Ontario Summit). We’re just looking at the logistics now,” Mayor Marianne Matichuk said Tuesday from Ottawa, where she’s at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference.

The three-day conference brings together 1,600 people from across Ontario. Councillors Fabio Belli, Claude Berthiaume, Doug Craig, Evelyn Dutrisac, Terry Kett and Andre Rivest are there as well.

Matichuk, along with the mayors of Timmins, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay, presented their Northern Priorities Document to seven provincial government ministers.

The document includes six items the mayors believe are necessary for Northern Ontario to thrive: A cohesive relationship between municipalities and all government ministries, reliable infrastructure funding, affordable energy, workforce development with a focus on immigration, more money for research and resource revenue sharing.

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