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.

Ontario Mining Association member St Andrew Goldfields (SAS) has taken a fresh approach to help promote the So You Think You Know Mining high school video competition.  The gold producer has spread the word through internal communications and on-line social media offering high school aged children of its employees an opportunity to win extra cash prizes by entering a video on the benefits of mining.

Any video produced by children of SAS employees will be entered into a random draw for a $500 prize.  Students are requested to show proof of entry in the SYTYKM competition and submit a copy of their video to the company by March 31, 2012.  The deadline for the fourth annual SYTYKM competition itself is March 15, 2012.

In the true spirit of SYTYKM, SAS is employing video and a social media platform that is popular with young people to support the OMA’s high school video competition.  You can see a promotional video on YouTube featuring Geoff Ramey, Human Resources Director at SAS.  You can also check out the OMA’s YouTube channel, which is used to support SYTYKM and to share messages in these videos with a wider audience. Read the rest of this entry »

http://chromiuminvestingnews.com/

Northwestern Ontario is closer to becoming host to a multi-decade chromite mining project. The endeavor stands to benefit the local economy but is also alarming residents and environmentalists. Promising deposits have been discovered outside of Thunder Bay, and mining participants are circling the area and positioning themselves for their share of the steel market.

Chromite opportunity

Chromite, which is a dark metallic mineral that is a main component in chromium, is used in the more common and profitable development of stainless steel. Cleveland, Ohio-based iron-ore producer Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF) is convinced that the potential value of the chromite deposits located in northern Ontario are worth fighting for. Under a stretch of rocks and water accessible from major railroads and highways are what the company declares as the greatest chromite find on the continent of North America.

The withdrawal and processing of the mineral, known as the company’s Black Thor deposit, would increase Canada’s role in a contentious playing field for chromium production. Read the rest of this entry »

Claiming Our Stake! Building a Sustainable Community

Maximizing the Potential of our Local Cluster

More money is spent within a 500-kilometer radius of Sudbury on underground hardrock mining supplies than anywhere else in Canada, the U.S, or Chile. In 2005, lnco spent $374 million on local supplies and services and $228 million on capital spending, Within the Sudbury area there are more than 300 companies that form the basis for the Greater Sudbury mining supply and services (MS&S) cluster. These companies range from dozens of small specialty shops that have created niche markets for themselves, to firms specializing in project engineering and management, equipment design and manufacture, software development and other research.

Employing over 8,000 people, they have the potential to create a significant number of new jobs over the next 10 years, expand exports and develop as a technical leader for the mining industry. A recent Institute for Norfhern Ontario Research and Development (INORD) survey conducted for FedNor at Laurentian University indicates that innovation is extremely high among the cluster of MS&S companies in Northeastern Ontario. The study revealed that 83 out of 90 of the firms surveyed indicated they were upgrading products and services and 72 out of 93 had introduced a new product or service in the preceding three years.

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Claiming Our Stake! Building a Sustainable Community

I: COMPANY INVESTMENTS IN LOCAL OPERATIONS

Local Operations Managed by Two Major Mining Companies

lnco is planning capital expenditures of about $2 billion in the Sudbury Basin over the next five years to expand current production and build new mines. The company is embarking on the largest period of growth in Sudbury in more than 30 years. This is a conservative estimate and depending on the financial clout of the new owner, may be increased substantially, lnco has plans for new mine developments that include the Kelly Lake and Totten deposits, milling upgrades, smelter improvements, including investments in sulphur emission reductions and expansions at the nickel refinery. The company intends to maintain the stability of their workforce, with longer-term growth potential.

Falconbridge’s half billion-dollar Nickel Rim South project, currently under construction, may become the richest individual mine in Canadian history. Read the rest of this entry »

Claiming Our Stake! Building a Sustainable Community

Many community stakeholders were interviewed and an aggressive first draft was delivered to Mayor Courtemanche. To the concern of some of the stakeholders, myself included, the final version was less bold and assertive than originally planned.

However, it was an honour to play a key role in the production and writing of “Claiming Our Stake! Building a Sustainable Community” during this pivotal time in the mining history of the Sudbury Basin.

Stan Sudol

Executive Summary

“There is an international bidding war taking place in the Canadian mining sector, and Greater Sudbury is at the front lines. What happens here in the next few months will re-define the Canadian mining industry and this community for, the next century.

Mayor Courtemanche, Greater Sudbury (June, 2006)

Over the past year, the global business media and Canadians have been captivated by one of the most expensive and bitter takeover battles in the history of world mining. Falconbridge Limited has been taken over by Swiss-based Xstrata PLC and, while the final ownership of lnco Limited has yet to be decided, these events will permanently change the course and ownership of the country’s resource sector.

We are also witnessing one of the largest economic transformations in the history of mankind. China, India and many other developing countries are rapidly urbanizing and industrializing their societies, and mineral commodities and mining expertise are an essential part of this change. The world is entering the start of commodity super-cycle that will last for decades and create enormous prosperity.

Our community has an enormous stake in the outcome of this international bidding war. Our stake is over 100 years of mining behind us, billions of dollars of ore beneath us, and enormous opportunities in front of us. Greater Sudbury is the historic heart and soul of the global nickel industry. Most geologists and mine industry experts agree that there is still another hundred years of life to this enormous trillion dollar mining camp.

Greater Sudbury is home to one of the greatest mining camps that the world has ever known. The Sudbury Basin is the richest mining district in North America and among the top ten most significant globally. In a world full of geo-political uncertainty, Sudbury’s strategic nickel resources ensure a secure environment for the billions of dollars needed to increase production. Nickel has become the metallic version of oil.

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