Jack Lifton is a Senior Fellow of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.
I am beginning the writing of this article on a plane, flying from Singapore to Tokyo, Japan. I arrived in Singapore six days ago from Sydney, Australia. I fly to Madagascar and Germany in August, and then Beijing and Baotou, China in September. Between overseas trips (I live in the Detroit area), I will travel to Toronto, Montreal, Labrador, Canada and Washington, DC, New York City and various locales in Alaska, U.S.
I am not trying to impress you with my frequent-flyer status. I want to establish my credibility as an observer of and participant in the global metals economy. And I want to establish that credibility, so I can give you a truly global overview and, I hope, perspective on the metals’ markets economy with an emphasis on individual metals, related groups of metals and all of their present- and future-use trends.
This undertaking, of course, will require more than one article; so, in this one, I am going to introduce the topic and discuss it in general. Here and over the next year, I will write about the detailed markets for the most critical metals in particular; but this month I want to focus on two metals-related issues that have surfaced and become prominent in the news in this first decade of the 21st century: Read the rest of this entry »
Elizabeth Payne is a member of the Citizen’s editorial board.
Few Canadians have likely heard of the Canada Investment Fund for Africa. But, since 2005, it has been busy investing Canadian foreign aid dollars – $100 million of them, in fact – on companies doing business in Africa.
The objective of the fund, which was eventually worth more than $200 million in public and private money, was “to spur economic growth by providing risk capital for commercially successful private-sector businesses.”
A number of those 16 businesses, including Orezone, a gold mining company operating in Burkina Faso and Banro Mining, a Canadian gold mining company which operates in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are Canadian. The fund also invested in Candax, a Toronto-based oil and gas company working in Tunisia, as well as a number of African companies, including the Commercial Bank of Rwanda, Mr. Big’s Fast Foods, and others. Read the rest of this entry »
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
The new Xstrata Nickel Sustainable Energy Centre at Cambrian College will help Sudbury build on its reputation as a world leader in environmental remediation and sustainability, officials said.
They made the comments Tuesday as they officially opened the centre, which will house cutting-edge applied research and education.
The teaching and research facility is busy with a number of applied research projects underway alongside classes and labs for students in Cambrian’s Energy Systems Technology and Environmental Monitoring and Impact Assessment programs.
At the official opening, special guests got a first-hand look at what takes place inside the centre, its future potential, and its sustainable design features. Read the rest of this entry »
The Canada Mining Innovation Council Signature Event 2012″ brings together industry, academic and government decision-makers to discuss the need for innovation in mining in Canada.
“…so I’d like to take a moment to talk about the Ring of Fire, a
relatively new mining region in the James Bay lowlands….For Ontario, this area is of strategic importance since it could open up the entire region to greater prosperity. It has significant potential to create wealth, and provide taxes and royalties for government.” (Joe Oliver, Minister Natural Resources Canada)
The Hon. Joe Oliver:
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Thank you also for all your good work and your leadership of this important council.
Et sincère remerciement au Conseil canadien d’innovation minière pour l’occasion de prendre part à la discussion de ce matin.
Thank you very much to the Canadian Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) for the opportunity to be part of the discussion this morning. It’s an honour to be here on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As Canada’s Minister responsible for mining, I take pride in being part of this network of industry, government and academic leaders who are working together to strengthen Canada’s role as a global leader in mining innovation. Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Chris Eaton is executive director of World University Service of Canada. Rosemary McCarney is president and CEO of Plan Canada. Dave Toycen is president and CEO of World Vision Canada.
Canadian companies are major drivers of economic growth in the global South. With 75 per cent of the world’s mining companies headquartered here, Canadians have a heightened responsibility to ensure these companies are helping and not hindering community development when they operate in poorer countries.
The reality is that mining companies are expanding their operations into complex environments where development agencies like ours – Plan Canada, World University Service of Canada and World Vision – have worked for decades.
These companies are already significant development actors in their own right, but complex development problems cannot be solved through routine approaches. Innovations and new partnerships between non-governmental organizations and the private sector offer unique avenues to help ensure that major Canadian economic investments translate into a development pattern that benefits all. Read the rest of this entry »
AME BC is the predominant voice of mineral exploration and development in British Columbia. Established in 1912, AME BC represents thousands of members including geoscientists, prospectors, engineers, entrepreneurs, exploration companies, suppliers, mineral producers, and associations who are engaged in mineral exploration and development in BC and throughout the world.
Through leadership, advocacy, and partnerships, AME BC promotes a healthy environment and business climate for the mineral exploration industry. http://www.amebc.ca/Home.aspx
The mining sector is the largest private sector employer of First Nations people in Canada. This 20 minute documentary about First Nations involvement in the exploration and mining industry was in British Columbia was produced by AME BC.
The Conservative government is fundamentally realigning the way Canada delivers foreign aid, using private-sector partners in the mining and agricultural sectors. In some instances the government’s aid agency is even helping write legislation regulating the mining industry in developing countries.
But if the policy direction at the Canadian International Aid Agency seems to blur the line between Canada’s economic interests and international development goals, it is not something that worries International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda. When asked, during an interview with the Citizen, how she separates Canada’s trade and foreign policy interests from Canadian development goals, she replied: “I really don’t separate them.”
“I think if we can increase the capacity of any country to become a global trading partner, if they’ve got products Canadians need, we can import them, and if Canada has products they would like, Canada can export them.”
And Oda says she wants to see more partnerships between aid agencies and companies to help deliver Canadian aid around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Ross Gallinger, Toronto Executive Director, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada
Elizabeth Payne’s recent opinion piece about the Canadian International Development Agency includes several references to development projects involving threeway partnerships between CIDA, NGOs and mining companies.
We disagree with the assertion that significant aid dollars are supporting the work of Canadian mining interests overseas and believe it’s an inaccurate characterization of Canadian exploration and development companies.
The three projects involving three-way partnerships between CIDA, NGOs and mining companies are initiatives over and above the corporate social responsibility work the companies are already doing at the mine sites. CIDA is not financing the corporate social responsibility programs of these companies.
Many critics of mineral exploration and development are quick to judge and quick to brandish those judgments on their websites and in the media. Industry’s side of the story rarely gets told, but we have a side and it deserves more airtime than it gets. Read the rest of this entry »
Canada’s aid agency is becoming more politicized, less effective, and less transparent, writes Elizabeth Payne
Something is rotten at the Canadian International Development Agency. Many things, in fact, according to increasingly vocal critics who say Canada’s international development organization is becoming more politicized, less effective, and less transparent under the Conservative government, despite persistent claims to the contrary.
If CIDA has really introduced “more transparency, timeliness and predictability” as International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda claims, there is little sign of it.
Aid agencies are frustrated and demoralized by delays and lack of transparency in their dealings with CIDA. Some have cut programs and laid off staff as a result.
And the government’s recent habit of prioritizing and then deprioritizing countries for foreign aid dollars makes it difficult for aid agencies to build long-term relationships and has perplexed many in the international community. Read the rest of this entry »
Canada NewsWire: Report on Mining, Oil and Gas Companies CSR Initiatives Released
OTTAWA, Jan. 19, 2012 /CNW/ – The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) today released a report providing an update on the status of recommendations arising from the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries.
In 2007, Mining Association of Canada staff participated on an advisory group to the federal government that included representatives of the extractive industry, the investment community, civil society, academia and government. The advisory group reached an unprecedented consensus and produced a report that included 27 recommendations related to different aspects of CSR in the developing world. These recommendations remain an important reference for on-going discussions about CSR and the extractive industry in Canada.
The report released today by MAC is the result of a research project commissioned by MAC’s International Social Responsibility Committee to review, identify and understand the actions taken by government and other actors to implement the Roundtables’ recommendations, as well to identify current gaps. The report shows that 18 of the report’s 27 recommendations have been fully or partially implemented, such as the following: Read the rest of this entry »
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
After completing what it calls an in-depth technical review, the Ministry of the Environment has approved Vale Ltd.’s application for more time — 10 years — to comply with new standards for nickel emissions that go into effect in 2016.
The approvals pertain to the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex, which is about to undergo a $2- billion retrofit to reduce sulphur dioxide, nickel and other emissions.
The ministry announced its decision Wednesday on its Environmental Registry. It said it determined it was feasible for Vale to reduce nickel emissions from 15 micrograms per cubic metre currently, averaged over 24 hours, to three micrograms per cubic metre averaged over 24 hours in 2015.
From July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, it will maintain that standard of three micrograms per cubic metre on a 24-hour average. Read the rest of this entry »
The Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (CBERN) aims to promote knowledge-sharing and partnerships within the field of business ethics and across private, governmental, voluntary and academic sectors. CBERN also aims to support work from inception to dissemination, from graduate student research and fellowship opportunities to promoting the projects of established professionals.http://www.cbern.ca/home/
The Victor Mine: Description of De Beers Canada’s Success
• The following sections provide insight into the strategy pursued by De Beers and important facts about the Victor project and nearby communities, while providing additional context to the agreements between the company and communities.
In contrast to the conflict-ridden and failed development of exploration claims by Platinex, the recent development and opening of the Victor diamond mine by De Beers Canada has been heralded as “a shining example of responsible development in northern Ontario” (DBC, 2006). Although it has taken years of hard work, De Beers has successfully engaged with nearby First Nations to garner their acceptance and even support of mining operations at Victor.
This acceptance is best exemplified by the signing of three Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) with the First Nations along Ontario’s James Bay coast. In order to better understand the relationship between the company and communities, the following sections provide insight into the strategy pursued by De Beers and important facts about the Victor project and nearby communities, while providing additional context to the agreements between the company and communities. Read the rest of this entry »
Vale is spending $2 billion on the largest environmental project in the history of the company to reduce sulpher dioxide emissions at their Sudbury smelter.
When the project is completed, the sulpher emissions will have been decreased by over 95% over the past thirty years.
BNN interviews Jennifer Hooper: Vale Vice-President of Sustainability:
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
The temperature was a frigid -40 C. The boy was found drunk, wearing a T-shirt and didn’t know where he lived. Without the outreach organization the Red Coats — and the financial support it gets from United Way — the boy could have died on Sudbury’s streets that night, Jeanne Warwick- Conroy said.
Thanks to a large donation from Vale and the United Steelworkers, and the money raised by Sudburians this year, the United Way is able to continue supporting the community. The annual Vale-United Steelworkers fundraiser more than doubled what it raised in 2010, to the tune of $734,710.
“It’s an amazing amount of money,” Warwick-Conroy, the chair of the 2011 United Way campaign, said Tuesday afternoon. “We are so delighted. They’ve worked so hard, they’re so generous, and they will be helping 54 agencies in the city of Sudbury to meet their goals.” Read the rest of this entry »
Montreal, Canada – December 21, 2011 – KWG Resources Inc. (TSXV: KWG) advises that it is working with the United Way of Thunder Bay to facilitate donations of up to $2 million for the founding by Wasaya Group of residences for students of the Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School.
Chief Theresa Okimaw-Hall, Executive Director of KWG’s transportation subsidiary Canada Chrome Corporation explained,
“KWG will complete a private placement of flow-through shares to fund its half of the current drilling program at the Big Daddy deposit being conducted by Cliffs Natural Resources. The purchasers of the flow-through shares will then donate the shares to the United Way of Thunder Bay. The funds derived from their sale, through a working agreement with KWG Resources and the Wasaya Group/WasayaWee-Chee-Way-Win Inc. will then be made available for the acquisition, furnishing and maintenance of residences for students attending the Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School.” Read the rest of this entry »
