Mining Documentaries – Page 7 – Republic of Mining

NFB Film: The Hole Story – by Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie

April 5, 2015December 14, 2011

The following is from the National Film Board of Canada Press Kit

THE FILM

“Don’t know much about mines? Not many people do. Mines don’t talk. Especially about their history.” Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie explore this history in their latest documentary, The Hole Story. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, the film continues in the same provocative vein as their earlier Forest Alert.

The history of mining in Canada is the story of astronomical profits made with utter disregard for the environment and human health. It’s also a corrupt and sometimes sinister story. For example, during the First World War, nickel from Sudbury was sold to the German army to make the bullets that ended up killing soldiers from Sudbury in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. In Cobalt, a town in Ontario that once had no garbage collection, people were dying of typhoid.

Meanwhile, the first Canadian mining magnates were growing filthy rich selling silver to England from the 40 mines surrounding the town.

Timmins has its own shameful mining story. In the woods,50 kilometres west of the railroad, prospectors quickly staked their claims before heading to the government office to register their hectares and take ownership of the subsoil.

B.C.’s Historic Silvery Slocan Mining District

May 4, 2015December 14, 2011

This information came from the Hughes Exploration Group website: http://www.hughes-exploration.com/s/Home.asp

SILVER PRIZE FOR GOLD-SEEKERS

The first discovery of placer gold in the Fraser River in 1858 attracted thousands of prospectors and fortune-seekers to the wilderness of Western Canada, triggering the subsequent Cariboo gold rush of the 1860s and the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s. But as the easy pickings of gold nuggets were exhausted from the network of rivers and streams, resilient prospectors turned their attention to outcropping veins where precious metals could be extracted by hand on a limited scale.

In the summer of 1891, Eli Carpenter and Jack Seaton arrived on foot in what is now the Slocan Mining District of British Columbia, lured by tales of silver-rich deposits used by local native guides and hunters. In early September, they discovered an outcropping of sparkling silver-rich galena and collected samples for assaying.

As legend goes, the alliance between Carpenter, a French-Canadian former tight-rope walker, and Seaton, a wily Irishman from Tennessee, fell apart soon afterward amid allegations of double-dealing, with each taking on new partners to stake claims on Payne Mountain, where the initial discovery was made. What is certain is that both men sold their claims early to mining speculators for a pittance and moved on from the region.

California Gold Rush from 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America

April 5, 2015December 13, 2011

This series is from 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America.

10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America: The Gold Rush chronicles the
trials and tribulations of settling the west and the stories of the people who were obsessed by the notion of imminent success on the American frontier. The quest for gold transformed America, bringing in over 500,000 people into the California territory and is responsible for the eventual industrialization of the west.

Using primary sources, reenactments, expert historians’ analysis and dramatic imagery, the program explains the premises for moving west and dissects the myths that were entrenched in the idea of the 19th century American frontier. This History Channel® program is a moving and
informative link to the events of great American expansion, thereby fulfilling your curiosity and providing in-depth explanations of life on the trail westward.

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OMA launches the fourth season of its province-wide high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining

April 5, 2015December 1, 2011

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.

Go to the Ontario Mining Association website www.oma.on.ca and check out today’s launch of the popular high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining for the fourth year. The 2012 competition is serving up opportunities to win $33,500 in prize money, an $8,000 increase of what was on the table last year.

The deadline for submitting two to three minute videos on the benefits of mining is midnight March 15, 2012. To be eligible for the Early Bird prize of $500, entries must be received by March 1, 2012.

Other key dates in 2012 are April 1 to 15 for the determination of nominees for the People’s Choice and OMA Academy Award, April 20 to June 3 which is the voting period for the People’s Choice Award and May 22 when winners will be determined and notified. The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 5 in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Quebec mining film festival will salute Ontario community leaders

April 5, 2015November 15, 2011

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.

The second annual Mining Film Festival run by IDNR-TV will salute two Ontario mining community leaders and several Quebec officials to emphasize the mineral sector links and shared geology between Northeastern Ontario and Northwestern Quebec. This event is being held on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at the Cinema du Parc in Montreal.

The festival’s aim is to act as a platform on which mining and natural resource industries can be viewed objectively and realistically and to raise awareness of one of Canada’s most important industries. Films will highlight major changes taking place in the sector, technological innovations and sustainable mining practices.

Vic Power, who was Mayor of Timmins from 1980 to 2000 and from 2003 to 2006, will be presented with a tribute trophy for his positive influence on the growth and development of his city and region. Also, Tom Laughren, the current Mayor of Timmins, will receive a certificate of recognition. “IDNR-TV and Arcelor Mittal Canada Mines wish to acknowledge the outstanding contribution made by these regional leaders in building bridges and fostering cooperation between the francophone and anglophone communities that are central to the development of natural resources and the local mining industry.”

NEWS RELEASE: The 2nd Annual Mining Film [November 17, 2011] Festival Kicks Off, Welcoming Outstanding Contributions from Two Major Municipal Leaders at Cinema Du Parc in Montreal

April 5, 2015November 15, 2011

MONTREAL, QUEBEC–(Marketwire – Aug. 23, 2011) – Thursday, November 17, 2011, the Cinema du Parc in Montreal will host the 2nd Annual Mining Film Festival. The festival’s aim is to act as a platform upon which mining and natural resource industries can be observed objectively in a contemporary setting: where the realities of the third millennium appear in stark contrast to those of the 20th century.

This announcement came today from executives at IDNR-TV: the festival’s promoter. They noted the major changes taking place in natural resource industries in Quebec and in the world: technological innovations in the last few decades have led to increased health and safety for workers, and to more sustainable development practices that benefit all of Quebec and Canada.

For IDNR-TV Anchor, Alexandre Dumas, the Quebec government’s Plan Nord presents an opportunity for several communities that are both directly and indirectly involved to appreciate the full spectrum of fast-paced, sustainable mining and environmental development; all the while generating a greater awareness of the enormous potential our natural resources can offer.

Film looks at mining dispute – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – November 8, 2011)

April 5, 2015November 8, 2011

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

Robert Monderie and Richard Desjardins claim they are digging up the truth about the mining industry in their new documentary, Trou Story.

They’re also attracting the wrath of the mining industry and governments, who say Trou Story isn’t quite telling the truth.

“They say that what we are talking about is old stuff, that reality has changed a lot and that industry has been performing a lot better socially and environmentally, and the technology is less dangerous,” Desjardins, who directed the documentary with Monderie, said in a phone inter view Monday.

“We agree with that. But they assume that everything has changed, and we don’t think so. The … basic law is still the same. Regions don’t have more royalties. Mines are bigger, so that means that the waste is bigger, too. That waste will be there for centuries, and the cost to (clean that up) is not included in the price of the royalties.”

Trou Story: Digging up dirt [anti-mining] – by Jeff Heinrich (Montreal Gazette – November 3, 2011)

April 5, 2015November 5, 2011

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

MONTREAL – The title – Trou Story, or in English, The Hole Story – is typical Richard Desjardins: a play on words, vaguely scatological, loaded with droll sarcasm. It’s the title of his latest film, made with longtime colleague Robert Monderie: a trenchant documentary about the devastation wrought by a century of mining in the Canadian Shield of northeastern Ontario and Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the filmmakers’ home turf.

The duo have been making social-commentary docs about their far-flung region since the late 1970s. In 1999, they took a whack at the forestry industry with L’erreur boréale (Forest Alert), which won a Jutra and led to the Coulombe commission inquiry into forestry management. Another Jutra followed in 2009 for Le peuple invisible (The Invisible Nation), about the plight of the Algonquin people.

Now, Desjardins and Monderie are back with Trou Story – and already, their doc is controversial.

Produced by the National Film Board and narrated by Desjardins, the film begins with a 30-minute exposé of the history of mining in the Shield and toll it’s taken on human life: Canadian soldiers killed by bullets made from Sudbury nickel that was sold to the Germans in the First World War; unsanitary conditions that led to a typhoid epidemic in the silver-mining town of Cobalt; arsenic from abandoned Abitibi gold mines that continues to seep into the water supply.

[Quebec] Filmmaker targets mining industry – by Nicolas Van Praet (National Post – November 2, 2011)

April 5, 2015November 2, 2011

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

MONTREAL — When documentary filmmakers target the corporate world, the results can be nasty but fleeting.

Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me forced McDonald’s Corp. to respond to the portrayal of its food as a silent killer. But it did little harm to the fast-food giant’s popularity and share price, which has more than tripled since the day the film was released in 2004.

In Roger & Me, Michael Moore decried General Motors Corp.’s closure of several auto plants in his native Flint, Mich. The movie awakened for many Americans the debate over globalization and protecting local employment.

As for the bespectacled Quebec singer and poet Richard Desjardins, he’s become a bit of a folk hero for shaking up corporate Quebec.

His 1999 shock documentary L’Erreur Boréale (English title: Forest Alert) fuelled a public outcry against deforestation. He forced Toronto-based Norbord Industries Inc. to suspend logging in the woodland west of his hometown of Rouyn-Noranda. No matter that his film was widely denounced by the forestry industry as manipulative and inaccurate. L’Actualité magazine named him Man of the Year that year.

Movie looks at Timmins’ first 100 years Movie looks at Timmins’ first 100 years – by Kristine MacDougall (Timmins Daily Press – July 20, 2011)

April 5, 2015July 20, 2011

The Daily Press is the newspaper of record for the city of Timmins.

The history of Timmins is coming to the big screen.

Timmins: The first 100 is an independently produced film about the city’s rich history. “It struck me about three or four months ago that we’re having the 100th year celebrations and there was no film,” said producer Kevin Vincent.

The 90-minute movie provides a look at life in the Porcupine Camp, the men and women who fought their way into the camp in search of gold, and the devastating 1911 fire. It also chronicles the bitter labour battles, the folklore of hotel life, Timmins rich multicultural heritage, and Timmins highgrading industry, and related crime, as a result of gold mining in the area.

Work and research for the movie was compiled over the last two and a half decades.

NEWS RELEASE: [Manitoba MP] Ashton gets a hand from Michael Moore for Thompson [Job Cutbacks]

June 10, 2015February 1, 2011

Niki Ashton, is the New Democratic Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Churchill in Manitoba, Canada. She was first elected in the 2008 federal election. A resident of Thompson, Manitoba, she is the daughter of Manitoba provincial NDP cabinet minister Steve Ashton. (Wiki)

Renowned filmmaker to spread the community’s message

Tue 1 Feb 2011

OTTAWA–Award-winning documentarian Michael Moore agreed to a request by New Democrat MP Niki Ashton (Churchill) to help share her message about the devastating decision by Vale to close the Vale smelter and refinery in Thompson, MB.

Moore’s team expressed great interest in Vale’s decision and the devastating impact it would have on Ashton’s home community of Thompson. Moore’s team plans to post Ashton’s YouTube video on his website as well as post a series of blog entries by Ashton and the people who are losing their jobs.

“Our message is that this is about our jobs and our community,” said Ashton. “It is time our government stopped supporting profitable corporations like Vale, and started standing up for us.”

Vale, A Brazilian company, bought out Inco in a foreign takeover that was approved by Canada’s federal government in 2007. In the fall of 2010 Vale also received a $1Billion loan from Canada’s federal government. Despite promises to increase employment, Vale announced the closure of the smelter and refinery, eliminating all the value added mining jobs in Thompson by 2015.

So You Think You Know Mining 2010 Winners Showcase Ontario High School Students’ Amazing Talent — Again

April 5, 2015August 3, 2010

View Katrina Malinski’s video

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. To view all the winners of the So You Think You Know Mining competition, please go to OMA 2010 Video Winners.

The winning videos in the Ontario Mining Association’s high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining (SYTYM) provide clear evidence that an abundance of creativity and artistic talent is possessed by teenagers. Go to the OMA website www.oma.on.ca and click on the SYTYKM panel, watch the 2010 award winning videos, which are now available for viewing and we are sure you will agree.

Along with all the winning entries, you can experience the flavour of the SYTYKM awards gala in a production by Amanda Ceniti, a runner up in the competition, from Georgetown District High School. The SYTYKM trophies were presented at an OMA conference held in North Bay. Ms. Ceniti’s production captures the bright lights, the inspiration of the winners, the upbeat music and buzz of the ceremony.

Congratulations to the SYTYKM 2010 winners. While individual names are attached to each award, most were team efforts involving one or more classmates and in some cases relatives. The Best Overall Video was captured by David DeLong from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Sudbury, for his production Lego Mining.