Opposition organizes against Sault’s ferrochrome smelter proposal – by David Helwig (Soo Today – November 29, 2017)

https://www.sootoday.com/

Mayor Provenzano has offended some people with his recent description of the Sault’s ferrochrome smelter bid as a “home run.” When the mayor told last week’s City Council meeting: “I think that they are going to hit a home run on the document that we submit,” it seems he single-handedly inspired a grassroots movement opposing the Ring of Fire-related project.

Seventeen citizens attended a meeting last night at Centennial Library advertised under the title ‘Concerned About A Potential Ferrochrome Smelter In SSM?’

The group, which so far has no formal leaders or name, is planning to oppose any ferrochrome processing facility in Sault Ste. Marie. Last night’s meeting was called as a direct response to Mayor Provenzano’s home run assertion.

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Climate change moving faster than Ontario government: Winter road plan needs timeline and goals, says logistics prof – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 28, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The rate of climate change in the Far North may render the winter road network unsafe and uneconomic within a decade, according to a logistics expert.

Barry Prentice, a University of Manitoba professor of Supply Chain Management, responded to recommendations in a draft report of the provincial government’s Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy (NOMTS) on the topic of the winter road network.

The draft strategy recommends that winter roads be designed and constructed in such a way as to mitigate the impact of climate change or consider other transportation alternatives. It also suggests expanding all-season roads in cooperation with government and First Nation communities.

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For mining companies, hiring Indigenous workers ‘about nation-building’ panel hears – by Lori Fox (Yukon News – November 27, 2017)

‘Profit is not a dirty word’

Mining companies in the Yukon can attract and maintain a First Nations labour force by employing “intelligent job design” to accommodate traditional values, says one expert.

Hector Campbell, chair of the board of directors for the Nacho Nyak Dun Development Corporation, was part of a panel on Indigenous business at the 2017 Geoscience Forum and Trade Show Nov.21.

In response to a question about “capacity problems” facing mining companies, Campbell said that the typical structure of a fly-in camp can be a deterrent for First Nations workers. Fly-in camp culture creates “tremendous family stress” and “makes it really difficult for employees at that camp to live their traditional lifestyle,” he said.

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Wallbridge pushing for early production at Fenelon: Quebec property showing good results, say executives – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – November 24, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A Sudbury-based junior mining company says it is feeling so confident over a Quebec gold property, a production decision could be made by late 2018. Wallbridge Mining presented their latest findings and core samples from their Fenelon property at a special presentation of the Sudbury Prospectors and Developers Association, Nov. 21.

The talk by senior geologist Attila Pentek and exploration vice-president Joshua Bailey was a comprehensive history of the property, the geology of the deposits, initial test drills and preliminary assay results of core samples, and timelines on production plans.

Fenelon is located 150 kilometres north of Val d’Or, an area Bailey described as being largely overlooked by prospectors. Exploring the property was part of a valuation strategy by the company, which met the investment criteria for a number of reasons.

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Sault mayor confident in Ring of Fire smelter pitch – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 21, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Christian Provenzano harbours no worries that the CCAA process with Essar Steel Algoma will jeopardize his city’s pursuit of a ferrochrome plant.

Sault councillors were given a briefing by city and economic development staff on Nov. 20 on their preparations to provide Ring of Fire developer Noront Resources with a compelling case to select the northeastern Ontario community as the host site for a chromite processing facility.

The Sault, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timmins are the four cities in the running as part of a competitive process staged by Noront. In early November, the Toronto mining company sent out the formal request for information documents for each city to make their best pitch. The proposal deadline is Feb. 2.

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‘Secret side deals’ hurt Ring of Fire progress, says First Nation chief – Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 16, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Neskantaga urges province to work with all Matawa chiefs, not a select few

The “politics of division” won’t advance progress on a contentious Ring of Fire road corridor, contends the chief of a remote First Nation community.

Neskantaga’s Wayne Moonias is offended by remarks made by Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister David Zimmer in the Ontario legislature after a trip made last month to an exploration camp in the James Bay lowlands, hosted by Noront Resources and the chiefs of Webequie and Marten Falls.

In a Nov. 14 letter written to Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle, and obtained by Northern Ontario Business, Moonias reminds the province that his community still has not consented to a provincial plan to begin construction on an east-west road into the Far North mineral belt by 2019.

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Diamonds aren’t forever at Victor Mine – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 15, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Despite 2019 mine closure, De Beers still believes James Bay lowlands hold promise

De Beers Canada is razing and remediating the Victor Mine site beginning in 2019, but it’s not completely abandoning the James Bay region. If there more rich diamond deposits to be unearthed, a company spokesman said they’ll come at it with a different approach.

Tom Ormsby, the company’s head of corporate affairs, said the diamond-bearing ground, 90 kilometres east of Attawapiskat, still remains very prospective but it doesn’t support keeping the current infrastructure intact.

“It all has to go. The minute the process plant has the last ore pushed through then the decommissioning and demolition will begin.” The company announced Nov. 1 that production at the remote fly-in/fly-out mine would finish during the first quarter of 2019, at which time the deposit will be depleted.

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[Minalytix] From computers to mountain summits – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – November 17, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Mining software guru shares inspirational tales from globe-spanning career

One wouldn’t think a computer science degree and a career in technical support would lead to climbing mountains and flying planes over Africa or shooting rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in Mongolia. For Robert Patterson, it did.

And he was happy to talk about how obtaining a degree from Laurentian University led to all that and the founding of his current business, Minalytix, a mining software company, during a Nov. 16 talk hosted by the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

While his lighthearted talk spanned his entire life, peppered with many self-deprecating stories, the message was clear: do a job well, never stop learning and have some fun with your life.

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Timmins confident it will get plant – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – November 14, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

TIMMINS – Timmins feels it may have an edge in its bid to win the attention of Noront Resources. Noront is looking around Northern Ontario for the best location of a ferrochrome smelter. A news conference was held at the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) office Monday afternoon to outline some of the city’s plans.

Noront Resources is the Canadian junior mining company with the biggest claim to the major chromite and nickel discoveries in a remote region located in the James Bay Lowlands. It is the incredibly rich mining area known as the Ring of Fire, where the value of the minerals has been estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.

Timmins is one of four Northern Ontario locations that was shortlisted by Noront earlier this year and invited to submitted proposals. The other cities are Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.

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Layoff at Coleman extended for weeks – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – November 15, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

It could be a month now before nearly 500 workers at Coleman Mine in Levack can return to work. Last week Vale temporarily suspended operations at the mine to undertake repairs to a ventilation compartment in the shaft.

“Upon further analysis of the work by our maintenance and engineering teams, it is now expected that the repair work will continue into December,” Vale said in an updated statement Tuesday.

That means the mine is now “on short-term shutdown, and our employees at Coleman will be temporarily laid off for the period of the repair,” according to Vale. While the company did not indicate exactly how long that repair work might take, Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said his impression is it could be a month.

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Mining has been a core catalyst to Canadian economy – by Peter Caulfield (Journal of Commerce – November 13, 2017)

http://journalofcommerce.com/

Unlike such relatively recent economic activity as software development, mining has been an important contributor to the Canadian economy for hundreds of years. t has made some entrepreneurs and their investors very rich, and has created well-paying jobs for miners, as well as the people who build the mines that produce the pay-dirt.

Too few Canadians, however, know the history of mineral exploration and mining and their importance to the Canadian economy. Herewith a very brief and partial history.

According to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame’s History of Mining in Canada, the 17th century French explorer Samuel de Champlain wrote of copper mineralization in what is now Quebec’s Gaspé peninsula.

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Wawa looks golden, again: Argonaut Gold tabs 17-year mine life for Magino project – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 9, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The emerging Wawa gold camp may be adding another mine. A positive feasibility study released by Toronto’s Argonaut Gold expects its Magino gold project in northeastern Ontario to produce nearly two million ounces of gold over the course of a 17-year mine life.

The company outlined the economics and production for an open-pit mine when it released a feasibility study for the advanced stage gold project, Nov. 8.

The 2,204-hectare property, a former underground gold mine, is located 40 kilometres northeast of Wawa and 14 kilometres southeast of Dubreuilville. The project is close to Richmont’s Island Gold mine.

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A conversation with Mining Association of BC president and CEO Bryan Cox (B.C. Business – November 8, 2017)

https://www.bcbusiness.ca/

You might think the mining sector and the beer business have little in common. Bryan Cox knows different: both are technical, highly regulated and people-driven industries, says the president and CEO of the Mining Association of BC (MABC), who led public affairs for Western Canada at Molson Coors Canada before joining the provincial advocacy group in 2014.

Alberta native Cox, who holds a political science degree from the University of Calgary, is no stranger to bureaucracy or the resource sector. His father ran a food services business that catered to oil and gas companies, and from 2002 to 2006 he worked for the B.C. government as a public affairs officer and ministerial assistant.

He then returned to his home province for a stint as government relations manager with Edmonton-based Epcor Utilities Inc. Pro­­­­moted from VP of corporate affairs at the 116-year-old MABC this past May, Cox aims to boost the B.C. mining industry’s profile and ability to compete.

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Provenzano argues steel plant status won’t sully Sault’s case for ferrochrome processing plant – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – November 8, 2017)

http://www.saultstar.com/

SAULT STE. MARIE – Sault Ste. Marie has some definite advantages in presenting a strong case as to why a ferrochrome processing plant should be established in the city. It has an ample-sized brownfield, it’s close to transportation routes such as water, can supply an abundance of power and has a capable workforce.

The city, and three other communities, were formally approached by Noront and asked to make a compelling case to host the plant and show the Canadian-based mining giant that it can meet Noront’s requirements.

But some argue that Sault Ste. Marie also has some definite hurdles that need to be quashed in order to give the city a fighting chance for the $1-billion facility that will bring, with it, good-paying jobs for a skilled workforce a decade from now.

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Timmins invited to bid for ferrochrome plant – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – November 8, 2017)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Timmins is taking a new step forward with the plan to attract a new ferrochrome production facility, according to new information released by the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) this week.

Because TEDC had previously submitted information to Noront Resources (TSXV:NOT) that company has now invited Timmins to submit “a compelling case proposal” in a bid to win over Noront which continues to search for a host city for some sort for a facility for the Ring of Fire nickel and chromium discovery.

Noront is the Canadian junior mining company with the biggest claim to all the major discoveries in that region, located in the James Bay Lowlands.“The company’s first project is a 100%-owned, high-grade, nickel, copper and platinum group element (PGE) deposit called Eagle’s Nest. It is the largest high-grade nickel discovery in Canada since Voisey’s Bay and the most advanced project in the Ring of Fire.

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