Ontario Place, the provincial government’s Toronto lakeshore tourist attraction has put out a formal request for innovative ideas from the private sector to help overhaul the 39-year old park. http://www.ontarioplace.com/en/rfi/index.html
“There is significant social, cultural, and economic value in revitalizing Ontario Place,” states a provincial government news release. “It also presents opportunities to explore projects related to education, culture and the arts, recreational activities and Green Energy initiatives to showcase all that Ontario has to offer.”
Ontario Place opened in May 1971 and featured a five pod pavilion complex, an open air forum, pedal boats, a marina, restaurants and the world’s first permanent IMAX theatre, the Cinesphere. During the 1970s, Ontario Place routinely drew roughly 2.5 million visitors a year. In 2009, only about one million visited the facility.
Iron Man Comic Cover
In 1980 the provincial government constructed an ambitious display to specifically feature northern Ontario. The display was known as Ontario North Now and consisted of seven concrete silos linked by walkways on the western short of the park. I remember visiting that popular pavilion and realizing that it was a great opportunity to educate urbanites about the North’s wildlife, resource industries and their enormous contributions to the provincial economy and in our daily lives. Unfortunately, Ontario North Now was closed down many years ago.
On June 14, I had the pleasure of being invited onto TVO’s flagship current affairs program, The Agenda, for a one-on-one interview with host Steve Paikin.
The topic headline was: The Interview: Stan Sudol: Will the Strike Ever End?
It’s been almost one year since Vale workers went on strike in Sudbury, Port Colbourne and Voisey’s Bay NL. Northern Life columnist Stan Sudol will be here to tell us if there is any light at the end of the tunnel.
As the station’s website states, “TVO is Ontario’s public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires, and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO’s vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media.” The Agenda has been described as a program that “presents in-depth analysis and intelligent debate on issues of concern in the rapidly changing world around us.” www.tvo.org
This article was originally published in the March 14, 2007 edition of Northern Life – Sudbury’s Community Newspaper. It is being posted for archival purposes.
Patrick Moore, founding member and former president of Greenpeace, supports the mining sector. This is the same Patrick Moore, who, with his band of Rainbow Warriors forced the American and French governments to stop nuclear testing, shamed the Russians and Japanese to halt factory whaling and were a nightmare for Newfoundland sealers.
He lightheartedly quipped that all his life, he had been against many issues so he finally decided to be in favour of something. He stated the obvious fact that the world’s real needs for food, energy and building materials cannot be met without a growing mining sector. Moore gave an engaging luncheon speech at the Prospectors and Developers of Canada (PDAC) convention, last Wednesday that highlighted the many benefits the mining sector brings to impoverished lesser-developed countries around the world and the hypocrisy of many in the NGO environmental movements.
He mentioned that many of the environmental extremists who focus on greenhouse gasses and global warming are adamantly again nuclear energy and hydro-electric dams – the two sources of clean energy that can significantly help in solving these problems. During the past decade the mining industry has embraced many sound practices in water shed management, land restoration and pollution reduction that have significantly reduced their impact on the environment. In addition, sustainable mining initiatives in the social arena – the most challenging part of this new strategy – helps build up local capacity, through education, health care and economic diversification initiatives.
This article was originally published in the March 7, 2007 edition of Northern Life – Sudbury’s Community Newspaper. It is being posted for archival purposes.
South African premier plans to head to Sudbury while in Canada
Seventy-five years old and still going strong as ever. The annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention, which got under way Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, is expecting to see almost 18,000 participants. Like the price of many of the metals its members are searching for, this is a new record high.
The organization was first founded in 1932, early in the Great Depression in order to fight some new provincial government regulation that was detrimental for struggling prospectors. Copper was then selling at four cents a pound (US), nickel was about 35 cents per pound, and gold could be bought for $20.67 per ounce. How things change and how they stay the same.
The March convention is the world’s premiere event for mineral exploration and development professionals. These include representatives of major and small to medium-sized junior exploration and mining companies, technical experts, government officials, prospectors, and mine financiers and investors, just to name a few of the participants.
This is the largest and sometimes one of the most “hard-drinking” and notorious conventions in Toronto. Twenty years ago, when it was still held at the Royal York Hotel, a mining promoter was murdered by an angry creditor. The longest reigning PDAC president, Viola MacMillan, was charged with insider trading during the infamous Windfall Scandal of 1964.
This article was originally published in the March 12, 2006 edition of Northern Life – Sudbury’s Community Newspaper. It is being posted for archival purposes.
The Prospectors and Developers Association promotes the exploration and development sectors of the Canadian mineral industry
The 74th annual PDAC (Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada) convention that ran from last Sunday to Wednesday was a smashing success, the biggest ever. It is the mining world’s version of the “Academy Awards” but spread over four days and with just as much networking, deal making and partying. PDAC is the largest gathering of mineral explorationists, developers, investors, bankers, financiers, analysts and government representatives in the world.
Established in 1932, the PDAC is a national not-for-profit organization that supports and promotes the exploration and development sectors of the Canadian mineral industry. There are about 1200 mining companies in Canada and almost 700 that are actively exploring worldwide on 3,500 projects. Canada is a global powerhouse in the mining sector and our expertise in many facets of the industry is well respected and in demand internationally.
Toronto’s stock exchange helps raise almost half of global venture capital for exploration and mining projects while about 65% of the world’s mining companies are listed here.
(L to R) Vern Baker, FNX Mining Vice-President of Sudbury Operations; Dominic Giroux, President Laurentian University Photo by Northern Life Staff - Marg Seregelyi
Last Monday I attended a Laurentian University Next 50 Campaign event where two significant donations were made. Both FNX Mining Limited and Power Corporation of Canada each donated $1 million dollars to the university.
Power Corporation’s gift is earmarked towards graduate fellowships while FNX’s million dollars will be focused on mining programs.
In a press release, Terry MacGibbon, Chairman and CEO of FNX Mining Limited stated, “Laurentian is the go-to resource for research and employees for companies like FNX. This gift ensures Laurentian will be able to continue its tradition of training geologists and engineers with the knowledge and skills to hit the ground running when they enter the workforce.”
(L to R) Vern Baker, FNX Vice-President, Sudbury Operations; Edward Nelles, LU Graduate Student; Harold Gibson, LU Director of Mineral Exploration Research Centre - Earth Sciences Department (Photo by Marg Seregelyi)
MacGibbon could not attend the event, however, Vern Baker, FNX Vice-President of Sudbury Operations was on hand to present the million dollar cheque. Baker said, “One of our strengths is our geology team, many members of which are proud Laurentian University graduates. Read the rest of this entry »
Leo DiCaprio on Cover of Vanity Fair Green Issue - April 2007
A version of this column was originally published in the June 2007 edition of Northern Ontario Business .
The mining sector is ignoring the green light at the end of the tunnel that is attached to a 100-tonne locomotive driven by the environmental movement.
The collision is going to be messy! It will impact the industry at a time when the voracious metal demands of China and India could bring enormous prosperity to isolated Aboriginal communities throughout northern Ontario.
This constant demonization of the mining sector by media-savvy NGOs is also affecting the recruitment of the next generation of workers the industry so desperately needs.
From the Academy award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth that stars Al Gore to Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio posing on the cover of Vanity Fair – photographed in the Arctic with a cute polar bear cub to highlight global warming – there is no doubt that environmental issues dominate society’s cultural and political agendas.
Unfortunately, the mining sins of the father are certainly coming back to haunt the sons!
Past industry practices that were detrimental to the environment are still highlighted by the anti-mining crowd today.
This article was originally published in Northern Lifeon April 18, 2007
Sector fails at communicating aboriginal and green initiatives
The mining sector is ignoring the green light at the end of the tunnel that is attached to a 100-ton locomotive driven by the environmental movement. The collision is going to be messy. It will impact the industry at a time when the voracious metal demands of China and India could bring enormous prosperity to Canada’s northern and aboriginal communities as well as impoverished countries around the world.
There is no doubt that environmental issues dominate society’s cultural and political agendas.
On the political front, the new found commitment to environmentally green initiatives by the McGuinty and Harper governments spell enormous challenges for an industry that most urbanized Canadians still feel is a major source of habitat destruction and pollution.
Mining Sins
The mining sins of the father are certainly coming back to haunt the sons. Past industry practices that were detrimental to the environment are still highlighted by the anti-mining crowd. Yet, the reality of mining in the 21st century is quite the opposite. Read the rest of this entry »
(L to R) FNX Mining Company Inc. Chairman and CEO Terry McGibbon and Laurentian University President Dominic Giroux
The mood at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto was definitely more upbeat and promising. As the world’s major economies start to recover from last year’s market crash and the collapse of commodity prices, most observers agree that China’s insatiable appetite for metals will continue.
The recent announcement of China’s Jinchuan Group Ltd.’s $150 million offer to buy Canadian nickel junior Crowflight Minerals and the announced merger between Quadra Mining Ltd. and FNX Mining Company Ltd. confirms that the metallic meltdown is over.
Interestingly enough, if Jinchuan’s takeover succeeds, it will give the Chinese government a small foothold in the Sudbury Basin. Crowflight owns or has under option about 800 square kilometers of advanced-stage base metal exploration properties in this region, the Thompson Nickel Belt as well as the Bucko Lake Nickel Mine, both in Manitoba.
Without a doubt, Ontario’s mining sector was one of the top discussions at this year’s PDAC. The Ring of Fire mining camp, located in the muskeg swamps of the James Bay lowlands, 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has almost single handedly heralded the rebirth of Ontario mining industry.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being invited onto TVO’s flagship current affairs program, The Agenda, hosted by Steve Paikin. www.tvo.org
The topic headline was: Is Sudbury Sustainable? Labour strife, shaken confidence and an economic downturn. What does Northern Ontario’s largest city have to do to survive in a global market? The program is archived below.
As the station’s website states, “TVO is Ontario’s public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires, and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO’s vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media.” The Agenda has been described as a program that “presents in-depth analysis and intelligent debate on issues of concern in the rapidly changing world around us.”
The participants on the four-member panel were:
From Sudbury:
David Robinson is an associate professor of Economics at Laurentian University. He writes for Northern Ontario Business. Read his complete biography at Laurentian.ca.
Carol Mulligan is mining reporter for The Sudbury Star.
From the Toronto TVO Studio:
Sylvie Albert is assistant professor in the faculty of management at Laurentian University.
Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based Communications Consultant – born and raised in Sudbury – and Freelance Columnist for Sudbury-based Northern Life.
In 1976, he worked at Inco’s Clarabell Mill for one year and in 1980 worked underground at Inco’s Frood-Stobie Mine as a summer student. Read his complete biography at Republic of Mining.com
This article was originally published in the Sudbury Star on October 8, 2004
In July, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein proudly announced that his province’s massive debt has been slain. However, he could not have accomplished that historic feat without the development of northern Alberta’s booming oilsands economy and ensuing resource royalties. Sadly, Ontario, struggling with a $142-billion debt and a $100-billion infrastructure deficit, is largely ignoring the mineral rich potential of its north.
According to the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, over the next 50 years the world will use five times all the mineral supplies that have ever been mined up to the year 2000.
China, India, Brazil and other emerging countries are rapidly industrializing their economies, which require a wide variety of base metals, many of which could be found in one of the world’s richest geological regions — northern Ontario. We are entering a commodity boom that could last for decades.
Historically, northern Ontario’s mineral wealth has provided high paying jobs, supplied significant tax revenues to Queen’s Park and helped settle much of the region. The mining sector still generates enormous wealth and industrial activity.
This article was originally published in the Sudbury Star on March 5, 2004
The total contribution to the Canadian economy from metals and industrial minerals is approximately $18 to $20 billion annually. Most of this activity takes place in northern and rural areas of the country. Mining is one of the most technology dependant sectors of the Canadian economy relying on innovation and automation to keep costs down, improve productivity and over the past twenty five years significantly reduce pollution.
Sudbury is a world leader in a wide variety of mining research activities including mine automation and telerobotics. Laurentian University has a federally funded Canada Research Chair in Robotics and Mine Automation headed by Dr. Greg Baiden. He has been described as the “Bill Gates of the mining sector” for his development of this leading-edge technology that is revolutionizing the way minerals are extracted from the ground.
Surprisingly, Canada does not have a major National Research Council (NRC) funded facility dedicated to the mining sector. For an industry that has encouraged the exploration and settlement of vast areas of the North, created enormous amounts of wealth, and established the country as a world leader in a wide variety of mining endeavors, this is incredibly short-sighted.
Australia, a major mineral producer with a population of only 19 million, has two world- class research institutes dedicated to mining innovation. Read the rest of this entry »
This article was originally published in the Sudbury Star on November 21, 2003 (This is an expanded version of the original article.)
Sudbury’s Mining Cluster Is By Far Its Biggest Asset
Sudbury is one of the most fortunate cities of the 21st century. In this new age of digitized, globalized commerce, this is one of the few communities in the world that has an internationally recognized cluster of mining expertise and knowledge. That was the reason why the South African trade mission recently visited the city.
There probably isn’t a mining engineer or geologist in North America or the world that has not made a pilgrimage to this “Mecca of mining” at least once in their lives.
For over 100 years, Sudburians have been honing their skills on the richest mining camp in the history of mankind. The total value of historic mineral production and present reserves from the Sudbury Basin exceeds U.S. $320 billion.
However, it is the 275 local mining supply and services companies, not Inco or Falconbridge that constitute the economic cluster that has been highlighted in the local media over the past two years. The knowledge of how to mine, not the mines themselves is the basis of a prosperous future for Sudbury.
This column was originally published in the Sudbury Star on October 31, 2003
And turn Laurentian University into the Harvard of the mining sector
Every successful high-technology cluster around the world is anchored by a large engineering school with well funded research programs. This connection supports the cluster businesses to create and apply new technologies and to successfully compete internationally.
In most technology clusters, many of the start-up firms are spun-off of university research activities. The best example of this is California’s Silicon Valley, the premier high-technology centre in the world and it connection with Stanford University’s renowned engineering faculty.
President Hoover, who graduated as a mining engineer from Stanford, eloquently wrote in 1909, “To the engineer falls the work of creating from the dry bones of the scientific fact the living body of industry. It is he whose intellect and direction bring to the world the comforts and necessities of daily need. … Engineering is the profession of creation and of construction, of simulation of human effort and accomplishment.”
The technology related sectors of science, math and engineering are the wealth creators of any society or country. It is the engineering schools of the world that produce innovative business people like Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple Computer. With this wealth creation societies are able to afford health care, education, social programs and high quality infrastructure.
This article was originally published in the Sudbury Star on August 8 , 2003
Sudbury is the greatest mining centre in the world:it’s time we were treated like it
The Sudbury Nickel Basin is the greatest mining camp the world has ever seen. It has been in continuous operation for over 100 years and after the Alberta Tar Sands, is the second most important natural resource in this country. The total value of historic mineral production and present reserves from the Basin exceeds $320 billion U.S.
Nickel, a greyish-white metal, is an essential component of stainless steel, the industrialized world’s wonder alloy. Stainless steel’s resistance to oxidation, corrosion and insolubility in water, is used for hospital equipment, electronics, aerospace super-alloys, military weapons, batteries, and even the coins in your pocket and the kitchen sink. The modern digitized, globalized economy of the 21st century would quite literally grind to a halt without nickel.
Notwithstanding the current labour disruptions at Inco Limited, Sudbury is not dying and the 14 active nickel mines that account for approximately 12 per cent of the world’s supply of nickel are not running out of ore. In fact, in the past few years, five significant new deposits have been discovered. In the geological world, these discoveries are absolutely astonishing for a mining camp as old and well explored as Sudbury.
Many geologists believe the prolific Sudbury Igneous Complex will still be producing nickel, copper, cobalt, gold, silver and platinum group metals one hundred years from now and will still be contributing generous tax revenues for both provincial and federal treasuries all the while.
