SAMSSA is having a banner year on its tenth anniversary with multiple accolades recognition and events. One of the most important acknowledgements came from The Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
A study entitled, Chamber of Commerce Mining Report Mining Capital-How Canada Transformed its Resources Endowment into a Global Competitive Advantage, announced the importance of years of effort by SAMSSA to identify the “Sudbury Mining Cluster” as the leader in underground intelligence in Canada.
The report demonstrates how Canada is home to a number of competitive clusters that deserve greater recognition not only for Canadians but from the Canadian Government as well. After multiple interviews with the Canadian Chamber researchers the following important statements were included in the Study:
Toronto is the small to medium capitalization finance capital of the world, boasting a unique collection of experts and institutions that draw exploration and mining companies seeking capital from around the world.
Vancouver has established itself as a global hub of the exploration sector, running projects in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe well as Canada and the United States.
Sudbury’s emerging mining supply and technology cluster is the “superstore” of Ontario for underground mining with the potential to become a global leader. Read the rest of this entry »
Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.
It was a first for Canada and a first for Wabi Iron and Steel Corp. in New Liskeard. In March, the company delivered the first of three 50-tonne ore skips for Agrium’s Vanscoy Mine in Saskatchewan. The remainder of the 68-feet long skips were shipped in April.
“It’s a first for the company and we are confident they are the biggest in Canada for now. We know our competitors have received contracts of the same size but these are the first to be done,” said Peter Tuomi, director of sales.
The Vanscoy Mine expansion project is a potash mine and mill upgrade managed by SNC-Lavalin and PCL Construction in a joint venture partnership. When complete, the Vanscoy Mine will have a capacity of more than three million tonnes per year.
The company got involved in 2010 when it submitted a proposal along with other potential contenders.
“Everyone knew the expansion plans for Saskatchewan and we prepared ourselves and started making trips out there,” he said. “Then we were asked to submit a concept design to Agrium and then a formal tender process began and we submitted and got the order.
“It was a longer process than what we have been through before since they are big pieces of equipment.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Vale Medal is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition to the person who has made a meritorious and practical contribution of outstanding importance to the mining and metallurgical industry of Canada.
“In recognition of his many years of service in the Canadian mining industry, of his long-time leadership of CAMESE, and of his volunteer work with CIM and other leading mining associations.”
Jon Baird, managing director of the Canadian Association of Mining Equipment and Services for Export (CAMESE), started his career in the mining industry in Canada’s North, working as a field geophysicist. He transferred to the business side of the industry and, almost 50 years later, has worked all around the world, marketing and developing supply chains. Baird’s travel experience has allowed him to see diverse places and people and to face various issues in the mining industry. It also enabled him to understand the vital role collaboration and communication play in the industry’s success.
“It is important how the Canadian mining industry collectively tackles problems that affect everyone,” says Baird. “The mining industry in Canada is very balkanized, due to factors such as geography, natural resources falling under different provincial jurisdictions, and distinct professional associations and advocacy groups working separately on different issues.” Baird saw value in encouraging cooperation among Canada’s mining industry players – companies and associations — and started to play a leadership role in making it happen. Read the rest of this entry »
CHICAGO – (Reuters) – An odd thing happened on Monday when Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), the world’s largest maker of earth-moving equipment, posted disappointing profits and cut its full-year forecast, blaming weakness in the mining industry it bet on so heavily in recent years.
Its shares rallied. When other big U.S. companies, including General Electric (GE.N), International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and Textron Inc (TXT.N), have warned of slowing profit growth in recent days, the news has unnerved investors and sent their stock prices lower.
So what was different about Caterpillar? Part of the answer, analysts said, was that its announcement was not a surprise. The company has warned repeatedly in recent months that demand from mining customers was deteriorating.
Another factor was Caterpillar’s upbeat assessment of the outlook for the construction industry, especially in the United States and China. And a share buyback always helps – this one to the tune of $1 billion in stock this year and as much as $3.8 billion by the end of 2015.
But analysts said the overly bleak assessment Caterpillar provided on Monday for its sales to the global mining industry also, ironically, helped the shares. In a nutshell, no one believes it’s really going to be quite as bad as it says, even given the recent slide in gold and copper prices on concerns about weak global growth. Read the rest of this entry »
Resource industry depends on thousands of service companies for everything from metal fabrication to design to trucking needs
PRINCE GEORGE — B.C.-based metal supplier and plate processor A.J. Forsyth has two of Western Canada’s largest press brakes at its Prince George facility, machines capable of forming half-inch steel plate using nothing but brute force.
While these two massive pieces of equipment helped make the company a key link in the northern supply chain, they still weren’t enough to meet the rigorous demands of B.C.’s burgeoning mining industry. To do that, A.J. Forsyth had to purchase a giant, computerized plasma cutting station that could also produce custom-cut, drilled, and machined steel plate. Approximate cost: $1 million.
Making an investment of that magnitude wasn’t an easy decision, even for a company with nine locations in B.C. Yet according to Kevin McCormick, A.J. Forsyth’s Prince George branch manager, it proved to be the right one. Eighteen months later, the million-dollar plasma table is bring run three shifts per day, five days a week.
“It was a big decision for everybody,” notes McCormick, who at the time was trying to develop A.J. Forsyth’s business relationship with the mining industry. Read the rest of this entry »
Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.
For some, mining is associated with a preconceived notion that it is a dirty, lowtech industry. The Canadian Institute of Mining’s (CIM) Northern Gateway Branch in North Bay is working to change that misconception.
“We tried so many things over the years to get a hold of young people and let them know what the industry is really about,” said chair Tom Palangio. “We went to the schools to explain what mining was, and we even rented buses and got whole classrooms out on field trips.”
For the past few years, the branch has been financially supporting the teachers’ mining tour, a week-long conference organized by the Ontario Mining Association and held at the Canadian Ecology Centre in Mattawa every summer.
During the week, teachers learn about mineral exploration, mine development, geology and sectors of the economy supported by mining directly and indirectly. Along with hands-on training through workshops, the teachers have an opportunity to see mining operations, such as visiting operations in Sudbury and mining manufacturing facilities in North Bay. Read the rest of this entry »
The global mining equipment market is primarily driven by factors such as the increase in mining activities and the rising demand for metal and mineral commodities. The mining market is witnessing substantial growth after the economic crisis in 2010. Some other factors such as the enhanced demand for technically advanced solutions especially in developing countries is bolstering the growth of the global mining equipment market. Asia Pacific region dominates the global mining equipment market owing to tremendous growth of mining activities in China.
The report titled “Mining Equipment Market – Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 – 2018,” provides in depth analysis, market size estimates, market shares and forecast for the period 2012 – 2018, for the mining equipment market across the globe.
The global mining equipment market is segmented into six sub segments by equipment types namely, – mining drills and breakers, crushing, pulverizing and screening equipment, mineral processing machinery, surface mining equipment, underground mining machinery and other mining equipments. Metal mining, mineral mining and coal mining are the three main application sub segments of the global mining equipment market.
The market has also been segmented and analyzed by geography into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and rest of the world regions. Market estimates and forecasts are made after critical analysis of various macro and micro economic factors which directly and indirectly affect the market growth. Read the rest of this entry »
The Community Builders Awards of Excellence honours individuals and organizations in eight community categories including Economic Development. The Economic Development award goes to an individual or group that has had an important impact on the economic well-being of the community. They have chaired and led a committee, they have helped bring new business to town, or they are responsible for putting in place infrastructure.
Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA) has represented mining excellence in Northern Ontario for the past decade. The $6.5-billion mining supply and services sector employs about 23,000 people in Northern Ontario yet, in many ways, until 2004, it was a hidden asset.
“SAMSSA gave the (mining supply and services) sector a brand,” says economist David Robinson. “Because of SAMSSA, Sudbury is no longer a declining mining city looking to diversify away from its mining past. The city is now an international supply centre building on its strength in mining.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
A giant 3D television displayed two separate animations of coloured rectangle s that appeared at seemingly random areas on the screen. The coloured rectangles — and they covered the entire spectrum of a rainbow — represented different mine areas, and appeared on screen in the order they should be developed.
The animation was a visual representation of mine scheduling and showcased the differences between a schedule that was put together manually, and another that was created by an algorithm developed at Laurentian University.
Scheduling ore extraction at a mine may seem like a mundane task at first, but tweaking the extraction order for peak mine performance can increase the net value of a mining operation by up to 20%.
Researchers at Laurentian’s Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) developed a software solution called the schedule optimization tool, or SOT for short.
The technology helps mining companies save time and money before they start digging for minerals, and has been used by a number of companies, including Vale and Xstrata.
Lorrie Fava, MIRARCO’s program manager of ventilation and production optimization, said the program cuts down greatly on the amount of time companies need to dedicate to scheduling a new mine site. Read the rest of this entry »
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 BESTECH has committed $5,000 to push Jacqueline Villeneuve closer towards her goal of raising $15,000 to support orphaned and abandoned children in Kenya. Ms Villeneuve, who is from Sudbury and attended Confederation Secondary School, founded Zawadi La Tumaini in 2010 to provide shelter, food and education for needy children, many who have been orphaned through HIV/AIDS.
Ms Villeneuve, who is now 19, lives in Nairobi. The Zawadi La Tumaini Centre for needy children is scheduled to have its official opening on March 1, 2013. BESTECH Co-Chief Executive Officer Marc Boudreau first supported this humanitarian effort of Ms Villeneuve after hearing her interviewed on a local radio station four years ago.
“Right away, I thought: I have to help this kid,” said Mr. Boudreau. “I was so moved by the passion that exuded from this 15-year-old girl (at the time) who was focused on helping children in a different continent. She was a fantastic speaker! Jacqueline’s words and tone demonstrated her selfless character and her commitment.”
“As an owner of a firm that operates internationally, I am often dealing with intelligent executives, engineers and other professionals in various parts of the world,” said Mr. Boudreau. “I believe it is important to embrace the opportunity to provide education to our future brilliant global business leaders who will one day operate in the same fields as BESTECH.” Read the rest of this entry »
Experts from Alberta oil sands and Saskatchewan mining sectors speak to Thunder Bay mining suppliers
Western Canada still needs skilled labour and technologies, and northern Ontario has a lot to offer, according to speakers at an economic development workshop held in Thunder Bay Wednesday.
The event, hosted by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and Thunder Bay’s Community Economic Development Commission, focused on ways local mining businesses could cash in on mining and oil sands development.
A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation said Alberta remains a province with huge potential. “There is a lot of new projects that that have been announced,” Steve Matheson said.
“Unfortunately there have been a few that been placed on hold. We believe the longer term opportunity for Ontario suppliers is there to partner with local suppliers.”
‘Work that is real’
Matheson said Ontario has the capacity to supply both Alberta and the mining needs of northwestern Ontario, which was good news for many of the workshop participants who hail from the mining supply sector. Read the rest of this entry »
Northwestern Ontario mining firms need to take some initiative if they hope to take advantage of a growing mining sector out west, an industry consultant said Wednesday.
“How you get involved is to get out there,” said Lester Cey, president of Saskatchewan’s LPC Consulting, which focuses on helping companies expand into western Canada markets.
“Bring what you’ve got to the table,” he said Wednesday. “Let the market decide whether you can play in our market.”
Cey was in Thunder Bay on Wednesday to address the subject at the Airlane hotel. The focus of Cey’s address was the mining industry landscape in Saskatchewan for 2013 and beyond.
Just before his talk, Steve Matheson, supply chain developer for the Ministry of Economic Development, spoke about opportunities for Ontario’s mining supply and services sector in the Alberta oilsands.
The point, both men said after their addresses, was to shed some light on why Northwestern Ontario companies should look west, and what they’ll need to do to make westward expansions successful. Read the rest of this entry »
Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.
Discovering a business’s competitive advantage, global marketing, export education, expanding market access: they’re the goals of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA), but they could easily be the founding principles of the Goodman School of Mines at Laurentian University, according to its president.
Dominic Giroux was the guest speaker at SAMSSA’s annual general meeting Dec. 4, and he outlined the scope and aims of the new mining school, which was announced last year and is expected to get underway in 2013.
According to industry statistics, 40 per cent of mining-industry workers are expected to retire over the next few years, leaving a deficit of 60,000 to 100,000 workers across the country. Laurentian aims to close that gap by offering education in mining-related programs that will bolster Northern Ontario’s existing mining cluster and boost the number of skilled workers in Canada.
Canvassing SAMSSA members, Laurentian found business owners appreciated the technical skills of engineering and earth sciences grads, of which there is a current demand, but they also voiced a need for executive programs in the areas of project management, business acumen, and international business. Read the rest of this entry »
Sudbury has a century of history as a mining centre and over a dozen mines operating within city limits. Over the past decade, the Northern Ontario city has been subtly shifting its focus from being a producer of metals to a creator of mining know-how and technology. This shift has been marked by the rise of an organized Northern Ontario mining technology cluster focused on underground hardrock mining technologies.
Sudbury is home to a broad range of mining related activities. The operations of large mining majors— Vale and Xstrata—serve as anchors for the cluster along with other mining firms.(38) Around these firms has grown a network of mining supply and technology firms that, together, contributed almost $4 billion to the local economy and employed 13,800 people—around eight per cent of the population of Greater Sudbury.(39)
The city is also home to a concentration of mining education and research. Sudbury is home to the public-private Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, the Canadian Mining Industry Research Organization, the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology and Mining and Laurentian University’s School of Mining and its eight mining research centres. In addition, industry associations, like the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Organization, and publications, like the Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, seek to share information and strengthen the links among the cluster’s participants. Read the rest of this entry »
Report says lack of skilled employees already causing costly mistakes
OTTAWA — Vancouver, Toronto and Sudbury are to Canada what Hollywood and Silicon Valley are to the U.S. — cities with a cluster of businesses built around a major industry that competes globally.
But the world-class industry in those Canadian cities — mining — needs government help, says a report to be released Wednesday.
According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce report, world-competitive industries emerge when they attract a large cluster of related companies to a particular area, such as Metro Vancouver, allowing for increased competition, economies of scale and innovation.
But, the report warns, renewed federal government efforts are needed if mining is to continue to attract and maintain the “clusters” of companies it needs — in finance, insurance, manufacturing and more — to Vancouver, Toronto and Sudbury.
The top challenge for governments is to help the industry resolve the skilled worker shortage “crisis” that, according to the report, is increasingly resulting in costly mistakes in mining operations. Read the rest of this entry »
