Twitter
Boston-Bay-Mines-Announcement

Timmins

Timmins plans for the future – by Liz Cowan (Northern Ontario Business – July 2012)

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.

Timmins 100th anniversary special

While Timmins marks its 100th anniversary this year and celebrates its past, its future is being guided by current needs and challenges. In 2011, a strategic plan – Timmins 2020 – was conceived to provide long-term direction for the city’s economic and community development.
 
“From a timing perspective, it originally started because it related to the loss of Xstrata (Copper’s Kidd Creek Metallurgical Site),” said Mayor Tom Laughren. “We really need to diversify and this plan will give us a bit of a template as we move forward planning for the next 100 years.”
 
The Met site’s closure in 2010 resulted in the loss of more than 600 jobs. “One time in Timmins we had both mining and forestry and that was good since when one was down, the other was up. But forestry has been down for a long time,” he said.

Read more

North must call out McGuinty on ONTC – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – July 10, 2012)

 The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

MPP says grassroots uprising only way to save Ontario Northland

If Northerners want to prevent the sale of Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, they need to make their voices heard at Queen’s Park. That was the key message conveyed by local politicians to a crowd of about 70 people who attended a public meeting held at Centennial Hall in Timmins Monday night.

Residents were urged to express their opposition to the sale of the ONTC by phoning or sending letters or emails to Premier Dalton McGuinty and Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci.

Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren said the only way they were going to be successful was through a “grassroots movement” in which the “people bring the fight to Queen’s Park.”

MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) said if the McGuinty government “starts to sense there is a groundswell, that’s when they will start to respond… All I know is, if we don’t try, they’re just going to go ahead and do it.”

Read more

‘Plenty of wealth to share’ in Ring of Fire [PC leader Hudak visits mining camp] – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – June 26, 2012)

 The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Ontario PC leader tours James Bay lowlands

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak believes everybody with an interest in the Ring of Fire needs to keep their eyes on the prize. Hudak spent Monday touring the Noront Resources mining facility operating within the Ring of Fire.

His visit comes just days after First Nation leaders threatened to halt mining operations in the region by presenting an “eviction notice” to companies that have staked claims.

“There is going to be plenty of wealth to share,” Hudak told The Daily Press. “I think if we can align all our incentives towards job creation and new investment, that will probably make the biggest difference ever when it comes to addressing the poverty that afflicts so many of our First Nations, particularly in remote areas.

“This is a once-in-a-century economic development opportunity. It’s breaking a new frontier in job creation and investment in Northern Ontario. It has the possibility of surpassing the Sudbury basin and the Porcupine Gold Camp for mineral potential. We’re talking about over a hundred-billion dollars in value. So we need to move forward.”

Read more

Timmins working to attract New Brunswick mine workers to the city – by TEDC News Release/The Timmins Times (June 22, 2012)

http://www.timminstimes.com/

Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) travels to Bathurst, NB where mine is closing next year

Timmins is heading to the east coast of Canada to see if it can find more skilled mine workers to come to the City With a Heart of Gold.

Cheryl St-Amour, from the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC), has travelled to Bathurst New Brunswick with representatives of Xstrata Copper Kidd Operations to promote the City of Timmins, and specifically, www.jobsintimmins.com said a news release from TEDC. Cheryl St-Amour noted that the “jobsintimmins” website has now become a central source of information on available employment opportunities in the City of Timmins, said the release.

Bathurst is home to the Brunswick Mine, an Xstrata Zinc operation. In March 2012, the company announced that Brunswick Mine would close in 2013 after almost half a century of mining activity. More than 800 people will be seeking to use their skills at other projects. These employees consist of a variety of skilled and unskilled workers, equipment operators, professionals and other mining related positions, said TEDC.

Xstrata Zinc is working to assist employees and their families transition to new opportunities and have been holding both internal and external job fairs for employees.

Read more

Queen’s Park continues to disappoint – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – June 20, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Northerners can’t seem to get any satisfaction from Queen’s Park. When we want our provincial politicians to do something for us, they don’t it.

Even when they finally look like they’re doing something right, they screw it up. This has been no more evident than since the Ontario Liberals presented their budget. This, of course, came on the heels of the government’s announcement that it was going to privatize the Ontario Northerland Transportation Commission.

Naturally, we thought, great timing. Here we have the New Democrats in a position to force the Liberals hands by using the budget vote as leverage in preventing the sale of the ONTC.

As we know, the NDP made some demands and the Liberals made some concessions but the issue Northerners were particularly keen on — preventing the sale of the ONTC — was not part of that package.

Read more

Mining school celebrates its 100-year legacy – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – June 19, 2012)

Alumni gather for celebration

The roots of the mining industry in Northern Ontario sink deeper than the countless resulting mine shafts do. From Cobalt to Red Lake, mining is more than just a livelihood, it is a mindset, a way of life, one that can be taught and has been since 1912.

The Haileybury School of Mines has been an integral key in the development of mining operations around the globe, known and celebrated for the quality of its graduates and the accomplishments the school and it’s students have achieved.

The school celebrated 100 years over the weekend, bringing countless alumnus thousands of kilometres to celebrate their alma mater.

“It is incredibly important to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this world class institution,” said Haileybury School of Mines alumni president Brian Dobbs. “There have been graduates from this school who have worked in virtually every corner of the globe. It is a proud moment for us here.”

Read more

Politicians, not MNR staff to blame for bear inaction – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – June 13, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

City council has been forced from hibernation on the issue of black bear management. The latest budget-cutting effort from Queen’s Park has eliminated the practice of trapping and relocating nuisance bears from the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Bear Wise program.

Instead, the provincial government has passed the bear buck to police. At council Monday night, Police Chief John Gauthier said in the first week of June alone Timmins Police Service received 21 complaints about nuisance bears. In May, they received 62 bear calls calls.

While the track record of trapping and relocating the bruins is spotty at best — many times bears find their way back to where they were caught — it is definitely a better solution than handing off the responsibility to police.

The situation is becoming, well, unbearable. On Sunday night, TPS officers were forced to shoot a large bear that wouldn’t leave the clubhouse area at Hollinger Golf Club.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Liberty Mines Receives Government Approval of the Hart Mine Closure Plan

Liberty on track to start production at Hart in Q1 2014

TSX:  LBE 

TORONTO, June 7, 2012 /CNW/ – Liberty Mines Inc. (“Liberty” or the “Company”) announced today that an important planning phase necessary for launching production at its Hart Mine has been approved and filed by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.   The plan, which is a necessary requirement for mines operating in Ontario, provides details and financial assurance on the rehabilitation measures that Liberty will take during operations and after the life of the Hart Mine has been exhausted.
 
“With approval of the Hart Mine Closure Plan in place, we are one important step closer to launching production at our Hart Mine, which we expect in early 2014,” said Chris Stewart, President and CEO of Liberty Mines.  “Over the coming months, we will continue on our deep drilling program at Hart and advance towards completion of a feasibility study by year end.”
 
The Hart Mine, which is located approximately 30 kilometres from Timmins, Ontario, is a nickel deposit currently consisting of 1.55 million tons of indicated resource with a grade of 1.40% nickel.  Liberty expects production at Hart to start in Q1/2014 with an initial production of 250 tons per day, eventually ramping up to 750 tons per day.

Read more

Fire plan began in 1922 – by Karen Bachmann (Timmins Daily Press – June 2, 2012)

 The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Karen Bachmann is the director/curator of the Timmins Museum and a local author.

Forest fire took out 90% of Haileybury

Rule No. 1 in the writing game – write about something you know, or at least find interesting, otherwise, your reader will now you are faking it (big time!).

Rule No. 2 – remember to just write and quit worrying about it. So, because today I feel like I don’t know much of anything, and I do not find anything particularly appealing (grouchy, aren’t I?), but I apparently still have to write something, I thought I’d write about a whole bunch of little things that happened in 1922 that may be of some interest to you.

If you do not find them interesting, you have my sincerest apologies and I’ll try harder next time.

So, perhaps we should set a little context before we start out on our trek through 1922. In world politics, Mahatma Gandhi was arrested in Delhi and charged with sedition (he served two years); Joseph Stalin was appointed the General Secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in Russia; the Ottoman Empire was abolished; Mussolini became the youngest Premier in the history of Italy, and, hyperinflation hit Germany – 7,000 deutschmarks were needed to purchase one American dollar.

Read more

Situation un-bear-able – Timmins Daily Press (May 28, 2012)

 The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Councillor calls for return of spring bear hunt

Northerners are voicing their unbearable stress towards the provincial government’s latest approach to problem bruins. The MNR has dropped responsibilities for nuisance bears on private property. The buck has been passed to Ontario Provincial Police and local police services.

Coun. John Curley is outraged with the recent letter from Natural Resources Deputy Minister David O’Toole. The letter was revealed to Timmins council at Monday night’s regular meeting.

It stated the recent changes came about as part of the Transformation Plan announced in the 2012 Ontario Budget. The plan was a review of how government programs delivered services to Ontarians, which includes eight-year existing Bear Wise program/

In his letter, O’Toole admitted the relocation of black bears was not as effective compared to other MNR bear handling strategies.

Read more

Rain brings relief [Timmins fire]- by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – May 28, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Size of blaze smaller than originally projected

Sunday brought a welcome sigh of relief for Timmins residents as rain and cooler tempertures helped to reduce the size of the Timmins 9 forest fire. The blaze, just 30 kilometres outside the city centre, is 70 kilometres long and has consumed thousands of hectares of forest west of Timmins.

Despite the positive outlook today, Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren offered some grounding words at Sunday’s press conference.

“Yes, the fire has shrunk in size, from a community perspective this is a relief,” he said. “But we need to remember the size of this fire, remember that it will take more than a days water bombing and a days rainfall to control it.”

With the addition of 20 new four-man crews from British Columbia working the southern flank of the fire, just north of Gogama, the Ontario fire rangers have been able to concentrate their efforts on the northeastern flank on the Kenogamissi and Cache areas, saving every residence and cottage in the area, only losing a couple of sheds and a vehicle.

Read more

Timmins fire grows close to 32K hectares – by Sudbury Northern Life Staff (Sudbury Nothern Life – May 25, 2012)

This article came from Northern Life, Sudbury’s biweekly newspaper.

OPSEU says lack of updated information puts residents more at risk

Timmins fire 9 has grown to about 31,660 hectares in size, according to the City of Timmins. The fire exhibited extreme behaviour due to high winds throughout the day May 24, which blew significant smoke into the community. Steady winds continued overnight.

Extreme fire conditions are expected May 25, and winds are expected to be strong from the south southwest (20 – 35 km). Timmins declared a state of emergency and a full water ban. The declaration initiates the assistance of Emergency Management Ontario to assist with any evacuations caused by smoke or fire.

The fire remains about one km south of Highway 101 and two km west of Highway 144. It is approximately 30-35 km away from the City of Timmins. At this time, the fire has not crossed either highway; however, the possibility remains, according to the city’s website.

Smoke and ash will continue to affect the City of Timmins and surrounding area. Value protection efforts continue with resources on a prioritized basis. To date, more than 500 sprinklers have been installed, and a smoke alert is in affect for the city.

Read more

[Timmins gold] Mine lies in path of blaze – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – May 25, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Flames were expected to cross two highways overnight

The Gogama-area forest fire was expected to cross two highways 144 and 101 overnight and continue heading in an easterly direction.

“The fire has increased in size over the past few days,” said Joel Legasy, fire management supervisor for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Timmins unit. “The precipitation we saw through Monday night and into Tuesday morning slowed the fire temporarily, but by yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon the fuel dried out and the fire became more intense.”

The significant growth seen on Thursday prompted the Ontario Provincial Police to close escorted access to the Old Mill Campground via highway 101, around 1 p.m.

“We can no longer escort anyone through to Foyelet,” said OPP Const. Marc Depatie. “The high winds, heavy smoke and heat are such that I cannot safely condone the travel for residents or for my fellow officers.”

Read more

Timmins honours King of the Klondike, Sean Ryan, at gala dinner – by Len Gillis (Timmins Times – May 17, 2012)

http://www.timminstimes.com/

Ryan, John Larche and Don McKinnon honoured as part of 100th anniversary celebration

Some of the most famous prospectors in Timmins, indeed in all of Canada, were honoured this week at the Gala Mining Dinner hosted by the Porcupine Miners Memorial Committee to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Timmins.

Fittingly the event was held at the McIntyre ballroom Tuesday night, named for the the mine discovered by another of the city’s legendary mine finders. But the evening was dedicated to some of the more modern prospectors who have made their mark in other parts of Ontario and other parts of Canada, but have always remained true to their Timmins roots.

The tributes were presented in recognition of the city’s 100th anniversary and also because later this year, the city will unveil three larger-than-life bronze statues to commemorate the mining discoveries by Jack Wilson, Benny Hollinger and Sandy McIntyre, the prospectors who found the Big Three gold mining properties in Timmins, The Dome Mine, The Hollinger Mine and The McIntyre Mine.

It made the evening the right setting to honour three modern-day Timmins prospectors whose names have become synonymous with success in finding gold; John Larche, Don McKinnon and Sean Ryan.

Read more

Special tribute to prospecting legends – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – May 16, 2012)

 The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association honour trio of mining heroes

For many, the idea of prospecting goes hand in hand with the gold rushes in the early 1900s. Colourless men in britches panning the rivers outside of Dawson City, wearing wide brimmed hats keeping the sun off of their sweat stained backs.

However, prospectors have transcended the years and can still be found roaming the bush, the mountainsides and the valleys of Canada staking claims, seeking gold and above all, the big pay out from the mining companies. While the technology has changed drastically, the principle of hard work hasn’t.

Which is why the Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association honoured three men with lifetime achievement awards for being at the forefront of their peers — they are mine finders. Don McKinnon, John Larche and Shawn Ryan were awarded for their prowess as gold finders, and more than that, their ability to provide mining companies a reason to dig deep.

“Prospectors live a hand-to-mouth existence,” said Gregory Reynolds, former managing editor of the Timmins Daily Press. “Never having a steady pay cheque and never knowing where in Canada the next contract will take them.”

Read more