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NIRB says no to Nunavut diamond project (Nunatsiaq News – April 7, 2016)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Project should be “modified or abandoned,” review board says

The Nunavut Impact Review Board has recommended a diamond exploration project in the Kivalliq region be revised or scrapped due to local social and environmental concerns.

“The project has the potential to result in unacceptable adverse ecosystemic and socio-economic impacts,” the NIRB said in a screening decision issued April 4.

On its proposed Kahuna Diamond Project, located about 54 kilometres northeast of Rankin Inlet and 35 km southwest of Chesterfield Inlet, Dunnedin Ventures Inc. planned to conduct year-round diamond exploration from March 2016 to March 2018.

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EDITORIAL: Aboriginal economic growth benefits all (Toronto Sun – April 6, 2016)

http://www.torontosun.com/

It doesn’t make for juicy front page headlines, but Aboriginal people are quietly engaged in the hard work of growing their local economies. Canadian businesses need to understand this, embrace it and get involved.

In a recent guest column for the Sun papers, academics Ken Coates and Greg Poelzer wrote that “crises are noisy, accomplishments are quiet.” In other words, the bad news gets a lot of media attention, but the success stories go unreported. And the success stories are many.

This past week brought a reminder of those quiet accomplishments. Leaders from business and Aboriginal communities gathered in Toronto to participate in the Natural Resources Forum to discuss economic growth.

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Infrastructure in the Ring of Fire: ‘Getting it Right’ rather than just Getting it Soon – by Chief Elizabeth Atlookan (Sudbury Star – April 11, 2016)

Elizabeth Atlookan is Chief of Eabametoong First Nation and a member of the Matawa Tribal Council.

A version of this column ran in the Sudbury Star under the title of “We ‘Will Not Be Bought Off”

On March 11, 2016 the Financial Post and Sudbury Star published an article by Mr. Stan Sudol that called for rapid Federal investment in industrial Ring of Fire and community infrastructure, based on a ‘Mining Marshall Plan’ concept that he published in July 2015. Is a Marshall Plan needed? No. Rather, our First Nations and Ontario need to collaborate on a new, long-­‐term vision of human and environmental life that can incorporate wise industrial development. Let’s work together on that.

As the Chief of Eabametoong First Nation, I write from a remote community of roughly 2500 members, with about 1400 living on-­‐reserve approximately 400kms North of Thunder Bay. Eabametoong First Nation has been referenced in multiple news stories lately. These stories have outlined a number of tragic losses throughout our winter. In particular, we have suffered a suicide in February, the loss of an infant earlier this month, and one of our members falling victim to a homicide just over a week ago.

I write from the context of social crisis. This is something that has been documented, but rarely from the perspective of community leader who is facing so much local pain and difficulty, while navigating tremendous pressure for industrial development nearby.

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Sudbury/Capreol firm lands space mining contract – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – April 7, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

When mining begins on the moon or even Mars, a piece of technology developed in Sudbury may be one of the key tools – or multi-tools, rather.

Deltion Innovations Limited, a mining and automation robotics company based in Capreol, announced Wednesday it had been awarded a $700,000 contract as part of the Canadian Space Agency’s Space Technology Development Program, to develop PROMPT (Percussive and Rotary Multi-Purpose Tool), for potential use on exploration and prospecting missions on the moon or Mars.

Described as a “space-age Swiss Army knife,” PROMPT would combined elements of previous CSA-supported projects such as a mini-corer drill, power socket wrench tool and a lunar-sampling drill, all combined in a small, lightweight, but highly durable unit, installed on the end of a robotic manipulator arm.

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CPPIB to acquire stake in Glencore agriculture unit in $2.5-billion deal – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – April 7, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has snagged itself a bargain – but it needs an outburst of volatility in farm prices to really make its new acquisition pay off.

The guardian of a big slice of Canadians’ collective retirement wealth is paying $2.5-billion (U.S.) for a 40-per-cent stake in Glencore PLC’s agricultural trading operations. The price values all of the Glencore Agricultural Products unit at just $6.25-billion, which is at least a billion dollars less than most investment banks had pegged the business at in more prosperous times.

“I think it’s a pretty good deal for the pension board,” said Craig Pirrong, a professor of finance at the University of Houston and expert on commodity trading. Glencore is under pressure to raise cash and pay down its massive debt, which probably resulted in the very reasonable price, he said.

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Remain relentless: Sudbury safety conference – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – April 7, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

A good deal of work has been done in the last year to act upon 18 recommendations in the Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review, but people in the sector must be relentless about continuing that momentum, says a mining engineer.

“We can’t take our foot off the gas pedal,” the provincial co-ordinator of mining for the Ministry of Labour told more than 250 people Wednesday at a mining safety conference in Sudbury.

Several of those recommendations related to high hazards and risk assessments in underground mines, Barclay said at the Workplace Safety North Mining Health and Safety Conference at the Holiday Inn.

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Brazil wants Samarco to stop leaks before operations resume – by Marta Nogueira (Reuters U.S. – April 6, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO – Samarco Mineração SA will not receive Brazilian government authorization to resume iron ore mining operations at the site of a dam burst that killed 19 people until leaks of tailings are stopped, environmental protection officials said on Wednesday.

Samarco, which is jointly owned by mining companies Vale SA and BHP Billiton Plc, hopes to resume operations at the start of the first quarter to be able to pay for a 20 billion real (US$5.53 billion) damages settlement.

The restart depends on authorization from the Minas Gerais state environmental agency Semad, which told Reuters that the miner needs to find a solution for the leaks from dikes built after the dam burst. Tailings are mineral waste and water sludge left over from mining operations and stored in ponds.

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The Wetum Road: How much is connecting James Bay to the provincial highway worth? – by John Michael McGrath (TVO.org – April 05, 2016)

 

http://tvo.org/

Stories from the Wetum Road, click here: http://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/the-next-ontario/tvo-on-the-road-the-wetum-road

MOOSONEE, Ont. — The argument for a permanent year-round road to James Bay is pretty simple for the people who live there.

“Bottom line, what we’re trying to do here is lower the cost of living,” says Ryan Small, director of technical services for the Mushkegowuk Council, a coalition of seven First Nations in Ontario’s northeast. “The time we get to use the winter roads is getting shorter and shorter. Building access for our communities is important.”

Building a year-round road from the closest point on the provincial highway system north to James Bay will be daunting.

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Study finds arsenic levels high in Yellowknife-area lakes near Giant Mine – by By Guy Quenneville (CBC News North – April 7, 2016)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

University of Ottawa study finds high arsenic levels in several lakes within 15 km of Giant Mine

Another study has found high levels of arsenic in the lakes around Yellowknife’s Giant Mine.

The study, released Wednesday by researchers at the University of Ottawa, found arsenic concentrations higher than the Canadian drinking water guidelines in several lakes within 15 kilometres of the mine.

The guideline is 10 micrograms per litre. “Many of the lakes we sampled in the region were exceeding that value, particularly ones that are closest to the mine,” said Jules Blais, a professor of biology and environmental toxicology at the university and a co-author of the study.

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Trudeau to visit resource-rich northern Ontario to talk infrastructure (Canadian Press – April 7, 2016)

http://www.680news.com/

SUDBURY, Ont. – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to northern Ontario today as he continues to talk up his government’s infrastructure spending plans.

Trudeau is expected to make an announcement in Liberal-friendly Sudbury, where city officials have been hoping for federal funding to match a $26.7 million Ontario government commitment to an $80-million road construction project.

Sudbury was among the first stops Trudeau made as last year’s federal election campaign was ramping up, during which he made promises that included $200 million for the mining and forest sectors.

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Tahoe execs in Timmins to tour latest acquisition – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – April 7, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – If the first century of mining in Timmins belonged to companies such as Dome, Hollinger, McIntyre, Texas Gulf and Goldcorp, the second century of mining will have to make room for a couple of new names; Tahoe Resources and Lake Shore Gold.

These are names that won’t just be around Timmins for many years, but for many generations. That’s according to Kevin McArthur, the executive chair of Tahoe who is no stranger to the Porcupine mining camp, having been the former CEO of Goldcorp. McArthur and a team the top executives from Tahoe Resources were in Timmins on Wednesday to look over their newest properties.

It was just last week that Lake Shore Gold (LSG), which operates the Timmins West and Bell Creek mining and milling operations, became part of a friendly business merger with Tahoe. LSG shareholders voted “overwhelming approval” on the deal that has allowed Tahoe to acquire all outstanding shares of Lake Shore. The business combination went through on Thursday March 31, 2016, said a company news release.

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Copper Turned Into Precious Metal as Miners Loath to Sell – by Agnieszka De Sousa (Bloomberg News – April 6, 2016)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Copper is a precious metal these days. While top miners such as Anglo American Plc and Glencore Plc are selling anything from iron ore and coal to agricultural assets to pay down debt amid a rout in commodity prices, they’re loath to part with the best copper resources.

That’s because it’s one of the few metals expected to be in shortage by the end of this decade as cooling investment means not enough mines are built. Those with cash to burn are taking an interest, with copper a focus for miners and financiers gathering this week for an annual industry conference in Chile, the world’s biggest producer.

“Copper is the most desirable commodity,” said Michael Scherb, founder of mining investor Appian Capital Advisory LLP in London, whose colleagues are attending the meeting in Santiago. “We are looking very hard at global copper projects.”

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[Sudbury-based Deltion Innovations] Canadians to develop space mining tool – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 6, 2016)

http://www.mining.com/

The device would prospect for water, ice and resources on the moon and beyond. A Canadian company has inked a $700,000 contract with the country’s Space Agency (CSA) contract to develop a multi-purpose device designed for space mining.

Northern Ontario-based Deltion Innovations Ltd will work on the combination drill and rotary multi-use tool, or what the firm describes as a “space-age Swiss Army knife”.

The project, part of the CSA’s space technology development program, has been given the acronym “PROMPT” (Percussive and Rotary Multi-Purpose Tool), Canadian Press reports.

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Half of natural World Heritage sites at risk from industry: WWF – by Alister Doyle (Reuters U.S. – April 5, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

OSLO – Industrial activity such as mining and logging threatens almost half of the world’s natural World Heritage sites, from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru, the WWF conservation group said on Wednesday.

It urged companies to obey U.N. appeals to declare all heritage sites “no go” areas for oil and gas exploration, mines, unsustainable timber production and over-fishing.

A total of 114 World Heritage sites out of 229 worldwide that are prized for nature or a mixture of nature and culture were under threat, according to the study by WWF and Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a U.S.-based consultancy.

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Tesla driving frenzy in lithium resource sector – by Nelson Bennett (Business Vancouver – April 5, 2016)

https://www.biv.com/

Electric car maker’s 500,000-vehicle ambition sparks spike in lithium demand.

If you owned shares in Lithium X Energy Corp. (TSX-V:LIX) on February 17, you were probably pretty happy on February 18 – and doubly happy now, as long as you didn’t sell.

Lithium X shares spiked more than 1,200%, from $0.07 to $0.95 per share on February 18, following the news that it had acquired a lithium property in the Clayton Valley in Nevada – one of the world’s lithium hot spots.

Shares continued to move up when the company announced March 3 that it had entered an agreement to acquire 50% of a lithium property in Argentina and were trending in the $1.20 per share range last week. They closed at $1.61 per share on April 5.

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