Ramsay not involved in resolving uranium protest, despite calls from Native group
UPDATE:
Frontenac Ventures sues Algonquin First Nations over uranium mine protest
Northern B.C. Aboriginals question approach to mine project
Mining companies, commodity boom revive plan for Arctic port and road
Tax on Ontario diamond mines to be twice that of other mines
PTI Group and Atlin Tlingit Dev. Corp. form joint venture to service Adanac project
Inuit of the Kitikmeot Region participating in Nunavut’s fastest growing sector
Ramsay not involved in resolving uranium protest, despite calls from Native group
By Maria Babbage
Ontario's Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs isn't directly involved in efforts to end an Aboriginal protest over a proposed uranium mining area, despite the repeated calls by the protesters on the site for the province to get involved.
Ontario's Ministry of Northern Development and Mines is currently representing the province at the table, Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay said July 19th.
“We're talking with our colleagues in Northern Development and Mines and so we’re working with them,” Ramsay said.
The members of the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations occupying the site near Sharbot Lake, about 80 kilometres north of Kingston, ON, say they’ve asked Ramsay and his department to get involved, but to no avail.
Private firm Frontenac Ventures Corp. has mineral claims covering an area of about 60 square kilometres in Frontenac County, known for its pristine wilderness and wetlands. The Aboriginal group has occupied the site since June 28.
The land is a mix of private and Crown land, part of which is the subject of negotiations between the Algonquins and the Ontario government.
The protesters, who are supported by other Native groups and many non-Native residents in the area, say they're concerned that uranium exploration and mining will contaminate their traditional lands. They’re also upset that the province didn’t consult them before giving the company permission to explore for uranium.
“This is our homeland,” said Paula Sherman, a spokeswoman for the group and co-chief of the Ardoch Algonquin. “We can’t go anywhere else. Everything that we are as Algonquin peoples is based on this place, on this homeland. So if this homeland is contaminated, because we allowed it particularly, then what does that say about us?”
The community recently rejected an offer of $10,000 from the company to drop the protest at a town hall meeting to address their concerns, said the group’s Toronto lawyer.
“The community very clearly said, ‘Forget it. We’re not for sale,’” said Christopher Reid.
“The most frustrating thing about the meeting is that we invited the province to come in and begin a process of consultations on this, and they didn't.”
Two “low-ranking” Northern Development and Mines officials showed up at the meeting, but only acknowledged that there had been no consultations and that they had no mandate to consult with the Algonquin, Reid said.
“It ended up with the company threatening legal action against – it sounded like – both the government and the protesters,” he added.
The Native group is refusing to leave the site until the province imposes a moratorium on uranium mining on their lands. That is preventing the company from doing the work necessary to keep its claims in good standing, said Neal Smitheman, a lawyer for Frontenac.
“What we’re hoping is that the government and the First Nations can reach some sort of compromise,” Smitheman said.
However, the matter could be resolved quickly if the government or First Nations agreed to buy out the company’s interests, he added.
“It hardly seem fair that the company is supposed to fold up its tent and leave and eat all its losses,” Smitheman said. “It seems that one should compensate the company.”
Frontenac Ventures, which agreed in May to be acquired by Vancouver-based Silvio Ventures Inc. (TSXV:SIV-H), has assets that include more than $3.5 million in cash and mineral rights. A definitive agreement on the acquisition is expected to be settled by July 31, with the deal closing no longer than four months after that date.
UPDATE:
Frontenac Ventures sues Algonquin First Nations over uranium mine protest
Aboriginal protesters occupying the site of a potential uranium mine in eastern Ontario are being sued by the mining company.
Members of the Shabot Obaadjiwan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations say the statement of claim by Frontenac Ventures Corp. calls for $77 million in damages for alleged “threatening” and “intimidating” behaviour toward its workers. The statement also calls for a court order for the protesters to end the standoff and vacate the land.
The protesters maintain their occupation has been non-violent and non-threatening since they occupied the site June 29. Last week, the Aboriginals rejected a $10,000 offer from Frontenac Ventures to end their protest.
Aboriginal leaders fear a uranium mine will contaminate their traditional lands and have called on the province to resolve the situation.
Non-Native residents in the area have also voiced their opposition to the project, some with makeshift signs along Highway 509 not far from the nearby town of Sharbot Lake, saying “No uranium mine” and “Radioactive death.” It was a non-Native couple living near the site who actually brought the matter to the Algonquin communities.
Northern B.C. Aboriginals question approach to mine project
Family members who claim Aboriginal traditional rights to hunt and fish in an area where a major gold and copper mine has been proposed say they are not being adequately heard by the project’s proponent.
But Terrane Metals of Vancouver says that every effort is being made to consult with First Nations on the Mount Milligan project.
The mine – first given the go-ahead in the early 1990s to Placer Dome under a permit that since expired – is expected to cost at least $750 million.
If the mine gets the green light from provincial and federal regulators, it is not expected to go into production until 2010.
Several members of the Sam family, which holds a keyoh – the Carrier name given to a traditional hunting and gathering area northeast of Fort St. James – say they are particularly worried that surveys of wildlife are being done at the wrong time of year.
Wayne Sam, who has hunted and fished in the area near the mine for decades, said for example company surveys for snakes and frogs have been done when there’s still deep snow on the ground.
“They said they never found nothing,” said Sam. “No wonder they didn’t find anything. It”s not the right time.”
Sam also said surveys should be looking for moose in the fall during mating season.
“When I tried to give them a list when they should look, they said the government OK’d the last one, so they’re not going to do it again,” said Sam. “They don’t want to listen to us, so they can get their paperwork done by September, so they can start mining next year.”
Neither the family members nor the Nak'azdli First Nation that they belong to have said they are outright opposed to the project.
But they argue it’s critical that the company consult with them to ensure environmental impacts of the mine are minimized.
Terrane Metals hopes to file its formal environmental assessment application before the end of the year.
Lisa Sam pointed out that it is the people who use the keyoh, and others from Fort St. James, that will be left with the impact of the mine.
She said that a lot of her family still rely on the keyoh area for food, including for hunting, fishing and berry-picking.
She said, for example, that there are concerns about the mine waste from the tailings pond leaching into the water systems in the area.
Last week, some members of the Sam family mounted a protest in the mine area, organized to coincide with a national day of Aboriginal protest.
Mining companies, commodity boom revive plan for Arctic port and road
By Bob Weber
A languishing plan to build a deep-water Arctic port has been reinvigorated by rising commodity prices and six mining companies – including at least two of the world's largest – willing to help pay the shot to move the project ahead.
“It's certainly keeping it alive,” said Charlie Lyall, president of Kitikmeot Corp., an Inuit-owned group that originally filed a proposal to build the port in 2002.
“I'm much more hopeful today than I was a year ago.”
Lyall’s group wants to build the port and road at Bathurst Inlet, a deep cleft in Canada's central Arctic coastline. Lyall said Kitikmeot is in talks with private lenders to finance part of the project, either as a lender or by taking an equity share in it.
The port would be capable of handling 25,000-tonne ice-class vessels. It would include a 1,200-metre airstrip and – most importantly for its new backers – a 211-kilometre all-weather road south into some of the richest mineral territory in Canada.
That road would end in the neighbourhood of at least seven mines that are already operating, under construction or in advanced planning, which explains why the miners are largely financing the project’s environmental impact assessment.
“We’re looking at (the port and road) as a key piece of our logistical puzzle,” said Abraham Drost, president of Sabina Silver (TSXV:SBB), which owns a 47-million tonne deposit of silver, zinc, lead, copper and gold at Hackett River, about 75 kilometres from the proposed port.
The road and port are the only feasible ways to bring in supplies and remove ore concentrate from such deposits.
Zinifex Ltd., which owns a massive copper-zinc deposit at Izok Lake, is in the same boat.
“It's vital,” said company official Ewan Downie. “Without this transportation infrastructure, the project will not proceed.”
The area’s diamond miners such as Rio Tinto Inc. are also backing the port’s environmental study.
Although those mines currently truck in supplies on an ice road from Yellowknife and fly out their production, the future of that road is in doubt
as climate change shortens its season at the same time as traffic on the road increases.
“The combination of demand and climate means we’re going to see some pretty tough years in the future,” said Tom Hoefer, spokesman for Diavik Diamond Mines, which is majority-owned by Rio Tinto.
“Trucking supplies down an all-weather road would be much cheaper than flying them in, and the port is one of several alternatives the diamond miners are considering.
The port and road are expected to cost about $135 million.
A 2002 federal report estimated that the expenditure, combined with the mining development it would encourage, would bring a total of $925 million in investment to Nunavut and create an average of 1,400 direct and indirect jobs a year.
As demand from the emerging economies of China and India drives commodity prices to new levels, Canada has a chance to cash in, said Drost.
“Nunavut is putting in place the building blocks for Canada’s next great mining district,” he said.
Other miners in the area include Miramar Mining (TSX:MAE), Dundee Precious Metals (TSX:DPM), BHP Billiton and DeBeers.
Lyall, who says the port’s environmental study will be filed in the fall, says the project merits federal support.
“We’re hoping to convince the government to take part in that as a private-public partnership.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has said it plans to place more emphasis on northern development. Harper plans a tour of the Arctic later this summer.
Tax on Ontario diamond mines to be twice that of other mines
By Michael Peeling
The De Beers Victor project can expect to pay twice as much tax on the diamonds it produces as any other mine in Ontario now that the provincial government has announced the final draft of its diamond royalty tax.
In a statement released July 5th, the tax system is described as now including “unique, made-in-Ontario deductions that support the expansion of Ontario’s developing diamond industry.”
When news of the diamond-specific tax came out close to three months ago, diamond mines in Ontario were told to expect to pay 13 per cent of their net profit to the Ministry of Finance annually instead of the five per cent that applies to other mines in the province.
The 13 per cent tax still stands for mines posting more than a $281-million net profit, but new deductions allowed into the equation could help the Victor project, the only diamond mine in Ontario so far, cut the tax down to 10.4 per cent.
The provincial government will allow De Beers to deduct 100 per cent of the money it expends honouring agreements made with Aboriginal communities, such as nearby Attawapiskat First Nation, and other municipalities.
The system also enables Ontario diamond mines to deduct 100 per cent of “qualifying donations” to charities, education and other donations of a “benevolent nature.”
De Beers Victor project spokesman Tom Ormsby said it was too early to say if the new tax regime would work for the $1-billion diamond mine, which can also deduct 15 per cent of the costs of establishing and operating in Ontario, including salaries, wages, training costs, infrastructure investments, exploration, research and development, charitable donations and payments to municipalities and Aboriginal communities.
“We need a lot more time to assess the impact the tax will have on our operation,” Ormsby said. “We’re pleased that there has been dialogue with the province and that we were able to bring our concerns to the table, but we still have to run models of how this tax will work for us.”
Ormsby said De Beers started planning the Victor project two years ago with the five per cent northern Ontario mining tax in mind, so doubling that tax makes a considerable difference to fiscal projections for the mine and brings its viability into question.
“This is an exciting project, but we’re still a small operation compared to most,” Ormsby said. “It’s important to make sure we can move forward… We just want to be treated the same as other mines in Ontario.”
Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren supported the local movement against the diamond tax when it was introduced.
“It looks like the provincial government was listening when we made our presentation,” Laughren said. “I remain optimistic that the Victor project could still work, but De Beers still has some figuring to do.”
PTI Group and Atlin Tlingit Dev. Corp. form joint venture to service Adanac project
Adanac Molybdenum Corporation is pleased to announce it has awarded the Construction Catering and Housekeep-ing Services contract for the Ruby Creek Project located near Atlin, BC.
This contract has been awarded to a joint venture company formed by PTI Group Inc. (PTI) and the Atlin Tlingit Development Corporation (ATDC). The ATDC is a wholly owned company of the Taku River Tlingit First Nations (TRTFN).
Adanac is extremely pleased with the award of this contract to the PTI/ATDC joint venture company as it offers significant benefit and opportunity to the local community for training and career development that will be transferable to the operations, creating long term sustainable employment and job skills.
PTI has over 30 years experience in the camp and catering industry and has a strong commitment to safety and the provision of high quality catering services, both of which will be key to the stability of the workforce at the Ruby Creek Project.
Adanac is engaged in the exploration & development of mines to produce molybdenum. The Company's flagship property is the Ruby Creek Molybdenum Project located near Atlin, BC. Open-pit reserves of 143.7 million tonnes containing an average 0.059% Mo at a cut-off grade of 0.04% Mo are sufficient to sustain a milling rate of 20,000 tonnes for more than 20 years. The procurement of long lead time items of equipment has been completed and on site construction is slated to begin upon receipt of applicable permits expected early in the fall of 2007.
When Anniessia Hager starts her long evening shift, most of us are settling down for the night. And while we dream of sugarplums, Hager gets busy making them. Why? This seemingly tireless single parent works as a baker at Sherwood Copper Corporation’s Minto Mine, 240 kilometres north of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
Her goodies help to feed 180 hungry mouths a day. For them, cookies, tarts, brownies, fudge, chocolate drops, lemon meringue pie, Rice Krispies squares, butter tarts, puddings, and jellos seem to appear miraculously throughout the night. For Hager, this miracle is hard but satisfying work.
She puts in 21 twelve-hour days at a stretch. So even though she did not fulfill her childhood dream of becoming an Olympic athlete, she now invests an Olympian degree of energy in her work. “Speed is pretty much what I’ve got around here – constant moving,” she said.
Hager enjoys her job and considers herself fortunate to be at Minto Mine, a position which appeared serendipitously. “My cousin Margaret Isaac had a back problem and they didn’t have anybody to [replace her]”, explained Hager. “She referred me to them and gave me her position.
“They gave me an hour to pack my bags and I said, ‘Sure!’” she recalls. “I’ve been out here ever since.”
It was a rapid decision to make and tough as well. But as a single parent, Hager’s need to provide for her eight-year-old daughter took precedence. Frequent phone calls from the camp’s direct line to Selkirk First Nation help ease the loneliness for mother and child.
“I’d sooner go just a little further out of Pelly Crossing but I like to stay near also because of my daughter,” said Hager, who especially appreciates “The fact that the mine is on Northern Tutchone grounds – my land.”
Since arriving at the minesite January 27, 2006, Hager burned up the rungs of the promotional ladder. From chambermaid to cook’s helper to second cook to baker, it has been a whirlwind tour for Hager. Despite her rapid advancement, Hager has found that work is not a piece of cake. Separation from family and the rigors of work were only two of the challenges.
“It was tough going, having to work with other people and how they work,” she said. “I try to adapt to their personalities and then just go with the flow.”
Perhaps her best strategy is her naturally gregarious nature. “I just join in the conversation. I like chit-chatting – [discussing] our shifts – when we get out, if they had a good time, things like that,” she said. “I am always smiling. Even when I’m down, I am still smiling. I get along with everybody.”
Hager was not completely green when she arrived. She had catered for various organizations – forestry, her band, and small camps, besides doing other work. Despite her experience, she appreciated her mentors during those first days at the Minto Mine.
Besides mine personnel nurturing success, says Hager, “A lot is thanks too to Louise Regan. She is not with us right now but she worked in other mines for 27 years. She really helped me quite a bit within six months. I think that’s how I moved up. I appreciate her.”
As newcomers arrive, Hager does her best to pass on that mentorship. “There’s always somebody else coming in and learning,” she said. “I’m not really training anybody but I do give people advice – teach them how to clean and organize on the jobsite and show them safety tips for some areas – just help them keep on track and work together.”
She also gives newcomers sound advice on how to get along in the workplace. “Don’t talk back,” she says. “Try to listen to what they’re saying before you jump to conclusions. Ask if you need something, but don’t take advantage. People do like to help out, but if you slack off, they’ll probably let people know.”
She knows the long days can be exhausting. “I get so tired but I keep going. Stubborn, I guess – very stubborn,” she chuckled.
And when the lengthy stint is over, home is just 45 minutes away. “It’s about 30 minutes to Minto River,” she said. “We go down to the river and we have to catch a barge to cross the river to Minto Landing. It’s only 15 minutes from there.”
Back at home, Hager starts all over again, giving her sister a break while she takes over the cooking and cleaning. She seldom gets a chance to do her beadwork these days, but to their delight, always makes time to take her sister’s children and young Rachell shopping.
Today Hager no longer dreams of becoming an Olympic champion but she does continue to dream. “I only made it to grade 11 and I always wanted to try Small Business Management,” she said. “It scares me to take that big step. It’s a lot of responsibility.”
In the meantime, she says, “I’d rather do what I’m doing. Most of my work has been in the kitchen, so I am good at it. So I stay here.
Inuit of the Kitikmeot Region participating in Nunavut’s fastest growing sector
The Kitikmeot Corporation was established in 1990 and is beneficially owned by the Inuit of Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region.
Headquartered in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, the corporation is directly involved in 16 partnerships and strategic joint ventures. Kitikmeot Corporation invests in low-risk, long-term, sustainable economic development. The corporation’s mission is to develop, acquire or partner in sound, profitable businesses that will contribute to the personal, economic, social and cultural wealth of the Kitikmeot Region. Through these investments the corporation is an active participant in the mining industry service sector, technology and communications, travel services, insurance, real estate and construction.
KCMD Trainees, Chrystal Richardson and Peter Kiahingnaq repairing equipment.
Mining and mining exploration is Nunavut’s fastest growing economic sector. The Kitikmeot Corporation participates as a service provider rather than as a direct investor.
Scores of mineral exploration companies are at work in Nunavut searching for diamonds, gold and base metals. These efforts have led to mine development, including Tahera Diamond Corporation’s Jericho project (Nunavut’s first diamond mine), in production since 2006), and the Doris North gold project, permitted for construction.
Through its strategic partnerships, Kitikmeot Corporation is directly involved in mine construction and operation, road development, camp catering, engineering and technology.
But participation in the mining sector is not limited to Nunavut. Through its ownership position in such companies as Nuna Logistics and Kitikmeot Cementation Mining & Development, Kitikmeot Corporation is also actively involved in supplying services to mines in the Northwest Territories (NWT).
Kitikmeot Corporation shares a 51% ownership position in Nuna Logistics with Nunasi Corporation, a development corporation wholly-owned by the Inuit of Nunavut. In addition to providing services in mine construction and open pit mining, Nuna Logistics builds roads and infrastructure for the mining industry of the western Arctic. This includes the development and maintenance of the winter ice road from Yellowknife, a vital supply link to mines in both the NWT and Nunavut.
To provide a larger platform for growth in underground mining services in Nunavut and the NWT, the corporation formed Kitikmeot Cementation Mining & Development (KCMD) in 2005. KCMD provides opportunities to Kitikmeot Inuit and other Aboriginal peoples for continuous training and development of the skills needed for underground mining and safety.
Kitikmeot Corporation is also an active participant in various projects that may lead to the development of new mines in the Kitikmeot Region. Extensive studies on the Bathurst Inlet Port and Road Project (BIPAR), and proposed all-weather road from Bathurst Inlet to Contwoyto Lake in the Region’s interior, have been in process for a number of years, and are now in the final stages. Since many of the known mineral deposits in the Kitikmeot Region are land-locked, shipping remains a barrier to development. BIPAR would remove that barrier.
Other services to the mining industry, through some of its other joint venture companies, are an important part of the corporation’s success.. Kitikmeot Caterers provides camp management, catering, housekeeping and janitorial services to the mining and exploration sector. Kitikmeot Explosives provides explosives, detonating systems and blasting accessories. I&D Management Services is a human resource agency supplying employees to the mining sector.
Kitikmeot Corporation also participates in a wide range of economic sectors in addition to mining and exploration, including heavy equipment sales and service, real estate development and management, environmental remediation (including DEW line cleanups), fuel storage and distribution, expediting, wholesale construction supply, travel services, property and casualty insurance and the provision of high-speed internet services.
The Kitikmeot Corporation is demonstrating how Inuit are balancing sustainable profit and capital appreciation objectives with the social goals of providing training and employment for the corporation’s beneficial owners – the Inuit of Nunavut’s Kitikmeot Region.