After the deep freeze of 2008 and early 2009, new mine and project activity in Canada is heating up again.
Like their peers around the world, Canadian miners and developers responded to the financial crisis and low metals prices by closing mines, curtailing production, delaying projects and deferring exploration.
Going into 2010, however, the industry is buzzing with activity once again. In the west, Terrane Metals, in which senior miner Goldcorp holds a large stake, has announced it plans to start building its Mount Milligan copper/gold mine this year, while Taseko Mines hopes to start construction in 2010 on its Prosperity project, also in British Columbia.
A third project, Copper Mountain Mining's copper/gold operation, in British Columbia, is already under development, and will start up next year, ramping up to around 100-million pounds a year of copper.
There have also been positive sounds coming from Vancouver-based NovaGold Resources that things are starting to move more quickly on the giant Galore Creek copper/gold project, which it owns with Teck Resources.
Teck and NovaGold started building the Galore Creek project in 2007, but surprised the market in November that year by announcing that construction would be stopped because of surging capital costs.
NovaGold has indicated that a new mine plan is expected in the first quarter of this year, and says it and Teck are considering a more 'aggressive' approach.
Meanwhile, in the historical gold districts of Ontario and Quebec, new mines are starting construction and production at such a rate that companies are finding themselves competing for skilled workers.
Osisko Mining, which plans to build Canada's largest openpit gold mine, started construction on its Malartic project, in Quebec, in August last year, and is targeting first production in 2011.
Another big new gold mine, Detour Gold's Detour Lake project, in north-eastern Ontario, with its giant 8,8-million-ounce gold reserve base, will likely follow with commissioning towards the end of 2012.
Larger rival Goldcorp is also looking at a major expansion at its Red Lake camp, in Ontario, and announced in January it would sink a new shaft to extend the life of the Hoyle Pond gold mine at Porcupine, in Timmins, Ontario.
Back in Quebec, in 2009, Agnico-Eagle Mines started up its second new mine in the province in as many years, when it commissioned the new Lapa operation. The company opened its Goldex mine, also in Quebec's Abitibi region, in 2008, and is currently flying workers out of the province to staff its Meadowbank project, in the Nunavut Territory, which will start up this year.
Toronto-based Iamgold has also said it plans to start production at its new Westwood mine, in Quebec, early in 2013.
Officials from several companies with projects or operations in Quebec and Ontario have confirmed that the increased levels of activity in the region are creating greater competition for skilled labour.
'There really are some major developments going on [in Ontario and Quebec],' GFMS World Gold MD Paul Burton said in a recent presentation in Toronto.
'I think that in the next couple of years we are going to see quite a jump in Canadian gold production.'
Canada fell out of the top-four list of gold producers in 2008, and currently sits at around eighth place, according to GFMS figures.
Widespread Recovery
Of course, the increased activity levels are not limited to gold- and copper-miners.
Chromite discoveries in Ontario's Ring of Fire region last year drew the attention of US coal and iron-ore-miner Cliffs Natural Resources, which eventually beat Canada's Noront Resources in a battle for junior Freewest Resources Canada.
Cliffs has said it plans to start producing ferrochrome from the Ontario deposits by 2015.
The world's biggest mining group, BHP Billiton, announced in January it has approved spending of $240-million on a potash project, in Saskatchewan, while diamond producer De Beers Canada has indicated it will ramp up to full production at its curtailed Snap Lake mine, in the Northwest Territories, by the end of 2012, and plans to add 175 jobs by the end of this year.
A feasibility study is also due by midyear on a Northwest Territories development pro-ject that De Beers co-owns with Mountain Province Diamonds.
In 2008, the mining industry contributed C$40-billion to Canada's gross domestic product, while paying about C$11,5-billion in taxes to federal, provincial and territorial coffers, according to data from the Mining Association of Canada.
The sector employed 351 000 workers involved in mineral extraction, smelting, fabrication and manufacturing, and created business opportunities for an estimated 3140 suppliers.
jaw crushers: http://www.hxjqchina.com/product-list_11.html
China cone crusher: http://www.hxjq-crusher.com/8.html
- Author Articles
- More From This AuthorCurrently, the existing sand making production line generally adopts wet production process. No matter what type of sand washing machine is used, the biggest drawback is that there exists a serious drain of fine sand (≤0.16mm). Sometimes even...Zhengzhou Hongxing Machinery Cone Crushers have been widely used in mines and quarries around the world for more than 30 years. Zhengzhou Hongxing Machinery makes four main types of cone crushers: the ROC/C Standard for coarse crushing, the ROC/F...Gravity separation is an industrial method of separating two components, either a suspension, or dry granular mixture where separating the components with gravity is sufficiently practical: i.e. the components of the mixture have different...Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or (coal) seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals,...In the flotation machine nets electronic business field, trademark stolen, information being tampered with by use of and so on, and patent infringement of intellectual property rights and the fake and inferior products phenomenon emerge in...
- Related Articles
- Related ArticlesCheerleading requires proper technique. As a cheerleader, you should spend a great deal of time perfecting proper technique. Everything you do, whether you are cheering, dancing or performing stunts, must be done correctly so it looks good and so...Modern scientific and technological frontier is endowed with the trait of time domain, field and dynamic. The integration of different sciences is bound to generate fresh science focus, besides economic development as well as social progress will...1. Ecomonic construction need With the social progress and domestic economic development, the demand for resources and energy from human is increasing, whereas, recourses in our country is not rich. The mining depth is becoming more and more...Taking a trip or spending a holiday with the whole family or with your loved ones can be hectic and tiring if not planned well. The best way to enjoy a vacation is by booking well in advance and doing something exotic. A vacation in the Caribbean is...Our pets get quit next us. Your road features out of the blue blanked out and about. Your dungeon entrance doors aren’t cracking open. Along with even with our only obtaining cleaned out and about a new two-storey dungeon to the subsequent...
- Latest Articles
- Latest ArticlesAchieving goals that you set in life is not so easy and this is why only some of us are able to fulfill our dreams and achieve the goals that we set in our life. This is only reason why people are not satisfied in their life and usually suffer...With the growing population of Pune, boundaries of the city are expanding and new localities and suburbs are coming up with real estate developments. These real estate developments in Pune include both residential and commercial projects, built with...Computers have changed the way we live our lives forever, simply imagining life without computers can be hard to comprehend, because computers have made our lives more convenient and productive. On the other hand, as a society at large, we have...Modern technology offers given us a wonderful selection of sports activities sunglasses structures and sports activities sunglasses lenses designed to both enhance and stand up to the requirements from the sports fanatic along with lightweight,...In today's economic environment, many enterprises are clear in cutting their IT budgets. However, the IT demands remain intact and are not reducing to accommodate the falling expenditures. In this scenario, it is highly important for IT...
- Most Read Articles
- Most Read ArticlesWhat has been the impact of technology in today’s business world? Technology has proven to be the best fit for any rather every business to achieve better profits and conserve various resources. Software applications are flooding into every...Two of the prominent locations in the Philippines are Manila and Makati. If Manila is popular for its historic attractions and the label “capital of the Philippines”, Makati is more prominent for being the hub of financial deals and commercial...Two of the famous cities in the Philippines are Manila and Makati. If Manila is famous for its historical landmarks and the title “capital of the Philippines”, Makati is more famous for being the center of financial transactions and commercial...There are two famous cities in the Philippines, namely Manila and Makati. If Manila is famous for its historical landmarks and the title “capital of the Philippines”, Makati is more famous for being the center of financial transactions and...Setting up a business in this complicated time is not stress free. With the business processes such as outsourcing, they are finding new ways to keep up with others. Business planning also became critical more than ever with business...
