May 11, 2010
Whether it’s the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories or the Patience Lake potash mine in Saskatchewan; the LaRonde gold mine in Quebec or the Garson nickel mine in Sudbury, the mining industry has a presence in virtually every part of Canada and plays a key role in the country’s economic health. Paul Stothart, vice-president, economic affairs for the Ottawa-based Mining Association of Canada, says this diversity will be a key asset for the Canadian mining industry in coming years – particularly as demand for min- eral-intensive consumer products intensifies in emerging markets like China. (more…)
May 11, 2010
The story of Detour Gold is nothing short of golden. In just over three years, the company has gone from one man and an acquisition to a listing on the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index and the Global Gold Index. “This is probably the best time in 25 years to build a gold project,” says president and CEO Gerald Panneton as, fittingly, the sun beams down on him through the gold-cov- ered windows of his company’s rapidly expanding 20th floor office in Toronto’s Royal Bank Plaza. Back in 2006, the former corporate development executive for Barrick Gold, looking to strike out on his own, scouted around and came across an opportunity to acquire an explora- tion company’s primary asset – the abandoned Detour Lake mine property near Cochrane, Ont. (more…)
May 11, 2010
More than a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Toronto’s financial district, in a modernist office overlooking St. James Cathedral, the head of Canada’s fourth largest gold producer is both unassuming and confident. “We never got caught up in this idea that it was a race to be the biggest gold company,” says Sean Boyd, vice-chairman and CEO of Agnico- Eagle Mines Limited. The company has been extremely active in the past three years, adding five new mines in Quebec, Finland, Mexico, and the Canadian Arctic, and doubling its output for the second year in a row. “We’re on a dramatic growth trajectory,” says Boyd. “From our per- spective, we’re just getting started.” (more…)
May 11, 2010
Every visitor to Franco-Nevada Corporation’s office in Toronto’s Exchange Tower receives a deck of playing cards. Senior vice-president, business development Paul Brink explains that the cards answer a commonly asked question about the gold-focused royalty company: Where does its name come from? The name is a nod to the Francophone heritage of company co-founder (now chairman) Pierre Lassonde and he and partner Seymour Schulich’s fondness for gambling and skiing trips to Nevada. Franco-Nevada’s ongoing success is an indica- tion of Lassonde and Schulich’s good sense when it comes to calculating the odds in the mining game. (more…)
May 11, 2010
It’s a time of excitement and Prosperity for Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Limited. In addition to spending some $300 million on new mining equipment and concentrator upgrades, Taseko has invested nearly $20 million on three major drill programs that have yielded significant increases to proven and probable reserves. “We had the foundation for a good long-term ore body, but there was only an eight to 10-year mine life,” explains Taseko president and CEO Russell Hallbauer. “We needed to increase reserves and build the asset out.” In April, Taseko announced that it had finalized a deal to sell 25% of the Gibraltar mine to a Japanese consortium led by Sojitz Corporation for $187 million. Taseko will use proceeds from the sale to develop its new Prosperity Mine – one of Canada’s largest undeveloped gold/copper deposits. (more…)
