Around the North

Brigus Gold Corp. is well on its way toward commerical production from its underground oeprations at its Black Fox Mine about 75 kilometres east of Timmins.

The Conference Board of Canada projects “moderate” growth in Northern Ontario's two largest cities for 2011. The Ottawa-based research and public policy forum released Metropolitan Outlook on Feb. 22, profiling 27 Canadian cities .

Sioux Lookout Mayor Dennis Leney has “grave concerns” that 230 mill and forestry jobs in the area will be lost forever following a government decision to reject McKenzie Forest Product's business plan in the provincial wood supply competition.

Nominations are open for this year's Northern Ontario Business Awards (NOBA). The City of Greater Sudbury will be the host site for the 25th anniversary of the awards on Sept. 27.

Goldcorp has given approval for full-scale development of its Cochenour Gold Project at Red Lake in northwestern Ontario. The Vancouver gold miner announced positive study results for Cochenour and its Eleonore Gold Project in Quebec, Feb. 24.

Add Sault Ste. Marie to Porter Airlines' ever-expanding list of destinations. Robert Deluce, president and CEO of the Toronto-based regional air carrier is making good on his 2006 commitment to return to his Northern Ontario roots.

Denis Shank, executive director of the Sudbury Construction Association, will receive the 2010 President's Award at the Council of Ontario Construction Association's (COCA) annual conference in Woodbridge, Feb. 24.

North Bay is building on its success as a destination of choice for newcomers to Canada by hosting a conference, Feb. 28-March 2.

MiningWatch Canada has weighed in on the Ring of Fire and its chromite deposits with its own economic assessment.

A small Temagami-area First Nations cedar sawmilling operation was one of a slate of 11 forestry companies receiving Crown fibre from Ontario's wood supply competition. In a Feb.