Around the North

Thunder Bay's Confederation College is expanding their network of six regional campuses by two with new sites coming onstream in Wawa and Red Lake.

One of the key recommendations from a recent expert panel report to the Ontario Ministry of Labour is being acted upon, with the province's announcement of its plans to create the position of a chief prevention officer.

The Sudbury-based Northern Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. (NORCAT) has joined the Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE), landing $1.8 million from the province to support research efforts throughout the region.

A study released Dec. 17 by the Conference Board of Canada said the natural resources sector provides the strongest potential for Northern Canada’s future economic development.

Rubicon Minerals Corporation announced that its Phoenix Gold Project exploration team, led by CEO David Adamson, has been awarded the Association for Mineral Exploration-British Columbia's 2010 Colin Spence Award.

Thunder Bay's Premier Gold Mines has appointed Tim Twomey as its vice-president of exploration. He has worked at Premier since 2008 as exploration manager, overseeing the junior miner's extensive exploration programs.

Sault Ste. Marie's Algoma University has signed a five-year partnership agreement with the University of Jinan in the province of Shandong, China.

Detour Gold has been granted provincial approval for a 185-kilometre power transmission line to supply its Detour Lake gold project in northeastern Ontario. Work begins in the new year.

The Ontario government is investing $692,500 for upgrades to the road and waste water system into the new Canadore College campus in Parry Sound.

Osisko Mining Corp. has signed a First Nations resource sharing agreement as part of its development of a gold deposit in northwestern Ontario. The deal announced Dec. 10 between Osisko Hammon Reef Gold Ltd.