Around the North

Lake Shore Gold continues to expand its reach in the Timmins camp after acquiring a 28-square-kilometre land package from Goldcorp Inc. and Goldcorp Canada Ltd., manager of the Porcupine Gold Mines Joint Venture.

Ontario's provincial government has redrawn the lines of its tourism regions, creating 13 new areas which will be overseen by regional tourism organizations, to be established in 2010.

Sudbury miner FNX Mining Inc. is planning on more than $100 million in capital spending through 2010 while maintaining a focus on copper-precious metal dominant deposits. This total includes an operational budget of $75.

A landmark ruling on press freedoms by the Supreme Court of Canada has officially put the brakes to a $1.45-million ruling against the Toronto Star by Northern Ontario businessman Peter Grant, owner of Grant Forest Products.

For the fourth straight year, the City of North Bay reports it has set another all-time record for building permits. The value of permits issued by the city in 2009 hit an all-time record of $92 million, which bested the 2008 record of $84.4 million.

AbitibiBowater is restarting a paper machine in Thunder Bay in January and recalling 170 laid off workers. The machine has been down since August. The company shut down two machines last summer and laid off 360 workers, citing low market demand.

Nipissing University marketing professor John Nadeau has won the Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Destination Branding and Marketing held in Macau, China.

The City of Sault Ste. Marie reports the value of November building permits recorded so far has increased from 2008. The total value of permits issued by the city jumped to $25.7 million during the month of November compared to the $8.

The provincial government is depositing $6.6 million more into a Sault Ste. Marie high school construction project. Sault MPP David Orazietti made the announcement Dec. 18.

A partnership made of a First Nation, an economic development corporation and former employees of Longlac Wood Industries have bought Longlac Wood Industries' parent company Kruger Industries. The partnership, known as Kenogami Industries Inc.