Around the North

Queen's Park has reached a monetary settlement with an Ontario junior miner to relinquish their mineral claims and resolve a heated dispute with a First Nation bands in northwestern Ontario. The province will pay Platinex Inc.

FedNor unleashed a flurry of funding announcements for Northern Ontario on Dec. 16, with $9.5 million worth of projects split between economic development agencies and regional projects.

October marked the first time in five years the vacancy rate for apartments in the City of Greater Sudbury soared above two per cent, according to a rental market survey issued by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

With the announcement of 650 jobs to be lost in Timmins with the May 2010 closure of the Kidd Metallurgical Site, the members of CAW Local 599 are seeking community and government support to keep the facility open.

Queenston Mining (TSX-V: QMI) has released its first industry-compliant resource estimates for its McBean deposit, as well as an update for its Anoki deposit, both in the Kirkland Lake camp.

Melkior Resources (TSX:MKR), which has exploration projects in McFauld's Lake and the Timmins camp, has wrapped up a first closing of a private placement for total gross proceeds of $5.9 million. This includes gross proceeds of $3.

Kenora-Rainy River NDP MPP Howard Hampton has taken Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci to task for his support of the Harmonized Sales Tax, passed Dec. 9 by the provincial legislature. "Mr.

Charla Robinson has been appointed executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA).

Sault Ste. Marie green tech company, SITTM Technologies Inc., is receiving $135,000 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation to continue its ongoing development of small-scale bio-diesel production refinery.

Following a strong October in home building, 14 single-detached home starts were recorded in Thunder Bay during November according to statistics released Dec. 8 by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.