Mining

Sault Ste. Marie will never be confused or compared with the robust mining camps such as Sudbury, Timmins and Kirkland Lake – at least not yet.

With $375 million due to be spent during the next two years on building the Young-Davidson Mine near Kirkland Lake, Northgate Minerals is officially moving ahead this summer on its ambitious new gold mine.

Sudbury miner FNX Mining Company Inc. (TSX:FNX) and Vancouver-based Quadra Mining Inc. (TSX:QUA) have agreed to a merger of equals, creating an intermediate copper producer to be named Quadra FNX Mining Ltd.

When Brazil's Vale SA snapped up Inco for $19 billion in 2006, there was plenty of buzz as to what the mining giant would do with the 107-year old Canadian miner.

Vale Inco spokesman Steve Ball says he is not surprised United Steelworkers Local 6500 voted 88.7 per cent “no” on March 11 to a five year contract that would send employees back to work. “We are disappointed, but not surprised," Ball said.

Steelworkers Local 6500 president John Fera said he's happy his members supported the recommendation of the bargaining committee and voted 88.7 per cent in favour of rejecting a contract proposal from Vale Inco, March 11.

Once considered barren ground for gold, the west end of the Timmins camp has become a hotbed of activity with major exploration breakthroughs in recent years.

A study outlining the full economic blow of the May closure of Xstrata’s Kidd Metallurgical Complex in Timmins is giving local officials ammunition in their fight to shake the province into action.

A new labour deal at Xstrata Nickel combined with improving mineral prices has spurred Ursa Major Minerals to re-start an open pit and begin shipping base and precious metals ore to Sudbury for processing.

The proponent behind a Lake Superior trap rock open pit mine could begin carving out a granite quarry this year if a new joint venture partner is secured. Bruce Staines, mine manager of Superior Aggregates Inc.