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 Intrinsic
      
Location: Collingwood
Gender: Male
 |  | [Media] Kidd Creek Metallurgical (Timmins, ON)
< on 12/9/2009 5:28 AM >
|  | | | If it weren't so damned cold up there, this might be a winter trip... alas, we wait for spring.
Source
Timmins politicians are already preparing for the aftershocks from the May shutdown of Xstrata Copper's Kidd Creek Metallurgical Site.
Shortly after learning of the news on Monday, Mayor Tom Laughren said several community leaders met to try and figure out what the loss of 670 jobs would mean to the community.
"This is a huge issue for our community going forward and it's one I definitely want to be on the positive side of," said Laughren. "I think we have a lot of expertise in our community that can help us with this situation and we're going to pull them together."
Laughren said it was also important to have provincial and federal government representatives aware of the situation. Having spoken with Minister of Industry Tony Clement, Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle as well as local MPP Gilles Bisson and MP Charlie Angus, Laughren said it was important they be aware of what this massive job loss will mean to the community.
He said all representatives offered their help and support in any way they could.
"We need to starting working on this as soon as possible," Laughren said. "May is not too far off and December is a tough month."
Laughren said these meetings were all held within a couple of hours of Kidd met site general manager Thompson Hickey walking through his door.
Laughren said the met site alone pays in the neighbourhood of $6.5 million in taxes every year. But he was told the company is at the point where they are considering demolition of the site.
"I think these are things we're going to have to work with them on," said Laughren, "especially if we're going to try and look at alternative uses, as an example, for that property."
But it isn't just Timmins that is suffering from the closure. Bisson said the news has been devastating for the surrounding communities, many of which had residents working at the met site.
"This is 670 jobs, but when you multiply in all the contractors, suppliers, etc., it's going to have a huge impact on the region," he said.
For that reason alone, Bisson said he feels the provincial government needs to take action.
While Laughren said he was told very clearly that the reason behind the closure was an over capacity in the global market, Bisson is confident Ontario's high cost of energy had something to do with it.
"Hydro is a huge factor, especially in this company, and it makes it a lot easier to them to move over to Quebec where the electricity prices are much lower," he said, adding the government of Ontario controls the hydro prices.
With them moving to a Quebec smelter, Bisson said it brings forward the issue of another Ontario resources being shipped out of province — and the jobs that come with it.
"We mine Ontario natural resources and there should be a requirement that those resources are value added as far as what we do with them," said Bisson. "We can't allow them to mine minerals here in Ontario, put them on the concentrate just to ship them down to Quebec or wherever put those jobs in another province.
"That is not fair. Those are Ontario resources and we need to have the Ontario government stand up for that."
Angus said the company's announcement showed they have no commitment to the area, as well as no heart, with the news coming just weeks before Christmas.
"Xstrata is a foreign company that purchased major Canadian mining assets," Angus said. "It is terrible that they are turning their backs on the community.
"We will work with people across this region to fight this wrong-headed decision."
But in Timmins, Laughren said this is something the community has seen before, and he's confident it will once again emerge.
He said while there are good things happening in the community, this news with overshadow it and the Met site closure will be a priority.
"This is a sad day in our community, but I want to emphasize that we will get through this and we're going to work hard together to make this sad situation a better one," said Laughren. "These 700-plus jobs are very important to the survival of this community.
"We're definitely going to rebound from this and come out much better on the other side."
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Intrinsic
Location: Collingwood
Gender: Male
| | Re: [Media] Kidd Creek Metallurgical (Timmins, ON)
<Reply # 1 on 12/12/2009 2:54 AM >
| | | | Northerners keep your eye on this one... (also, the poor ONR is already facing tough times, not good news)
An already tough year for Ontario Northland is about to get a lot worse.
The Crown corporation is estimating annual losses of more than $8 million as a result of Xstrata Copper Canada's planned closure in May of its copper and zinc operations at the Kidd Metallurgical Site in Timmins. That's in addition to dollars that have already been lost due to major shutdowns and labour strife at some of the rail division's other major freight customers.
Company spokeswoman Beverly Martin said it's premature to say if the closure will mean any job losses at the ONR. But Martin said management at the Crown corporation will be cutting costs.
"It has been a very difficult year," said Martin.
The company has so far managed to avoid layoffs, tightening its purse strings and deferring capital expenditures.
Xstrata announced the planned closure this week, saying work previously done at the metallurgical site will be transferred May 1 to the Xstrata mill in Rouyn-Noranda, Que. The Kidd mine and concentrator will remain in operation, but the shutdown will eliminate 670 jobs.
The Swiss-based company said the move is part of a "rationalization" of its Canadian metallurgical operations.
"It doesn't have to happen," said Kelly, suggesting transportation costs and electricity rates are a main reasons for the closure.
"This facility is too important to the people and the communities of Northeastern Ontario to be abandoned without investigating all avenues to keep it in operation," said Kelly. "As the sole owner of Hydro One, the provincial government could have a positive influence in reducing electricity costs."
Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson and MP Charlie Angus agreed it's not too late to prevent the closure, suggesting both senior levels of government need to get involved.
"Absolutely, there's an opportunity to stop the closure," said Bisson, calling for provincial legislation that would prevent firms from setting up shop in Ontario only to take resources out of the province to be processed.
"These are resources that belong to the people of Ontario," said Bisson, acknowledging that Xstrada is faced with some challenges such as electricity rates.
He said the company is Ontario's largest single user of electricity and is moving the Timmins copper and zinc operation to Quebec where prices are lower.
Bisson said electricity rates for large industry such as mining and forestry, particularity in Northern Ontario, have long been an issue.
Bisson said he wishes Xstrada had sat down with stakeholders, government and communities before making its decision. But he said there's still a chance to turn it around.
Angus, meanwhile, said there is something "very, very ominous" about how Ontario is losing more and more processing to Quebec, where electricity prices are lower.
Angus also criticized the company for making the announcement without any notice just weeks before Christmas.
Claude Ferron, chief operating officer of the Xstrata Copper Canada Division, cited record low prices due to global smelting overcapacity coupled with increasing operating costs as a key factor in the decision.
"Our situation in Canada is exacerbated by a strengthening Canadian dollar," Ferron said in a release. "The requirement for further capital investment in these plants and lower sale prices for some byproducts including sulphuric acid have also negatively impacted the viability of these operations."
A call to Xstrata Copper Canada Division was not returned Friday.
Brian Kelly, spokesman for the Ontario Northland General Chairperson's Association representing several unions at the Crown corporation, said workers are calling on community leaders and all levels of government to find a way to keep the operation open.
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KONG
Sus scrofa domestica
Location: Kingston, Ontario
Gender: Male
| | Re: [Media] Kidd Creek Metallurgical (Timmins, ON)
<Reply # 2 on 12/14/2009 3:34 AM >
| | | | I've been into this site for work. It will be fucking awesome.
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Bman505
Location: Sault Ste. Marie
Gender: Male
| | Re: [Media] Kidd Creek Metallurgical (Timmins, ON)
<Reply # 3 on 1/6/2010 6:00 AM >
| | | | Interesting enough, the Met site is Ontario's biggest single power consumer. 1%of all power generated in Ontario is consumed by this site.
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Bman505
Location: Sault Ste. Marie
Gender: Male
| | Re: [Media] Kidd Creek Metallurgical (Timmins, ON)
<Reply # 4 on 5/13/2010 3:35 PM >
| | | | Met site now officially closed and all 700 personal laid off. The last day it was running was April 31.
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cjb
 
Location: Sept-îles/Saint-John's/Corner Brooks/Montréal/Sydney
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: [Media] Kidd Creek Metallurgical (Timmins, ON)
<Reply # 5 on 5/13/2010 6:06 PM >
| | | | Posted by Bman505
Interesting enough, the Met site is Ontario's biggest single power consumer. 1%of all power generated in Ontario is consumed by this site.
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It will leave room so people can recharge more ipod's and blackberry's, through coal generated electricity, in our modern world economy ;)
http://www.magazin...dossiers/index.htm |
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