The City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) continue their investigation into this Firday's flooding at the TTC's subway station at Union Station. Staff are working with all parties, including the Ministry of the Environment and construction contractors, to determine the cause and identify solutions to ensure this will not occur again.

"The coordinated response from the TTC and city to manage this incident … was exceptional," said Toronto mayor Rob Ford. "Now we need to fully understand what happened and why so we can ensure this doesn't happen again."

"The city and TTC will report further on their findings as soon as possible. At this point, it's too early for investigators to speculate on the details of the cause," said city manager Joe Pennachetti. "In the meantime, I would like to extend my thanks to all residents for their cooperation and apologize for the significant inconvenience this incident caused commuters."

TTC service at Union Station currently operates at regular service levels.

"I very much regret the delay and frustration that yesterday's flood at Union Station caused to our customers and I would like to thank them for their patience during a difficult trip home," said Andy Byford, chief executive officer of the TTC. "At the same time, I extend my thanks and respect for the way TTC staff rose to the challenge to get the station cleaned up and reopened in such difficult conditions."

Toronto is Canada's largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.7 million people. Toronto's government is dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city.
www.ttc.ca

Osisko Mining Corp. has reported that the Canadian Malartic mill in Quebec returned to full operational status this month (on May 19, 2012). This follows the earlier reported May 9 fire and completion of temporary repairs to the damaged No. 4 cyclone set. Sunday throughput production totaled 41,000 tonnes, and Monday's throughput was 39,000 tonnes.

The mill resumed partial operation on May 16, with the grinding circuit utilizing three of the four cyclone sets and two of the three ball mills, as well as the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) unit. Completion of temporary repairs to the fourth cyclone circuit and the completion of scheduled maintenance on the primary and secondary crushers allowed for the resumption of full production on May 19.

Production rates are still at ramp-up levels but have now returned to the pre-fire range. During the past week modifications to the XL2000 cone crusher bowl and liners have been effected under recommendations and supervision from the supplier FLSmidth. Their representatives are currently on site monitoring and adjusting the crusher circuit while trials of the modifications are conducted. Current throughputs during this work are expected to range between 35,000 tpd and 40,000 tpd. Pending successful completion of this work, Osisko expects to see the circuit stabilize in the 40,000 tpd - 45,000 tpd range as the Company awaits the arrival and installation of the second FLSmidth XL2000 cone crusher. The second XL2000 (number 2 of 2 cone crushers comprising the secondary crusher) is currently expected to be installed and operational by July. This should allow the circuit to subsequently increase throughput to 50,000 tpd - 55,000 tpd. Further optimization to the circuit, including the installation in August of the previously announced second pebble crusher, is expected to lead to increased daily throughput by September.

Sean Roosen, president of Osisko, commenting on the return to operations noted: "We are very proud of the speedy effort our team has made in getting the mill up and returned to operation after the fire. We greatly appreciate the outstanding efforts of our employees, contractors and suppliers. The location of the Canadian Malartic Mine has allowed us to respond quickly to the challenges of the past ten days, and really gave us rapid access to the necessary expertise and support infrastructure."

Luc Lessard, senior vice-president of Osisko, noted: "We are continuing to ramp up production, make modifications to improve throughput and stabilize the circuit. During the unplanned stoppage, we accelerated the regular maintenance of key operating units, which should improve our near term performance as we gain better plant availability."

Equipment and building damage from the fire is estimated between $6 million and $8 million. The company is working with its insurance underwriters and adjusters and expects the costs of the physical damages to be fully covered subject to a $250,000 deductible. Permanent repairs of the damage will continue over the next three to four months, with the eventual replacement of the number 4 cyclone set with a new cyclone cluster currently being manufactured by the supplier. Repairs to the damaged overhead crane and the mill roof will also be completed during this period. Minimal impact on production during these final repairs is anticipated.

Osisko Mining operates the Canadian Malartic gold mine in Malartic, Que., and is pursuing exploration on a number of properties, including the Hammond Reef Gold Project in Northern Ontario.
www.osisko.com

The Sable Offshore Energy Project off the coast of Nova Scotia will undergo planned maintenance starting Oct. 5, according to a Reuters news report, decreasing production from the natural gas facility for about three days, Spectra Energy’s Maritimes & Northeast pipeline units said on Monday.
 
Spectra operates the Maritimes & Northeast system that brings offshore, onshore and LNG-sourced natural gas from the Sable project in Atlantic Canada to North American markets.

The Sable project, operated by Exxon Mobil, has the capacity to produce between 400 million and 500 million cubic feet of natural gas and 20,000 barrels of natural gas liquids per day. The project is owned by Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, Imperial Oil Ltd., Pengrowth Energy Trust and Mosbacher Operating Ltd.

Howell Pipe & Supply has expanded and has opened a new branch in London, Ont.  This new branch will allow Howell to more efficiently service their customers in the Southwestern Ontario region.

Established in 1958, Howell leads the pack as an industrial focused distributor and manufacturer, providing integrated supply solutions of pipe, valves, actuators and fittings, and the company is 100-percent Canadian, independently owned and operated, which allows us the ability to quickly react to the marketplace and our customer needs. Howell is committed to continuous improvement and is certified to the ISO 9001:2008 standard and CSA Z299.4 standard.

The branch is located at 425 Newbold Street, London, Ontario, N6E 1K2. For more information, visit www.howellpipe.com.

Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. has been awarded a contract worth approximately $40 million from Bruce Power to perform fuel channel maintenance on its Unit 3 nuclear reactor during a scheduled plant shutdown in November 2011. Last week, a planned shutdown at Unit 6 was safety and successfully completed.

"B&W has a proven reputation for excellence in nuclear manufacturing, engineering, inspection and repair services for the nuclear power industry," said Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy president Chris Mowry. "This contract for Bruce Power is the continuation of a very successful program that has benefited from excellent teamwork between our two companies."

Bruce Power, located near Kincardine, Ont., is the largest nuclear facility in North America, and second largest in the world, comprised of eight CANDU nuclear reactors with a total output capability of 7,276 megawatts.

This will be the third fuel channel maintenance project performed for Bruce Power. In previous projects, 200 channels on the Unit 3 reactor were moved. Under this contract, nearly all of the 480 channels will be shifted in order to bring the reactor back to service after the outage.

Last week in Tiverton, Ont., Unit 6 at the Bruce B generating station returned to service on Aug. 9, after an 18-day planned maintenance outage to repair a main output transformer. The outage, expected to take 20 days, was completed safely in 18.

As it stands, units 3 to 8 at the Bruce Power site are now supplying energy to the Ontario grid at high power.

Bruce Power is a partnership among Cameco Corporation, TransCanada Corporation, BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust, a trust established by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, the Power Workers' Union and The Society of Energy Professionals.
www.babcock.com/bwc
www.brucepower.com

Hydro Ottawa appealed to its customers in the Carling Avenue, Carlington Park and Hampton Park areas to reduce their electricity consumption late last week.

Crews continue to make repairs to underground wiring near Westgate Shopping Centre. An independent construction crew damaged multiple underground circuits in the area yesterday while maintaining sewers.

The need to reduce consumption is most urgent for the 2,800 customers in the zone bounded by Richmond Road (northern edge of zone), Baseline Road (southern edge), Kirkwood Avenue (eastern edge) and Broadview Avenue (western edge).

Increased customer demand to run air conditioning, pool pumps and other systems during these repairs is putting a significant strain on Hydro Ottawa's electrical distribution systems in the area.
www.hydroottawa.com/conservation

Nexen Inc. announced that for the month of February 2011, production from its Long Lake project averaged approximately 23,100 bbls/d gross (15,000 bbls/d net to Nexen). January production averaged 27,000 bbls/d (17,600 bbls/d net to Nexen).

The production decrease primarily reflects a 10 day maintenance shutdown of one of the hot lime softening units (HLS) along with maintenance on several well pad facilities performed concurrently to reduce impact. These activities reduced steam volumes during the maintenance period. The HLS unit has returned to service and production has ramped up, currently averaging 29,300 bbls/d gross.

Maintenance outages to clean the HLS units are typically completed every 12 months. The unit maintained had been operating 16 months since its last cleaning. Regular maintenance for the other two HLS units is planned for April and August to coincide with annual cogeneration unit maintenance. This will reduce steam capacity by roughly one-third for two week periods. As a result, production is expected to be lower during these months. Production should be restored quickly after completion.
www.nexeninc.com

igus has announced that its engineers are once again available to examine cable carriers and continuous-flex cables free of charge during plant shutdowns this summer.

Those involved with maintenance or production are invited to take advantage of the free inspections to help reduce the risk of production downtime due to cable failure. igus experts are available for on-site appointments from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, based on availability.

igus cable carriers and continuous-flex cables are available from stock, so replacement parts can normally be delivered in time for installation during the same shutdown.

Call 1-800-521-2747 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to arrange a site visit with an igus expert.
www.igus.com