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TORONTO – Ontario announced a $3.3-billion investment by an American mining company Wednesday to develop the Ring of Fire, a huge mineral deposit near James Bay, but faces opposition from some First Nations, local communities and environmentalists.
Cliffs Natural Resources plans to build a chromite mine, a road to the area about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay and a processing facility near Sudbury, said Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci.
The Ring of Fire includes the largest chromite deposit ever discovered in North America. The $1.8-billion proposed smelter in Capreol would create about 900 jobs, including 450 when it’s in operation by 2015, and would process the chromite into a key component of stainless steel, Bartolucci said in Sudbury.
“There was stiff competition with other jurisdictions for the location of this smelter and those jurisdictions were outside the province of Ontario,” he said.
Cliffs and Ontario will need a few more months to reach a final deal and resolve outstanding issues such as electricity prices and a possible exemption to process ore outside of Canada, said Bartolucci.
“There are a number of factors that Cliffs and the province of Ontario are still discussing and still working towards resolution,” he said.
“What is important is that we’ve arrived at the stage where both Cliffs and the province of Ontario are very comfortable in our announcement that the smelter is going in Ontario.”
Cliffs issued a statement describing the developments Wednesday as moving from the pre-feasibility stage to the feasibility study phase.
“A number of additional studies, including feasibility and other milestones, need to be completed before the company begins allocating a significant portion of capital to the project’s construction,” said Cliffs’ vice-president Bill Boor.
In the legislature, the New Democrats said the processing of chromite in Ontario is key to keeping jobs in the province, and criticized Bartolucci for saying such details had not yet been hammered out with Cliffs.
“We think that’s a pretty important detail to be worked out, and thousands of good jobs rely on that detail,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
“If we’re going to build a prosperous and sustainable future we need to be smart and focus on creating those good jobs.”
The Progressive Conservatives said they were suspicious of “good news presented in vague terms,” and questioned the government’s ability to bring First Nations onside.
“It seems like there was two different announcements, and the one from the government made it sound like ore was being shipped as we speak,” said Opposition mines’ critic Norm Miller.
“Why were there no First Nations at this announcement, because that can be a major stumbling block to hitting the timelines.”
Bartolucci said First Nations must be “front and centre” as the development proceeds around the Ring of Fire, which also holds the potential for production of nickel, copper and platinum.
But one chief accused Bartolucci of trying to head off opposition to the mine and refinery “in a last ditch effort of questionable morality.”
For the rest of this article, please go to the Canadian Business Magazine website: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/83450–cliffs-may-build-1-8-billion-chromite-processing-plant-near-sudbury