The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
All of Northern Ontario must benefit from plans to build a chromite mine and smelter says a group representing the North’s municipal leaders.
“We are pleased that a decision has been made concerning one of the jewels of the North,” Alan Spacek, president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, said in a release Tuesday.
“In a deal as big as this, the ‘devil is in the details.’ We want all communities to benefit from this mammoth find — First Nations, adjacent communities and communities right across the North.”
Last week, Cliffs Natural Resources said pending further studies, it would spend $3 billion to build a chromite mine in the Ring of Fire region of northwestern Ontario and ship the ore to be processed at a smelter in Capreol. Chromite is used to harden stainless steel, a key building component.
The Ring of Fire region is located 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay in the James Bay Lowlands.
Cliffs would create 400 to 500 jobs at the smelter, and a similar number of positions at the open pit mine.
However, some native and municipal leaders in northwestern Ontario have criticized Cliff’s decision to locate the smelter in Capreol, saying it should be build in the Ring of Fire area.
But Spacek — the mayor of Kapuskasing — said he and the municipal federation wish Sudbury well.
“I’ve personally wished Mayor Marianne Matichuk of Sudbury the very best for this great opportunity on behalf of FONOM, that represents municipalities from Wawa to the Quebec border.”
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