The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.
THE Ring of Fire is on many minds these days. As miners prepare to dig into the James Bay lowlands, Northern Ontario communities jockey to provide services and employees. But the North’s new mining boom extends well beyond the Ring. A new analysis, commissioned by Ambassadors Northwest, showcases stunning opportunities that will transform the region. Billions of dollars are at stake. Communities will share handsomely if governments do what they must do to make it happen.
Conducted by university and college professors, the study looks at nine mining projects underway in the Northwest. It does not include existing mines. The Ring of Fire’s two biggies — Cliff’s Natural Resources’ Black Thor and Noront Resources’ Eagles Nest — are familiar. But seven other projects are similarly mature or near development with the potential to become producing mines in five years.
They are: Bending Lake Iron Property surrounded by Atikokan, Ignace and Dryden; Goldcorp’s Bruce Channel and Cochenour projects and Rubicon Minerals’ Phoenix Gold project in the famed Red Lake gold field; Osisko Mining’s Hammond Reef project near Atikokan; Rainy River Resources’ gold project; Stillwater Mining’s copper and paladium operation near Marathon; and Treasury Metals’ Goliath gold project in the Wabigoon and Dryden area.
The dollar value, employment and tax revenue potential of these projects is “substantial,” the study says. That’s an understatement. The total value of unmined metals and minerals is estimated to be $135 billion based on June commodity prices.