The opening sentence of the latest legal ruling emanating from the James Bay lowlands says it all: “The north is not a quiet place”. That’s because throughout this 43-page ruling it’s the lawyers who are profiled in full court press in what is a tour de force of no-holds-barred resource sector litigating. They’re the sole reason the north is not a quiet place; because when the dust settles, this ruling will make the Ring of Fire quieter than a subarctic winter’s night for years to come.
To cut to the chase, Cliff’s Natural Resources has failed in its drive to force KWG Resources to accommodate its proposed all-season road (intending to run along the latter’s proposed rail line). Both proposals centered on KWGs ‘corridor’ of mining claims that likewise run along the only elevated / esker route into the Ring of Fire. What this means is that KWG Resources has 100% maintained its priority of mining claims integrity – as the only route into the Ring of Fire. Cliffs has been denied access.
As in The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, this ruling will now hang over the Ring of Fire like a dead albatross. The only question is who gets to have it hung around their neck; because this ruling puts all the players in the same boat in terms of project doldrums. As limericks go (with apologies to Coleridge):
Water, water every where … nor any drop to drink
Lawyers, lawyers everywhere … nor any shaft to sink.