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Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral belt was supposed to be a $60-billion natural resources treasure trove that would bring employment and economic prosperity to a remote part of the province’s north. It hasn’t worked out that way.
The project’s key player has given up, leaving the future of the deposit in question and hurting prospects that it will ever reach the lofty expectations of politicians.
Today, not much is happening in the Ring, a 5,000-square-kilometre crescent of mostly chromite in the boggy James Bay lowlands, 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
The region was said to be so rich in resources that it would rival Sudbury’s nickel basin and Alberta’s oil sands. Instead, the area remains undeveloped, a victim of the global slump in commodity prices and bureaucratic red tape.
“I’m disappointed that it hasn’t advanced more. It’s a long time, seven years after discovery,” said Neil Novak, the geologist who made the first discovery in the Ring and is now exploring for other metals as the chief executive officer of Black Widow Resources Inc.
In addition to the complete lack of infrastructure – there are no roads or power in the area – there is no real plan on how to mine the chromite, which is used to harden steel.
In fact, Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., the American company that was supposed to develop the Ring, has thrown in the towel and is now trying to find a buyer for its chromite deposits.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government is nowhere close to a deal with local First Nations communities on how to share the project, a key piece of the province’s vision to turn the area’s mineral deposits into economic wealth for the region.
The situation today stands in sharp contrast to the excitement of a few years ago. Explorers flocked to the area and a bidding war broke out for the largest deposits of chromite. Politicians trumpeted the Ring of Fire as Canada’s next big resource play, saying tens of thousands of jobs would be created and untold benefits would flow to northerners. Ontario member of Parliament Tony Clement, the federal Treasury Board president, called it a “game changer” for Canada and likened the economic impact to the oil sands. Ontario’s then Premier Dalton McGuinty said it was the most promising mining opportunity the country had seen in a century.
But today, China’s slowing growth and slumping steel sector have led to an oversupply in key parts of the mining industry, and make the case for development at the Ring of Fire hard to prove.
“It’s strictly economics. If you can make money on it, then you go ahead. And if you can’t, it sits on the shelf. That’s the reality,” said Don Hoy, the miner who discovered the large chromite deposit.
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