The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.
An American firm is expected to sink $3.3 billion into developing the resource-rich Ring of Fire, the Ontario government announced Monday.
Cliffs Natural Resources, an international mining company based in Cleveland, will use the money to haul and process chromite — the key ingredient used to make stainless steel — out of the Hudson Bay Lowlands.
The Ring of Fire, located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, is said to contain one of the world’s largest chromite deposits. International mining companies have staked nearly 9,000 claims in the ring and both the federal and provincial government wants to hasten development of the area to bring much needed jobs to the struggling north.
The ring is a 5,000-square-kilometre area of pristine wilderness that is also one of the world’s last untouched ecosystems. Ontario has been locked in a battle with Quebec to keep Cliffs’ smelter plant located here in the province. High hydro rates in Ontario have been a major stumbling block.
However, Cliffs has decided to build a $1.85-billion chromite processing facility in Capreol, near Sudbury, said Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci.
“This is very, very important not only for Sudbury but for the entire province,” he said in a live-stream web announcement from Sudbury.
Hydro rates, processing and several other items are still being discussed with Cliffs, said Bartolucci. “Once an agreement has been reached the details of that agreement will be made known,” he said.
The $3.3-billion investment encompasses the mine, the smelter and a transportation corridor — roads and bridges — to ship the ore south for processing in Capreol.
Prospectors also say a treasure trove of platinum and diamonds lie underneath the swampy land that is extremely difficult to mine due to its remote location.
First Nations groups have pleaded for more involvement in the signing of this deal. Bartolucci said to that end, the federal government must become involved.
“Our federal government must come to the table in a real and tangible way,” he said.
The smelter is expected to bring 900 new jobs to the Sudbury area — about 450 construction jobs and another 450 when the plant is in operation, Bartolucci said. The smelter will process chromite into ferrochrome to meet demand across North America and Asia.
The mine in the Far North will create nearly 700 direct jobs, he added.
For the rest of this article, please go to the Toronto Star website: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1175465–american-mining-firm-promises-big-investment-in-the-ring-of-fire