http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/
Railway could be built in about 3.5 years, at a cost of up to $2 billion, KWG Resources official says
A group of engineers from China have spent their day surveying a potential rail line to access the Ring of Fire.
Seven engineers from China Rail, along with officials from KWG Resources went by helicopter from Thunder Bay today. KWG vice-president Moe Lavigne said the engineers will check over the area that was first surveyed in 2010.
“This is the best time to do it, because what they’re really interested in is seeing the ice conditions,” he said.
“And the ice has a lot of impact on bridges. They want to see that so, when they design the bridges, it mitigates potential harm from the ice.”
‘Huge’ development for the area
The president of Wisk Air, Mark Wiskemann, said the crew will “be leaving from here, direct to Nakina, and from that point on they’ll be refuelling, and then proceeding directly to the Ring of Fire to the KWG properties.”
Wiskemann called the railroad development “huge.”
“We’ve been involved in the Ring of Fire since 2007,” he said, adding that Wisk Air has been involved with flying in various companies throughout the staking and exploration stages.
To have the railroad project “revisited and re-opening is huge for the area,” he continued.
“It’s huge for our company, it means so much for the people in northwestern Ontario.”
Wisk Air’s Bell 412 helicopter carries more than 4,000 lbs, and 14 passengers.
“If you’ve been to the Ring of Fire, you know that the lakes up there are small in terms of their diameter, and also shallow. So, it makes float plane access not impossible, but difficult,” Wiskemann said.
“So, the development of the Ring of Fire — to the state that it is in today — is largely due to helicopters are available.”
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/kwg-resources-ring-engineering-expedition-1.3534222