NEWS RELEASE: Greater Sudbury Finalizes Bid for Noront Ferrochrome Production Facility (February 1, 2018)

The City of Greater Sudbury and the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation, with support from key community partners including Wahnapitae First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, are excited to deliver a compelling bid to host the proposed Noront Resources Ferrochrome Production Facility (FPF).

Earlier this month, Mayor Bigger and Chief Roque led a delegation to visit the Outokumpu Ferrochrome Production Facility in Tornio, Finland which uses the same closed furnace technology that Noront is proposing. The group gained key insights into the environmental safety and sustainability of the Tornio facility which has a 50 year record of excellence in these areas.

The delegation also met with municipal, public health and economic development officials to gain an all-encompassing understanding of best practices in welcoming a FPF and developing prosperous relationships.

“We have the talent, we have a strategic location, we have a strong industrial base and we have a demonstrated commitment to environmental sustainability,” said Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger. “This is the winning combination that we will put before Noront and I am proud to be working in concert with Wahnapitae First Nation Chief Ted Roque and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Chief Steve Miller as we pursue this opportunity for our community.”

“The Greater Sudbury Development Corporation understands that this facility is a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity for our city,” said Board Chair, Wendy Watson. “We were happy to support the work of Economic Development staff as they short-listed potential sites and undertook specific analyses to bolster the business case for a Greater Sudbury location.”

As one example of this effort, Oraclepoll Research was engaged to undertake a survey of Greater Sudbury residents to assess support for the construction of a FPF in the community. A 77% majority of those surveyed support the construction of this facility.

City staff identified and explored several potential sites that would meet or exceed Noront’s criteria. With permission from Vale Canada Limited, the former Inco Coniston Smelter Site has been identified as the optimal location for Noront Resources’ FPF. This site is zoned appropriately and is situated strategically from a logistics and services perspective.

In 2012, Cliffs Natural Resources had selected the former Moose Mountain site north of Capreol as the location for its proposed FPF. Noront Resources has established new site selection criteria for their proposed project and the Moose Mountain location was no longer seen as the best alternative.

The City of Greater Sudbury will deliver its bid on February 2, 2018. Noront Resources is committed to environmental sustainability and will conduct a comprehensive environmental assessment on the selected site. The construction of the ferrochrome production facility is proposed to begin within the next five to ten years at a cost of approximately $1 billion. The facility would create approximately 350 permanent jobs and about 150 indirect jobs within the community.

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Media contact:

Kelli Sheppard, Corporate Communications
City of Greater Sudbury, 705-674-4455 ext. 4618
Facebook: www.facebook.com/greatersudbury
Twitter: @greatersudbury