Sault Mayor to present ferrochrome bid in Toronto – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – February 2, 2018)

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Mayor Christian Provenzano and the ferrochrome bid team will make their presentation to Noront Resources officials in Toronto today. The presentation is expected to conclude by noon.

The bid package, Provenzano said in a recent interview, came together nicely and should surpass Noront’s expectations and requirements. Sault Ste. Marie is one of four Northern Ontario cities competing to host the ferrochrome plant in the community.

The facility isn’t expected to be built for many years. Ontario’s stringent environmental regulations and obtaining proper permits for the plant will undergo an arduous process in whatever city Noront decides to build. It’s expected an environmental assessment could take five years after a site is chosen. If a permit is issued, building the plant would take several more years.

It’s estimated that a ferrochrome facility would employ between 300-500 people directly an create more than 1,000 jobs indirectly through suppliers and other businesses.

Provenzano was accompanied by Sault MP Terry Sheehan, MPP Ross Romano, City CAO Al Horsman, Tom Vair, deputy CAO of community development and enterprise, Dan Hollingsworth, EDC’s executive director of business development and PUC CEO Rob Brewer.

“We produced a compelling submission,” Provenzano said. “Our submission includes detailed and thoughtful responses to the information requested by the company. We have determined a path forward for Noront in Sault Ste. Marie based on comprehensive research and analysis by the project team, in consultation with sector experts. I’m confident in the quality of our submission and I want to ensure the community that we put our best foot forward with a great effort.”

Provenzano said the document won’t be released in its entirety because it is in competition with those submitted by other communities.

However, he said, the city’s chosen site is to have a smelter built on Algoma property, near both the Port of Algoma and on a rail spur. There would be no significant road or infrastructure construction needed in order to accommodate the ferrochrome plant. The site is supported by Algoma and it’s expected that synergies could be created with the steel mill.

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