https://www.northernminer.com/
Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie, a 35-year mining industry veteran before his election in June, says he plans to consider cutting project red tape “fairly shortly” while encouraging more federal investment in the Ring of Fire.
Pirie, who served as head of Placer Dome Canada in the years before of its acquisition by Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) in 2006, says Ontario has potential to displace the foreign output of some minerals needed in the multi-trillion-dollar global transition to clean energy. But projects can’t take 12 to 15 years for approval.
“A big part of what we’re doing is looking at the red tape that’s inherent in our system,” Pirie said in a recent interview. “We’ll be talking about that fairly shortly.” Pirie declined to elaborate on timing or details, but a ministry spokesman said Pirie is “hopeful” about federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson suggesting recently that provincial and federal project approvals processes should run simultaneously to save time. Ottawa and the provinces and territories are starting meetings soon to hammer out mining policies.
At stake for Ontario is the development of the Ring of Fire, 540 km northeast of Thunder Bay. Estimates of its economic potential vary wildly and depend on basic infrastructure being developed, but the potential is real and Pirie suggests it could be worth up to $1 trillion.
For the rest of this article: https://www.northernminer.com/news/ontario-mines-minister-pirie-targets-red-tape-for-ring-of-fire/1003848253/