Noront Resources says it will work with Cliffs Resources and the Ontario government on building a north-south transportation route to the Ring of Fire.
The announcement, made by Noront President and CEO Wes Hanson during a speech to a New York mining investment seminar, casts doubt on the possibility of an east-west road corridor connecting the Ring of Fire and four Mattawa First Nations to Pickle Lake. Noront was the main industry proponent of an east-west corridor.
Hanson said his company’s decision to reevaluate its proposed transportation corridor was “unfortunate,” but said Noront was forced to do so after Cliffs and Ontario committed to building the north-south corridor.
“One of the reasons we selected this (east-west) routing was largely because of social responsibility. We were trying to work with First Nations,” Hanson said. “But now we have a company with an $8 billion market cap committed to building the north-south route, and Ontario government support committed to building the north-south route.
Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas
NEWS RELEASE: Webequie First Nation Frustrated with Noront Resources Ltd. in the Ring of Fire
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2012- Today, Webequie First Nation is expressing disappointment with junior mining company Noront Resources Ltd. The First Nation continues to patiently wait to develop a new agreement with Noront Resources Ltd. in order to move forward in its relationship with the company. Currently there is no existing agreement between the two parties for Noront’s proposed mine development in the Ring of Fire. More importantly, Noront has stopped supporting Webequie First Nation in both its community engagement and environmental assessment processes. This type of support is necessary to help the community deal with Noront’s mine development.
Webequie First Nation Chief Cornelius Wabasse says; “We are disappointed with the slow progress between Noront and our community. We need a process to guide negotiations for an eventual Impacts and Benefits Agreement that will need to be ratified by our community members. This process is normally outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding. Noront has stopped providing the needed resources to continue negotiations.”
The exploration agreement that was in place for Noront’s Eagle’s Nest project has since expired. In order to move forward, Webequie First Nation members need to feel that their traditional lifestyle is being looked after and that community interests are protected through an agreement.
Ring of Fire is North’s future – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (May 27, 2012)
The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.
There is an amazing opportunity to embrace nation-building and put aside political differences. The Ring of Fire is waiting for us. It is remote and far from the roads and hydro poles that will be required to develop the deposit of chromite said to be the largest in North America and the key ingredient in stainless steel that is in everything from steak knives to prosthetic hip joints.
From the earliest times of our planet as a molten mass, the Ring of Fire has sat patiently waiting to give up its riches.
And all we have to do is get Ottawa, Ontario and First Nations leaders to sit at the same table and recognize this is a turning point for our nation. We have the chance to develop Northwestern Ontario and breathe a new life of prosperity into the entire region. There is plenty of wealth to go around.
Cliffs Natural Resources plans to spend $3.3 billion to launch its Ring of Fire operations. That includes a chromite mine, a transportation corridor and $1.8 billion to build a smelter near Sudbury. If the private sector is ready to put this kind of cash up against the project, it starts to become mind-boggling how large they believe the pay-off will be.
While it cannot be confirmed, and it was not shared with the media in the premier’s daily itinerary, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he spoke with Prime Minister Harper on Tuesday to ask how Ottawa might help with the development of this massive mining project.
Aging Canadian population an economic [mining sector] opportunity for youthful First Nations – by John Ivison (National Post – May 29, 2012)
The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.
The new census results reveal a challenge could put the brakes on Canada’s economic growth for years to come. Yet they also present an opportunity for the country’s First Nations to secure for themselves a future less dependent on welfare and hand-outs.
The new data show the Western provinces are aging more slowly than those in the East, in large part because of burgeoning native populations. Saskatchewan was the only province to see the proportion of over 65s fall in the last five years, thanks to its growing aboriginal communities.
Canada is facing labour shortages and most of its slack supply, such as the east coast provinces, has already been tapped. A study by Raymond James Investments earlier this year suggested cost inflation because of lack of available labour will be the major constraint on growth in the oil sands.
The Canadian Energy Research Institute has estimated the oil sands will require more than 450,000 positions filled across Canada annually. The challenge is clear – to marry the one remaining pool of slack supply – the aboriginal community – to the jobs that desperately need to be filled.
MiningWatch Canada: Plan Nord: The North challenges Charest government – by Frédéric Dubois (May 28, 2012)
http://www.miningwatch.ca/home
Frédéric Dubois is a Montreal-based reporter and producer. His attendance to the Forum Plan Nord 2012 has been made possible with the support of Mining Watch Canada.
The month of May is almost over. In Quebec it’s been a month marked by massive student demonstrations, mass arrests and tens of thousands of kids in pajamas and septuagenarians on their balconies hitting wooden spoons on pots and pans. May 2012 will be remembered in Québec as a month where a strong 3-month student strike turned into a general social movement.
The month of May may also prove to be a game-changer for the mining industry in Québec. Underreported in the mainstream media, one event should be looked at to understand why opposition to Charest’s aggressive resource extraction agenda has shifted in Québec. The Forum Plan Nord 2012 – The North Matters took place in Québec City at the beginning of May. The event brought together about 300 people from distinct sectors – environmental groups, women groups, First Nations communities, universities, unions, and many more.
Even a few civil servants and company representatives attended. But unlike most conferences about mining, this one was organized by a First Nations group. The Sustainable Development Institute of the First Nations of Québec and Labrador timed the conference to underline the first anniversary of Jean Charest’s unilateral announcement of the Plan Nord.
Quebec turns to Alberta for guidance in developing a massive tract of resource-rich land in its north – by Marzena Czarnecka (Alberta Venture Magazine – May 22, 2012)
Erik Richer La Flèche … believes successful implementation of Plan Nord has
the potential to transform Quebec into a “mini-Australia, that is, a preferred,
stable supplier to some of the largest economies in the world.”
What can Quebec learn from Alberta’s experience, and what might it mean for this province’s future?
May 2012 marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of Quebec’s Plan Nord by Premier Jean Charest. It’s a 25-year, $80-billion economic, social and environmental development strategy for Quebec’s massive northern territory.
Sound familiar? The parallels between Plan Nord and Alberta’s oil sands occurred to Robert Yalden during the Montrealer’s last visit to Alberta. “I was struck by how much history there was to the endeavour,” says Yalden, a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. “By how much investment, how much public planning for the development of infrastructure necessary for the private sector, how much forethought and long-term thinking was required to understand, back in the 1960s and 1970s, that the oil sands could become an extremely important part of the Alberta economy.” Looking at his province’s Plan Nord, he sees the need for the same type of long-term planning and vision.
And, perhaps, the need to learn from Alberta’s missteps along the way, because there have been a few.
Beyond the Ring [Northwestern Ontario mining] – by Jamie Smith (tbnewswatch.com – May 26, 2012)
There are 25 million ounces of gold under the region’s feet ready to be taken out in the next five years.
Even without major discoveries in the Ring of Fire, the region will have a mining boom industry experts say. There are 11 mining projects outside of the highly publicized Ring of Fire that are expected to be operational by 2017 with an expected total life of more than 100 years.
Rubicon Minerals, which is mining for gold under Red Lake, is expected to start late next year and hit 2.8 million ounces of gold in its high-grade deposit over a dozen years. A lower grade deposit, which in industry terms is about a gram of gold for every tonne of rock mined, like Rainy River Resources’ 5.72 million ounces will run for 13 years.
Those two projects alone represent almost a billion dollars in capital costs with more than 700 construction jobs and nearly 900 operations jobs.
As of May 15, the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission estimates the mining projects ready to go will create at least 4,000 new jobs.
McGuinty calls on Ottawa to help him open up the North – by Karen Howlett and Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – May 26, 2012)
The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.
TORONTO AND OTTAWA— Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is pledging to work closely with the federal government on its controversial overhaul of environmental assessments as he calls on Ottawa to play an active role in exploiting the untapped potential of the Ring of Fire.
Mr. McGuinty is counting on mining exploration in the northern wilderness to lead to a new generation of prosperity for Ontario. Emerging economies in India and China have an “insatiable hunger” for the province’s resource riches, he said on Friday in urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to help him open up the North.
“Failure is not an option,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters. “Success is mandatory.”
The mining exploration area in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario is one of the most significant mineral regions in the province, and includes the largest deposit of chromite ever discovered in North America.
The mining onslaught in native communities – by Saul Chernos (Now Magazine – May 24-31, 2012)
The Liberal government may be buoyant about the mining boom it hopes will juice up the economy, but recent events have many wondering if mining firms are capable of delivering fair treatment to First Nations living over or near those subterranean resources.
A few weeks back, the Libs wrapped up the feedback process for their long-awaited revamp of the Ontario Mining Act, a target of native groups and mining watchdogs. The act enshrines the right of prospectors to subsurface minerals on land owned by others, and activists want changes allowing communities the right to refuse.
Alas, the province released its draft amendments earlier this year, and the fine print reveals major loopholes. Exploration firms would still be able to stake and sample claims without notifying First Nations; consultations would only be required for high-level prospecting.
Most striking, however, is the absence of any reference to the right of refusal. “We want to have the authority to say no, and I think we have that authority,” says Chief Donny Morris of northwestern Ontario’s Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), which has had mining run-ins with the Libs.
Premier Dalton McGuinty reaches out to Prime Minister Harper on Ring of Fire – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – May 25, 2012.
THUNDER BAY – Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s reach out to Prime Minister Harper on the Ring of Fire started early in May. The Premier wrote the Prime Minister on May 8th seeking federal goverment assistance. The Premier stated, “The Ring of Fire, located 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, is one of the most promising mineral development opportunities in Canada in almost a century”.
The May 8th letter continues, “Tomorrow morning, Cliffs Natural Resources management plans to announce the Ontario location of their ferrochrome processing facility, and Ontario Ministers will announce the province’s plans to engage First Nations in the region to help those communities benefit from this historic opportunity”.
“I am writing to invite your government to take a more active role in supporting the tremendous economic development opportunity associated with the Ring of Fire”.
The Premier adds, “Canada needs to deal with the acknowledged and widespread problems of inadequate First Nation’s social and community infrastructure.
McGuinty wants PM’s help to develop Ring of Fire – by Jonathan Jenkins (Sudbury Star – May 25, 2012)
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
TORONTO — Pulling stuff out of the ground is catching on with Premier Dalton McGuinty. “His curiosity was piqued,” McGuinty said Thursday of a meeting he had with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday regarding development of the so-called Ring of Fire area of Northern Ontario.
“I pressed upon the prime minister that we’ve got a great natural resource in our own province right here in our backyard that we need to develop together,” McGuinty said.
The Ring of Fire, about 250 km west of James Bay, holds North America’s largest deposit of chromite. Chromite is an important building block of stainless steel and the find could mean billions of dollars if it’s developed.
“We need to put a road up there, we need to extend electricity transmission up there, we need to invest the skills and training levels of our First Nations communities,” McGuinty said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty seeks Stephen Harper’s help to develop Ontario’s Ring of Fire – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – May 25, 2012)
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.
Premier Dalton McGuinty had a secret meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper this week to pitch for federal help in developing the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northwestern Ontario.
McGuinty said he’s looking for aid on developing the arc of mining deposits — including chromite for stainless steel — in a project that could be Ontario’s equivalent of Alberta’s oilsands, resulting in billions of dollars in revenue.
“I think I piqued his real curiosity, if not his real interest, in developing the Ring of Fire,” the premier said of Harper, whom he met for an hour Tuesday in a downtown Toronto hotel. The meeting was not listed on McGuinty’s detailed daily itinerary.
The two men talked about the Ring of Fire “a great deal” with McGuinty noting Ontario needs help building roads, electricity lines and training local First Nations peoples for the thousands of jobs that would be available in mining and related fields.
[Ring of Fire] Industry game-changer – by Julie Gordon and Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay (Sudbury Star – May 25, 2012)
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
A $3.3-billion plan to build North America’s first major chromite mine deep in the Canadian wi lderness promises to usher in an era of prosperity for the region’s aboriginals and generate millions of tax dollars over its lifetime.
Tucked deep into Northern Ontario, the Ring of Fire contains rich mineral deposits that could transform the region, much as the oilsands have transformed Alberta. Much like the oilsands, it has raised deep environmental and social concerns.
But the Ring of Fire stands apart from other resource mega-developments around the world in one important respect. Rather than oil, gold or iron ore, its main attraction is a relatively minor ore — chromite — which is refined into ferrochrome to make stainless steel.
The region contains North America’s only known large-scale chromite deposit. If Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. develops the Black Thor project, it will likely revolutionize the stainless steel industry on the continent, which now relies on imports from South Africa and Kazakhstan. It would make Canada the world’s four thlargest chromite producer.
Neskantaga chief demands real consultation on Ring of Fire – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – May 22, 2012)
Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias has raised further issues over the Cliffs Natural Resources chromite mine project in the Ring of Fire.
Moonias sent a letter to Michael Gravelle, minister of Natural Resources, on May 17 stating he has learned that Cliffs and/or its wholly owned subsidiary Cliffs Chromite Ontario Inc. has applied for land use and other permits on provincial crown land to begin mobilizing for infrastructure development and commencement of construction, including the north-south access corridor to the Ring of Fire.
Moonias stated in the letter that Ontario cannot lawfully consider these applications without fulfilling its constitutional duty of consultation. The chief said that the granting of an easement, issuance of any kind of land use or other permits to Cliffs in support of its proposed developments would be a further breach of Ontario’s duty to consult.
Moonias had earlier stated in a May 11 letter to Rick Bartolucci, minister of Northern Development and Mines, that Ontario is in breach of its constitutional duty to consult with Neskantaga and other Aboriginal peoples regarding the Cliffs mine and infrastructure development in and to the Ring of Fire.
[Ring of Fire] Ontario needs better energy infrastructure – by George Smitherman (Sudbury Star – May 23, 2012)
The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
George Smitherman former deputy premier and Energy minister of Ontario
By the sounds of the name it’s been given, the Ring of Fire is the last place on Earth where you’d think you have to worry about how to supply power. However, when you are proposing mining activity 300 km north of any paved road, things get complicated quickly.
Maybe that’s why Ontario is actually allowing a giant American mining company, and at least one smaller Canadian one, to propose that diesel generation be used to provide electricity. Problem is, their needs are projected to start at 30 mw and grow to 70 mw. That would take about 10 million litres of diesel fuel each month. Diesel fuel that would presumably be trucked 300 km along a road that will be carved out of environmentally sensitive lands.
This Ring of Fire mining activity will be taking place in the James Bay Lowlands on the traditional territories of several First Nation communities. It’s ironic that a pressing need of these same communities is a more reliable, healthy and cost effective means of generating electricity than the small diesel generators they currently use.
First Nations communities have experienced the limitations of electricity from diesel for far too long.