Chromium/Platinum Group Metals – Page 12

Sudbury Accent: No ‘weakness’ in city’s bid for Noront’s ferrochrome plant – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – February 3, 2018)

February 3, 2018

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudol believes Sudbury is the right choice for the ferrochrome
smelter. “The facility in Finland does not have a detrimental
effect on their local environment or workers. It will be the
same in Sudbury,” he said. “Sudbury is serviced by two class
one rail lines, has a number of brownfield sites that can be
used to construct and expand the facility and has no issues
with power availability.

“With strategic clusters of mine supply and services, mining
education – two colleges and a university – and a wide assortment
of underground, metallurgical, environmental, and health and safety
research in the community, Noront can take advantage of more than
135 years of mining expertise that is unmatched anywhere else in
Northern Ontario or the entire country for that matter. (Stan Sudol)

On the heels of his fact-finding mission to Finland, Mayor Brian Bigger is really excited about Sudbury’s bid to host the Noront Resources ferrochrome production facility.

For one thing, there is already a skilled and knowledgeable work force in Sudbury that supports eight mines, two smelters and two mills.

“There is a lot of expertise within our community to support that kind of operation,” Bigger said this week. “We’re familiar with these types of operations in Sudbury. We understand what’s required to support that kind of business.”

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

February 2, 2018

http://www.saultstar.com/

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.

Sudbury finalizes bid for ferrochrome smelter – by Staff (Sudbury Star – February 2, 2018)

February 2, 2018

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

The former Inco Coniston smelter site would be the best location if Noront Resources picks Sudbury as home for its new ferrochrome production facility, city officials say.

“We have the talent, we have a strategic location, we have a strong industrial base and we have a demonstrated commitment to environmental sustainability,” Mayor Brian Bigger said in release. “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.”

On Thursday, the City of Greater Sudbury said it will file its bid Friday for the $1-billon facility that would process ore from the so-called mineral-rich Ring of Fire area in northwestern Ontario.

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

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.

Chrome supply deficit ahead – Tharisa – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – January 30, 2018)

January 31, 2018

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/

MARIKANA (miningweekly.com) – Platinum-group metals (PGMs) and chrome coproducer Tharisa Minerals CEO Phoevos Pouroulis on Tuesday forecast a chrome ore deficit of up to a million tonnes in the short to medium term, driven by burgeoning stainless steel demand.

Chrome ore is fundamental to the manufacture of stainless steel, demand for which is growing by 3% to 5% a year. Four tonnes of stainless steel require 2.5 t of chrome ore, which turns into 1 t of ferrochrome.

China currently produces and consumes more than half of the world’s stainless steel and Chinese ferrochrome capacity is poised to increase by a million tonnes this year, some of it replacement tonnes as older furnaces give way to new environmentally friendlier furnaces.

Ontario Northland excited about potential of Ring of Fire – by Chris Dawson (Northern Ontario Business – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

CEO Corina Moore mused about opportunities for rail network

Corina Moore knows it’s not happening now, but the Ontario Northland CEO is excited about the potential the Ring of Fire has for the Crown corporation.

“It would be the 50 years (of) sustainability for Ontario Northland,” said Moore during a luncheon at the Canadian Club meeting in North Bay on Jan. 24.

“It is a very huge opportunity. It is a number of years out and there are lots of different other mining opportunities that are closer in turn that we are working with.”

Timmins team making final pitch to Noront – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Team Timmins is in Toronto today hoping to bring good news the top executives of Noront Resources Ltd., the Canadian mining company that has the biggest claim in the Ring of Fire mining development.

Timmins is among four Northern Ontario communities that have responded to an official invitation from Noront on why their communities would be the best to host a new ferrochrome processing facility.

Along with Timmins, the cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Thunder Bay are responding to the same bid. Mayor Steve Black, also a mining engineer, who is part of the Timmins team, said he believes this city’s bid has advantages.

Sudbury delegation impressed by Finnish ferrochrome smelter – by Darren MacDonald (Northern Life – January 26, 2018)

January 29, 2018

https://www.sudbury.com/

Noront Resources plans to build similar facility in Northern Ontario

A delegation from Greater Sudbury that visited Finland last week came away impressed by the way the ferrochrome smelter operates in that nation, both environmentally and economically.

Mayor Brian Bigger led the delegation that returned Jan. 18 from Tornio, the Finnish community near the border with Sweden where the Outokumpu smelter is located.

The most technically-advanced chromite smelter in the world, Noront Resources plans to build a similar facility in Northern Ontario to process ore from the Ring of Fire. Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Thunder Bay are all in the running to become home to the smelter, expected to create as many as 400 jobs.

Letter: Sudbury best location for plant – by Marc Serre (Sudbury Star – January 23, 2018)

January 24, 2018

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Marc Serre is the federal MP for Nickel Belt.

As MP for Nickel Belt and a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, I wish to express my support for locating Noront Resources’ ferrochrome production facility in Greater Sudbury. I encourage all residents, regional businesses, community leaders and political figures to do the same.

I wish to commend Mayor Brian Bigger for leading a delegation to Tornio, Finland, to get a first-hand look at Outokumpu, an operating ferrochrome smelter known for its gold standard worldwide. The intent of this trip was to strengthen Greater Sudbury’s bid as Noront Resources has identified the Outokumpu facility as one it would model for best practices.

For more than 100 years, Greater Sudbury’s economy has been entrenched in the mining sector. I am proud of the mining industry and the role the sector has played and the wealth that it has created.

Opinion: The Heat Is On For The Ring Of Fire – by Ernest Skinner (Saultonline.com – January 29, 2018)

January 22, 2018

SaultOnLine.com

Last year I thought the Soo was in the forefront to acquire the ferrochromite smelter plant that Noront was proposing to build. Noront CEO Alan Coutts was interviewed on CBC radio’s Up North with Jason Turnbull last summer, and the insinuation was that the Soo had everything they wanted in terms of location, workforce, transportation etc.

It was of my opinion that all we had to do as a city and population was to embrace this venture and it would come to fruition. Things don’t look as fruity after some reading on the subject during the past couple of weeks.

I’m not suggesting that we (SSM) are out of the running (it’s still a close race), but I am suggesting that a couple other communities are making inroads and headlines, while it seems we are standing still. Aside from the efforts of our local political officials…I’m not as confident as I was.

North Bay sides with Timmins over Sudbury – by Gord Young (Sudbury Star – January 18, 2018)

January 18, 2018

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Both cities in running for ferrochrome plant

North Bay is lending its support to Timmins in its bid for the Noront ferrochrome facility, although some city politicians are dubious of how much weight it will carry. Council unanimously adopted a motion tabled by Coun. George Maroosis on Tuesday calling for North Bay to back the Timmins plant proposal.

But a couple of members, including Maroosis, suggested the likelihood of the processing facility actually going to that community is questionable. Maroosis said “there’s great suspicion in the North that the fix is already in” with Sudbury considered the preferred location.

He said that’s especially true given the level of “influence” the Nickel City enjoys from the provincial government and the fact that it was previously designated to have the smelter when Cliffs Natural Resources was involved in the Ring of Fire.

How a Trump SoHo Partner Ended Up With Toxic Mining Riches From Kazakhstan – by Marc Champion (Bloomberg News – January 11, 2018)

January 15, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Green smoke paints the landscape on the outskirts of Aktobe, the hub of a Central Asian mining empire that produces a third of the world’s chromium — the essential ingredient in stainless steel. Locals say that the air gets so bad in summer it’s hard to breathe. Industrial waste contaminates the groundwater.

All of this starts at the Aktyubinsk Chromium Chemicals Plant (AZXS), a Nikita Khrushchev-era complex. It shares an industrial zone with a vast smelting plant; together, they have yielded lavish private wealth since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In one sense, it’s a familiar snapshot of post-Soviet capitalism: state assets bought for a song, workers saying they were cheated out of shares and connected businessmen getting wildly rich.

Sudbury mayor to check out Finnish ferrochrome smelter – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 11, 2018)

January 12, 2018

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

City’s bid for Ring of Fire processing plant prompts trip to Outokumpu

Since Greater Sudbury is one of the four cities in the hunt for a ferrochrome smelter, Mayor Brian Bigger is heading overseas to Finland on a fact-finding trip to see how one operates for himself.

A Jan. 10 Greater Sudbury news release called the visit to the Outokumpu mine and mill complex “an opportunity to learn from what is considered the best ferrochrome production facility in the world.” The group leaves Jan. 13 and returns on Jan. 18. The Sudbury delegation will also meet with municipal, public health and economic development officials.

Joining Bigger on the trip to Tornio, Finland is Wahnapitae First Nations Chief Ted Roque, city councillor and Sudbury and District Health Unit Board chair René Lapierre, Greater Sudbury Development Corporation executive board member Paul Kusnierczyk, Greater Sudbury Director of Economic Development Ian Wood, and the mayor’s chief of staff Melissa Zanette.

Sault launches ferrochrome processing website – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – January 10, 2018)

January 10, 2018

http://www.saultstar.com/

Want to know more about the Sault’s bid for a ferrochrome processing facility? Check out the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. new website www.SaultFPFproject.com.

Launched Monday, the website will be used to keep the community informed about the initiative. It includes frequently asked questions, a timeline for the project and will be updated regularly, said Dan Hollingsworth, the EDC’s executive director of business development.

To date, Sault Ste. Marie is the first out of the gate of the four competing Northern Ontario cities to launch a website on the project geared towards community engagement. The website includes basic information about the proposed project, the preferred site and a projected timeline on the project.

City hopes to tie leash on Noront plant in 2018 – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – December 30, 2017)

January 4, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – With Timmins making a hard push to convince Noront Resources to locate its ferrochrome production facility here, 2018 is shaping up to be a potentially significant year for this city.

“When you look at the Ring of Fire and Noront, there is probably no more crucial time to celebrate our successes,” said Timmins Mayor Steve Black. “This has been the heart of mining in Ontario for a century now and will likely be for another century going forward.

“We have the expertise, we have the supply sector, we have the people, we have the goodwill. When you look at Timmins versus some of the other communities that are in that race … there is no community that is as positively supporting of mining as Timmins is.