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Ontario government ends Ring of Fire regional agreement with Matawa First Nations – by Matt Prokopchuk (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 27, 2019)

https://www.cbc.ca/

Funding for regional talks between province, 9 Matawa First Nations ran out in late 2018

The provincial government has officially ended the regional framework agreement between Queen’s Park and the First Nations closest to the Ring of Fire, pledging to move forward with a series of bilateral agreements that the province’s Indigenous Affairs minister says will remove delays to completing projects that communities themselves want to see.

At the top of that list, Greg Rickford said in an interview with CBC News, is a north-south corridor that, not only could lead to road access to the mineral-rich James Bay lowlands, but can also connect by road, as well as add to the provincial power grid and expand modern telecommunications to, “at least four, five Indigenous communities.”

“That has additional health and social and economic benefits that move beyond the more obvious opportunities of creating mines,” he said. “To the extent that Noront [Resources] or other mining companies could build mines on that corridor, then we have a great value proposition.”

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EDITORIAL: Why it’s time to cool the hype about the Ring of Fire – Globe and Mail – August 29, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Ring of Fire mineral deposit in remote Northern Ontario was discovered a dozen years ago. Politicians across the political spectrum immediately began touting its potential – billed as tens of billions of dollars, just waiting to be tapped. It’s still waiting.

The decision this week by Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative provincial government to restart talks with local First Nations is the latest try at moving the project forward. It’s not clear this government will succeed where others have failed, and it raises the question of whether the dream of Ring of Fire riches is more fantasy than reality.

The Ring of Fire, named after the Johnny Cash song, is home to a large deposit of chromite ore, used to make stainless steel. South Africa is currently the world’s largest miner. Predicted future demand growth is modest, and the challenges of developing the Northern Ontario site are considerable.

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Province starts over on Ring of Fire consultation process – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 17, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Ford government finally ditches 2014 Regional Framework Agreement with Matawa First Nations

The Ford government is taking a “fresh start” with area First Nations toward building a road to the Ring of Fire.

With no results to show from the previous government’s attempt at a regional dialogue on how to do mine development in the Far North, the Ford government is scrapping the Regional Framework Agreement (RFA), started five years ago, and is reaching out to the communities for a new approach.

Greg Rickford, minister for Indigenous affairs, energy, Northern development and mines, made the announcement on Aug. 27 in Sault Ste. Marie at Algoma Steel, the future site of Noront Resources ferrochrome processing plant, which will process chromite ore from the Ring of Fire.

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Noront, Algoma Steel discussing ferrochrome plant tenancy fees – by Darren Taylor (Northern Ontario Business – August 27, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Construction of Ring of Fire road could begin in the spring thanks to co-operation with First Nations communities, minister says

Progress is being made on the Ring of Fire project, to be developed in northwestern Ontario.

That from Greg Rickford, Ontario’s minister of energy, Northern development and mines, who was in Sault Ste. Marie on Aug. 27 to deliver an update on the project to officials at Algoma Steel.

Toronto-based mining company Noront Resources announced May 7 it had chosen Sault Ste. Marie – after the city had engaged in a long, competitive bidding process with other communities – as the location for its new Ferrochrome Production Facility (FPF), to be located on Algoma Steel property. It will process chrome ore from deposits Noront will be drawing from the Ring of Fire region, to be converted into ferrochrome for the U.S. stainless steel market.

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Ontario, First Nations moving forward with Ring of Fire development – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – August 27, 2019)

https://www.saultstar.com/

The Ontario government is taking a different approach so the Ring of Fire development can move forward. It expects bilateral agreements to be established with First Nations communities this fall, paving the way for the development of a north-south route.

The Ontario government says it’s establishing bilateral agreements with First Nations communities in order to start a north-south route to the Ring of Fire.

Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Indigenous Affairs, said the Conservative provincial government’s plan to ink agreements with the First Nation communities and get a shovel in the ground is quicker and cheaper than that of its predecessor so that the “corridor to prosperity” can be built.

“Frankly, to this point it’s been a little complicated and lengthy. It has not necessarily met the timelines that the market should expect a project to come onboard,” Rickford told a Tuesday morning audience at Algoma Steel.

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Ferrochrome plant will pay employees well, Noront says – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – July 29, 2019)

https://www.saultstar.com/

When Noront Resources ferrochrome facility becomes a reality in Sault Ste. Marie, employees will be averaging about double the average Canadian wage. The average wage for a Noront Resource employee will be about $108,000, about double Canada’s average wage of $52,000.

That comes from Stephen Flewelling, Noront’s chief development officer, at last week’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon themed Sault Ste. Marie Resource City, Resource Champion. Flewelling praised ‘Made in Canada’ opportunities and especially those that the Ring of Fire presents.

With almost 200 metric tons of chrome valued at $150 billion discovered, the true full value of the extensive mining operation has yet to be determined, he told the crowd. But none of it will start without the development of a road to the site, he said.

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Chrome rakes in US$100m – by Ishemunyoro Chingwere (The Herald – June 10, 2019)

https://www.herald.co.zw/

HIGH carbon ferrochrome exports have registered a 35 percent jump in the first quarter of the year compared to 85 000 tonnes produced the same period last year, earning the country US$100 million, according to official statistics.

The industry has continued to heed President Mnangagwa’s call not to export unbeneficiated chrome. The first four months of the year saw the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) shipping out 115 000 tonnes of high carbon ferrochrome compared to 85 000 tonnes last year.

Statistics from MMCZ show that the exports also earned the country US$95,5 million up from US$84,9 million, which signifies a 12,4 percent increase in monetary value.

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No viable substitute for critical chromium – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – May 25, 2019)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Stainless-steel ingredient mined in Alaska during both World Wars

A vital ingredient in stainless steel and superalloys, chromium is considered by the United States Geological Survey as “one of the nation’s most important strategic and critical materials.”

“Because there is no viable substitute for chromium in the production of stainless steel and because the United States has small chromium resources, there has been concern about domestic supply during every national military emergency since World War I,” the USGS explains.

Rich chromite deposits on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula were able to ease some of these concerns by providing a domestic supply of chromite, the only mineral of chromium metal, to help fill America’s increased demand for chromium during both World Wars.

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Ring of Fire bungling jeopardizes Green prosperity for North – by Steve May (Sudbury Star – May 18, 2019)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Buried beneath the feet of Northern Ontarians are the materials that will drive the green economy. Nickel, copper, cobalt and lithium are needed in abundance for batteries that will store electric energy.

The world is already shifting from greenhouse gas-emitting fossil energy sources like coal, oil and natural gas in an effort to minimize the very worst effects of climate change. Northern Ontario, with our abundant mineral resources, is strategically positioned to be a global leader in the clean economy.

Leadership requires commitment – and that’s always been a problem for Northern Ontario, a vast but sparsely populated region that is far too often treated as a resource colony by governments and investors located in southern Ontario. Our region’s mineral wealth is far too often seen as resources ripe for exploitation, rather than as the building blocks for our own prosperity.

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Batchewana First Nation will ‘decide’ fate of ferrochrome facility bid: Chief – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – May 10, 2019)

https://www.saultstar.com/

Batchewana First Nation Chief Dean Sayers says he’s ready and willing to have meaningful consultation with all parties about whether his government can support Noront Resources’s proposed ferrochrome facility in Sault Ste. Marie.

He says he’s willing to set the table and invite others who want to enter into “meaningful” dialogue and follow the “inherent right and jurisdiction” Batchewana will exercise during the quest to find common ground.

“We’re going to do that in the very near future, with Noront and with the city (of Sault Ste. Marie), he said. And only when common ground is found and Batchewana First Nation is satisfied that the environment and its people will be protected, will the First Nation support a ferrochrome plant, he said.

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Could Northern Ontario produce its own stainless steel? – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – May 10, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Could Northern Ontario manufacture its own stainless steel using chromite from the Ring of Fire? It was a popular topic of conversation during the 2019 gathering of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM).

Held May 8-10 in Sudbury, the conference welcomed close to 200 representatives from member municipalities scattered across northeastern Ontario, who discussed best practices, along with new challenges they’re facing following the April release of the provincial budget.

With the conference following on the heels of the announcement that Noront Resources had selected Sault Ste. Marie for its chromite smelter to process ore from the Ring of Fire, industrial energy costs was another hot topic amongst attendees.

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Sudbury: Noront CEO says company ‘has the chops’ to pull off Ring of Fire project (CBC News Sudbury – May 8, 2019)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Timmins mayor vows to push for facility, though company wants to build in Sault Ste. Marie

The head of a company planning to build a ferrochrome smelter in Sault Ste. Marie says he’s confident the project will move forward as planned.

On Tuesday, Noront Resources announced it will build its smelter to process ore from the Ring of Fire in Sault Ste. Marie. The company had narrowed down two locations for the project: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie. In response to the announcement, the mayor of Timmins stated “it’s not over until it’s over.”

“We know it will be a number of years before any facilities are built,” George Pirie said. “We think that we’ll have time to affect the decision. We don’t think Noront will be the company that builds the facility. They don’t have deep enough pockets required to build it and will have to bring in a bigger partner.”

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Consultation and engagement the new mining norm: Noront CEO: Al Coutts shares learned experience during student workshop – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – May 7, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Al Coutts was working as chief geologist for Falconbridge at Kidd Mines in Timmins when he got the big break he had been waiting for: a promotion to mine manager.

It had been his goal to work in Sudbury where the big mines were, and Coutts felt like he had finally made it. But he hadn’t been celebrating long when his boss, Warren Holmes, broke the news that Coutts wouldn’t be posted to Sudbury, but to Raglan Mine, situated on the Ungava Peninsula in remote Québec.

He was visibly disappointed, until his boss delivered some sage words of advice. “It’s one thing to earn your opportunity,” Coutts, the current president and CEO of Noront Resources, recalled Holmes saying. “And it’s another thing to see it and take it when it’s staring you in the face.”

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Great Lakes port swayed Noront Resources in picking Sault for ferrochrome plant – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 7, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Smelter announcement sets wheels in motion for Queen’s Park to release Ring of Fire development strategy

Noront Resources president-CEO Alan Coutts decided it was finally time to end the suspense. After months, even years, of deferred decisions by the Ring of Fire mine developer to select a location for its ferrochrome production facility, the Toronto-based junior miner picked Sault Ste. Marie to be the host community for the proposed $1.1-billion smelter.

The company made its announcement in the Sault, May 7, informing the community of its plans to place the facility on Algoma Steel’s expansive brownfield port lands, just west of the steelworks.

The Sault and Timmins were the two finalists in the running to host the smelter in a site selection process orchestrated by Noront in February 2018. Thunder Bay and Sudbury were eliminated from contention last July.

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[Timmins] City still has sights on ferrochrome plant – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – May 8, 2019)

https://www.timminspress.com/

Timmins officials not deterred by Noront announcement to accept Sault’s bid as the site for a proposed ferrochrome processing facility.

Timmins officials are not giving up hope. In light of Tuesday’s announcement by Noront Resources in favour of Sault Ste. Marie as the location for its ferrochrome processing facility, Timmins officials vow to continue to press a case for locating the smelter here.

Timmins’ hopes rest on a likelihood that when it comes time to start construction, Noront, a junior mining company, may not be the one calling the shots.

“We believe that there is lots of time to affect this decision simply because Noront will not be the company that builds this facility,” said Mayor George Pirie, who hosted a press conference in the boardroom of the Timmins Economic Development Corporation Tuesday afternoon.

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