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Competition stays hot for Ring of Fire processing plant – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 26, 2018)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Noront Resources boss offers insight into ferrochrome facility selection process

Alan Coutts is dragging out the suspense to find a Northern Ontario home for a Ring of Fire ferrochrome production plant for just a few more months.

The president-CEO of Noront Resources wants to keep the competitive process going to get the best deal possible to place the Toronto mine developer’s $1-billion smelter project in either Sault Ste. Marie or Timmins.

Instead of announcing a landing spot for its plant this summer, the company decided to drop Sudbury and Thunder Bay from its four-city bidding process, and is punting its final decision toward the end of this year.

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Sault claims political edge in bid for Noront plant – by Elaine Della-Matti (Sault Star/Timmins Daily Press – July 24, 2018)

http://www.timminspress.com/

SAULT STE. MARIE – All hands on deck. That’s the message Sault Ste. Marie politicians are sending to Noront Resources as the city is one of two communities shortlisted for a ferrochrome facility.

The other is Timmins. While the next step is up to Noront and Algoma to reach a contractual agreement or memorandum of understanding detailing how the two companies would work together, politicians are offering their support to the parties.

An agreement between the two companies will need to outline commercial terms and conditions as well as services Noront and Algoma could potentially share or participate in.

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Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins mayors on being shortlisted for Noront ferrochrome smelter (CBC News Canada – July 19, 2019)

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

Two northern cities now squaring off to lure billion dollar investment

Two small northern cities, one billion-dollar investment. That’s how mayors from Sault Ste. Marie and TImmins are looking at it, after mining giant Noront Resources announced the location of its proposed ferrochrome smelter would be one of the two cities.

Earlier in July, Sudbury and Thunder Bay were eliminated from the hunt. Timmins Mayor Steve Black is confident his city shows well. The proposed location is the Kidd Metallurgical Site, an active site currently used for concentrate.

He also understands what his city has to gain if Noront selects Timmins. “I think everyone has made it aware that it’s a game changer,” Black told CBC’s Up North. “It’s several hundred jobs for several decades ahead.”

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Mayor optimistic after Timmins makes Noront shortlist – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – July 17, 2018)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Timmins Mayor Steve Black said he is confident and optimistic that Timmins is still offering the best possible solution for Noront Resources Inc. in its bid to find a new ferrochrome processing facility. It was only Friday that Noront revealed that Timmins was one of two communities that made the new shortlist for consideration for a new facility.

Timmins had been one of four Northern Ontario cities in the running as a possible site for Noront’s future plans. Noront is the company with the largest area of active mining claims in the Ring of Fire area, which is touted to have $50-billion worth of chromite, nickel and other valuable minerals.

While the mining prospect is still a few years away from development, Noront has been actively seeking a Northern Ontario community where a ferrochrome facility could be located. Timmins, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie were all being considered.

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Sault, Timmins still in hunt for smelter – by Brian Kelly (Sault Star/Sudbury Star – July 14, 2018)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sault Ste. Marie is one of two Northern Ontario communities still being considered for Noront’s ferrochrome processing facility. The company announced late Friday afternoon Sudbury and Thunder Bay are no longer prospective locations.

Timmins also remains a candidate for a project that’s expected to create 300 to 500 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs. “I think we just need to keep working and recognize that this is a process,” Mayor Christian Provenzano told The Sault Star on Friday. “It’s quite a lengthy process. We will just keep focused on it and we will keep doing our best to encourage business to locate to Sault Ste. Marie.”

The final phase of Noront’s site selection process, now underway, centres on “substantial negotiations” with owners of the two favoured sites. In the Sault, that’s Algoma.

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Noront shortlists Sault and Timmins as potential sites for ferrochrome smelter – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 13, 2018)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Noront Resources has narrowed its search for a Northern Ontario host community for a future $1-billion ferrochrome smelter to Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins.

Thunder Bay and Sudbury have been removed from consideration for a ferrochrome production facility, the company announced late on the afternoon of July 13. The four Northern Ontario cities submitted their bids early last February.

Noront employed Hatch Engineering to help them with the evaluation process based on environmental and site suitability, capital costs, operating costs and an assessment of community acceptance of hosting the facility.

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[Ontario Mining] NORONT NEWS RELEASE: Update on Noront Ferrochrome Production Facility

TORONTO, July 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Noront Resources Ltd. (“Noront” or the “Company”) (TSX Venture:NOT) today announced that it has reduced the choice of prospective locations for its proposed ferrochrome production facility (FPF) to two Northern Ontario cities: Timmins or Sault Ste. Marie. Both Thunder Bay and Sudbury have been removed from further consideration.

Four communities participated in the bidding process which began in February 2018. The submissions were evaluated based on a comprehensive set of criteria determined by Noront and the engineering firm Hatch which was engaged to assist in the adjudication process. Critical factors included environmental and site suitability, capital costs, operating costs and an assessment of community acceptance of hosting the facility.

“The quality of the submissions was outstanding and demonstrated a significant effort by each of the communities involved,” said Noront President and CEO Alan Coutts. “They each provided a compelling case that illustrated the merits of their location as a host for the ferrochrome production facility.”

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Chromium to see ‘continued robust demand growth’ on a global level (Proactive Investors Stocktube – July 9, 2018)

 https://roskill.com/market-report/chromium/

Nils Backeberg, senior analyst at Roskill, chats to Proactive Investors about his just released Chromium Global Industry, Markets & Outlook report. He says while Chrome ore prices have seen continued volatility over the last few years they’ve begun to stabilise – oscillating around US$200/t during the first half of this year.

South Africa is by far the largest-producing country for chromite, accounting for more than half of the global total. Backeberg adds that Chinese demand for stainless steel’s expected to continue to grow strongly over the next decade, meaning continued robust demand growth for chromium.

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Algoma University joins alliance, jumps into mining research – by James Hopkin (Soo Today – July 10, 2018)

https://www.sootoday.com/

Pan-Northern Mining Research Alliance conceived to address challenges in mining sector

The Pan-Northern Mining Research Alliance (PNMRA) will be meeting in Sault Ste. Marie this fall to identify and communicate its funding needs to both federal and provincial governments.

The alliance – which counts Algoma University and Sault College as members – is a collaborative effort between ten post-secondary institutions in northern Ontario.

“The alliance is going to seek industry engagement, supports and collaboration through targeted research opportunities,” said Dr. Pedro Antunes, who is the executive research lead and Canada Research Chair at Algoma University. “The idea is to positively influence government priorities and industry needs that will benefit all of northern Ontario.”

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Noront smelter decision 3-4 months away – by Staff (Sudbur Star – July 11, 2018)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Noront is moving forward with the selection process for the new ferrochrome smelter and should announce the host community within the next three to four months. In a release, the company said it has retained Hatch, a Mississauga-based engineering and consulting company, to assist in adjudicating four bids it has received.

“Next steps include calculating indicative capital and operating costs, and reviewing these alongside community and First Nations support, site appropriateness, environmental factors, access to a skilled workforce and other elements,” Noront said.

“Near the conclusion of this detailed analysis, Noront will engage directly with the owners of the favoured site(s) to come to a mutually agreeable commercial arrangement for the use of the property.”

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Critical Minerals Alaska – Chromite – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – June 28, 2018)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Essential 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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African Chrome Fields: Game changer along the Great Dyke (Mining Review Africa – July 2, 2018)

Mining Review Africa

Privately-owned mining company African Chrome Fields is proving its commitment to Zimbabwe by expanding its already impressive alluvial chrome mining operations along the Great Dyke of the Southern African country with the aim of establishing a long and prosperous future.

Zimbabwe has garnered a lot of attention recently, this time for the right reasons, as former president and long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was ousted and replaced by his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

As a result of decades of economic degradation Zimbabwe has been left with a skeleton of an economy and a cash crisis that impedes any major company from doing business in the country.

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Noront’s site selection process for ferrochrome smelter drags on – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 27, 2018)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Environmental work begins on Ring of Fire north-south corridor as new provincial government sworn in

It looks to be July, or possibly even deeper into the summer, before Noront Resources announces a Northern Ontario processing site for Ring of Fire chromite ore.

The Toronto mine developer has yet to make public its choice from one of four landing spots put forward by Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay/Fort William First Nation and Timmins to place a ferrochrome processing plant.

In early February, at the closing of a four-city bidding process, Noront hired Hatch Engineering to help evaluate the packages over the next three to four months.

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Ferrochrome plant too risky, Sudbury opponents say – by Keith Dempsey (Sudbury Star – June 27, 2018)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Building a $1-billion ferrochrome plant so close to the Wahnapitae Water Treatment Plant is too risky, opponents say. “When you think about where our water intake is to the context of all of that, we want Sudbury to be aware,” Kate Kearney, a member of No Ferrochrome Sudbury, said Tuesday. “The concern is the risk,” Kearney said.

No Ferrochrome Sudbury is a group of volunteers who oppose the construction of a ferrochrome smelter that would be located on a former Vale site in Coniston. Its members said Noront Resource’s plant would be just 4 km from the water treatment plant, which pumps water to New Sudbury, Coniston, Garson and Wahnapitae. They said the plant supplies 60 per cent of the city’s drinking water.

The group held at the protest on Tuesday at Wahnapitae’s boat launch. They said they fear the plant would produce hexavalent chromium that would be released into the natural environment and in the water.

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No Ferrochrome Sudbury plans protest – by Staff (Sudbury Star – June 26, 2018)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

A group opposed to a $1-billion ferrochrome plant in Sudbury that could create as many at 1,000 direct and indirect jobs is planning a protest for Tuesday.

Members of No Ferrochrome Sudbury said in a release they will hold an information protest at the boat launch on the Wahnapitae River, across the street from the Wahnapitae Community Centre on Glenbower Crescent near Highway 17. The protest will begin at 10 a.m.

“The event is to raise awareness about the potential for hexavalent chromium to contaminate the City of Greater Sudbury’s water treatment facility on the Wahnapitae River,” No Ferrochrome Sudbury said. “This treatment facility provides drinking water to 60 per cent of the city’s population, including New Sudbury, Garson, Coniston and Wahnapitae.”

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