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Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Marten Falls questions true cost of Ring of Fire – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 13, 2012)

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Marten Falls First Nation knows it holds many cards when it comes to the Ring of Fire. And Chief Eli Moonias is not afraid to say no, if the government and industry do not work with the First Nations on developing the mines.
 
He just has not seen the need to say no yet. “There’s no development yet. There’s only a proposed development,” Moonias said. “As for the benefits, that is yet to come. That’s what we’re concerned about.”

Moonias outlined a range of challenges and concerns his First Nation has with the proposed Ring of Fire developments during a meeting with reporters in the community on June 7. Paramount among Moonias’ concerns is the potential for environmental pollution of the land, water and animals.
 
Marten Falls is well aware of the Athabasca River example in Alberta, Moonias said. He does not want to be in the same situation in the future as First Nations downstream of Alberta’s oilsands find themselves today, with pollution in the water and air, and fish and animals contaminated from the mines.

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First Nation wants ‘ultimate say’ on mine project, chief says – (CBC Radio Thunder Bay – June 12, 2012)

 
http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Marten Falls First Nation Chief Eli Moonias says province must recognize their voice
 
When the Chief of Marten Falls First Nation met with the Ontario mining minister Tuesday, he planned to tell him it’s time for the province to follow through on its treaty promises.
 
Minister Rick Bartolucci was expected to explain the province’s proposed framework for moving ahead with the Ring of Fire mining development and what benefits it might bring the First Nation. Chief Eli Moonias said the people in Marten Falls are looking for a lot more than the small amount of money each band member receives on treaty day.

“Since 1905, all we have had with the province is the four dollars per year that they pay,” Moonias said. “Now, here is an opportunity to do treaty implementation.” Moonias said that means the province must recognize First Nations will have the ultimate say in how — or even if — a mine is built.

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Cost of water [in Marten Falls FN] – byJeff Labine (tbnewswatch.com – June 8, 2012)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

The federal government has spent millions of dollars shipping bottled water to a remote First Nation community with an ineffective water treatment plant.

Marten Falls First Nation has had a boil water advisory since 2007. Bottled water is the community’s only access to clean drinking water, and as a result the First Nation has had to rely on that bottled water being shipped from Thunder Bay about twice a week.

These shipments have been coming in for nearly five years and the shipping costs are estimated to be more than $300,000 annually. The situation is also costing Marten Falls, which has to send discarded water bottles to the community’s landfill. Most of what remains has been burned up along with other thrown away items such as stoves and fridges.

Deon Peters is the head operator at the treatment plant and said the community has outgrown the facility since it was built in 1997. For the past 10 years, officials at the plant have noticed a decline in water quality. “It’s not running as well as it should,” Peters said.

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First Nation wants to slow the pace of mining activities – CBC Radio News Thunder Bay (June 11, 2012)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Webequie residents say process needs to slow down so they can participate in Ring of Fire

A mining development in northern Ontario, dubbed the Ring of Fire, is expected to be one of the first tests of the federal government’s streamlined environmental assessment.
 
An American company, Cliffs Natural Resources, plans to open a chromite mine in the James Bay lowlands by 2015. Chromite is the main ingredient in stainless steel, and Ontario is said to a quarter of the world’s supply.

Both the provincial and federal governments are keen to see the development go ahead quickly, but the people who live on the Webequie First Nation — a community closest to the proposed mine — want a slower approach. ‘What is going to happen?’

Elder Emily Jacob said she worries that deals are being made with mining companies behind closed doors. “We need to know what is being said to them — you know, the people who are making the decisions — about what is going to happen in this Ring of Fire,” Jacob said. “We need to know that.”

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‘Misunderstanding’ [between Webequie and Noront]- by Jeff Labine (tbnewswatch.com – June 11, 2012)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

The chief of Webequie First Nation says the situation with junior mining company Noront Resources Ltd was all a misunderstanding.

Webequie Chief Cornelius Wabasse voiced his disappointment when Noront announced they would be delaying their feasibility study following Cliffs Natural Resources decision to move its ferrochrome plant to the Sudbury area.

Noront had been working on a feasibility study for its deposit containing copper and nickel. The company was proposing an east-to-west, all-season road that would run from Pickle Lake to the Ring of Fire area. But the company believes the province might be making an eventual commitment to the north-south road proposed by Cliffs.
That decision is a major factor in the delay.

While the series of events may have led to some friction between the First Nation community and Noront, Wabasse said they will remain open to development and continue to work with the company.

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First Hand Look [First Nations and Ring of Fire] – by Jeff Labine (tbnewswatch.com – June 9, 2012)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Having lost the ferrochrome smelter, Eli Moonias says he wants to visit other chromite mines around the world before he gives the go ahead to the Ring of Fire.

The chief of Marten Falls First Nation fought hard to try to bring the Cliffs Natural Resources ferrochrome smelter to Northern Ontario. He said having the smelter in Greenstone would mean an electrical grid could have been established for the region giving not only his community but also everyone in the region a reason to switch from expensive diesel fuel.

Ultimately, Cliffs chose to have the smelter build in a town near Sudbury. With it being years before Marten Falls could see any benefits from the Ring of Fire development, Moonias said he wants a firsthand look at chromite mining projects that are happening around the world to see the benefits of the mine.

“I told the government that I wanted to see the land in Finland or South Africa or in Turkey or Kazakhstan,” Moonias said. “That’s where the existing chromite mines are. I want to see them firsthand. I want to see people, meet them, ask what their experiences are before I say go right ahead here in our area.”

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Tony Clement Speech Angers First Nation’s Leaders – “His comments are inexcusable…” Chief Moonias Martin Falls – by Netnewsledger.com – June 2012)

http://netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – Chief Roger Wesley of Constance Lake First Nation took aim at the Federal Government today saying Minister Clement’s comments in Thunder Bay this week signal a new and unfortunate turn in the Government’s relationship with First Nation Peoples.

“I am worried, but also saddened,” said Wesley, referring to the FedNor Minister’s comment during a visit to Thunder Bay, that a Joint Review Panel Environmental Assessment (EA), like the one that First Nations and Municipalities in the region have been calling for in the Ring of Fire, would only bring up “irrelevant issues.”

“A Joint Review Panel EA would give time for appropriate consultation and a serious look at the impacts on the land, but also on our people. Impacts to our culture, our communities, our land and way of life are not irrelevant!” said Chief Wesley. Minister Clement was in Thunder Bay on June 4th and gave a speech at Coastal Steel.

Referring to the comment by Clement that First Nations have no “veto” Chief Wesley said, “The Government’s duty is not only to consult First Nations, but also to accommodate First Nations. The Minister should read the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 (sec.35).

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Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario holds the potential for billions in mineral wealth – by Tony Clement (June 8, 2012)

This speech by Tony Clement was originally posted on: http://netnewsledger.com/

Tony Clement is the President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Minister for FedNor. He has also been the Member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka since 2006.

Tony Clement Thunder Bay Speech

It’s a pleasure to be back here in Thunder Bay with you today. I want to thank Coastal Steel officials for their warm welcome and the other stakeholders here today who support the objectives of our Government’s Plan for Responsible Resource Development.

I’d like to take this opportunity to detail our Government’s many efforts to ensure Canada’s prosperity into the future. Last week, Thomas Mulcair went west and embarked on his big adventure, trying to back pedal from his short-sighted and flat out wrong statements about Canada’s resource industries.

He said Canada’s strong resource sector is a disease that hurts the country – and he said this of course before ever seeing an oilsands operation first hand. Folks I have seen the oilsands up close, and forestry camps, pulp mills, and mines and let me tell you Thomas Mulcair and I disagree completely – I know the importance and value of Canada’s growing resource sector.

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Between rock face and hard place [Ring of Fire and First Nations] -by Maureen Nadin (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 11, 2012)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

This is the fourth of a multi-part series looking at the mining sector of Northwestern Ontario and the Ring of Fire.
 
Republic of Mining blogger Stan Sudol keeps his finger on the pulse of the mining and prospecting communities. The journalist and mining strategist has gone on record to express his view that the potential offered by the Ring of Fire development is “a wonderful opportunity to alleviate poverty in First Nations communities.”

Although some would argue that it is impossible to fully alleviate poverty anywhere, Sudol’s sentiment is a noble, albeit lofty expression of the economic hope that the Ring of Fire has created for communities in the mineral-rich region.

Aboriginal people have traditionally worked and had a strong connection to the land, but the modern mining industry is multifaceted and highly technological. There is a diversity of skill sets required that vary with each phase of the operation and all stakeholders must work together to open the path to the rock face for aspiring workers.

And that requires not only strategic partnerships, but a holistic “big picture” approach as to how to prepare Aboriginal people to fill those jobs.

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N. Ont. First Nation confronts foreign mining interests [Ring of Fire] – by Jody Porter (CBC News Thunder Bay – June 8, 2012)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Marten Falls community must see benefits from chromite mine, chief says

Marten Falls First Nation Chief Eli Moonias says his northern Ontario community will need to see the benefits of a multibillion-dollar mining project before it gives its approval, something he says Canada as a whole must also consider.
 
“We will agree only if our community will improve,” says the chief. The proposed Cliffs Natural Resources chromite mine site is in an area known as the Ring of Fire, about 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay in the James Bay Lowlands. The American company plans to remove up to 12,000 tonnes of ore every day for 30 years.
 
“It’s not just us that are small, you’re small too,” Moonias told reporters visiting Marten Falls on Thursday, suggesting Canada’s best interests don’t necessarily harmonize with global trading priorities.
 
The proposed project in northern Ontario includes a smelter near Sudbury, Ont. Moonias said Cliffs intends to export 40 per cent of the chromite it plans to mine near his community to China.

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Cliffs fills labour pool – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – June 5, 2012)

 The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Cliffs Natural Resources is early in the process of developing its chromite mine in the Ring of Fire, but it’s not too soon to begin scouting for the hundreds of workers it will need to develop its Black Thor deposit and process the ore from it.

Cliffs has a talent acquisition system that is part of an automated central repository that lists all of the jobs available with the Cleveland-based company.

The posting lists hundreds of jobs that will be available in Northern Ontario, some of them at least three years from now, as it gears up to start mining its rich chromite deposit and building a ferrochrome smelter near Sudbury.

Pat Persico, the company’s director of global communications, says the project has generated a great deal of interest throughout the North. When the company has held open houses, many have people inquired about how to apply for jobs.

With the automated system, potential applicants visit Cliffs’ website, under the Careers section, and create a profile online. Applicants will be asked questions about their history and experience and can upload resumes.

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East-West Ring of Fire corridor in jeopardy – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 4, 2012)

 http://www.wawataynews.ca/

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.

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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. 

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MPP Michael Gravelle on the Ring of Fire – (Ontario News North.com – May 22, 2012)

http://www.karinahunter.com/

Michael Gravelle is the Ontario M.P.P. for Thunder Bay – Superior North

There is very good reason for everyone in Northwestern Ontario to be excited about the growth of the mining sector in our part of the Province. Mineral exploration investments are at an all-time high and we can expect the opening of several new mines in the region to employ hundreds, if not thousands of people, which will drive the economy forward to levels we have not seen before. These opportunities are being embraced by First Nations and municipal governments all across the region as they seek to seize the long term benefits this renaissance in mining will provide.
 
There is no question that the project that has captured the most attention in Northwestern Ontario is the Ring of Fire, where an unprecedented level of investment is poised to bring economic benefits and jobs to thousands of people for many years to come.
 
While there are a number of companies making significant investments in this resource rich part of the Northwest, most of the public attention over the past year or so has been focused on Cliffs Natural Resources, a U.S. based firm that is eager to take the next major step forward in the development of a huge project; one that, if managed properly, will bring extraordinary long term economic benefits to many First Nations communities and municipalities across our region.

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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.

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