Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery – Page 150

Ontario Ring of Fire Coordinator Christine Kaszycki builds trust and shepherds Northern development – by Ian Ross

March 7, 2011March 7, 2011

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca and this article is from the March, 2011 issue.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Christine Kaszycki has to maintain a delicate balancing act. Appointed as the province’s Ring of Fire Coordinator last fall, she’s has the wide-ranging task of keeping Aboriginal people, Northerners and the mining companies all on the same page to advance the biggest mineral find in Ontario since the turn of the last century.

Kaszycki, a former assistant deputy minister of the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDMF), already has well-established relationships with mining companies and many Aboriginal leaders in the Far North.

Though living in Sudbury, she regularly commutes to Thunder Bay, where she is staffing up a secretariat’s office there, and travels to the Northern communities for constant consultation with Aboriginal leaders.

Kaszycki views the job as evolving over time. For now, she’s concentrating on building capacity to prepare people in the Far North, many living in Third World-like poverty conditions, to take advantage of all the positive spinoffs from the looming mining projects in the James Bay Lowlands.

NEWS RELEASE: Marten Falls First Nation Statement on Ring of Fire Blockade

March 4, 2011

MARTEN FALLS FIRST NATION – On January 25th, 2011, we announced that a blockade will commence and asked the companies to comply. To our knowledger, only the Billiken Camp complied; Noront made a statement to disregard the action; KWG made a statement that they obtained permission from Webequie First Nation (wrong First Nation to consult) and therefore, proceeded to disregard the order. This disregarded action has posed a serious threat to dialogue including the LUP (land-use plan with Ontario) process. In order to avoid a complete breakdown of communication and the imposition of a trespass notice to our territories, the following items need to be addresses by both government and the third party:

1. Winter Road

– No construction

– No plans

– No permit to cross Attawapiskat River Parkway

– Only Airlines are busy

2011 ACTION PLAN FOR ONTARIO MINING: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A CRITICAL WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY – Ontario Mining Association (OMA) Policy Paper

March 3, 2011

This policy document was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

2011 Ontario Mining Association (OMA) Policy Paper

“China needs to build three cities larger than Sydney (or Toronto)
every year until 2030 to accommodate rural to urban migration.”
(Rio Tinto Presentation)

Ontario has been blessed with an abundance of natural resources, including untold mineral potential. For more than a century, word-class mineral discoveries in this province have brought development and prosperity, along with scientific and technological advances, enabling Ontario’s economy to evolve through innovation. From the earliest times, mining spurred on infrastructure development, enabled more equitable regional development and sustained a variety of support industries. These industries include obvious ones like manufacturing, but also perhaps some unexpected ones like education and financial services.

Today, mining continues to be an economic pillar of Ontario. It is well positioned to grow its contribution to our economy. Though the number fluctuates with various commodity price changes, mining in Ontario had revenues of $6.3 billion in 2009 (down by about 30% due to the global economic downturn). The industry provides a major boost to our financial sector, with the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) currently being the leading global mining exchange, listing 57% of the world’s public mining companies and raising more mining equity capital than any other exchange.

Historically, Ontario has taken advantage of spikes that occurred as a result of US industrialization, the post-Second World War rebuilding of Europe and the industrialization of Japan. We find ourselves in another of these defining moments of immense opportunity. Large nations such as China, India and Brazil are experiencing mass urbanization and rapid development. These nations are determined to narrow the gap between Western and developing nation lifestyles. To do that mineral products are essential.

Matawa First Nations appoints Ring of Fire Coordinator – by Ian Ross

March 3, 2011

Building from the ground up

Raymond Ferris hit the ground running in his new job. He had barely settled into his chair as the new Matawa First Nations Ring of Fire Coordinator in late January when Marten Falls First Nation threatened to block all mineral exploration in the Ring of Fire until the mining companies signed memorandums of understanding and exploration agreements.

Within days, Cleveland-based mining giant Cliffs Natural Resources released the project description of its Black Thor chromite deposit in the James Bay Lowlands and its ambitious plans to start production by 2015.

But it’s nothing new for the 54-year-old Ferris, who is well-versed in Aboriginal and treaty rights as a former deputy grand chief for Nishnawbe Aski Nation, where he handled the mining and natural resources file.

As a former chief of Constance Lake First Nation, Ferris participated in a few blockades in his home community against mining and forestry companies. The concessations that were gained helped secure Aboriginal roadbuilding jobs and lead to the creation of a band-owned logging company.

Will Cliffs force Ontario to deliver a Northern industry power rate? – by Ian Ross

March 2, 2011

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Power Play

Cliffs Natural Resources is forcing the McGuinty government’s hand on the pricey issue of power in Ontario.

The Cleveland-based iron ore and coal miner has put the ball squarely in the provincial government’s court by agreeing to place a ferrochrome refinery in Ontario only if Queen’s Park comes to terms on an acceptable power rate.

A much-anticipated project description of Cliffs’ Chromite project in the James Bay Ring of Fire was released Feb. 4 naming Sudbury as the front-runner to host the ore processing.

Cliffs’ president of ferroalloy Bill Boor said, although the Sudbury suburb of Capreol is the most “technically feasible” site for the ferrochrome processing, there is no place in Ontario that makes economic sense with the price of power at its current provincial rates.

“The availability of a large, reliable and cost-competitive supply of electricity is a key consideration in locating the appropriate site of the ferrochrome production facility,” said Boor in a conference call with reporters.

[Ring of Fire] Chromite discovery sparks excitement – by Norm Tollinsky (June, 2009)

March 1, 2011

Norm Tollinsky is editor of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. This article is from the June, 2009 issue.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

“This greenstone belt, this Ring of Fire crescent, is about the same land area of the Abitibi
Greenstone Belt, which includes Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Noranda and Val d’Or. It comprises a substantial part of the mining wealth of Canada, and we have a sister to it.”
(Frank Smeenk, President, KWG Resources – June, 2009)

A massive chromite deposit in the James Bay Lowlands will extend the development frontier of Ontario from Timmins to the Attawapiskat River and result in billions of dollars of spending on new mines, processing facilities and infrastructure, according to senior executives of several junior mining companies.

The deposit, touted as one of the largest discoveries of chromite in the world and the only one in North America, has already attracted the attention of one major mining company and others may follow.

Cliffs Natural Resources, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, a major supplier of direct-shipping lump and fines iron ore out of Australia and a significant producer of metallurgical coal, has invested U.S. $3.5 million in a private placement for 19.9 per cent of KWG Resources Inc., one of five junior mining companies with property along the 12 to 14-kilometre strike length of the deposit.

Hydro rates killing jobs – by Wayne Snider, The Daily Press (February 28, 2011)

March 1, 2011

Wayne Snider is the city editor for The Daily Press, the city of Timmins newspaper. Contact the writer at news@thedailypress.ca.

“An independent Northern Ontario electricity authority would allow us to create
jobs in Northern Ontario, contribute to the economy of the North and at the end
of the day, it would be good for all of Ontario.” (Former NDP leader Howard Hampton)

OPINION: Northern municipal leaders seek provincial solution to industrial sized problem

Northern Ontario municipal representatives will deliver their wish list to the leaders of the three mainstream political parties this week during the Ontario Good Roads Convention.

It would be shocking if hydro rates were not on that list, given the fact that rising costs of the utility have played a major role in gutting industry across the North.

Hydro costs were one of the key contributors leading Xstrata Copper to close its smelting operations at the Kidd Creek Metallurgical Site. Instead, ore concentrate is now shipped to Quebec, where electricity is much cheaper. (With the move, the province also lost one of its largest customers in terms of power sales.)

Saw and paper mills have also been hit hard by soaring hydro costs. In Iroquois Falls, there is an atmosphere of dread created by the pending sale of AbitibiBowater’s hydro electric dams. The fear being that once the cheap source of power dries up, the company will walk away from the community.

One of the major players in the Ring of Fire project, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., has publicly stated that hydro costs in Ontario are too prohibitive to make processing of the ore in-province attractive.

Cliffs would save millions locating [Ring of Fire] chromite plant in Manitoba or Quebec: Hampton – Sudbury Star Staff

February 28, 2011February 28, 2011

The Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. This column was published on February 23, 2011.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Cliffs Resources would save tens of millions in energy costs each year by opening its proposed chromite smelter in either Manitoba or Quebec, a Northern Ontario NDP MPP told the Ontario legislature Tuesday.

Howard Hampton, NDP MPP Kenora-Rainy River and former NDP leader, said that according to the Manitoba Hydro website, a company like Cliffs Resources would pay a monthly hydro bill of about $5.3 million a month (or $63 million a year) if it located the smelter in Ontario.

The same refinery located in Manitoba would pay a hydro bill of $ $2.1 million a month (or $26 million a year). The Quebec figures are $2.8 million a month, or $33.5 million a year, Hampton said.

“The real travesty in all of this is the fact that in Northern Ontario, we generate some of the cleanest and greenest electricity (mostly from falling water) at some of the lowest costs on the planet, yet we are not allowed to use that electricity at an affordable price to create jobs in Northern Ontario because of the McGuinty Liberals ‘made in Toronto for Toronto’ electricity policy,” Hampton said in a release.

Understanding Aboriginal Treaties Key for Ring of Fire Projects – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (February 25, 2011)

March 15, 2011February 28, 2011

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was originally published on August 6, 2009.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

NISHNAWBE Aski Nation (NAN) is to be commended for initiating a forum to explain the treaties that govern its people in relation to the rest of Northwestern Ontario. Generalized references to treaty rights have marked every disagreement over land and resources, but outside of band offices, a few academics and relevant government departments, most people don’t understand what was agreed to up to a century ago and more.

The passage of so much time has resulted in many interpretations about what treaties say and what was meant by those who signed them. In seeking to create “an understanding of the treaty relationship between First Nations and the greater society of Canada,” NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy is conducting an important exercise.

Beardy offers the view that Treaties 5 and 9, governing NAN territory, are based on “peaceful co-existence.” Even a brief parsing of the federal government’s description of these treaties shows they were hard to come by. That being said, they are the law of the land for Indians and understanding them is more important than ever.

[Ring of Fire Refinery] “We generate some of the cleanest and greenest electricity…” Howard Hampton NDP MPP

February 23, 2011

Founded in 2006 by James Murray, NetNewsledger.com offers news, information, opinions and positive ideas for Thunder Bay, Ontario, and for Northwestern Ontario. This column was originally posted on January 28, 201. newsroom@netnewsledger.com

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

“Four and a half years ago, what was then Inco closed their copper refinery in Sudbury.
Today, they still take the ore out of the ground in Sudbury, but they ship it to Quebec
to smelt it there at half the cost. That’s exactly what is happening with Cliffs Natural
Resources. If they move to Manitoba or Quebec, they’ll pay half the cost of refining
the metal. There’s a real problem, a real issue, with hydro rates in Ontario.” (Howard
Hampton NDP MPP for Kenora-Rainy River)

Queen’s Park – NDP MP Howard Hampton was up in Queen’s Park on Tuesday. During a Member’s Statement, Hampton gave some examples of just how, in his words, “out of touch” the McGuinty Liberals are on hydro-electricity rates compared to Manitoba and Quebec. Hampton cited the decision by Xstrata Mining to close its copper smelter in Timmins last year and the decision by Inco (now Vale) to close its copper smelter in Sudbury four years ago.

“Both of these companies continue to mine the copper ore in Ontario, but both of them now ship the ore to smelters and refineries in Quebec to have the ore processed there because they save millions of dollars each year in hydro-electricity costs due to Quebec’s much lower industrial hydro rates,” Hampton said.

Hampton noted that Xstrata was paying hydro bills of $70 Million/year at its Timmins smelter, and now is paying less than half that amount in Quebec ($33.5), but the shutdown of the smelter in Timmins meant the loss of over 2000 direct and indirect jobs in the community.

Ontario Mining Association gives Ontario budget an A+ – by Adelle Larmour (June 2010)

February 22, 2011

Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. This article is from the June/2010 issue.

Ontario Mining Association president Chris Hodgson gave the Ontario Liberal government an A+ for its latest budget.

“We found it really encouraging that mining has been viewed as part of the solution for Ontario’s future,” Hodgson said. “We’re very pleased not just with the specifics, but also with the general tone that the government has taken toward mining.”

The province’s March 25 budget recognized that Northern Ontario’s mining sector plays an integral role in the economic development of the province. Mining in Ontario is a $10 billion business, provides the province with a $3.3 billion trade surplus and more than $600 million in corporate taxes annually.

“I think they realize we are a major benefit to the province, both in terms of the economy and society in general,” Hodgson said. “The spin-offs from developing mines are huge.”

Mining is back on several fronts [Ring of Fire] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (February 14, 2010)

March 15, 2011February 21, 2011

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was originally published on February 14, 2010.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

BUSINESS CYCLES tend to raise and lower the economies of the communities in and around which they operate. Stable business benefits everyone, but even that comes with surprises.

Forestry is an example of an industry with an impressive track record that came up short when the recession deflated demand for its products. A U.S. recovery will eventually raise demand for lumber, pulp and paper, but never again to the same degree. The Internet has seen to that. Still, forestry is evolving with new products, including biomass to fuel the green energy revolution. Value-added opportunities continue to abound, if only they will be developed by entrepreneurs, encouraged by government.

Government is notoriously slow to react to the prospect – even the signs of change and there is a series of recurring jokes about how many studies there are at one time that seek to broaden the economy of Northern Ontario.

While that process drags on, there are new glimmers of hope for the North even as forestry flounders. Mining has always been the other big northern lynch pin and its own down time is apparently on the verge of a very big upswing. Two of them, actually.

Future may be here in a week [Ring of Fire] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (February 11, 2010)

March 15, 2011February 21, 2011

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was originally published on February 11, 2010.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

IT WOULD be difficult to overstate the importance of the so-called Ring of Fire, a huge, horseshoe-shaped geological structure in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario. In just 30 months it has gone from a single drill hole to the probable jewel in the crown of a regional economic recovery.

The nearest communities to the ring of high-grade nickel-copper-platinum-palladium, chromite, vanadium and gold are the First Nations of Marten Falls and Webequie which are naturally angling to share the wealth. Much has been done to achieve that objective but lately, it appears the First Nations are not happy. An early partnership between Marten Falls and Noront Resources, the area’s key exploration company, for example, came apart this winter when the band council authorized members to block Noront planes from landing near their camps.

Everyone in Northern Ontario – most particularly First Nations anywhere near mineral deposits – must fervently hope that Marten Falls and Webequie don’t send companies packing from the Ring of Fire like another band further north did earlier. It cost Ontario taxpayers $5 million in company compensation, but the loss in this instance would be almost incalculable given the ring’s potential.

From coal to gas [Ring of Fire and Other Mining Implications] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (November 24, 2010)

March 15, 2011February 21, 2011

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was originally published on November 24, 2010.

For an extensive list of articles on this mineral discovery, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

AS ONTARIO continues its onerous but ultimately necessary march toward cleaner air it is stepping into increasingly difficult territory. Its so-called green energy proposals are proving costlier all the time, and while no one should expect to reduce greenhouse gases and begin to reverse climate change without complications, Ontario seems to be making things more difficult for itself than it needs to.

This realization can be seen in every retreat from and change in its green energy policy, most recently to offer rebates on soaring electricity bills and alter an ill-thought-out time-of-use pricing plan.

Consumers are enraged at the proliferation of charges over and above basic electricity while lucrative contracts signed with alternative energy suppliers seem unnecessarily rich, given the fact that demand for electricity is going nowhere but up.

Power costs must be addressed for Northern Ontario industries – by Brian MacLeod

February 18, 2011

Brian MacLeod is the managing editor for the Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. This column was published on February 10, 2011. bmacleod@thesudburystar.com

Duguid’s response to what could be an enormous long-term economic
boost for Northern Ontario is lukewarm by comparison.
(Brian MacLeod – Feb/18/2011)

The Ontario government had better not fiddle when it comes to dealing with Cliffs Natural Resources’ attempts to develop the Ring of Fire chromite deposit in Northern Ontario.

An opportunity lost now would resonate for decades.

The 5,100-square-kilometre tract of land, centred about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, is thought to contain one of the world’s largest deposits of chromite — a key ingredient in the production of stainless steel.

The economic potential is staggering, but there are major roadblocks that could diminish those benefits. As many as 500 people could be employed at the mine, up to 300 people in transportation and up to 500 jobs could be created at a chromite processing plant.