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Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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Natural resources still hold potential – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (December 20, 2010)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was published on February 6, 2011.

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

EVEN as Thunder Bay and other Northwestern Ontario communities press ahead with knowledge-based industry initiatives there remain opportunities in traditional natural resources industries, but not all of them. Embracing high-tech knowledge business is essential to securing the future of northern communities.

Thunder Bay in particular is growing spectacularly in its health care research sector. Just as in other regional communities, with a number of its forest industries idled, new pursuits are essential to maintaining and growing the local economy.

A new study by the Conference Board of Canada confirms that the natural resources sector — and the industries that support it — provide the strongest potential for Northern Canada’s future economic development.

This report, Mapping the Economic Potential of Canada’s North, is one of a series of studies for the Centre for the North.

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Time for North [Ontario] to take control – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (February 6, 2011)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was published on February 6, 2011.

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

Provincial energy policy has punished the North with electricity prices that haven’t been able to match competing jurisdictions nearby. And yet, the North produces all of the electricity that it needs at a real price that is far lower than that which is being charged its industrial, business and residential users. (Thunder Bay Chronicle Editorial – Feb/06/2011)

THE TIME has never been better for Northern Ontario to take control of its own destiny. Discontent with provincial policy has rarely been stronger in the North which has been given a strong new hand to play in the form of major mining opportunities.

This region has shipped its resource riches and the bulk of their profits to southern Ontario and beyond for many decades, even as they provided the province with a major part of its revenue. One provincial government after another promised to facilitate value-added manufacturing of forest products but the logs and lumber, as well as much raw mine product, left here. Paper mills that did thrive are now mostly closed due in large part to provincial energy policy that helped to render them uncompetitive.

A slow provincial reallocation of forest resources is beginning to show some results, but the woods industry will never be what it was. The Northern Growth Plan remains to be written but from what is known about it so far, we should not expect a breakthrough in innovative thinking at Queen’s Park.

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Get the price of power down [Ring of Fire smelter] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (February 8, 2011)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario. This editorial was published on February 8, 2011.

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

THE MESSAGE could not be clearer, the opportunity greater nor the time shorter for the Thunder Bay area. Cliffs Natural Resources, the major player in the giant Ring of Fire chromite deposit far north of here, has all but told the provincial government that it will build an electric arc furnace to process an estimated 70 million tonnes of ore in Northern Ontario if it can afford the electricity.

“At current provincial power rates, there isn’t a location in Ontario that is economically viable for Cliffs to build the ferrochrome production facility,” the company’s ferroalloys president Bill Boor said last week.

The ferrochrome furnaces would need 300 megawatts of power and “only a few” places in Northern Ontario meet these requirements, however, Sudbury is representative of a “technically feasible site,” he added. That is, it has the power supply, mining history and allied business.

“Representative of a feasible site” is pretty open-ended, and encouraging for alternate sites.

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Chromium: Are Chinese Off-Takes About to Take Off? – by Jack Lifton (May 11, 2006)

This article was posted on www.ResourceInvestor.com, a free service for the global community of individual and institutional investors, financial and mining professionals, and other stakeholders who can use the website for important research on natural resources investment strategy, on May 11, 2006.

Jack Lifton is the Co-founder and Director of Technology Metals Research since June 2010. Mr. Lifton is also an Independent consultant, focusing on the sourcing of nonferrous strategic metals. His work includes exploration and mining, and the recovery of metal values by the recycling of not only metals and their alloys but also of metal-based chemicals used as raw materials for component manufacturing. Jack Lifton’s Blog: http://www.techmetalsresearch.com/

Chromium is necessary for the production of stainless steels, heat resisting steels and
superalloys  in that order, descending, of use in the world. Chromium has no substitute
in stainless steel or in superalloys. Jack Lifton, May 2006)

DETROIT (ResourceInvestor.com) — The Peoples Republic of China does not have the same economic system as the United States, although you would never know that by reading the American mainstream press.

The Chinese government, officially in the socialist phase of the path to true communism, practices what has become known as command and control economics. The current Chinese version of that system allows for (free) market economics to be practiced, to a degree, in the civilian products (consumer products we call it here in America) sector.

The command and control sector of the Chinese government has always been in charge of domestic natural resources production and of the sourcing of strategic raw materials by importation. The control mechanism is simplicity itself. You cannot export a natural resource from China nor import one without a national-government-issued license to do so. A further license is needed to receive foreign currency, and you must account for every bit of it, or to “buy” foreign currency from the (State controlled, even if not in some cases any longer directly owned) commercial bank to pay for your imported goods.

There is one more seemingly innocuous requirement: The transaction involving natural resources or strategic materials must be in the best interests of the Chinese people.

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[MiningWatch Canada Ring of Fire report] Power requirements a concern – by Carol Mulligan

Carol Mulligan is a reporter for the Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

For the MiningWatch Canada report written by Joan Kuyek, please click here: Economic Analysis of the Ring of Fire Chromite Mining Play

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

The author of an economic analysis on the Ring of Fire chromite deposits urges Ontarians to ask a couple of basic questions about the benefits of developing the resource.

What will it cost taxpayers of the province of Ontario for every job that is created? And, is the cost worth it?

Joan Kuyek wrote the report for MiningWatch Canada, a national non-profit organization that examines mining and its effects on communities. Formerly of Sudbury and now living in Ottawa, Kuyek was commissioned by MiningWatch to conduct a preliminary review of the economics of mining the rich chromite deposits in Northern Ontario.

In the opening paragraph of her 20-page report, Kuyek said there is no experience in chromite mining or ferrochrome production in Canada.

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Interesting Times in the Ring of Fire – James Murray (January 28, 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

THUNDER BAY – The news that there are issues over development brewing in the Ring of Fire should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the issue closely. Both the Matawa First Nations and the Nishanawbe Aski Nation have been sounding the alarm bell for months. It appears a wake-up call that the McGuinty government has simply hit the snooze button and rolled back to nap mode over.

Perhaps one of the realities are that politically, the McGuinty government has made the determination that there are more votes in ridings that may matter more to them than in the far north, as Toronto often sees our region?

The First Nations are likely more aware of the opportunities that the chromite in their traditional territory can represent, and realize that the potential bounty if allowed to be squandered will leave them ever further behind in a society that already has plenty of hurdles before their people.

Some of what appears to be happening, and likely missed by some is the degree of communications and new technology is allowing First Nations to share information with each other from across the region, the country and the world. That means instead of operating in a communications blackout that First Nations are aware of far more today than ever before.

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[Ring of Fire] Communications Issues Need To be Addressed for A Solid Future – by James Murray (February 5, 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 February 5, 2011. newsroom@netnewsledger.com

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

THUNDER BAY – The signals are all on the table for anyone willing to read them. First Nations in Northwestern Ontario are not prepared to accept lip service from the provincial government on the Ring of Fire. The issue is one that has been coming for sometime now, and has not been covered all that much in the main-stream media. Comments from Matawa First Nations leaders, and Nishinawbe Aski Nation leaders have ranged from frustration to anger. Already there is word of blockades on-going to stop activity related to mining exploration.

To quote a famous movie line from Cool Hand Luke – “What we have here is a failure to communicate”.

Now too be sure, no politician is likely to agree with that statement. There has been lots of talking going on, but for communication to happen, there must be both a sender and a receiver. It is looking more all the time that there is lots of talking, but not much listening. We have years of what appears to be lip service paid by Premier McGuinty. The Premier is likely damaging the ability of his Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry to actually achieve anything substantive. McGuinty has poisoned the well with years of happy promises that he has not delivered on.

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NEWS RELEASE: Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF) calls on the Ontario Government to reduce power rates to keep Chromite Plant in Northern Ontario

Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund is a non-profit economic development agency providing financial assistance (commercial loans, equipment leasing and grants), resource sector support and free business counseling services to ALL Aboriginal entrepreneurs in rural, urban and isolated communities across northern Ontario (Treaty #9, #3, #5-Ontario portion & Robinson-Superior 1850 Treaties).

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

Thunder Bay ON, February 8, 2011 – Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF) called upon the Ontario government today to find a solution to the high power rates that might deter the construction of Cliffs Natural Resources’ Ferrochrome Production Facility in northern Ontario.  “Several Aboriginal businesses will benefit from the development of this facility, and if not, we stand to miss out on many opportunities”, said Harvey Yesno, President/CEO of NADF. “The Province of Ontario needs to be more visible and aggressive in tackling the power rate issue that is threatening the viability of a production facility in northern Ontario because any final decision to locate the Ferrochrome Production Facility outside of the province negatively impacts Aboriginal business in the region”.

This claim was issued in response to Cliffs’ revelation on Friday, February 4, 2011 during its conference call with the media that while Sudbury had been identified as a ‘base-case’ location for its Ferrochrome Production Facility (FPF), other municipalities within and outside Ontario were not beyond approach and possible selection as a location for its  FPF.

Citing the technical issues regarding the lack of electricity in the northwest part of the province, Mr. Yesno said, “Many people now understand what our remote communities are facing on a regular basis when we can’t develop economically because of the chronic lack of electricity.

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Ring of Fire in James Bay Lowlands – by Edgar J. Lavoie (June 2008)

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. This article is from the June, 2008 issue.

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

The man with a dream sits on a wooden bench 190 kilometers north of the Albany River and 240 kilometers west of James Bay.

Neil Novak, P. Geo., is wearing two hats today, the real one of which reads Spider Resources Inc., and the other is the shirt he is wearing, which spells out Noront Resources Ltd.  Novak is President and C.E.O. of Spider (SPQ:TSX-V) as well as Vice President/Exploration of Noront (NOT:TSX-V).

The kitchen tent is not a quiet place this morning.  The two cooks clatter about.  Men bundled up against the minus 17 degrees C. stomp in and out.  They relish the respite from a stiff wind out of the northwest.  They stomp around on the wooden floor in insulated rubber boots as they grab a coffee or sit down for a sandwich.

A Cessna Grand Caravan, courtesy of Billiken Management Services Inc., has just shuttled the writer and the photographer Jim Guillemette from Nakina airport – the end of the paved road – to an ice strip on McFauld’s Lake in the subarctic.

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NEWS RELEASE: Northern [Ontario] Industry Gutted by High Hydro Prices, Minister Hints at Sweetheart Deal

Randy Hiller is the provincial Progressive Conservative Member of Parliaiment for the eastern Ontario riding of Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. Currently Mr. Hiller serves as the Opposition Critic for Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, and Opposition Critic for Labour. www.randyhilliermpp.com

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

Northern Industry Gutted by High Hydro Prices, Minister Hints at Sweetheart Deal 

Monday, 07 February 2011

Queen’s Park – It is unacceptable for a government to indicate that they may set one hydro price for one company while others are suffering, but that’s exactly what Dalton McGuinty’s government seems to be doing. Randy Hillier, PC Party critic for Northern Development, Mines and Forestry today blasted comments by the government that there was room for discussion on high hydro prices in exchange for a new Ferrochrome processing facility.

Cliffs Natural Resources, a company interested in the Ring of Fire development, released a statement last week saying they would be willing to build a new processing facility, but were unable to proceed due to inordinately high hydro prices. In response, Minister for Northern Development Michael Gravelle stated “I certainly recognize that we will need to become engaged in serious discussions with Cliffs related to the energy issues associated with a processing facility.”

“Is the Minister going to cut this company another McGuinty Sweetheart Deal?” asked Hillier. “Where were the special sweetheart deals for the Xstrata smelter which closed in Timmins due to exorbitant hydro prices just months ago, laying off hundreds of workers?

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario’s Ring of Fire – hope or hype? MiningWatch releases report on Ring of Fire economics

MiningWatch Canada is a pan-Canadian initiative supported by environmental, social justice, Aboriginal and labour organisations from across the country. It addresses the urgent need for a co-ordinated public interest response to the threats to public health, water and air quality, fish and wildlife habitat and community interests posed by irresponsible mineral policies and practices in Canada and around the world. http://www.miningwatch.ca/

In reality, MiningWatch Canada is a well-known anti-mining, non-governmental organization (NGO). Although MiningWatch is disliked by many in the mining sector, some of the environmental and social issues that they bring up, are legitimate concerns that are generally addressed by the industry. – Stan Sudol

For the MiningWatch Canada report written by Joan Kuyek, please click here: Economic Analysis of the Ring of Fire Chromite Mining Play

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

Ontario’s Ring of Fire – hope or hype? MiningWatch releases report on Ring of Fire economics

Feb 04 2011

Since a major staking rush in 2007, mineral deposits in northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” have received considerable attention from the mining industry, the Ontario government, First Nations and non-governmental organisations. The mineral finds in the area are raising hopes about economic boom-times, while First Nations struggle to deal with the onslaught of mining claims and exploration activities on their traditional territories, and conservation groups raise concerns about protecting critical wildlife habitats and water systems.

A new report, commissioned by MiningWatch Canada and written by Joan Kuyek, cuts through the hype and raises important questions about the viability and potential benefits of developing the area’s chromite deposits.

The report points out the uncertainty around demand for stainless steel (the primary use of chromite), and the challenge that Ring of Fire proponents will have in competing with existing operations currently operating below capacity. The remote location, lack of infrastructure, power demands, and water management challenges will add costs and technical challenges to any new mine in the region.

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High Ontario Electricity Prices Hamper Ring of Fire Processing and Other Industry – by Livio Di Matteo

Livio Di Matteo is Professor of Economics at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  Visit his new Economics Blog “Northern Economist” at http://ldimatte.shawwebspace.ca/

Ontario’s competitiveness has been hampered by its high electricity costs
and any mining development in the Ring of Fire will be purely extractive with
little in the way of value added processing if electricity costs remain high.
(Livio Di Matteo , February, 2011)

The news that Cliffs Natural Resources believes the price of electricity in Ontario is too high to allow for value added mineral processing from the Ring of Fire should not come as a surprise to those who have followed the recent decimation of the forest sector and it’s struggle with higher energy costs.  The impact of high electricity costs goes beyond Ontario’s North and any potential development in the Ring of Fire. 

Ontario’s industrial advantages were historically rooted in the advantages of its proximity to American markets and the Great-Lakes-St. Lawrence waterway, the presence of natural resources and the availability of cheap energy in the form of hydroelectric power. Whereas Ontario once had some of the cheapest electricity in North America, today it has become one of the higher cost producers. 

Just how high Ontario’s electricity costs got relative to adjacent Manitoba and Quebec is illustrated in the accompanying figures for the period 2000 to 2010.  (Please go to Di Matteo’s blog for figures) The data is for the electric Power Selling Price Index (EPSPI) constructed by Statistics Canada to measure the price movements of sales of electricity by distributors to commercial and non-residential users with the year 1997 set equal to 100.  The indices are for two broad industrial categories of sales – less than 5000 kW or 5000 kW and more. 

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