Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery – Page 4

Marten Falls chief wants housing and water issues fixed ahead of Ring of Fire mining – by Angela Gemmill (Northern Ontario Business – August 22, 2023)

August 22, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Bruce Achneepineskum and community won’t be satisfied with the ‘bare minimum’ in consenting to James Bay development

The chief of Marten Falls First Nation isn’t opposed to mine development, he’s just cautious about what should be included in any future agreement connected to the Ring of Fire.

Bruce Achneepineskum wants to ensure the provincial and federal governments uphold their side of the bargain and that his remote community in the James Bay region thrives because of its potential involvement. “We’re not against development, but there are issues that the government has to address.”

Wyloo will be mining more than nickel at Eagle’s Nest – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – August 17, 2023)

August 17, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Underground aggregate extraction for Ring of Fire road will deliver both practical and environmental solutions

The proposed Eagle’s Nest mine will “set a new benchmark for what mining could look like” in the Ring of Fire, said its Australian developer.

Luca Giacovazzi, CEO of Wyloo Metals and a director with Ring of Fire Metals (formerly Noront Resources), revealed some of their innovative engineering solutions last week at the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum, a leading industry bash held at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Indigenous resistance challenges Ontario’s ‘mining boom’ – by Owen Schalk (Canadian Dimension – August 3, 2023)

August 8, 2023

https://canadiandimension.com/

Ring of Fire has become one of the most active regions in the world for lithium exploration

As Canada’s governments hungrily scour domestic and foreign territory in search of critical minerals—an essential part of Ottawa’s new Cold War on China—Ontario Premier Doug Ford is attempting to spin demand into a provincial mining boom.

Ontario’s first-ever Critical Minerals Strategy (CMS), announced alongside a federal initiative of the same name, proclaims that the province is “incredibly fortunate” and “blessed with exquisite deposits of nickel, lithium, platinum, cobalt and dozens of other strategically important raw materials.”

GREEN: Trudeau EV mandates wildly out of sync with EV metals timelines – Kenneth Green (Toronto Sun – August 1, 2023)

August 2, 2023

https://torontosun.com/

Kenneth Green is a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute

Recently on Twitter, Alberta MP Shannon Stubbs, Tory shadow minister for the environment, put forth a series of tweets on Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, heretofore a promised land of metals and minerals invoked as an enabling resource for the Trudeau government’s electric vehicle (EV) dreams.

Her Twitter thread has a lot of politicking we’ll ignore, but Stubbs raises one particularly salient point that doesn’t get a lot of attention in the mainstream media — the policy hypocrisy of Canada’s EV transition policies.

Exploring the rise of ‘economic reconciliation’ in Canada – by Brett Forester (CBC News Indigenous – July 2023)

July 27, 2023

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

Canadian institutions are adding a new buzzword to their Indigenous agenda. But what does it really mean?

As the luminaries of the Indigenous finance world met for a luncheon on “economic reconciliation” last month, they found themselves seated in a building honouring a man who helped ensure their peoples’ exclusion from the Canadian economy for more than a century.

Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, now lends his name to a former bank building across from Parliament Hill, an imposing granite and limestone structure with marble-panelled walls, ornate stone carvings and bronze banisters. For many gathered there, it represented precisely the sort of wealth they say Indigenous lands have yielded Canada, but which the country’s early leaders guaranteed Indigenous peoples wouldn’t see.

Leaders of northern First Nations rally at Queen’s Park against Ontario’s mining push – by Kris Ketonen (CBC News Thunder Bay – July 20, 2023)

July 21, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

First Nations Land Defence Alliance urges halt to mining exploration on traditional lands

People from five northern First Nations rallied outside Queen’s Park on Thursday to call for a halt to provincial mining explorations on traditional lands, saying the Ontario government has not fulfilled its obligation to consult.

Leaders of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Wapekeka, Neskantaga, Grassy Narrows and Muskrat Dam First Nations — members of the First Nations Land Defence Alliance — were among those who gathered outside the Ministry of Mines building in Toronto.

Ontario First Nations group protests against Doug Ford’s mining policies, alleging shoddy consultation – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 21, 2023)

July 21, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A group of five Ontario First Nations staged a rally in Toronto on Thursday, protesting Premier Doug Ford’s mining policies as detrimental to the land they depend upon for sustenance, and accusing him of failing to adequately consult with them on development.

Attended by several hundred people, the rally follows a much smaller protest at the Ontario Legislature in the spring, and comes before a much bigger march planned for September that is aimed at marshalling broad-based public support for First Nations opposed to the Ontario government’s pro-development stance.

Ring of Fire development stalled due to lack of dialogue with First Nations, Guilbeault says – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – July 17, 2023)

July 17, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

‘We haven’t been able to agree yet’

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the lack of progress in mining projects in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region in Northern Ontario can likely be attributed to a lack of discussions with Indigenous nations.

Both the federal government and province of Ontario believe the Ring of Fire, located about 500 kilometres from Thunder Bay, has the potential to produce minerals — such as nickel and copper — currently in high demand as countries look to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels.

[Ontario Ring of Fire] The natural resources project that the Liberals can’t be allowed to fumble – by Conrad Black (National Post – July 15, 2023)

July 15, 2023

https://nationalpost.com/

One of the world’s largest chromium deposits gives the Western Alliance a tremendous advantage

Regular readers will recall that from time to time I inveigh in this space against the uncompetitive economic performance of this country as we slip steadily down the list of the world’s most prosperous per capita incomes and we suffer every year from negative capital flows: more Canadian capital invested outside Canada than Canada attracts from foreigners.

The present federal government seems to wish to discourage our primary industry sector, that is all natural resources, though particularly the oil and gas industries. What the world envies about and most needs from Canada is that it is a treasure house of almost all forms of energy, forest products, base and precious metals and non-tropical agriculture.

Canada to Speed Up Critical Minerals Permits in Bid to Erode China’s Dominance – by Jacob Lorinc and Brian Platt (Bloomberg News – July 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government hopes to unveil a plan by the end of this year to streamline permitting for mining projects as the US and its allies push to accelerate the production of critical minerals in North America.

Canada faces mounting pressure to keep pace with its southern neighbor as the US ramps up efforts to secure the metals needed for electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines. American lawmakers have been debating legislation that could substantially speed up approval times for resource projects.

The flame bearer: Kristan Straub, chief executive officer, Ring of Fire Metals – by Mehanaz Yakub (CIM Magazine – July 04, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Kristan Straub’s path to becoming the newly appointed CEO of Ring of Fire Metals was influenced by both nature and nurture.

With both his maternal and paternal grandfathers working in the mining industry and living in Falconbridge in Greater Sudbury, the allure of the local mine, mill and smelter naturally captivated his interest as a boy.

First Nation takes Ontario to court over Ring of Fire road – by Matteo Cimellaro (National Observer – July 14, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

On Thursday and Friday, Neskantaga First Nation will face off in court against the Ontario government over what the nation argues was a flawed consultation on a road that will link the province’s road infrastructure with the Ring of Fire mining region.

Neskantaga First Nation, a remote, fly-in community located over 400 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, maintains the provincial government’s consultation process for the project’s environmental assessment was inadequate.

Doug Ford says this mining region is a top priority. Ottawa doesn’t necessarily agree – by Alex Ballingall, Tonda MacCharles and Kristin Rushowy (Toronto Star – July 12, 2023)

July 12, 2023

https://www.thestar.com/

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson cast doubt on hopes for a mining bonanza in Ontario’s “Ring of Fire,” saying there are better projects that can be developed easier in areas closer to existing infrastructure.

OTTAWA—Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson cast doubt on hopes for a mining bonanza in Ontario’s “Ring of Fire,” saying there are better projects that can be developed easier in areas closer to existing infrastructure.

It’s the latest sign the Trudeau government isn’t yet convinced the region in the province’s vast, environmentally sensitive northern peatlands is the best place for new mining, even as it tries to make Canada an international powerhouse in critical minerals needed to power the global shift to a greener, low-carbon economy.

The EV battery gold rush is here. Here’s how Canada can access its untapped resources. – by Virginia Heffernan (MACLEAN’S Magazine – July 10, 2023)

July 10, 2023

https://macleans.ca/

“If Canada can find a way to sustainably mine and supply metals to EV manufacturing hubs in North America, the country will be spinning green gold”

Canada’s EV sector is booming. In 2022, GM Canada opened the country’s first full-scale EV manufacturing plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. The federal government is offering billions of dollars in subsidies to Volkswagen and Stellantis to build EV battery plants in the province.

More than 86,000 EVs were registered in Canada in 2021, compared to around 19,000 in 2017. Battery charging infrastructure is improving rapidly too: Telus and the Australian EV company Jolt announced plans to build 5,000 charging stations in five years across Canada.

‘Shovels in the ground faster’: Frustrated by long delays, Doug Ford plans to push other premiers to support better co-ordination with Ottawa for big infrastructure projects – by Kristin Rushowy (Toronto Star – July 10, 2023)

July 10, 2023

https://www.thestar.com/

Frustrated in particular by the decade-plus of delays to the Ring of Fire critical mineral project in northern Ontario Ford is hoping to get the country’s 12 other provincial and territorial leaders on side at the Council of the Federation.

Ottawa needs to work with provinces so that big infrastructure projects can get going faster, says Premier Doug Ford in what will be his main push as he heads to the annual summer meeting of provincial and territorial leaders.

Frustrated in particular by the decade-plus of delays to the Ring of Fire critical mineral project in northern Ontario — as well as slowdowns on others in dealing with two levels of government — Ford is hoping to get the country’s 12 other provincial and territorial leaders on side at the Council of the Federation, which runs Monday to Wednesday in Winnipeg.