Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery – Page 5

‘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.

Battles brewing as Ontario, Canada push Ring of Fire mining to boost EV plan – by Colin D’Mello & Isaac Callan (Global News – July 8, 2023)

July 10, 2023

https://globalnews.ca/

The lawyer representing a number of First Nations communities opposed to the Ford government’s plans for the Ring of Fire is cautioning that the province’s long-term electric vehicle battery manufacturing strategy might be a “fool’s errand.”

Premier Doug Ford agreed to enter into a pact with the federal government to offer hefty subsidies to companies that choose to build lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles in Ontario, seen as the next frontier in the province’s auto manufacturing strategy. Both governments have poured billions into packages to tempt car makers to set up in the province.

Let’s Not Forget the Extraordinary, World-Class Chromite Deposits in Ontario’s Ring of Fire – by Frank Smeenk (Originally Posted on June 18, 2020)

July 11, 2023July 10, 2023

With practically all of the attention in the Ring of Fire focused on nickel and copper, I thought it might be important to repost Mr. Smeenk’s excellent column on the globally significant chromite resources in this extraordinary mining camp. Roughly half of chromite production is mined in South Africa which is becoming more politically unstable with electricity shortages and rail transportation problems becoming more frequent. The importance of reshoring manufacturing to North America as well as developing more critical mineral mining makes Mr. Smeenk’s column very timely. – Stan Sudol

Frank Smeenk is the President and Chief Executive Officer of KWG Resources Inc.

HOW MUCH BALONEY IS IN THE RING OF FIRE SANDWICH?

Stainless steel is approximately 18% chrome and 8% nickel with iron constituting most of the remaining 74%. A decade ago, the private Chinese enterprise Tsingshan Group, started to establish facilities in Indonesia to produce large quantities of nickel pig iron to make stainless steel there by adding ferrochrome melt made with coal-generated electricity.

Treaty 9 Nations press ahead with lawsuit on mine development – by Staff (Timmins Today – June 24, 2023)

June 26, 2023

https://www.timminstoday.com/

Communities want “dual decision-making regime” established to govern traditional territories

Northern Ontario Business – Attempts by government to expedite mining-related development in the Ring of Fire have prompted a lawsuit against the Crown by 10 First Nations in northwestern Ontario and the Far North.

After threatening legal action last April, a coalition of Indigenous communities in the Treaty 9 territory will challenge, what they claim is, “unilateral decision-making” by Canada and Ontario to spur development with their consent on their traditional territories in the James Bay region.

Red tape may strangle natural resource opportunity – by Kenneth Green (Toronto Sun – June 13, 2023)

June 15, 2023

https://torontosun.com/

Canada has a problem, nowadays, in getting Big Things Done

The “Ring of Fire” mining project is in the news again. And it’s looking eerily familiar to the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline project, which went through interminable on-again-off-again cycles of regulatory approvals and delays before the company that proposed the project withdrew and the federal government purchased the project. The pipeline is now being (slowly) completed at a wildly inflated cost.

The Ring of Fire is an area in northern Ontario some 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, covering 5,000 square kilometres. The Ontario government’s website lists five metals (including chromite and nickel), which are plentiful in the area and of potential use in making good on the federal government’s plans to “transition” Canadians into battery-electric vehicles.

Records and Roots: Breaking down the “Ring of Fire” – by Tom Netherland (Times News – June 2023)

June 15, 2023

https://www.timesnews.net/

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Johnny Cash was in a rut. By the spring of 1963, Cash had recorded just one top 10 record, his uninspiring 1962 cover of Jimmie Rodgers’ “In the Jailhouse Now,” since 1960’s “Seasons of My Heart.” Furthermore, Cash had not touched down with a No. 1 single since February 1959 with “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town.”

Johnny Cash needed a hit. Not only that, his marriage to wife Vivian was crumbling, battles with addiction escalating. Well, this month marks an important anniversary for “Ring of Fire” and Johnny Cash.

VIEWPOINT: Capitalizing on Canada’s critical minerals is an economic and geopolitical win-win – by Andrew Evans (The Hub – June 12, 2023)

June 12, 2023

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Developing Ontario’s critical minerals will help Canada and the Western world counter China

Andrew Forrest, the owner of the Wyloo Metals, a main company in Ontario’s Ring of Fire,1 recently raised issues with Canada’s regulatory overburden and called into question the viability of the entire project. The Ring of Fire is one of Ontario’s most significant economic opportunities, but the debate has been missing a critical aspect of why it matters: the role of global geopolitics.

Much like the oil industry, the critical minerals industry is geographically concentrated and lends itself to natural economic bottlenecks. China controls significant majorities and pluralities in every step of the value chain.

‘Get off the bulldozer’ and come to the table, Matawa chief tells Premier Ford – by Shari Narine (Windspeaker – May 30, 2023)

June 1, 2023

https://windspeaker.com/

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s ready to jump on the bulldozer and build the access road to the Ring of Fire, an area rich with critical mineral deposits in the province’s far north. In the next breath though, he says, “Well, we don’t like conflict. We want to work with (the Matawa Nations), hand-in-hand, and be collaborative.”

Ford’s words came during a visit to Brampton, which will be home to a new electric vehicle battery facility. The metals for the EV factory are found in the Ring of Fire, which is within Treaty 9 territory.

Feds call for assessment of Ring of Fire road link – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 29, 2023)

May 30, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Fort Albany rises questions, concerns about downstream impacts of Far North road building and mining activity

The Northern Road Link, the middle stretch of the proposed Ring of Fire road network, will undergo a federal environmental assessment, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IACC) announced last week.

The determination by IAAC that an assessment is required was based on the possibility that the road could cause negative impacts to fish, birds and the socio-economic well-being of the Indigenous people in the area. Feedback on the project came forth from the public, Indigenous groups, various federal agencies and others, IACC said.

Indigenous Leaders: Kristan Straub looks to find common ground in the Ring of Fire – Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 26, 2023)

May 26, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

New Ring of Fire Metals boss brings an Indigenous perspective and project smarts to advance Far North mine

Dialogue and transparency. Those words have served Kristan Straub well over his 22-year career with Glencore and the postings that have sent him across Canada and around the globe.

Earlier this year, the Sudbury-born Straub, the now-former vice-president of exploration with Glencore’s nickel team, was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance one of the world’s new and untapped sources of critical minerals.

Ring of Fire project at risk due to red tape and cumbersome consultation process, billionaire owner says – Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 24, 2023)

May 24, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Andrew Forrest, the Australian billionaire owner of the most promising mining assets in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, says the viability of the critical minerals project is at risk because of Canada’s regulatory burden, its cumbersome consultation process and persistent delays in building crucial infrastructure.

The Ring of Fire, in the province’s far north, is a key part of Ontario’s and Canada’s plans to become a player in metals for electric-vehicle batteries, but it has sat undeveloped for the better part of two decades owing to unproven economics, tension with Indigenous communities, a lack of political consensus and the gigantic capital cost requirements.

Federal government pledges new funding for Ring of Fire and proposes working group with Ontario – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 19, 2023)

May 23, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government is proposing to advance up to $40-million in new funding for Ontario’s Ring of Fire, in an effort to boost development in one of the highest profile critical-minerals projects in the country.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in a May 17 letter to George Pirie, Ontario’s Minister of Mines, said that Ottawa is prepared to advance the funds to help the province and First Nations conduct feasibility and sustainability initiatives, economic analysis and other predevelopment work.

Ontario doesn’t need Ring of Fire to achieve EV ambitions: experts – by Alan S. Hale (Politics Today – May 18, 2023)

May 19, 2023

https://www.politicstoday.news/

Amid growing objections from First Nations, Premier Doug Ford remains dead set on developing the Ring of Fire to fuel Ontario’s goal of becoming a major player in the EV industry. But three mining industry experts Queen’s Park Today spoke to said Ontario can become a major global EV hub without the Ring of Fire.

However, they said giving up on the project would be a drastic measure that could significantly set that goal back for a long time and would also have geopolitical implications. Geologist and mining consultant Jim Franklin helped Spider Resources — the company that discovered mineral deposits in the Ring of Fire while searching for diamonds — understand what they had found.

Premier’s pledge to ‘build’ the Ring of Fire questioned at Queen’s Park – by Staff (NWO News Watch – May 15, 2023)

May 17, 2023

https://www.nwonewswatch.com/

Minister Greg Rickford accused MPP Sol Mamakwa of pitting communities against each other

QUEEN’S PARK — Premier Doug Ford’s recent commitment to ‘building the Ring of Fire’ generated criticism in the legislature Monday from the NDP. Kiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa suggested the premier was making a mistake in relying on advice from Greg Rickford, the minister of Indigenous Affairs and minister of Northern Development.

Last week, Ford said building a road to the Ring of Fire and developing a mine there will elevate the standard of living in remote First Nations communities. During Question Period Monday, Mamakwa called the premier’s statements “very concerning.”

BULLETIN: Treaty 9 First Nations To File Claim Against Canada and Ontario Seeking Co-Jurisdiction Over Treaty 9 Lands – by Tracy A. Pratt and Sophie Langlois (Fasken – May 16, 2023)

May 17, 2023

https://www.fasken.com/en/

Recently, several Treaty 9 First Nations[1] announced their intention to commence litigation against the governments of Ontario and Canada challenging the Crown’s exclusive jurisdiction over Treaty 9 lands. Among other things, they assert that Treaty 9 provided that the signatory First Nations would maintain their “way of life”,[2] including co-jurisdiction over, and shared decision-making responsibilities with, the Crown.

Through this action, these Treaty 9 First Nations also will seek to prohibit the governments from granting permits, licences or other approvals respecting land and resource development within the Treaty 9 lands without their consent until a framework for co-jurisdiction is established.