Commissioner ponders Ring of Fire corridor

Posted on February 20, 2013

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KWG Resources says Ontario’s Mining and Lands Commissioner has reserved a decision in a matter that could have a big impact on development of the province’s rich Ring of Fire mineral zone.

In a Tuesday release, KWG reported that two weeks of hearings relating to a potential access corridor concluded last Thursday, and the Commissioner is now considering the evidence and arguments presented.

The case revolves around two different visions of transportation choices for the Ring of Fire.

KWG and its subsidiary, Canada Chrome Corporation, have staked a strip of mining claims from the Ring to the CN line near Nakina, with the aim of building a rail line that would serve both Ring of Fire mines and First Nation communities in the region.

Cliffs Natural Resources, on the other hand, wants to use that same strip of land for a year-round industrial road as part of proposed development of its Black Thor chromite deposit in the Ring’s McFauld’s Lake area.

Citing the Mining Act, the KWG group refused consent for use of its claims for the Cliffs roadway. Cliffs then applied to the Commissioner for an order that would allow the Minister of Natural Resources to grant an easement under the Public Lands Act for the construction of a road.

Ring of Fire players are watching the case with interest, because the Commissioner’s decision could affect the pace and direction of future development.