http://www.bwglive.ca/news/350473/ontario-premier-wynne-s-china-vi

Article says: "Mr. Fang (Fang Li, China Consul General, Toronto) suggested the two countries also work together on the Ring of Fire, a large chromite deposit north of Thunder Bay. China could use the minerals, he said, if Ontario can get the necessary rail line built to haul the ore out of the Ring’s remote location.

He also suggested Ontario look at building high-speed rail using Chinese technology....".

The first part of the quote above seems to indicate two things:

- bulky stuff like chromite would require rail transportation; and

- it's Ontario (the government) that has the responsibility to get the ball rolling.

It's the political will, not the technology (and $) limitation.

The high-speed rail would be a huge project for China, if it can get involved (e.g. the high- speed rail project for California would cost close to some $100B). However, let's leave this big ticket (way far in the future) item aside for now.

For the short line (some 300km) from Nakina to the RoF at the cost of just over ~$1B is chump change for the deep pockets. China has built the high-elevation railroad (thousands of km) to Tibet at (each passenger is supplied with oxygen masks, and each passenger train has a doctor on board) with much harsher environmental conditions than in the James Bay lowlands. Yes, they have built crossings for migrating herds as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qinghai%E2%80%93Tibet_Railway

Close to home, people have built railroad in Northern Quebec under similar environmental conditions. Why can't Ontario?

In the big scheme of things, the 300km RR to the RoF is a tiny item. The project does not have any technological or money issues that could not be resolved. It's the political will to make the decision for a go. The Chinese could probably have this line (for a non-high-speed train) built in a short period (say within a couple of years), assuming that we have the project fast-tracked for all required permits, EA, etc...

goldhunter