Ring of Fire map.

Ring access study funded

The Sudbury Star
By: Star Staff
March 1, 2015

The federal and provincial governments will spend $785,000 on a joint study of an all-weather road to the Ring of Fire area of northwestern Ontario.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford and Ontario Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle made the announcement Sunday at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada annual convention in Toronto.

The study will look at a transportation corridor that would connect potential mineral deposits in the Ring of Fire and four remote First Nations (Webequie, Eabametoong, Neskantaga and Nibinamik) to Pickle Lake, Ont., about 500 km northwest of Thunder Bay.

Rickford and Gravelle said the study will enable those Fire nations communities to capitalize on opportunities related to resource development in the region, including the Ring of Fire.

“The Harper Government invests in targeted, strategic initiatives supporting economic development, business growth and job creation efforts of First Nation communities,” Rickford said in a release. “We’re interested in tangible proposals that can help develop the region. Today’s announcement represents our federal government’s latest meaningful contribution to helping the province enhance the economic potential of the Ring of Fire.”

The study comes after Ottawa and Queen’s Park taken turns blaming each other over the past year for the stalled development of the Ring of Fire.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has challenged Ottawa to match the province's $1 billion commitment to the mining development. Wynne made the promise during June’s provincial election.

On Sunday, Gravelle said "the study supports Ontario's plan to drive development in the Ring of Fire and ensure the tremendous potential of the Ring of Fire can be realized for First Nations, Ontario and for Canada."

The Ring of Fire is a large, resource-rich area of about 5,120 square km located in the James Bay Lowlands region, where significant deposits of copper, zinc, nickel, chromite, platinum, vanadium and gold have been found.

The Ring of Fire as the potential to become the largest mining development ever seen in Ontario, according to the provincial government.

At one time, Cliffs Natural Resources of Cleveland was the most important mining company in the Ring of Fire; however, it dropped its $500 million investment in the project in 2013 following an investor’s revolt that shook up the company.

Cliffs had once planned to mine up to 12,000 tonnes of chromite ore a day, starting in 2017, from a proposed open-pit and underground mine with a 30-year lifespan.

It had also planned to ship the ore for processing to a refinery in Capreol, creating as many as 500 jobs in the Sudbury area.

Cliffs wanted a north-south road that would have started at the mine site about 540 km north of Thunder Bay and travelled south to the CN Rail line, near Nakina, Ont.