And the article needs to be repeated as it illustrates Clement and Rickford are clueless and the Conservatives have made another big mistake by not endorsing the James Bay Port Authority 3P industrial corridor loan guarantees at these historic lows.

Thanks Frank! We know what comes next. Cliffs has to file it's factum and compendium 60 days on or after March 2, 2015. In early May the clock starts ticking towards the Appeals Court's final Easement decision. The KWG negotiated Bold FanCamp Black Horse option extension to September 30, 2015, will bring us to righteousness in the appeal court.

Federal Treasury Board president Tony Clement told a business audience in Timmins, Ont., Monday not to expect either the federal or provincial government to make any significant moves on the Ring Of Fire project until the market improves for the mining industry overall. (Len Gillis/QMI Agency)

Timing not right for Ring of Fire project: Tony Clement

The Whig
Len Gillis, QMI Agency
Monday, March 16, 2015

TIMMINS, Ont. — The federal and provincial governments are not likely to make any significant moves on the Ring of Fire mining project until there is a vast improvement in mineral markets, says federal Treasury Board president Tony Clement.

The guest speaker at a Timmins Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday, Clement responded to a question about the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Ring of Fire report card, which gave failing grades to both levels of governments for not being proactive enough to get mining projects up and running.

The report card blamed red tape in the mine permitting process, as well as a failure to provide infrastructure, such as better road or rail links.

"There has been little progress developing this extraordinary economic opportunity," it read.

The Ring of Fire project is a mining development about 600 kilometres northwest of Timmins, in the remote McFaulds Lake area. The prospect is identified mainly as a chromite project, valued in the tens of billions of dollars.

There are huge deposits of other metals there, too, but so far none of the three significant mining companies involved has moved forward with any sort of mining operation.

The major players in the region are Canadian companies Noront Resources and KWG Resources , and U.S. company Cliff's Natural Resources .

Cliff's is in the process of trying to sell off its prospect, while Noront and KWG continue to plan for the day when they can begin development work.

Clement said it is not realistic to expect government to step in and boost the Ring of Fire at this time.

"There are two things that have to happen before the Ring of Fire can take off," Clement said.

"The first thing you need is economic conditions so that private-sector mining companies can feel confident that when they start to invest in the Ring of Fire there will be a return on their investment."

Clement said Canada's mining sector has not been promising in recent years, not because anything was done wrong in Canada, but because of world economic conditions.

"The second thing we need — and this is more out of our control at the federal level — is you need the organization that controls the natural resource to have a working relationship with First Nations communities, so that they can have an understanding of economic success that works for both. Of course, when I mention the organization that controls the natural resource, I am talking about the province."

In the meantime, Clement said the feds have been active in "building up capacity" on First Nations reserves, with things like vocational education, training and governance “so they can deal with the complex issues associated with the Ring Of Fire.”

"So I think that is an investment well work making as a lead up to when the economic factors are in alignment for future activity," Clement said.

Reader's comments »

Fred Brown

It's disagreement among the 12 Matawa First Nations located near the Ring of Fire deposits, in the James Bay lowlands, which has slowed negotiations to a crawl, not KWG Resources or Noront.

Tony Clement's government in 2012, through it's Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's (CEAA), bungled development in Ring of Fire of northern Ontario by accepting a [less] Comprehensive Study Environmental Assessment (EA) process, instead of the needed full Joint Review Panel (EA) for both Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.’s Chromite Project and the proposed nickel project by Noront Resources, which would have enabled the local First Nations partnership from the beginning. Peter Kent had the authority to "get it right" but "got it wrong".

Tony Clement's government wanted to give the chromite away to Cliffs Resources, even though it wanted to truck the chromite 350km, a highly expensive and ridiculous plan.

Tony Clement's government doesn't understand that now is the time to invest in a legacy 100 year project like this due to low interest rates and mine and corridor pre-planning takes at least 5 years. All the Conservatives have to do is approve a federal 3P for a James Bay Port Authority. KWG and Noront will provide the private investors if Canada backs the low interest loans for the industry side of the mine corridor ore transportation.

Let Tony Clement's government help Ontario pay for the public side, all-weather roads to northern communities instead of keeping First Nations in poverty. Heck, the amount the Conservatives would save on flying them bottled water might put a big dent in the cost of an east west light weight road, which could carry the nickel concentrate and facilitate building the north south rail or chromite slurry pipeline. (KWG costed the road but not rr or mines at $120M last year.)

Clement has no vision! With a small new technology investment, Canada could be a world leader in chromite concentrate, ferrochrome and stainless steel sales when you examine the KWG patent which reduces chromite at 1200 degrees and saves 50% on the reduction costs.

Clement said not long ago that the Ring of Fire represents a "once-in-a-life opportunity to create jobs and generate growth and long-term prosperity for northern Ontario and the nation.

Both the Federal and Provincial Ontario government could make millions and do their job, provide and maintain Ontarians and Canadians with good paying jobs.

Tony Clement, Greg Rickford and Peter Kent get F's for fail and should be sacked.


lrrpranger

More BS from the Gov't .