First Nation chiefs still POed about Cliffs chromite sale

Northern Ontario Business
By: Northern Ontario Business staff
4/27/2015

The chiefs of Marten Falls and Aroland First Nations said the sale of Cliffs Natural Resources’ chromite properties in the Ring of Fire to Noront Resources was not a fair one.

In an April 25 statement, Marten Falls Chief Bruce Achneepineskum and Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland said the bidding process was not “inclusive and transparent, leading to a potential unfair and biased outcome.”

The chiefs insist there is a “superior” bidder who has First Nation support, will benefit Cliffs' creditors and help advance the chromite project.

Noront announced in March that it’s paying US $20 million to Cliffs for its chromite deposits, a fraction of the more than $500 million the Ohio miner paid to acquire and develop the claims.

"We are united in opposing the proposed Noront and Franco-Nevada deal and we will do everything in our capacity to make sure that no ore will ever leave our backyards without the meaningful involvement and participation of all Matawa First Nations," said Achneepineskum in a statement.

"It is incomprehensible that the interest and ability of our communities to participate in the transaction has been so discounted that we were never even approached for any commercial discussion.”

The chiefs claim the net smelter royalty agreement between Noront and its financial backer, Franco-Nevada, will hinder the mine’s construction, reduce profitability, causes more exposure to pricing cycles and means less profits are shared with area First Nations.

The chiefs are also opposed to an east-west road corridor to service Noront’s nickel deposit in the Ring of Fire. They favour a north-south corridor that will move chromite.

Bankruptcy court proceedings are underway in Montreal where Cliffs is looking to dump its iron ore assets in Quebec. The Ontario chromite assets are excluded from that sale process.