KWG forging ahead with Ring of Fire railroad

Jim Moodie

Feb 07, 2021  •  2 hours ago  •  5 minute read

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Capreol native and veteran railroader Tony Marquis came out of retirement to take on a project he believes could “give a real kickstart to rail in Northern Ontario.”

Marquis is now in charge of constructing a rail route to the Ring of Fire, as newly appointed head of Canada Chrome Corporation, a subsidiary of KWG Resources.

“When KWG spawned this new company they staked claims from the Ring of Fire to an area just outside of Nakina, by the Aroland First Nation,” said Marquis. “The claims are on an esker that basically comes straight down, so that’s how the railroad would be built, right upon the esker.”

Tony Marquis

The CN line through Northern Ontario already reaches Nakina, located about 60 kilometres north of Geraldton, so the new railway would link up with this route and facilitate transport of ore from the KWG deposits to processing facilities farther south.

The project is a major undertaking — the line would run 330 kilometres and cost as much as $2 billion to construct — but Marquis is excited by the challenge, not to mention the chance to expand rail infrastructure in the region for the first time in decades.

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“The last major refurbishment on a line was on the one that goes up to Churchill, after the flooding a couple of years ago,” he said. “But for a build, there hasn’t been one in my career.”

Marquis has been obsessed with trains for as long as he can remember. “My first summer job was to repaint the old steam engine in the park in Capreol,” he noted.

He would go on to become a locomotive engineer and hold senior executive roles with both CN and CP. He retired from the latter last year, but continues to advise the company as a consultant and also remains on the board of Metrolinx, the largest transit authority in Canada.

Marquis currently calls Barrie home but maintains a deep love of the North. He once paddled the Missinaibi River with family members to Moosonee, visits Capreol whenever he can, and maintains a fishing camp off the CN line.

“I’m doing this because I’m intrigued by it and it’s great for the North,” he said. “It’s great to open up prosperity for the First Nations and it’s been wallowing for 12 years now, so I think it’s time to do a reboot and get moving with it.”

This maps shows the mining claims in the Ring of Fire and existing transportation infrastructure in the area. Canada Chrome Corporation plans to construct a new railroad that would reach from the KWG Resources deposits to the CN line at Nakina.

Noront Resources has a bigger stake in the Ring of Fire and is also eager to get moving, he noted, although they are counting more on the roads the province has agreed to fund being completed for movement of their ore.

“There is a lot of discussion of road versus rail,” said Marquis. “I’m not averse to either but when you start moving the chromite ore, it would be damn challenging to move it on a road. With the tonnages and the amount you have to move, it makes a lot more sense to build a railroad, because the operating cost is substantially cheaper.”

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Rail is also “much more environmentally friendly than trucks,” he said. “I personally believe there will be a rail resurgence in many ways — in transit, in freight — because the world has changed and the green economy is going to be a driver in a lot of decisions going forward.”

No government funding has been pledged to a railroad at this point, he said, but that isn’t stopping KWG and Canada Chrome from forging ahead on their own.

“That’s where KWG is a little bit different from others,” he said. “We’re not going to wait for the government — not to say there is any animosity there, it’s just that things take forever when you are dealing with the government, especially now.”

Marquis said both levels of government could be involved at a later date but in the meantime KWG and Canada Chrome are “not building any of our financial models on any gifts of any sort.”

The first step will be to complete environmental assessments, he said, with Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations taking a lead role in this process.

Once a permit is obtained, Marquis said it would take three years to construct the railroad, which will have to cross two major rivers — the Albany and Attawapiskat — as well as significant swathes of muskeg.

“There will definitely be challenges, but finding the eskers was brilliant, because that will allow an infrastructure to build on,” he said.

While the impetus for the route is the transport of chromite and other minerals, the line would also provide a land link to the remote Anishinabe communities that to date have only been accessible by air or ice road.