By Christina Blizzard, Queen's Park columnist

Last Updated: 11th February 2010, 7:38pm

THUNDER BAY — It’s called the Ring of Fire and hopes are it will re-ignite the guttering economy in Northwestern Ontario.

Recent mining exploration has turned up some exciting finds.

A massive chromite deposit is turning heads in the mining world. Chromite is used to make stainless steel.

“This is the only North American source of chromite, so it is very strategic,” says Russell Martel of Canada Chrome Corp., one of the companies involved in the $1.5 billion development.

Until now, the U.S. and Canada had to rely on offshore chromite, mainly from South Africa.

Martel says the chromite is close to the surface, so it will be an open cast mine. The project will also require a 350 km-long rail link to be built from Nakina. It will generate thousands of jobs — 5,400 direct and indirect permanent ones at the mine, railroad and refinery — and another 7,800 direct and indirect jobs in construction.

The entire northwest will benefit from the mining boom, says Chamber of Commerce President Harold Wilson.

“The Ring of Fire has enormous opportunities, large and small,” he said. “It’s an incredibly important find.

The area is a jewel box. In addition to chromite, there’s palladium, platinum, nickel, diamonds and gold.

That’s good news for a community that’s lost thousands of jobs in the forestry and pulp and paper industry.

Exploration and development have given employment a boost.

Three labs employ 260 people working on the assay, Wilson says.

When the mines are operational, they will provide a huge opportunity for mining suppliers and small businesses.

Wilson says the region needs to grab the opportunity and become a world leader in processing the ore.

“Northern Ontario has always been the world leader in extraction and transportation of our resources. I’d like to think with these developments we can be the leader in the processing and research and development,” he said.

He wants the provincial government to get behind the region as they open up this new industry. Sadly, though, many of the province’s recent policies have damaged the northern economy.

Industries such as pulp and paper, sawmills and mine processing rely on cheap electricity. The price of hydro in Ontario is almost twice that in Manitoba and Quebec. The Green Energy Act will push them up even more, Wilson says.

“It isn’t addressing our needs, nor is it taking into account that we actually have a lot of available power, based on some of the closings that have happened,” he said. Many of the region’s hydro electric plants are “spilling water” — they have more power than they can sell.

“Most of our electricity comes from hydro electric, which is very inexpensive and very green, yet it is not available at a price that is commensurate with its production cost,” he said.

“We are looking for an energy policy that takes that into account so we can attract more energy-intensive industries.”

The Far North Act is potentially just as damaging. It will take almost 50% of land north of the 51st parallel out of production.

“When you say that 50% of land will be taken out of use and preserved, but you don’t say which 50%, you rather create difficulties on the 100% — and I am sure that was the intent,” Wilson said.

That said, the Ring of Fire is a glimmer of hope for a part of the province that has been economically battered.

Let’s hope the province doesn’t douse the flames.

christina.blizzard@sunmedia.ca