Ring of fire could be big for Sudbury

By RITA POLIAKOV, THE SUDBURY STAR

Updated 21 hours ago

Sudbury could play an important role in mining the mineral rich Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario, Wesley Hanson said at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday.

Hanson is president and CEO of Noront Resources LTD., the Ontario-based mining company responsible for finding one of the largest chromite deposits in the world, as well as nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposits.

While the company is still in the preliminary phases of exploring the area, located in the midst of a First Nations community far up North, it hopes to use resources and expertise from Northern cities like Sudbury.

"Sudbury is a centre of excellence in terms of its mining history. The support services in place here are second to none," Hanson said.

The company is exploring the possibility of creating a processing centre in Sudbury that would include smelting, but could also take their operations to China.

"Our understanding is that (Sudbury) has that capacity," he said. "We may access that, or we may ship to China to be smelted."

Hanson's company is planning to use underground mining to collect the chromite and nickel deposits in the Ring of Fire, which they discovered in 2008 while drilling boreholes in the Double Eagle property in Northeastern Ontario. Noront hopes to employ technologies that will help keep their environmental footprint low. To do this, they'll be working with cities like Sudbury.

"It's a great mining district in Canada. We can utilize universities like Laurentian for research," Hanson said.

"The goal is to build a mine you can walk over and not even notice it's there," he said.

Hanson believes Canada is in danger of losing its mining reputation, something that the Ring of Fire will help the country avoid.

"I think it's because we've seen an increase in the number of Canadian companies taken by foreign companies. It used to be (that) Canada was a leader in terms of everything related to mining. I think we've faltered," he said. "There's an opportunity to rebuild our knowledge base."

Andre Dumais, the chair of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, doesn't think that Canada has faltered. According to Dumais, Sudbury, and Canada, is still at the forefront of mining technology. This is proven, he said, when he visits countries like Mexico.

"When I say I'm from (Canada), I get instant credibility," he said, adding that Sudbury will benefit from the Ring of Fire.

"There's great opportunities for mining supply in general. There's lots of opportunities for local businesses to provide services."

Hanson sees this project as a way to put Canada back on the international map.

"We're leaders in the mining industry. We have to get that back. We have to reestablish ourselves in what we do and what we do is we're good miners."

rpoliakov@thesudburystar.com