Northern mayors unite

By Chelsey Romain, The Daily Press

Posted 14 hours ago

http://www.timminspress.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2963746

Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren was in Sudbury Friday for the meeting. After the October municipal elections, he was the only returning mayor in the group. The other four cities — North Bay, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Sault St. Marie — all elected new mayors.

Laughren said as the group discussed issues from the Northern Ontario Growth Plan to the need for more consistent funding for the whole of the North, the newcomers were eager to learn about what has already been done.

"I think for our first meeting, I was very, very impressed with their thoughts and how quickly they grasped things," Laughren said. "They are very appreciative of the work that has already been done and I think they want to move forward as a group."

One of the major topics of discussion was the Northern Ontario Growth Plan. The plan was first introduced some four years ago by the provincial government. Laughren said the group is looking forward to seeing the plan roll out before the provincial election next year.

"We believe that in Northern Ontario we are trying to build a stable economy in a resource-based economy," Laughren said. "We're hoping the growth plan will address some of those kind of avenues."

The concern among the group that the plan hasn't yet come to fruition in terms of funding. The fear is that initiatives in the growth plan will be funded by already existing dollars in the North, from sources such as the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.

"Another concern would be, would we be funding all kinds of studies as it related to the growth plan out of the NOHFC," said Laughren. "We think there's some real concrete areas that need to be worked on right away.

"Energy is one of them, transportation is another. There should be a transportation study for Northeast and Northwestern Ontario."

That discussion also included potential benefits from the Ring of Fire. Laughren said its known that each of the communities are lobbying to benefit from the major mining project, and that has to be respected, but all could lose out if they don't speak as one voice.

"If we do not get competitive in energy or transportation in North Bay, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Greenstone or Timmins, nobody will be getting the benefits of the Ring of Fire," he said. "When Xstrata closed, we lobbied very hard on energy and we were successful in getting it reduced for sure, but it wasn't enough to change Xstrata's mind.

"Is it enough to convince those involved with the Ring of Fire? I don't think so, I think they need better that that so I think we need to focus on that."

Friday's meeting also included a discussion on the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund and creating a presentation for political party leaders prior to the provincial election. Each of the five cities will put together their own part and, as a group, they will present a Northern platform.

The group needs to create a working relationship, Laughren said, the members are strangers to each other. He said the creation of the group has allowed for these communities to have open discussions and become the one voice that is needed to lobby the provincial government.

"Every community is in the same boat when it comes to infrastructure, improving our water and sewer facilities and assessment," Laughren said. "I think we're all in agreement that our communities are our No. 1 priority, but that our No. 2 has to be working on these common threads and working as a group.

"We're sharing more information with each other than we used to."

In addition to the mayors, the cities' chief administrative officers are also meeting on a regular basis

Mayors looking for more respect from Ottawa, Queen's Park

By HAROLD CARMICHAEL, QMI AGENCY

Updated 2 hours ago

SUDBURY -- The mayors of the five largest cities in Northern Ontario want the McGuinty government to recognize those cities have a top role to play in that region's economy and prosperity.

The five -- Marianne Matichuk of Greater Sudbury, Keith Hobbs of Thunder Bay, Debbie Amaroso of Sault Ste. Marie, Al McDonald of North Bay and Tom Laughren of Timmins -- emerged from a lengthy meeting at Tom Davies Square on Friday, agreeing to work more closely together to pursue common goals and to form a united front in dealing with the province and federal government.

Top priorities identified at the meeting, reporters heard at a press conference, included the portance of working together, working for economic development in Northern Ontario, pushing for a sustainable growth plan and keeping close tabs on the province's unfolding Northern Ontario Growth Plan.

"There is a need to recognize that the (five) cities are central and key to the economic development of Northern Ontario," Matichuk said in a statement. "There is a need to recognize them as growth centres ...

"We hope to see a climate that will grow the population, economy and ccess in Northern Ontario."

Reporters also heard that the mayors are looking to meet with Michael Gravelle, the minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, and Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli, to talk about such issues as the Northern Ontario Growth Plan and the need for more infrastructure in the North.

The mayors also said it's time Northern Ontario started showing up on the radar more at Parliament Hill.

"We want Ottawa to start paying more attention to the North," said Hobbs. "They pay a lot of attention to southern and eastern Ontario. It's time to start paying more attention to Northern Ontario."

The five cities, said Matichuk, account for about half of the population of Northern Ontario.

Friday's meeting was the first time the five mayors had met since the October 2010 municipal election. Several of the mayors, including Amaroso, are new.

The five mayors plan to meet every few months.

Ring of Fire plans call for lower hydro rates in North

By Kate McLaren, The Daily Press

Posted 17 hours ago

Representatives from mining company Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced plans to process ore mined in the Ring of Fire in Ontario.

Bill Boor, presidents of ferroalloys for Cliffs, explained during a conference call Friday morning the project has "great potential" in Northern Ontario, creating up to 1,300 jobs.

An important component of the operation is a ferrochrome production facility (FPF) — a smelter using electric arc furnaces to refine ore into ferrochrome, which will then be sold to steel makers in North America and around the world.

Although the company is hoping for an FPF in Ontario, Boor said there is a roadblock in that plan.

"We've identified a few places in Northern Ontario where this would theoretically be viable, but at the current provincial power rates, there isn't a place where it's feasible," he said.

"The challenge with power rates is generally understood in Ontario, so it's best for everyone if we just call that out upfront as we start this work."

He added cost-effective electricity is a requirement to run the arc furnaces in the smelter.

Although Cliffs has been in talks with several Northern municipalities, including Timmins, about the possibility of FPFs, a brownfield site in Capreol, near Sudbury has been identified as the most feasible.

"This site is more than 300 kilometres north of any roads and rails, and will require an integrated transportation system, including an air strip and a permanent year-round road."

If permitting and feasibility studies go according to plan, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. expects to begin construction in 2013 and mining operations in 2015.

"The government has a key role, and their involvement will be crucial," said Boor.

MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) agrees. While he said the announcement the company is willing to process the ore in Ontario is good news, but will not happen without co-operation from the provincial government.

"They're looking at four sites in Ontario to process the ore, and it's great they're acknowledging the pressure we've been putting on, but they won't be able to build a refinery or a smelter in any of those sites if Ontario doesn't deal with its energy price issue.

"What this company's doing is they're trying to send a warning shot to the government that they're positioning themselves, they want to build in Ontario, but they cannot economically build and operate in Ontario without a better deal on electricity."

Bisson said had the government dealt with high energy costs, Xstrata's Timmins smelter would likely have stayed.

"These smelters are large energy consumers, and if we want these sites to stay in Ontario, there's got to be a better policy in place that allows that to happen.

"Yes the announcement today is good news, but the Ontario government has dropped the ball."

Cliffs Natural Resources Ring of Fire operations would create up to 500 jobs at the mine site, up to 300 with the transportation system, and up to 500 at the FPF.

Also exploring the Ring of Fire is KWG Resources Inc, who this week announced the production of high carbon ferrochrome from a sample taken from their Big Daddy deposit.

The pilot plant test was conducted at the Xstrata Process Support facility in Falconbridge, and demonstrates chromite from that deposit can be smelted into ferrochrome.

"This is a landmark event in the determination of the economic viability and technical feasibility of the Ring of Fire chromite discoveries," explained KWG President Frank Smeenk. "It's confirmation that our part of the globe hosts at least one substantial resource of this most important steel-making ingredient."

While Bisson remains optimistic about the Ring of Fire's potential, he said the Ontario government's co-operation is crucial.

"I believe yes, the Ring of Fire is going to happen. If we can build a diamond mine in Attawapiskat, we can develop the Ring of Fire. But what's missing is the government."

'It's exciting for Sudbury to be named for this'

By HAROLD CARMICHAEL, THE SUDBURY STAR

Updated 1 hour ago

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2964637

Mayor Marianne Matichuk, following a meeting Friday in Greater Sudbury with the mayors of other Northern Ontario cities, said it's early in the game for the proposed project, which would see chromite from the company's Black Thor deposit in the McFaulds Lake (Ring of Fire) area shipped to the proposed plant.

"It's exciting for Sudbury to be named in this," she said.

"This is very preliminary in the study. We are hoping it is going to have spinoffs for all of Northern Ontario."

When asked how many jobs the project would create, Matichuk said "a couple of hundred to start".

Cliffs Natural Resources' Black Thor chromite deposit contains an estimated 69.5 million tonnes at a grade of about 31.9% chromite. Cliffs said it's looking at running an open pit mine and on-site ore-processing facility to produce concentrate.

The concentrate would then be sent to a ferrochrome production facility to manufacture ferrochrome. The company said it has identified a brownfield site in Greater Sudbury on which to build the plant, but didn't say where the site was.

Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren told reporters that unless the commercial hydro rate in Ontario is changed, don't count on the proposed chromite plant being built in the North, or province, for that matter.

"There is no place in Ontario that can be competitive from an energy perspective," he said. "At the end of the day, if we don't get energy rates in line with other places -- we have seen that in Timmins with Xstrata -- none of us is going to see it."

In a scrum with reporters after the press conference, Matichuk also took the position that Ontario's commercial hydro rate has to be addressed.

"We won't have anybody coming to us because of the high rates," she said.

Matichuk declined to speculate on the city's chances of landing the chromite processing plant.

"This is good news, but it is still preliminary," she said. "I think we need to get more information. I'm very optimistic, but I wouldn't want to put the cart before the horse."

Laughren added there is no transportation infrastructure in place in the Ring of Fire area and that has to be addressed.

"If we don't put infrastructure into it, it won't be successful," he said. "It won't succeed."

Dick DeStefano, executive director of the 110-member Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association, said landing the chromite processing facility anywhere in Ontario would be difficult, largely due to high commercial hydro rates. He said that's why Xstrata Copper closed its Timmins smelter last year in favour of a smelter in Quebec.

"My feeling, initially, is yes (because of the rates)," he said. "But why would they do it here and not Thunder Bay? It's good they are looking, but it's years away. At least we are in the game."

DeStefano said the electricity needs of such a processing plant would be enormous.

"It's going to burn enough juice to supply a whole city," he said.

DeStefano suspects some type of commercial hydro announcement is coming from Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid and that's why the news just broke about the proposed processing plant. However, he can't see the province changing the commercial rate now with all its new hydro initiatives underway.

"I don't think they will ever reduce it, but I have a suspicion there have been negotiations with an announcement formally encouraging them to come here," he said. "(But) if they reduce the commercial rate, they are going to have to reduce the residential rate, and they have said that there is a 45% hike coming in five years."

Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci could not be reached for comment Friday. He was in Ottawa attending a meeting.

Nickel Belt New Democrat MPP France Gelinas said the McGuinty government has to do something about the commercial hydro rate or the plant will be lost.

"This is great news for the residents of Nickel Belt and Greater Sudbury. Sudbury's mining service sector is well recognized globally, but we may lose out because of the provincial electricity policy," Gelinas said in a news release.

Gilles Bisson, the Ontario NDP's mining critic, added that ore mined in Ontario should be processed in Ontario.

hcarmichael@thesudburystar.com