Today was the ROF lunch and learn in Timmins. The link for the lunch and learn is below. The Timmins daily press published , "Red hot opportunities with the Ring of Fire" in the paper today.

http://www.timminschamber.on.ca/events/LNLRingofFire6Jun11.pdf

Red hot opportunities with Ring of Fire

By Kate McLaren, The Daily Press

According to a presentation made in Timmins Monday, action is heating up over the Far North's Ring of Fire mineral deposit.

Dr. Christine Kaszycki is the deputy Minister of Northern Development, Mines, and Forestry and the co-ordinator of a new secretariat formed for the Ring of Fire. While close to 40 companies hold claims in the Ring of Fire belt, she said a few have forged ahead, submitting project descriptions and pre-assessment proposals.

"The area of most intense exploration right now is the Southeast part of the Ring, where discoveries of chromite, nickel, and copper have led to significant development opportunities."

One of the key players in the development is Cliffs Natural Resources, a company looking to mine chromite, a valuable material used to make stainless steel.

In the search for a ferrochrome processing facility, Cliffs has identified a base case in Capreol, near Sudbury, but Kaszucki explained cities like Timmins may also be well positioned to participate.

"I think Timmins has a lot of expertise in this area with respect to future development, and as the project does advance, we'll be engaging all of the potential communities."

She said as a city, it's important for Timmins to "reach out" to the mining companies and demonstrate their potential benefits.

"These individual communities want to reach out to the companies to make sure they're aware of what they have to offer, and to position themselves in the marketplace.

"The way to do this is by reaching out to these companies and putting together a strategy that identifies the opportunities and the benefits of working in the community and ensuring these benefits are well-understood."

The co-ordinator said when it comes to developments as large as the Ring of Fire, the Ontario government's involvement is a positive thing.

"it's important to have the opportunity early in the project to be able to co-ordinate approaches that will ensure economic and environmental sustainability.

"The Ring of Fire is located in a very remote part of the province, so this is a chance for us to facilitate things like infrastructure development, and to have that conversation up front. It works for everyone."

The discovery of the massive chromite deposit in particular has huge potential in the international marketplace, explained Kaszycki.

"There is no substitution for chromite in the manufacturing of stainless steel, and there's no other significant source of chromite in North America, so this creates the opportunity to capture market shares in both US and European markets."

Development of the Ring of Fire project will likely require the construction of at least one all-weather road to the area.

As companies proceed with plans, projects will soon be moving from the late-exploration stage to the pre-feasibility and environmental study stage.

As of fall 2010, Kaszycki said approximately $155 million has been spent in exploration in the Ring of Fire.

Along with Cliffs Natural Resources, other mining companies taking the lead with projects include KWG Resources and Noront Resources.

Providing land-use planning and environmental assessments are completed as anticipated, production in the Ring of Fire could start in 2015/2016, with construction projected for mid 2013.