"The Rof in the past was also described as big enough to not only pull Ontario out of recession but also all of Canada."

I think one would have to consider the legitimacy of such a sweeping statement. With a world in recession you can make all of the Ni you want but if no one is manufacturing you can't sell it. Conversely if the world goes to war, sadly, metals will be in high demand. Having a massive metals area all on it's own would not constitute auto-correction for an economy, particularly the whole country of Canada....you'd have to have supporting participating economies.