http://www.timminspress.com/2016/03/07/companies-already-jockeying-for-first-dibs-on-ring-of-fire-infrastructure-money

Noront CEO Alan Coutts speaks at a mining conference in Toronto.

There could be battle shaping up on who gets first dibs on the government infrastructure money that has been promised for the Ring Of Fire mining development in far Northern Ontario.

Speaking out the annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) now on in Toronto, Alan Coutts said his company is ready to move ahead with an all-season road for the project.

Coutts is the president and CEO of Noront Resources Ltd., one of the major players in the Ring Of Fire venture a large mining development located about 600 kilometres northwest of Timmins, in the remote McFaulds Lake area. The prospect is identified mainly as a chromite project, valued in the tens of billions of dollars.

Monday’s announcement by Coutts is at odds with an announcement made earlier this year by KWG Resources Inc, the other big player at the Ring Of Fire.

In January, KWG vice president Bruce Hodgman revealed his company had worked out a deal with China Railway First Survey and Design Institute (FSDI) for a feasibility study on a railway corridor into the project.

At that time, Hodgman said it was KWG that staked all the high ground leading out of the Ring Of Fire area.

“So it is the only feasible corridor because it has the high ground and, of course, we have so much swamp up there it doesn’t make any sense to go anywhere else.”

Hodgman said KWG spent between $15- and $20-million on pre-engineering, surveying and soil testing work on that corridor to make sure it could support a railroad. With that, the company presented the information to China Rail, which in the past 60 years has created nearly 48,000 kilometres of rail through some of the world’s most difficult terrain.

Speaking at the convention in Toronto Monday, Coutts said Noront has other ideas. He mentioned that Franco-Nevada Corporation entered into a share purchase agreement in 2015 with Noront, allowing Noront to purchase chromite assets formerly owned by Cliffs Natural Resources.

“They bankrolled us to make this acquisition, and we now hold ownership, 100 % level or majority ownership, of the seven major deposits that have been found to date in that region.”

This includes the Eagle’s Nest, a rich nickel, copper and platinum deposit, said Coutts.

“This is an 11 million tonne reserve,” said Coutts, with an estimated life of between 11 to 20 years at 3,000 tonners per day (tpd).

“It’s a very, very rich deposit because not only does it have nickel and copper, but it also about four grams of platinum, palladium and gold (4g/tonne), he said.

Calling it an economically robust project, Coutts said the plan is to create a new underground mine that would allow the company to create about 150,000 tonnes of concentrate per year. This would help pay for the day when the company is ready to begin mining the chromite resources.

“So what we’re advocating is let’s build infrastructure to support this modest rich proposal. Let’s get the communities involved. Let the people see that we can live up to our high standards environmentally, live up to our obligations to our community members,” said Coutts.

“And once everyone is feeling good about how this project is developing turn our attention to some of the more complex larger projects like the chromite,” Coutts added.

He also reminded the audience that Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne has pledged support to the Ring Of Fire by promising a billion dollars in infrastructure funding. And Coutts said that is what will enable the road project.

“I spend my time with the provincial government and with the communities advocating for the development of infrastructure. Right now the discussion has expanded to include the federal government, which is very interested in participating as well,” he said

“So what we’re looking at is the development of an industrial corridor that will be shared with the local communities, and the communities will also have there own process in place where they’re looking at how they will network between the various small communities in the region.”

Under questioning from the audience, Coutts admitted that a railroad might be something to look at in the future, but said now it not the time.

“A lot of people ask me about north-south routing, about railroads and so forth. That will come. It is going to be necessary to do with the chromite. However the first enabler is an all-season gravel road network, that will be about 500 kilometres in total length that will link communities and will link the economic development of the Ring of Fire, to the highway north of Pickle Lake,” said Coutts.

“It is all coming to a head, and we are expecting to have this inclusion on the infrastructure piece by mid-year, this year,” he continued.

In response to a question from The Daily Press, about whether there would be enough funding available for both Noront’s proposal and a rail link, Coutts said the chromite market is not currently ripe enough to justify the rail idea at this time, whereas the road idea is ready.

“Like I said this first infrastructure development is very advanced. This is going to happen,” Coutts insisted.

“There is not economic rationale at this point for any railway or any development of the chromite. But we want to be ready. Markets always turn, and there will be that opportunity. When that happens, I don’t envision there will be any disagreement on that. I think we are very agreed on how we would access that and what infrastructure would be required and how to develop the chromite.”

Timmins – James Bay MP Charlie Angus, who was at the PDAC convention, said he believes the federal and provincial governments need to start moving forward on any infrastructure, regardless of rail or road. Angus said there has been too much talk and not enough action.

I don’t believe this is necessarily “either – or”. I believe this is a huge infrastructure development. We need the roads to connect the communities, to connect those communities to the economy of the 21st century,” he said.

“We’re also going to need to look at the issue of rail in terms of getting the supplies out. I think that we need to see what role Ontario Northland can play,” Angus added. He said Ontario Northland was created to support the development of Northern Ontario more than 100 years ago.

“You know, the North needs to be developed again,” he said.