The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has the results of several studies -- those commissioned by Deloitte and Hatch Mott MacDonald Inc., environmental and engineering studies done by Noront and a $785,000 joint federal-provincial community transportation corridor study conducted. It was conducted by Webequie, Eabametoong, Neskantaga and Nibinamik First Nations.

Alan Coutts, president and chief executive officer of Noront, said it's up to the province to take those studies, look at what it would take to meet community and industry needs, and fine-tune them into a plan.

First Nations completed the joint study at the end of June, but its results haven't been made public. Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said his ministry is still in discussion with those communities "as to where we go next."

Coutts is expecting the province to decide how to "knit together" the information in the studies and come up with an outcome all stakeholders can live with. And he expects that to be done by the end of 2016.

"You are never going to please everyone," said Coutts. "You have to be aware of that. That's the way we see it.

The Ring of Fire, located 240 kilometres west of James Bay and northeast of Thunder Bay, contains chromite, nickel and other ores.

Noront is developing its high-grade nickel, copper and PGE deposit Eagle's Nest first. In April 2015, it acquired Cliffs Natural Resources chromite deposits. Its next projects are the Blackbird and Black Thor chromite deposits.

He hasn't seen it but Coutts said his understanding of the joint study is that it looked at how communities would network with each other and with the outside world. It didn't look at direct aspects of the industrial development, he said.

"We're expecting the government now to go away, take all this information, and come up with a proposal and start socializing that proposal with the various stakeholders, and kind of winnowing that down to the final outcome," said Coutts.

The Hatch study looks at the cost to build a road, its location, and whether a pipeline or railroad would be a better way to move ore, he said.

"The government of Ontario knows how to build roads. I mean they build roads all the time," said Coutts. "They build gravel roads, they build highways, you name it, and they're pretty good at it. So this shouldn't be that hard."

Some media reports last week slammed the federal government, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as being ill-informed and disinterested in a mining area that could generate $60 billion of wealth in its lifetime.

Coutts is not among those critics.

"Mr Trudeau's been saying very clearly they'll put money into projects that are shovel-ready and have an infrastructure or First Nations aspect to them."

But those projects will have to be "clearly articulated" before the federal government considers them. Once that is done, "I think he'll be there," said Coutts of the prime minister.

As Coutts waits for a decision on transportation in the Ring, Noront is taking advantage of the delay to consolidate its claims in the area.

With its acquisition of 75 per cent of MacDonald Mines Properties, Noront now controls about 75 per cent of the staked claims in the Ring of Fire.

"We've pretty well consolidated all the prospective land there. So we're very motivated to continue that process," said Coutts.

Noront has started diamond drilling and exploring for more nickel, copper and platinum-group metals where it thinks the potential is good for new discoveries.

It has hired people from Marten Falls, Webequie First Nations and other local communities at the site, and diamond-drilling is a joint venture with Webequie.

"We're trying to show people there are economic outcomes, there's the jobs we're talking about, there's participation that's real."

Noront will continue with exploration and consolidation, and continue to advocate for the province to put what Coutts calls a "holistic plan in place this year, using all these pieces of information they've generated to inform the plan."

Coutts said Premier Kathleen Wynne has said she wants to get shovels in the ground in the Ring of Fire by 2018. In order for meaningful construction to start by then, decisions will have to be made this year.

Engineering work will have to be done and environmental approvals given "so it's not like you can break sod immediately. You need to get the plan in place and start moving."