Ring of Fire must be a national priority: report

The report says that within the first decade of development, the mineral-rich area will generate up to $9.4 billion in GDP and nearly $6.2 billion for the province’s mining industry.

Hoping to spur activity in the stalled region, the chamber is calling on Ottawa to take a more active role in the financing of the lucrative mining camp, since it stands to be the primary benefactor of tax revenues — and that “should provide a compelling incentive to invest.”

“At a minimum, it should match any provincial investments in the Ring of Fire infrastructure,” says the “Beneath the Surface” report.

Greg Rickford, the minister responsible for the file, reaffirmed Wednesday that Ottawa’s new Building Canada fund is the way for the province to access major infrastructure dollars.

With the estimated $2 billion cost of building everything from an all-season road to transmission lines, all levels of government stand to recoup their investment within a decade, the document notes.

Over the long-term (32 years), the analysis shows it will generate more than $25 billion in economic activity across Ontario.

The areas expected to benefit are the construction sector in Thunder Bay, the mining supply and service sector in Sudbury, Mississauga, Ottawa and Burlington, the financial services sector in Toronto and the manufacturing sector in London.

Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources indefinitely suspended its massive chromite project last November due to uncertain timelines it blamed on government red tape, but has retained its assets in the stalled region in hopes of getting it off the ground eventually.

“Experts are generally confident that Cliffs will either re-engage in activities or sell its assets to another company who will commence development,” notes the report.

Meanwhile Toronto-based Noront Resources Ltd. has plans to start construction next year on its Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper-palladium project in the Ring of Fire, an area of 5,120 square kilometres in the James Bay lowlands located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay which is said to contain $60 billion worth of minerals.

Since the early 2000s, significant deposits of copper, zinc, nickel, platinum, vanadium and gold have been found there. The most promising discovery is the first commercial quantities of chromite, used to make stainless steel, in North America.

Issues that must immediately be addressed, says the report, include public funding — with the help of Ontario “Ring of Fire bonds” — the needs of affected First Nations communities, labour market shortages in the North and environment regulation.

“Our analysis shows that the Ring of Fire is an unparalleled opportunity for the province to diversify its economy and solidify its place as a global leader in mining and mining technology,” the report states.

“Despite its far-reaching economic potential, however, the Ring of Fire does not yet resonate in the consciousness of the broader public. This lack of awareness has been cited as a crucial variable slowing the development of the Ring,” says the study.

Based on current projections, the regions entire mineral deposit is significant enough to sustain activity for a century, it notes, while pointing out that public investment in the area is “absent to date.”

“There are growing concerns within Ontario’s business community about the glacial pace at which the Ring of Fire is undergoing development. Progress is slow and the realization of its potential seems no closer than it was several years ago,” says chamber president Allan O’Dette.

“It represents a huge opportunity, not just for Northern Ontario but for southern Ontario and all of Canada,” he said in an interview.

One alternative mode of transportation the report suggests is to combine roadways with hovercraft, which could transport infrastructure material to communities and mine sites in the short-term to accelerate development while permanent transportation routes are being constructed.

It recommends Ontario develop a long-term infrastructure plan for the Far North and equip the planned Ring of Fire development corporation with the resources needed to bring the prospective area into production.

As an immediate next step, the chamber says the province must conduct a rigorous cost-benefit analysis of a special electricity incentive to locate mineral processing plants in Ontario.

The provincial government should also remove regulatory barriers that impede the Ring’s development “to the greatest extent possible,” it adds.