Forgive Ed, he is on a rampage ( did not have anything good to drink yesterday so is hyper today):
Noront is a flag bearer for the Ring so it is important for this bearer to be operating as soon as possible as a sign to the other companies and more so to future investment that the Ring in not only possible today but a solid opportunity for the future.
Politicians and the native communities have to realize that we can not wait for the next generation to get the Ring Right. Wasting time for ten or twenty years is doing it Wrong. I mean how much better can they make things 20 years from now as to what can be done today? Squat, compared to a generation of people without jobs and hope.
As for environment, neither the forests nor the animals of the region will be affected to any significant degree. What does 0.1% at most and at worst really affect the whole?
Arguments are made about the chromite ore and possible health effects. These are almost as hollow.
I say NO to hauling chromite ore by trucks because that would contribute to chromite dust way more than doing so by train, irrespective of cost differentials between them.
As far as chromite dust contaminating the ground waters, that is mostly scare mongering. Tell me that the ore presently in the ground is affecting the ground water and that is why you must haul truck loads of bottled water to have something to drink. Yes the water is contaminated but the degree must be so low that is not worthy of debate. Just develop the Ring and you can kiss bottled water hauling good bye.
When one can not find a decent argument one makes mountains out of mole hills. ( Did I just did same? lol)
