New Ring of Fire report card gives Ottawa failing grade, urges immediate action

Ontario’s Ring of Fire mineral belt is years away from being built despite an expected turnaround in metal prices and First Nations’ dire need for development of the far north, says the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

“Despite its significant potential, we are no closer today than we were a year ago to realizing the benefits of the Ring of Fire,” says the new one-year report card obtained by The Star.

“After a year of delays, public and expert perception on the viability of the Ring of Fire as a sound economic investment has soured,” it says.

The site, 400 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont., is estimated to have $60 billion of mineral value including base metals, platinum and palladium, along with North America’s largest deposit of chromite, which is used to make stainless steel.

The deposit is considered significant enough to sustain activity for a century.

Spread over 5,120 square kilometers, the area is expected to generate nearly $2 billion in tax revenues and up to 5,500 full-time jobs in the first 10 years of mining activity.

“There is still no infrastructure plan in place, there remains little agreement between the most important players, and delays in issuing exploration permits have stalled any potential development,” says the Chamber’s chief executive Allan O’Dette.

Toronto-based Noront Resources Ltd. is the closest to developing its Eagle’s Nest deposit of high-grade nickel, copper, platinum and palladium after U.S.-based Cliffs Natural Resources abandoned plans for a massive chromite mine in 2013.

Performance grades on the report card — which urges immediate action on the stalled Ring — ranged from two F’s, one D, three C’s and one B-minus one year after its first economic analysis on the Ring.

Grades were determined based on the input of over sixty experts from the mining, engineering, infrastructure, not-for-profit, and post-secondary sectors, and First Nations communities.

“We hope this Report Card is the catalyst for momentum for this once-in-a-generation economic opportunity. It is time to get to work,” adds O’Dette.

REPORT CARD GRADES:

On the Chamber’s recommendation to accelerate development of the Ring of Fire:

Grade: F

“Despite its discovery seven years ago, Ontario is still years away from opening a first mine in the Ring of Fire. A lack of infrastructure and permitting delays have ground activity to a near halt.”

The Chamber urges opening a first mine to build momentum, saying mines that are furthest along in the permitting process, such as Noront Resources, should be the priority.

“Government can and should allow activities related to the development of mine operations,” it says, so long as they operate within the confines of a framework agreement reached last March with Matawa First Nations to advance opportunities for economically challenged local communities near the mineral zone.

Grade: F

The federal government has yet to match Ontario funding of $1 billion that would show this massive economic development is on the front burner. The Chamber urges Ottawa to do so, and commit significant federal funds to transportation infrastructure, beyond the joint federal-provincial investment of $785,000 announced at this month’s prospectors’ convention to study the benefits of developing an all-season east-west corridor to access the Ring.

Grade: D

The Ontario government has no plan in place to help miners compete in the highly competitive global chromite market, yet Ontario could be the lowest-cost producer in the world if it develops the area. In the short term, the province and Ottawa should partner with the private sector to invest in innovative technologies that can reduce energy consumption in the production process.

Grade: C

There have been no public updates on negotiations since the province and Matawa First Nations announced a general regional framework agreement on March, 2014, the report notes. “It is unclear to anyone not involved with these talks whether progress has been made at the negotiating table,” it says, adding there needs to be more openness around this critical process.