By: Martha Dillman - Sudbury Northern Life
Mayor Marianne Matichuk met with representatives from Cliffs Natural Resouces on Feb. 16 to discuss the possibility of the company building a ferrochrome production facility in Greater Sudbury.
The spokesperson for the mayor's office, Paul Demers, said the meeting went really well.
“It's important that we have a good relationship with them,” he said. “They spoke with us about who they are and we told them who we are and about our community.”
Demers said no further meetings are scheduled with Cliffs at this time. He also said Cliffs brought up concerns about hydro rates in Ontario.
“This is still very preliminary,” he said. “Of course the issues that they have brought forward is a provincial issue, it's not a Sudbury-unique issue.”
On Feb. 3, Cliffs issued a press release stating it may build the facility within the city to process ore from a chromite mine from the Ring of Fire Development, located on the James Bay lowlands of northern Ontario.
Other areas in northern Ontario, including Timmins, Thunder Bay and Greenstone were mentioned as potential locations.
“This is a company that's doing their due diligence and looking around for an area in which they have a smelting plant and we are on their list,” Demers said. “When they ask to meet, we meet with them.”
Demers said Sudbury has many selling points that were mentioned to the company, including the mining labour force and access to education through local colleges and universities.
“We have what we believe is a good site for them that meets their requirements, with regards to transportation and facility needs,” he said. “We're just exposing (the city) to them as they are telling us who they are and what they're looking for.”
