Ring of Fire ‘absolutely critical’ to his administration, premier says

The development of the Ring of Fire remains a top priority for the Conservative government, said Premier Doug Ford.

Ford was in Verner Tuesday attending the opening ceremonies at the International Plowing Match when he addressed questions from the media relating to everything from broadband service for rural Northern communities and education to autism and the Ring of Fire.

“The Ring of Fire is absolutely critical for our administration,” Ford said. “You will see me on that bulldozer, it’s one of our highest priorities for the government and the province.”

When asked if Ontario Northland will play an integral part in that development, Ford referred the question to Minister of Energy, Mines, Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day at the Kinoomaadziwin Education Body office on Nipissing First Nation, Rickford said the province is working on bilateral agreements with Indigenous communities this fall and hopes to have the first of a series of environmental assessments completed by the end of the year.

• He said while it may sound aspirational, the hope is to have shovels in the ground as early as late winter or early spring.

“The previous government failed to get us to a place where shovels got into the ground. As the federal minister in my previous capacity we endeavoured to support corridor studies and options for communities to actually create access to this support region,” he said.

“We are now moving ahead on bilateral agreements with Indigenous communities most proximal to the sites where mines can be opening. We’re calling this the Corridor to Prosperity and we believe that in addition to accessing mine sites this will bring at least half a dozen communities who have no road access to the southern part of Northern Ontario.”

“This isn’t just about the Ring of Fire with all due respect,” Rickford added. “It’s about creating opportunities in health, in economics and the social elements of communities who desire down the road, no pun intended, to have road access.”

Ford promised during his election campaign that he would hop on a bulldozer himself and start building the road to the Ring of Fire.

According to the province, the Ring of Fire is one of the most promising mineral development opportunities in Ontario in more than a century.

The development, which is located in the James Bay Lowlands in Ontario’s Far North, offers an opportunity to mine chromite, nickel, copper and platinum.

Noront Resources is the largest claim holder in the Ring of Fire and the company is planning to develop its Eagles Nest nickel mine followed by chromite mines.

In May, the company announced Sault Ste. Marie will be the future home for a new ferrochrome processing plant.

Chromite, one of the resources found in the Ring of Fire, can be processed into ferrochrome, a key ingredient in stainless steel.

With files from Michael Lee