Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said federal government support will be crucial to build infrastructure in the Ring of Fire.




Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and FedNor, said Monday the federal government will not commit to $1-billion in blanket funding for Ring of Fire infrastructure development.


Honourable Minister Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle,

The Ring of Fire's development will happen very quickly if Ontario adopts policy based upon your own government report, Northern Policy Institute: The Airport/Port Transportation Authority Model which advocates the benefits of a "transportation authority" as opposed to a "provincial development corporation" model for the Ring of Fire.

It is not the right time for the provincial government to assume all the risks of a crown corporation in the Ring of Fire, given uncertain mineral markets and prices, a growing provincial deficit and debt, unresolved First Nations issues and the need for a regional environmental assessment, not just one company's assessment.

Honourable Minister Rickford has explained that matching funds for ROF infrastructure will flow only after a firm written commitment, by both the First Nations and the government of Ontario, to select and develop the proper regional infrastructure network, including chromite delivery, is signed and a detailed business plan is made available.

The federal government is in a perfect position and the timing is right to have Honourable Bill Mauro meet Rickford and steer the project forward through the authority model and financing would not need to come from the Building Canada Fund.

Your commitment predicates a solution to which form, (road, rail or pipeline) and which route or combination there of, (Northern East West, Southern East West or North South), is best for transporting chromite ore from the Ring of Fire to supply and deliver chromium concentrate, ferrochrome, and nickel at the lowest long term competitive world price. Deloitte is in a position to help Ontario make that selection.

Minister Michael Gravelle, we are all well aware that Cliffs will no longer be a party to the Devco. This implies who you will be negotiating with and the choices that are available.

If the Ontario government directs Infrastructure Ontario and the MNDM to become shareholders and agree to transfer it’s shares of the Ontario Northland Railway to a federally chartered, shell crown corporation, it could share administration along with First Nations and private enterprise under provincial legislation forming a hybrid of Ontario's ROF Development Corporation.

KWG Resources would then transfer it's corridor mining claims to the “James Bay & Lowlands Ports Authority” and help privately finance the bulk of the ROF railway or chromite slurry pipeline.

It would be able to privately fund it's proposed natural gas powered chromite reducer and chromite mine, all located in Ontario. This would lead to a revitalized Ontario steel industry.


"It's all about who can supply and deliver chromium concentrate, ferrochrome, and nickel at a long term competitive world price."

KWG is working with Glencore affiliate XPS Consulting & Testwork Services and has filed a patent application, to commercialize a new method of refining into ferro chrome the chromite ore from the Ring of Fire by means of natural gas. Their study suggested that overall direct energy costs to process one tonne of concentrate into metallised ferrochrome alloy were "less than half" that required for conventional technology. KWG said this process has a “considerably lower greenhouse gas emission footprint and greatly reduced impact on the environment.”

Advances in long-distance slurry pipeline liquid lining technology allow for very small chromite particle transport. A chromite carrying pipeline is feasible should the First Nation require it over rail. Chromite fines reaching Nakina by pipeline would not impede KWG's ability to reduce the chromite. The de-watered chromite fines can be fed directly into the gas-fired pre-reduction process for ferroalloy production with conventional pelletising offering significantly reduced CO2 emission. Rail south of Nakina would still be required to supply Ontario's revitalized stainless steel industry.

Canadians and Ontarians should not be forced to pay for a large part of the mine railway, subsidize corporate electrical power rates and see a large part of semi-processed natural resources leave Canada.

To accomplish all this, Ontario merely needs to choose an authority model similar to the Airport/Port Transportation Authority model. It would be effective in developing infrastructure in the Ring of Fire and the Canadian government would facilitate the Ontario initiative."



Gravelle mum on Ring of Fire development corporation

northernontariobusiness.com
By: Jonathan Migneault
8/26/2014

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said the province is not yet ready to announce a development corporation to lead infrastructure decisions around the Ring of Fire, despite a nearing self-imposed deadline.

Gravelle was not able to share new information regarding the long-awaited development corporation at the 2014 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference in Sudbury.

The annual gathering of Canada's provincial, territorial and federal mines and energy ministers is an opportunity for them to share best practices and build partnerships.

During her Speech from the Throne on July 3, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the government would establish a Ring of Fire development corporation within 60 days.

“Your government commits $1 billion for transportation infrastructure to help access the Ring of Fire,” she said during the speech. “Your government will continue its efforts to bring the federal government to the table as a willing and active partner, and will seek a matching federal commitment to seize the opportunity for Ontario and Canada that lies in the Ring of Fire.”

According to a February report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the nickel and chromite deposits in the Ring of Fire could generate up to $9.4 billion in economic activity over 10 years and sustain 5,500 jobs annually.

“We will meet the commitment,” Gravelle said in an interview, regarding the province's self-imposed deadline to launch the Ring of Fire development corporation.

That will give the province until early September to make an announcement.

It will be the development corporation's responsibility to decide how the province's $1-billion commitment to infrastructure in the Ring of Fire should be spent.

Gravelle said through discussions with First Nations and industry partners, four or five ideas have been proposed for infrastructure development in the Ring of Fire.

Those ideas range from what sort of infrastructure should be built – rail or road – to what direction it should follow – a north-south route or an east-west route.

While the province has already made its $1-billion commitment to Ring of Fire infrastructure, it has also asked the federal government to make the same commitment.

“I believe it's absolutely crucial that the federal government is able to match the substantial $1-billion contribution we've made for infrastructure,” Gravelle said.

But in an interview Monday, Greg Rickford, Canada's minister of natural resources and FedNor, said the federal Conservatives are not ready to make the same $1-billion commitment to the Ring of Fire the province has made.

Rickford said the feds have already made investments in the nearby First Nations to increase their educational opportunities.

He said future federal funding for the Ring of Fire will need to be tied to specific projects with precise goals.

The 2014 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference continues today.

northernontariobusiness.com
By: Jonathan Migneault
8/26/2014