Thought i would pop in here.

As all are aware the most important thing needed to move the Eagles Nest and the Chromite forward are permits, of critical importance and in my opinion first and foremost is the permit for the All Weather Landing Strip.

"Permits have been submitted for approval of the all-weather landing strip and related roads which are situated
3.5 km north of Esker Camp. The airstrip will allow for larger planes to land all year long."

The MNR needs to get off the pot and grant the necessary permits for the strip.

"Anne-Marie Flanagan, spokeswoman for Michael Gravelle, said the ministry is talking with all the parties toward resolving a “complicated situation” that involves the MNR, the air strip and how people in the Far North can all benefit."

The airstrip (once permitted) will be a very busy place going forward for supply to all Ring of Fire with exploration and development going forward.

The strip should be upgraded, both in length, width, weight capacity, flight services/communications, freight handling and fire safety services. Why the needed upgrades? Well, besides the fact that should there be a prolonged period of precipitation the runway quickly becomes marginal, picture if you will a winter just a wee bit warmer than last...in fact the chances are quite good this one could turn out warmer...no? Waiting for a cold window that if by chance does come and allow for road construction may only get you 3 weeks of usable road time and most of that is night time travel if by day the temps tend to be on the warm side, is not an option anymore. This type of road built in a narrow cold window is rarely a beauty and rarely able to handle large weights, even ice build thickness on the lakes can suffer greatly. There will be many items where there is just no choice in the matter but to wait for the all weather road to be pushed together from both ends. One other thing to consider is that we are not just talking winter road from Webequie to Esker we need to take into account the fact that there is also winter road needing built from Webequie south which they have had some real issues with warm weather and road building, Until then, waiting for cold is just not an option for everything and anything that can be moved via air onto an all weather strip.

Camp construction is right behind the strip and an upfront priority and perhaps the "People of the North/s" newly formed Development Corporation should form up a JV partnership with all stakeholders to build an "OPEN" camp. That would make Chief Moonias happy, no?

from the 43-101

It is anticipated
that the EA will be completed by August 31, 2012. Permits for various aspects of the project
are expected in the first half of 2013.

The following implementation schedule is anticipated for the development of the project:
Project feasibility study complete April, 2012.
Commence basic engineering May, 2012.
Issue Environmental Assessment report Fall, 2012.
Prepare and submit permit applications Fall, 2012.
Commence major equipment purchasing Winter, 2012.
EA approved Spring, 2013.
Commence construction Summer, 2013.
Engineering complete December, 2013.
Construction complete 2015

To all you developers out there that just don't get it....consult consult consult.

for god forbid the Ring of Fire enters this realm.....

• One commentator’s take on Ring of Fire development: “…. It makes no sense to go to war and start huge conflicts merely for the almighty dollar in developing these pristine traditional lands. Nobody would really win in this scenario. However, make no mistake about it no matter what government is in place or how much money or power industry has, if fair deals are not made with the First Nations of the “Ring Of Fire” nothing will ever be developed in this area. There will be a conflict that we will all have to endure for decades and we will waste a lot of energy, time and good will in a pointless fight ….” Source

This is a jpg of the Eagles Nest/Blackthor area with the claim groups showing Cliffs plans for access into and over to the runway. The road location info is from the Cliff's booklet (2nd Pic). The faint backwards L is in the red circle is the landing strip we await a permit for.