Everyone who stands to gain should work together, he said, so the benefits of the chromite discovery are maximized.

“We have to show that we, as all levels of government; we, as industry partners and business, civic leaders, people involved in training and education, have to engage in an exercise that I have termed the politics of collaboration,” Rickford said.

He said Minister of Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle is a friend, and he has met with the Thunder Bay MPP since he became minister to discuss ways of combining the ministries' resources when it makes sense.

Rickford also created a senior policy adviser position in his office “who is exclusively focused on -- guess what, folks -- Northern Ontario, FedNor and the Ring of Fire.

“More importantly, that person is from, guess where? Northern Ontario.”

While acknowledging that the challenges seem huge, he said the opportunity is too great for the Ring of Fire not to succeed.

“We all have a stake in it -- we have a huge opportunity,” he said. “We stand on the precipice of greatness.”