http://www.investsudbury.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=501&lang=en

It is well known that Greater Sudbury is the mining capital of the world.  We are a community that understands and embraces mining and mineral processing.  Mining is in our roots, with more than 120 years of mining experience in Ontario’s largest geographic municipality, it is not surprising that Greater Sudbury would be the ideal location to host Noront Resources proposed Ferrochrome Production Facility (FPF).  

In fact, 77% of residents surveyed are in favour of locating a ferrochrome production facility in Greater Sudbury.

Source: Oracle Poll, Conducted between Jan. 8 and Jan. 15, 2018, N=600 sample, margin of error ± 4.0%, 19/20 times




In November 2017, Noront Resources distributed a package outlining criteria for proposals from communities to assist in the site selection process its FPF. In addition to Greater Sudbury, this package was also circulated to the cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, and, Timmins. The City of Greater Sudbury and the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation, with support from key community partners including Wahnapitae First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, are excited to have delivered a compelling bid to host the proposed Noront Resources

 

Benefits of being home to Noront Resources’ Ferrchrome Production Facility

• Approximately $1 billion in construction investment
• 350 permanent jobs
• 150 indirect jobs
• Expanding Sudbury’s global mining reach

Why Sudbury

We have the talent. Our people have the expertise to ensure the smooth and efficient operations of the three global mining companies that call Greater Sudbury home – Glencore, KGHM, and, Vale. To prepare future generations of talent, our three postsecondary education institutions; Laurentian University, Cambrian College, and Collège Boréal, are producing the well-educated bilingual graduates that go on to work in the mining and mineral processing industry – locally and around the globe.

We are ideally located. Centrally located just 390 km north of Toronto, we are just a one hour flight or a picturesque four-hour drive.  Sudbury is the only place in northern Ontario where the CNR and CPR main lines converge. This gives Sudbury a distinct advantage for the efficient and cost-effective transportation of chromite from the Ring of Fire to the Ferrochrome Production Facility and beyond.

We have the industrial base. In addition the mining and mineral processing industries based in Sudbury, our community is also home to the world’s most diversified mining supply and services cluster. Our cluster consists of more than 300 mining supply firms employing more than 12,000 people. These firms offer all the products and services the industry requires to design, build, operate, and, maintain a smelter.

We are committed to environmental sustainability. Greater Sudbury is proud of our global reputation for environmental remediation and stewardship. Our community continues to work in collaboration with the mining industry, government, and, academia to heal the landscape through our regreening efforts.

 

Site Selection

City staff, in partnership with our local industry partners, identified and explored several potential sites that would meet and exceed Noront’s criteria. With permission from Vale Canada Limited, the former Inco Coniston Smelter Site has been identified as the optimal location for Noront Resources’ FPF. This site is zoned appropriately and is situated strategically from a logistics and services perspective.

This brownfield site lies to the south of the Lopes-owned Coniston Industrial Park. It is adjacent to both the CN and CP Rail Lines and can be accessed by road both through the Town of Coniston and directly from Highway 17 via the Coniston Hydro Road.

In 2012, Cliffs Natural Resources had selected the former Moose Mountain site north of Capreol as the location for its proposed FPF. Noront Resources has established new site selection criteria for their proposed project and the Moose Mountain location was no longer seen as the best alternative.

 

Sudbury’s Delegation visits Finland

In January 2018, Mayor Brian Bigger led a delegation to Tornio, Finland to meet with mining industry leaders from Outokumpu, a world class ferrochrome production facility. The delegation also met with municipal, public health and economic development officials. The visit was an opportunity to learn from what is considered the best ferrochrome production facility in the world.

Finland and the European Union have worked closely with Outokumpu to develop innovative ways to create a facility that is environmentally responsible and sustainable. The delegations were pleased to learn about the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability and the “Circular Economy”, a principle wherein, we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life. Of particular interest was the reuse of ferrochrome slag as an aggregate in construction and road building.


 

About Noront Resources

About Ferrochrome and Ferrochrome Production Facilities

About the Ring of Fire