https://www.saultstar.com/news/local-news/sheehan-meets-with-noront-execs-in-ottawa-during-mining-days

Sheehan meets with Noront execs in Ottawa during Mining Days

Elaine Della-Mattia
More from Elaine Della-Mattia

Published on: November 21, 2018 | Last Updated: November 21, 2018 3:15 PM EST

Map showing Ring of Fire claims held by Noront Resources Inc. (Noront graphic)

‘Mining days’ on Parliament Hill gave Sault MP Terry Sheehan another chance to meet with Noront Resource executives.

Sheehan’s twitter posts show he met with President Allan Coutts in Ottawa to get an update on what the mining company with the largest stake in the Ring of Fire is doing.

“We do meet or keep in touch regularly but certainly it was another opportunity for me to push Sault Ste. Marie’s advantages for a ferrochrome facility,” Sheehan said in a telephone interview.

Noront Resources is continuing to conduct their due diligence into the two final cities wanting to host their proposed ferrochrome facility – Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins.

“I don’t expect any announcement for a bit,” Sheehan said. “But I continued to put forward our position that we have advantages like the port for transportation and strong electrical hook ups because it’s already and industrial site and our skilled workforce and training facilities.”

Sheehan said Noront Resources are pleased that Algoma is very close to emerging from bankruptcy protection, a move which will allow the purchasers of the company to negotiate a long-term lease agreement with Noront Resources if Sault Ste. Marie is the chosen site.

“This is all about relationship building. We keep in contact and they update me on things from their end. I stress that I want to work with them, open doors for them and help them walk through and talk or highlight their business with others,” Sheehan said.

Even if Sault Ste. Marie is selected as the location for Noront Resources ferrochrome facility, the plant would not be built for a number of years. An extensive Environmental Assessment process to meet criteria from both the provincial and federal governments must be completed first to pave the way for certificates of approval to be issued. It’s anticipated that could take several years to complete.

And, mining at the site will not begin until a road is created to and from the remote area.

“Mining is a critical piece of the economy for Northern Ontario, including Sault Ste. Marie,” Sheehan said.

In March, Toronto will host a four-day 2019 a Mineral Exploration and Mining Convention, featuring more than 1,000 exhibitors, 3,500 investors and 26,000 attendees from 135 countries. The conference is led by the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.

Sheehan said he will be meeting with his colleagues at the event.

“This is a long term project. There is lots of work to be done to reach those long-term goals and everyone needs to keep working at it together,” he said of the Ring of Fire development.

A ferrochrome facility would process chromite from the Ring of Fire. Chromite is then used to make stainless steel.

Ferrochrome is created with iron, chrome and oxygen. The high-grade chromite ore extracted from the Ring of Fire area is ground and processed with high levels of energy to melt the ore and add carbon to separate the oxygen from the iron and chrome. The completed iron and chrome product is called ferrochrome. It’s used in most household stainless steel products.

Noront Resources anticipates the final product would be exported to the industrial regions in the northeast United States, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, to make stainless steel.  Currently companies get their ferrochrome from South Africa and Kazakhstan.