The Ring Of Fire

Ontario has announced a $3.3 billion dollar plan to build North America's first major chromite mine deep in Northern Ontario. The Ring of Fire stands apart from other resource mega-developments around the world in one important respect. Located in McFaulds Lake, somewhere between James Bay and Thunder Bay, the Ring of Fire mineral deposits are said to contain vast reserves of nickel, copper and some gold. That is not all, the ring of fire contains a massive repository of relatively minor ore - chromite. Chromite is refined into ferrochrome to make stainless steel.

This location is North America's only known large-scale chromite deposit. Canada would become the worlds forth- largest chromite producer if development is approved. Tucked deep into northern Ontario, the Ring of Fire contains rich mineral deposits that could transform the region much as the oil sands have transformed Alberta. The Canadian government has referred to the ring of fire as the most promising mining opportunity in Canada.

However, like the oil sands it has raised deep environmental and social concerns. This large project faces some opposition from first nations, local communities and environmentalists. The First Nations are worried about the environmental impact of the development in such a remote and delicate area of the province. Others want to make sure that proper environmental legislation is implemented before blindly pushing forward. To address these concerns the Provincial and Federal governments have been working together to come up with ways to work with the first nation communities in order to take advantage of this new and exciting opportunity.