Will Sudbury gain from new mining? Maybe, it seems

NEWS RELEASE

FEDERATION OF NORTHERN ONTARIO MUNICIALITIES (FONOM)

*************************

Initial Agreement on ‘Ring of Fire’ – Sudbury decision met with cautious optimism by municipalities

Alan Spacek, resident of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM), expressed his best wishes to the City of Greater Sudbury and has high hopes for the future of mining development in Northern Ontario.

Spacek was reacting to the news that Cliffs Resources announced it has decided to process its found chromite from the ‘Ring of Fire’ region of Northern Ontario, but “all interests need to be taken into account as we move forward.”

The ‘Ring of Fire’ region is located 500 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay in the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

“We are pleased that a decision has been made concerning one of the jewels of the North,” explained Spacek. “In a deal as big as this, the ‘devil is in the details’. We want all communities to benefit from this mammoth find – First Nations, adjacent communities and communities right across the North,” said Spacek.

Spacek was commenting following a presentation by Ray Mantha, a senior official at the Ministry of Northern development and Mines at the FONOM Annual Conference, being held this year in North Bay.

This $3-billion Cliffs Natural Resources, a mining company based in Cleveland, Ohio will be investing will be used to transport and process the chromite ore, used in the production of steel.

“It will be important to monitor how this project moves forward from an environmental, social as well as from a purely economic perspective,” noted Spacek.

“The availability of inexpensive hydro electricity will be key to this development,” said Spacek.

He explained that “the future potential for expansion of value-added resource extraction-related operations will depend on a lower and more stable energy cost for their operations. Reliable, affordable electricity supported by modern infrastructure will allow for expansion in Northern Ontario’s resource sector at a time when Ontario needs industry to propel provincial growth and revenues."

Spacek stated: “FONOM would be pleased to work with the McGuinty government to have the upgrading of the North-South Energy Transmission Capacity re-introduced as a priority as part of the Province's Integrated Power System. This would be a major positive step to unlock a number of important mineral discoveries in the North including the ‘Ring of Fire’ and would help put Ontario ‘Back on Track.’"

“I’ve personally wished Mayor Marianne Matichuk of Sudbury the very best for this great opportunity on behalf of FONOM, that represents municipalities from Wawa to the Quebec border,” expressed Spacek.

*************************