Ontario Lowlands set for mineral boom

The provincial government of Ontario has announced plans to develop the James Bay Lowlands in the north of the province, Minerals and Metals magazine reports. More than 20 mining companies are hoping to cash in on an area believed to contain high-grade deposits of nickel, copper, zinc, gold, chromite and palladium.

The
government plans to build a railway, roads and processing facilities in an area
known locally as the Ring of Fire.

James
Bay Lowlands is an extremely wet area on the edge of Canada’s boreal forest,
some 300-400km (186-248 miles) from any existing permanent infrastructure;
however investors are concentrating on a 12-km (7.44-mile) area with the
Lowlands region. Currently, access to the general area is by floatplane and
helicopter.

Significant
preparatory work such as environmental assessments and feasibility studies will
be needed before the real work can begin. Whatever infrastructure is built will
depend on the nature of the mineral projects. However it is thought that winter
roads on ice and snow would probably suffice for most projects, which can be
adapted to seasonal production. However, there are plans for a 320-km rail (199-mile)
line that will link Nakina, north of Lake Superior, to chromite mines in the
Ring Of Fire. This is because, unlike some other mineral projects in the area,
chromite mining is expected to be a year-round activity.

Canada
Chrome has staked mining claims along one possible route in order to secure a
right-of-way. "We’re in the early process of evaluating the project," says Nels
Ojard, the firm’s group manager for special projects. Ojard added that the
project is probably five to seven years from becoming a reality.

Frank
Smeenk, president of Canada Chrome’s parent company, KWG Resources, said it is
too early to tell whether processing facilities such as smelters and
concentrators will be built at the Ring of Fire or elsewhere. This depends
largely on the consistency of an electricity supply.