Ring of Fire in the Far North
More than 2,000 mining claims were hurriedly staked in the James Bay Lowlands in the six months following the 2007 provincial election when the McGuinty government declared it would re-visit The Mining Act.
This area of the Far North, some 240 kilometres west of James Bay and northeast of Thunder Bay is known as the Ring of Fire, and the flurry of mining activity is shattering once pristine habitat and home to species found in few other places in the world.
Today, nearly 40 mining and exploration companies are active in the heart of the James Bay Lowlands where the Ring of Fire is located.
Cliffs National Resources Inc., a major U.S. mining company, is developing an open-pit mine and facilities. Rail corridors have been staked; roads and structures will be built.
The rapid development is occurring faster than scientists and First Nations communities can record information on sensitive areas, such as eskers or on the fish, birds and other wildlife that live there. The Ring of Fire threatens an environmental disaster that could be likened to a mini-Tar-Sands.
In 2008, the Ontario government pledged to protect at least half of the boreal region, an enormous carbon storehouse, while land-use planning that emphasized sustainable development would guide the future use of the other half. Unchecked development in the Ring of Fire is in flagrant contravention of Premier McGuinty’s promise.
Ontario’s northern boreal region represents one of the last intact, original forests remaining on the planet. Beyond the northern reaches of the forest lies tundra, which supports one of the earth’s largest, continuous wetlands, and through which half of Canada’s largest dozen rivers drain.
Unfortunately, northern First Nation communities support mining development. Reports of airstrip blockades by First Nations preventing mining companies from landing on their traditional lands are in protest to development proceeding without their consent or involvement. First Nations welcome mining development but only in partnership with their communities.
Background:
Exploration at the Ring of Fire site began in earnest in 2002, when drilling for diamonds revealed the existence of nickel, copper and a potentially huge deposit of chromite used to make stainless steel that could keep a mine operating for more than 50 years. The chromite mine could become the largest of its kind and the only such operation in North America.
The Ring of Fire is considered one of the largest potential mineral reserves in Ontario, covering more than 1.5 million hectares by some estimates. Nearly 40 junior and intermediate mining and exploration companies are now active in the Ring of Fire, including Montreal-based Freewest and Toronto-based Noront Resources, making it the recent hotbed of mining activity in the Far North.
For more information, please contact:
Ontario Nature
MiningWatch Canada
Northwatch
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