A new group called East-West Ring of Fire Road Coalition advocated for an east-west road access to the Ring of Fire during this week's mining conference, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto.
In a news release, the coalition said such a route would benefit the greatest number of Ontario communities, “providing all-season road access and increasing the range of economic opportunities associated with the Ring of Fire, a massive deposit of the mineral chromite, with an estimate value of $60 billion.”
The group represents municipalities, First Nation communities and businesses in Northwestern Ontario that support construction of a four-season access road into the Far North that will build on the current success of First Nation businesses in Sioux Lookout.
It's seeking government support for a roadway that would extend from Hwy 599 and Hwy. 72 — north from the TransCanada Highway, about 250 km west of Thunder Bay — to the Ring of Fire.
“The east-west road route would optimize existing road alignments, piggyback on pending hydro grid construction and use existing logistics and supply networks,” Sioux Lookout Mayor Doug Lawrance is quoted as saying in the release. “We anticipate this route would lessen the environmental impacts (including wetland and peatlands) and avoid expensive, problematic large-scale water crossings.”
Originally proposed by Noront Resources Ltd., the east-west route passes close to Cat Lake, Mishkeegogomang, Lac Seul, Webequie, Nibinamik, Eabamatoong, Saugeen and Slate Falls First Nations. Other adjacent communities include Sioux Lookout, Pickle Lake, Ignace and Dryden.
“Over the past two days, I have received enormous support from PDAC attendees from Northern communities, First Nations and much further afield for the coalition’s goal of securing an East-West road to the Ring of Fire,” Lawrance added.
