Price tag for Cliffs ferrochrome facility: $1.8 billion

Cliffs Natural Resources has released estimates of how much it will cost to bring its northern Ontario chromite deposits into production.

The information was released Jan. 19 as part of its 2012 capital expenditure plan.

Based on the prefeasibility work done to date, Cliffs estimates it will cost roughly $150 million to develop a mine in the area of the James Bay lowlands known as the “Ring of Fire.” It will cost about $800 million to develop a concentrating plant near the mine site.

The company also estimates it will cost $1.8 billion to build a ferrochrome processing facility. Capreol has been pinpointed by the company as one of the possible locations for this facility.

Cliffs said an “integrated transportation system” is needed to bring the chromite to the processing facility, including an all-weather road servicing the project. This would require further investment of roughly $600 million.

However, the company said in a press release it expects this cost would be shared by “other industry participants and government entities” because it would be used by those living in northern communities and other Ring of Fire producers.

“Cliffs indicated that, although it believes the chromite deposits it controls are world-class, a number of additional studies, including feasibility, and other project milestones need to be achieved before the company begins allocating a significant portion of capital to the project's construction,” according to a press release from the company.

“Based on the completion of these, Cliffs anticipates a majority of the project's anticipated capital requirements would be made in 2014 and 2015, with an early works program initiated prior to 2014 to maintain the project execution timeline.
More information about the project will be provided upon completion of the prefeasibility study in the first half of 2012.”

Mayor Marianne Matichuk said while there is still no firm decision from Cliffs about where it will locate its facility, there is an estimate of sometime in early spring for an answer.

However, the city will leave it up to the company for that direction, she said, and efforts will continue to bring the facility to Sudbury.

Posted by Arron Pickard