The man who was minister of Northern Development and Mines when Cliffs Natural Resources announced it was building a $1.8-billion refinery near Capreol outside of Sudbury says now is not the time to panic.
“It's not falling apart,” Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci said, “although this is not the greatest news we've heard in regard to this project.”
Bartolucci said Cliffs’ decision to suspend all work on the Ring of Fire — including work on the Moose Mountain refinery — is at least partly due to low commodity prices for chromite. And the recent ruling by the mining commissioner denying Cliffs access to land owned by another mining company to build a road to the site was another blow.
“But I will not end my political career with this project leaving Sudbury,” said Bartolucci, who announced earlier this year he would not run in the next election. “I worked very, very hard to make sure the ferrochrome processing facility was located (in Capreol).”
When announced in May 2012, Cliffs said the refinery would employ 450 people during construction, and as many as 450 people in 2015, when the refinery was originally scheduled to be operational. However, there was resentment in northwestern Ontario, where officials lobbied hard to have the refinery built there.
Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs said Cliffs’ announcement meant the battle to have the refinery built in the northwest was back on. He blamed Bartolucci's lobbying for Cliffs’ picking Capreol, but said things have changed.
“I think it puts Thunder Bay back in the ball game for a processor and possibly a stainless mill,” he said. “It always made sense to us.”
In total, Cliffs planned to invest $3.3 billion into the development of the Ring of Fire.
Following the announcement, Thunder Bay/Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle, the current northern development and mines minister, issued a statement saying that project “is about more than one company.
“It is a multi-generational economic opportunity for this province with known mineral potential worth $60 billion and represents one of the largest known deposits in the world,” Gravelle is quoted as saying.
“While I am disappointed with Cliffs’ decision, and certainly appreciate the company’s continued interest in the project, our commitment is clear. The province is prepared to invest in vital infrastructure and create the right climate to support development in the region. We will work with key partners to realize these shared benefits.”
And Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle, who handles the Ring of Fire for the federal NDP, said Cliffs made “some key mistakes.”
“While Cliffs has some really fine people, I have got to know they also are typical of too many foreign companies who make key mistakes ... not consulting with local communities and a full First Nations engagement,” the MP said in an email. “They have tried to catch up, but it appears the market, and the failure of especially Ontario and Ottawa governments, bear some of the failure here.”
Part of the problem, he said, “is failure of Ottawa and Ontario to work together. The blue in Ottawa and the red in Ontario couldn't deliver by putting Northern Ontario first instead. Ontario was in the driver’s seat and tonight we are in the ditch.”
Despite the problems, Claude Gravelle said he's optimistic that the Ring of Fire will get back on track.
“This is not the end of the story.”
—With files from Ian Ross
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