An Introduction to Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire

http://www.mri.gov.on.ca/obr/?p=1529

Northern Ontario is the home to the Ring of Fire Belt, a chromite mining and smelting development project located in James Bay Lowlands (Rocha & Guttsman, 2013).  Job opportunities arise from the abundance of minerals in this location, making this an area of high importance (Ontario Nature, 2013).  In fact, experts say that there is enough chromite to sustain North America's needs for about two centuries (Ontario Business Report, 2012). Many challenges face the development of the Ring of Fire including issues with accessibility to the remote region, infrastructure deficits, environmental issues, and most importantly First Nations land rights (Rocha & Guttsman, 2013).  The high amounts of staking and mineral development in the Ring of Fire has caused First Nation confrontation to occur. The First Nations have constitutional rights to be consulted on land use decisions that may affect Aboriginal and treaty rights (Ontario Nature, 2013).  The issue of conforming to these rights is still occurring today...

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References

Ontario Business Report. (2012). Ring of fire lights up northern ontario’s mining industry. Retrieved from http://www.mri.gov.on.ca/obr/?p=1529

Ontario Nature. (2013). Ring of fire mining. Retrieved from http://www.ontarionature.org/protect/campaigns/ring_of_fire.php

Rocha, E., & Guttsman, J. (2013). Canada sees decades of gains from ring of fire deposit. Reuters, Retrieved from http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCABRE92A15V20130312