There is a lot of people pointing to the infrastructure as the biggest setback in the ring of fire. There is currently no good way to get there year-round, and not nearly enough power. Before construction begins, roads need to be built, and there needs to be some word on how the plants are going to be powered. Note that this is an opinion, what I think is the best solution for the issue.
For transportation, I believe that having a north south service road, accompanied by a rail line is the best solution. Rail is necessary in my opinion, since there is going to be a large volume of heavy metals being transported every day. The volume that is going to be transported makes a road and trucks just not feasible. Nakina is a town that is almost directly south from the ring of fire, and is in desperate need of something to bring people back. Having it as a crossroads for this rail line could breathe life back into the town. It is also in the middle of Timmins and Thunder Bay, which are the larger communities of the area. This gives it better access to the outer world than an east west line. Also, Nakina already has a rail line running through it, and as such is the shortest distance to connect to the existing network.
For power, I think that the choice should be obvious. It needs to be renewable, and having a combination of solar and wind is the best way to do this. Renewable energy is a cheaper option, obviously more sustainable, and something that the first nations want in the area anyway. Transporting the chromite and nickel away from the site is going to be challenging, but adding shipments of coal going to the site would make this extremely logistically difficult. Mining projects get enough flak from environmentalists as it is. Adding a coal power plant to the mix would make it even worse.
Feel free to comment and discuss.
-D
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