Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Ontario government has approved terms of reference for Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation to build an all-season, multi-use road connecting to the proposed Ring of Fire mining development area.
The Northern Road Link will connect two First Nations communities, and the critical mineral deposits in the Ring of Fire to the Ontario highway network.
“I want to thank Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation for leading the environmental assessment for this essential road corridor,” said George Pirie, minister of mines.
“The Ring of Fire has the critical minerals we need to build our manufacturing supply chain, including nickel for electric vehicles and chromite for clean steel.”
Ontario has announced about $1 billion for critical legacy infrastructure in the Ring of Fire area including constructing all season roads, investing in high-speed internet, road upgrades and community supports.
Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations are co-leading the planning of the Northern Road Link project as part of a historic partnership with the province. The project will connect the Ring of Fire’s critical mineral deposits with manufacturing hubs in the south, paving the way for made-in-Ontario supply chains for batteries and electric vehicles.
The province has also announced recipients of the critical minerals innovation fund. The $5 million fund supports Ontario-based companies developing mining technologies.
Funding will go to:
- $500,000 to Frontier Lithium Inc. to help develop innovative lithium processing techniques and establish lithium mining and mineral processing in Ontario for use in battery and EV manufacturing supply chains.
- $500,000 to Vale Canada Ltd. to develop bioleaching techniques for reprocessing tailings to extract nickel and cobalt from mine waste and to help increase battery metals supply.
- $500,000 to Ring of Fire Metals Pty Ltd. to test the feasibility of repurposing and storing all tailings materials underground in the form of backfill in mine workings.
- $500,000 to EV Nickel Inc. to demonstrate that bioleach extraction and recovery of battery metals such as Nickel and Cobalt is a lower cost, low carbon footprint process with less environmental impacts.
- $475,000 to Carbonix Inc. – an Indigenous-owned company – to help refine the process for converting mining waste, petroleum coke and other byproducts into high-energy density graphite for use in battery anode and cathode supply chains.
Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation are each leading their own community road Environmental Assessments and are working together on the Environmental Assessment for the Northern Road Link.
“The Northern Road Link has the potential to become a critical transportation linkage for remote First Nations in Ontario, but these opportunities must also be balanced against the potential environmental and socio-cultural risks associated with building a road,” said Chief Cornelius Wabasse. “Our Indigenous-led approach has been designed to study the project’s potential impacts and effects, as well as alternatives and possible mitigations, and most importantly, to allow First Nations people to make informed decisions about the future development of their traditional lands.
“This project has the potential to finally bring economic reconciliation for remote First Nations in Ontario, and we are proud to be at the forefront of this planning process with our sister Nation in Marten Falls.