According to Allan O’Dette, President & CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, “Ontario’s economy is at a historic crossroads. Its value proposition in the global economy has shifted dramatically. Ontario, now more than ever, must identify and champion opportunities where it can be a global leader. The Ring of Fire is such an opportunity. We believe that this globally significant deposit of minerals in Ontario’s Far North is one of the province’s greatest economic development opportunities in a generation.”

The Ring of Fire was covered in detail in International Mining magazine, December 2012, pp3-4. The Ring of Fire is a mineral resource-rich area of some 5,120 km² located in the James Bay Lowlands region of Northern Ontario.

The chamber has released a new report, Beneath the Surface: Uncovering the Economic Potential of Ontario’s Ring of Fire. The action plan for this region includes many points, that include:

• “Ontario should develop a long-term infrastructure plan for the Far North, based on input from northern and First Nation communities and the mining sector
• The provincial and federal governments should commit funds dedicated to building transportation infrastructure
• Equip the Ring of Fire Development Corporation with the tools and resources it needs to deliver on its mandate
• In the near-term, the Government of Ontario and the private sector should consider alternative modes of transportation that facilitate year round access to the Ring of Fire
• As an immediate next step, the Government of Ontario should conduct a rigorous cost-benefit analysis of a special electricity incentive to locate mineral processing plants in Ontario. This analysis should be made public
• The Government of Ontario, in partnership with the mining sector, Aboriginal groups, and key stakeholders, should undertake a comprehensive review of regulations that apply to mining. Unnecessary regulatory barriers that impede the development of the Ring of Fire should be removed to the greatest extent possible
• The federal government should take on a more active role in the development of the Ring of Fire. At a minimum, it should match any provincial investments in Ring of Fire infrastructure