Decisions on the new ferrochrome smelter site are almost finalized.
Noront Resources is a Toronto based company and the largest developer in the Ring of Fire. The company is looking for a location for a ferrochrome smelter site where chromite ore will be processed into ferrochrome and sold to stainless steal makers.
President and CEO Alan Coutts was in Timmins for business and was one of the speakers at the Canadian Mining Expo gala on Tuesday evening. Coutts says right now the company is analyzing bids from the four communities, including Timmins. He says the company is looking at three key factors in the bids including:
- the site
- commercial agreements with the current site owner
- partnership with the city
He says right now Noront is on the second phase of analyzing the bids.
Coutts says the while the smelter was under construction, about 500 jobs would be created. He adds that once it is operating, it will mean about 300 to 350 full time jobs.
He adds that Timmins has a few pros in its bid.
Coutts says after the site is picked, it will have to go through a long permitting process. He says optimistically, the ore would be arriving from the Ring of Fire in seven years. He adds that once it’s up and running, there is enough ore to operate for more than 100 years.
This will be the first processing facility of its kind in North America. The last permitted smelter in Ontario was the Kidd metallurgical site in the lat 70’s.
Coutts says the location decision will be announced sometime this summer. He says Noront wanted to wait until after the provincial election, but also make sure the decision is finalized before the mayors run for re-election.
Timmins has a bid against Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.
