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Cliffs Natural Resources to offer update on ferrochrome smelter

After weeks of rumours, Sudburians may finally discover whether a billion-dollar ferrochrome smelter is coming to town.
After weeks of rumours, Sudburians may finally discover whether a billion-dollar ferrochrome smelter is coming to town.

Cliffs Natural Resources announced plans late Tuesday to hold a conference call Wednesday morning to provide an update on “the latest information on the chromite project.”

Bill Boor, the company's senior vice-president, will provide the update and will answer questions as part of the conference call. Sudbury MPP and Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci is holding a news conference at the same time at his Sudbury office.

Bartolucci's conference will be followed by an announcement from Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kathleen Wynne in Thunder Bay.

Sudbury has been rumoured as the site for the smelter for weeks, with mayors in Thunder Bay and Timmins saying publicly that they expect the facility to be built here. Such an announcement, if it comes, would have huge implications for Sudbury, creating hundreds of high-paying direct and indirect jobs.

Cliffs is developing a major chromite discovery at Black Thor, located in the James Bay lowlands in northwestern Ontario. The chief of Aroland First Nation, Chris Gagnon, has vowed to fight the development if the smelter isn't built in Greenstone, Ont., near his community.

Posted by Mark Gentili

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