Timmins congratulates Sudbury on chromite smelter

The mayor of Timmins is congratulating Greater Sudbury on getting the billion-dollar ferrochrome smelter planned for Capreol.

In a letter read by Greater Sudbury Mayor Marianne Matichuk at the June 12 meeting of city council, Tom Laughren praised Sudbury’s efforts to secure the facility, which is being built by Cliffs Natural Resources to process chromite mined from its Ring of Fire property in northwestern Ontario.

Laughren wrote that the entire region stands to benefit from the project, and pledged to work with Sudbury in any way possible to ensure the project’s success. He praised the city’s efforts to win the smelter, saying Sudbury worked as hard as Timmins to try and win over Cliffs.

“Throughout the process, all parties showed respect for each other,” he wrote. “This project is welcome news for the North and will have a positive impact for many businesses and people in northern Ontario.

“If there’s anything we can do to help along the way, don’t hesitate to contact … us.”

Matichuk praised Laughren and agreed that not only Sudbury stands to benefit.

“I think it’s a really important message that they have sent,” she said. “There will be great opportunities for the entire north, not just Sudbury.

Not all areas have been so gracious. Some communities in northwestern Ontario are bitterly disappointed that Sudbury was chosen, and at least one First Nation in the area has vowed to do everything it can to stop the development unless Cliffs brings the smelter to the northwest.

Posted by Mark Gentili