Cliffs says chromite project at risk

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. said a decision earlier this month by the Mining and Lands Commissioner has put its Ontario chromite project at risk.

The Ohio miner had been seeking a road easement to cross the mining claims of its bitter rival, KWG Resources, in order to build an ore haul road out of its deposits in the James Bay region. Cliffs has been planning to build a smelter in Capreol, Ont. to process this ore.

“Without access to the surface lands to develop the needed infrastructure, there is no project,” said the company's senior vice-president of ferroalloys, Bill Boor, in a Sept. 20 press release.

“Our proposed development has the scale needed to develop the road access and is therefore a catalyst for other smaller mining opportunities in the Ring of Fire. Cliffs is very disappointed in this decision, but beyond our project, it is clearly an issue for anyone interested in seeing these opportunities in the Ring of Fire becoming realities.

“While we are open to possible solutions, without a pathway developing quickly to overcome this major setback, it is going to be difficult for us to justify continuing with the project at this point in time.”

The company said it is disagrees with the commissioner's decision, which it characterizes as “disappointing.”

“Cliffs disagrees with the decision and contends that this is not an appropriate use of mining claims under Ontario’s Mining Act,” the press release said.

“Further, the company sees no conflict between the legitimate uses of a mining claimholder and the proposed road, which has great benefits for Northern Ontario.”

Cliffs has also temporarily suspended the environmental assessment activities due to delays related to the environment assessment process, land surface rights, and stalled negotiations with the Province of Ontario.