Milestone agreement to strengthen Ring of Fire infrastructure – CIM Magazine
January 31, 2025
The partnership between Ontario and Aroland First Nation marks the first time agreements are in place to build roads along the whole route to the Ring of Fire region
A historic agreement was signed on Jan. 28 in Toronto by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon and Greg Rickford, Ontario’s minister of northern development and minister of Indigenous affairs and First Nations economic reconciliation. The agreement will see the provincial government commit over $90 million to upgrading vital infrastructure in northern Ontario, which will both enable the mining of critical minerals in the Ring of Fire region—with improved roads facilitating the transport of materials to processing plants—and connect multiple First Nations communities to major highways.
Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, located about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, spans roughly 5,000 square kilometres. It holds significant potential to produce critical minerals such as copper, chromite, cobalt, nickel and platinum.
Aroland First Nation is situated at the gateway to the Ring of Fire, 60 kilometres north of the community of Geraldton along Highways 584/643. The new agreement will support upgrades to the Anaconda and Painter Lake roads, including the possible creation of a road advisory body to help advance these improvements. These roads connect to essential infrastructure links via Highway 643 and will eventually link to the Marten Falls Community Access Road, Northern Road Link and Webequie Supply Road. This will enhance access to the Ring of Fire region while also providing Martin Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation with improved connectivity to Ontario’s highway network.
