Plans To Bring Electricity To Ring of Fire Being Developed – Mining Life

Nov 24, 2014

Last week Lawrence Martin, the newly elected Grand Chief of Mushkegowuk Council, revealed that Five Nations Energy Inc. (FNEI) a Mushkegowuk based transmission line company, was planning to bring electricity to Ring of Fire, a potential smelter in the Timmins area and Matawa communities.

The Ring of Fire is a massive deposit of chromite, zinc, nickel, silver, gold and other minerals located in the McFauld’s Lake and Webequie area, roughly 600 kilometres North West of Timmins. Chromite is a critical element in manufacturing stainless steel. The Ring of Fire area could become the largest chromite mining site in North America, in a multi-generational project that could generate over tens of billions of dollars.

The plan announced by Martin calls for the purchase of low-priced electricity from Quebec. A transmission line would be constructed from Quebec to north of Cochrane where it would run north along an existing transmission line corridor operated by Five Nations Energy through Moosonee, to Fort Albany, Kashechewan and Attawapiskat. From Attawapiskat it would veer south into the Ring of Fire. Five Nations Energy currently operates a transmission that brings electricity to Fort Albany, Kashechewan, Attawapiskat and DeDeer’s Victor Mine about 75 km s. of Attawapiskat.