The current situation of mining industry
The ‘Ring of Fire’ region in northern Ontario has a substantial economic opportunity to generate revenue and employment in the domestic mining industry. The ‘Ring of Fire’ is a crescent-shaped area west of James Bay. The region covers approximately 5,000km2 area, and is home to a massive mineral potential of approximately CAD60 billion (US$54.8 billion), attracting large investment in a variety of minerals and metals such as nickel, zinc and copper. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) estimates that over the first 10 years of the Ring of Fire’s mining development, the region is likely to contribute between CAD5.1 billion (US$4.7 billion) and CAD10 billion ( US$9.1 billion) to Ontario’s gross domestic product.
Canada has a number of upcoming zinc, lead and nickel projects, which are expected to support production over the forecast period (2014–2020). Major upcoming zinc-lead-nickel projects are expected to commence operations by 2017.
Several zinc-lead projects are expected to commence operations in the coming years, including the Tulsequah Chief project in British Columbia with a reserve volume of 6.5Mt and scheduled to start operations by the fourth quarter of 2016, the Elsa Tailings project scheduled to start through 2015, the Flame & Moth mine in Yukon, and the Caribou Zinc-Lead-Silver mine in New Brunswick. Nickel projects expected to commence operations in 2015 include the Minago mine in Manitoba. The Mcfaulds Lake nickel project in Ontario, with a reserve volume of 11.1Mt, is expected to commence operations in 2016. The Eagles Nest property in Ontario, with a reserve volume of 11.1Mt and the Lucky Queen (zinc-lead) property in Yukon are expected to commence operations in 2017.
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