Mayor not giving up fight for ferrochrome processing plant

Mayor Keith Hobbs says giving up on a proposed ferrochrome processing facility is not in his playbook.

Hobbs, who made a late Friday afternoon return from a meeting of northern mayors in Sudbury, said he was disappointed Cliffs National Resources named the Nickel City as its base case for the 500-job factory, but said Thunder Bay still has a few tricks up its sleeves.

“Thunder Bay is going to do everything in its power to convince Cliffs that Thunder Bay should be the site,” said Hobbs. “Yes we have some challenges. Shipping that chromite to Thunder Bay from Nakina is one of those roadblocks that’s in our way.”

But Thunder Bay is not the only community with hurdles in its way, he added, noting Sudbury is by no means a lock to win the FPF – if the company even chooses an Ontario city.

Also in the running are Timmins and Greenstone, but Ferroalloys president Bill Boor has twice emphatically stated unless the province does something lower energy costs, Ontario could find itself on the outside looking in when it comes to the processing of the chromite into ferrochrome.

“Everyone has to be cognizant that a big message from Cliffs was that there is not one municipality or one area in Ontario that can give them the energy rates that they need,” he said.

Hobbs, who is on record saying he thinks Northern Ontario needs its own power grid, said the inability to come up with a solid pricing plan for big business has cost the region immensely in recent years. He added the northern mayors he met with all agreed the province must act on its energy policy before it’s too late.

The mayor then said Thunder Bay does have plenty to offer a mining company that could be looking to ship its materials to the United States and/or China.

“We are a port. We have a few sites that are potentially good sites,” he said.

“If we don’t get it, there are other avenues that we can explore possibly, including the actual manufacturing of stainless steel itself. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. We’re going to work hard. We’re going to put our collective heads together and we’re going to fight hard to get that processor,” said Hobbs, adding the five Northern mayors have put the province on notice.

Steve Demmings, president of the Community Economic Development Commission, kept his cards in tight when asked about possible incentives Thunder Bay might be able to offer in exchange for the facility to locate in the city.

Like Hobbs, he wants people to remember that the Ring of Fire and its 69.5-million tonne chromite deposit is far-reaching in its scope and its entirety has yet to be completely identified for Thunder Bay, the region or all of Northwestern Ontario.

“We have an absolutely fabulous port. We have sites that we have explored with the company and we’re going to continue those negotiations in 2011,” Demmings said, echoing the mayor.

Cliffs has already opened a Thunder Bay office.

However being here doesn’t necessarily endear them to everyone in town.

Bill Boor, president of Ferroalloys, a Cliffs subsidiary, arrived in town on Friday to speak with First Nations leaders, but were unequivocally turned away by Matawa First Nation leaders.

In response to a request made by tbnewswatch.com, Matawa issued the following statement through its public relations firm:

“Matawa First Nations never accepted an invitation to meet with Cliffs Resources today. Any rumours to the contrary are nothing more than fabricated and ridiculous.”

Matawa, who recently hired a Ring of Fire co-ordinator, refused further comment.