Mayor Keith Hobbs said procuring an energy policy that allows the city to compete with Manitoba and Quebec is the central part of his plan to attract a proposed ferrochrome processing facility to Thunder Bay.
However the mayor remained tight-lipped on Monday about the details of how he plans to go about lowering energy costs enough to give the city a fighting chance in the eyes of Cliffs Natural Resources, a Cleveland-based company that earlier this year listed Sudbury as its base-case for the 500-job plant.
“We’re working on an energy policy internally,” Hobbs said. “I don’t want to get into the nuts and bolts of that just yet. But we are going to make sure we put all the pieces together so that we will be in the hunt for this processor.
“We have a strategy in mind. We’re working on it internally right now and we’re getting confident that we can deliver in regards to energy.”
Hobbs would not say if that meant the city has a deal in the works with the province or was trying to do something through municipally owned Thunder Bay Hydro.
He admitted without the energy policy, and a solid transportation plan to back it, it won’t be easy to convince Cliffs to call Thunder Bay home.
The company is a major player in the Ring of Fire development, and needs the processing facility to refine its share of what is believed to be a chromite deposit worth up to $30 billion.
“If we can get the energy pricing, we’re going to have a very good shot at this,” he said.
On Monday Hobbs and the rest of city council unanimously approved a resolution confirming the city’s willingness to work together with Cliffs to explore the possibility of locating the FPF in Thunder Bay, as well as notifying all relevant government ministers and ministries at both the federal and provincial levels.
The project is also expected to produce 500 temporary jobs during the construction phase.
Hobbs also acknowledged the need for a full environmental assessment before the project could proceed, should the city be awarded the FPF.
Hobbs said even if they’re not successful, the resolution is a way of showing the growing mining industry that Thunder Bay is indeed waiting with open arms and willing to do what it takes to encourage companies to set up shop in the city.
“It’s not only this plant. We’re working on that energy piece because we want to attract businesses here. We want to send a loud message, not only to Ontario and Canada, but the world that Thunder Bay is open for business and we’re going to be competitive,” Hobbs said.
However the mayor remained tight-lipped on Monday about the details of how he plans to go about lowering energy costs enough to give the city a fighting chance in the eyes of Cliffs Natural Resources, a Cleveland-based company that earlier this year listed Sudbury as its base-case for the 500-job plant.
“We’re working on an energy policy internally,” Hobbs said. “I don’t want to get into the nuts and bolts of that just yet. But we are going to make sure we put all the pieces together so that we will be in the hunt for this processor.
“We have a strategy in mind. We’re working on it internally right now and we’re getting confident that we can deliver in regards to energy.”
Hobbs would not say if that meant the city has a deal in the works with the province or was trying to do something through municipally owned Thunder Bay Hydro.
He admitted without the energy policy, and a solid transportation plan to back it, it won’t be easy to convince Cliffs to call Thunder Bay home.
The company is a major player in the Ring of Fire development, and needs the processing facility to refine its share of what is believed to be a chromite deposit worth up to $30 billion.
“If we can get the energy pricing, we’re going to have a very good shot at this,” he said.
On Monday Hobbs and the rest of city council unanimously approved a resolution confirming the city’s willingness to work together with Cliffs to explore the possibility of locating the FPF in Thunder Bay, as well as notifying all relevant government ministers and ministries at both the federal and provincial levels.
The project is also expected to produce 500 temporary jobs during the construction phase.
Hobbs also acknowledged the need for a full environmental assessment before the project could proceed, should the city be awarded the FPF.
Hobbs said even if they’re not successful, the resolution is a way of showing the growing mining industry that Thunder Bay is indeed waiting with open arms and willing to do what it takes to encourage companies to set up shop in the city.
“It’s not only this plant. We’re working on that energy piece because we want to attract businesses here. We want to send a loud message, not only to Ontario and Canada, but the world that Thunder Bay is open for business and we’re going to be competitive,” Hobbs said.
