Noront to Start Ferrochrome Production Facility in 3-4 Months

06 February 2018

Ferro-Alloys.com: On 05 February 2018 Monday, Noront Resources Ltd confirms the bids received from Sudbury, Sault STE. Marie, Thunder Bay & Timmins to be the host for its $1 Billion Ferrochrome Production Plant.

Noront Resources said Hatch, a Mississauga-based engineering and consulting company, will now help evaluate the bids, which were due on Friday.

“Next steps include calculating indicative capital and operating costs and reviewing these alongside community and First Nations support, site appropriateness, environmental factors, access to a skilled workforce and other elements,” Noront said in a release.

“Near the conclusion of this detailed analysis, Noront will engage directly with the owners of the favored site(s) to come to a mutually agreeable commercial arrangement for the use of the property.

“The company estimates the adjudication process will conclude in three to four months depending on the competitiveness and complexity of the bids and the ensuing commercial negotiations. A decision will be publicly announced at that time along with the criteria and rationale for site selection.”

At stake are the 350 direct and 150 indirect jobs the ferrochrome production facility would create, processing ore from the mineral-rich Ring of Fire area in northwestern Ontario.

Noront Resources has said it will take five to 10 years to build the plant, once a location is picked.

The City of Greater Sudbury says the former Vale smelter site in Coniston would be the best location for the ferrochrome production facility.

Earlier this month, Mayor Brian Bigger led a city delegation on a visit to the Outokumpu Ferrochrome Production Facility in Tornio, Finland, which uses the same closed furnace technology that Noront is proposing.

The group gained key insights into the environmental safety and sustainability of the Tornio facility, which has a 50-year record of excellence in these areas, the city said.

A ferrochrome facility ultimately prepares and transforms the chromite ore deposits to ferrochrome, the product used to create stainless steel products.

Ferrochrome is created with iron, chrome and oxygen. The high-grade chromite ore taken from the Ring of Fire area is ground and put through an arc furnace that requires high levels of energy to melt the ore and add carbon to separate the oxygen from the iron and chrome. The completed iron and chrome product is called ferrochrome.

The ferrochrome would be exported to the industrial regions in the northeast United States, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, to make stainless steel. Currently, companies there get their ferrochrome from South Africa and Pakistan.

Noront Resources is a Canadian-based mining company and has the largest land position in the Ring of Fire. It has ownership or a controlling interest in all the major discoveries to date in the region.

• [Editor:mab]